The ham radio website of the week belongs to Alan Applegate, K0BG of Roswell, NM (by the way, I wonder if his truck is ever mistaken for an alien ship). Alan’s website is the place to stop if you are new to the world of HF mobile ham radio (or VHF mobile ham radio for that matter). 

Alan’s website covers everything related to mobile ham radio – from topics that you’d expect to find on a site dedicated to the topic:

• Antenna selection and mounting
• Cabling
• Grounding
• Eliminating noise

to a few topics that are less obvious

• Insurance issues
• Hybrid vehicle issues

If you are interested in exploring what it takes to properly install a HF mobile ham radio station, take a look at Alan’s site.  If you already have a ham rig in your car, then I’ll bet that visiting the K0BG site will leave you planning future mobile improvements.

…-.-

Without the MM-1, the system seemed to be more narrow in bandwidth. This makes sense as the overall efficiency (radiation resistance) has gone up. I still need to do a fair amount of clean up with my mobile installation… The Toyota Camary is not exactly the ideal vehicle for ham radio antenna mounts, radio placement, etc. But, it does get decent mpg.

Anyway, the new additions to the High Sierra Sidekick seemed to have been beneficial. If nothing else, with the HotRodz, I have had a few more comments on the mobile installation. I’m going to give these another day or two of runtime, but I’m really impressed so far with the DXengineering equipment.

A package arrived yesterday afternoon from DX-Engineering containing:

• DXEngineering Hot Rodz
• Hustler Safety Spring
• DXE-MM-1 dual impedance antenna auto/transformer
• A DX Engineering Hat

Of course, the first problem was answering the XYL’s question “You bought another antenna for the car?”.
“It’s not really another antenna… it’s a replacement for the whip on top.”
“Looks like an antenna to me.”

Besides that, with the stinger/whip on the High Sierra removed, I should now be able to park in the garage! After that explanation (and a fun daddy/daughter project with Sarah, our 4 year old), I was ready to dive in.

Out of the Box
First, I’ll say that I was impressed with how quickly my order arrived and how well the materials were packed. Even small parts like the rubber tips to cover the ends of the rods were neatly sealed separate from other small parts like set screws. The HotRodz and DXE-MM-1 transformer each had an instruction book, which I had already read in PDF format on their website in anticipation (why doesn’t everyone do this?).

I decided to give the medium-length (12″) rods a try at first. I figured that given the reduction in mast length I would need something larger than then smallest rods. The HotRodz system comes with a 22 inch mast, so, moving down from a full 3 ft whip I’d need some length up there. It only took a few minutes to assemble: add the hub to the mast, add the rods to the hub and add the rubber tips to the ends of the rods.

Adding the HotRodz to the High Sierra Sidekick
This morning, I took the HotRodz with me to work. Removal of the High Sierra whip fold-over and whip and adding the HotRodz just took a minute. It wasn’t hard to tell by looking that I would be adding some drag, but I don’t think it will be enough to cause problems (your mileage may vary… literally).

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a short patch cable to use to put the DXE-MM1 in line. I’ll work on that for later today and post a full review on the Ham Radio Product Reviews pages soon (once I have some runtime on the system as a whole).

Making the High Sierra (or other screwdriver style antenna) “garage-friendly”
One thing I can say for now is that I will again be able to park my Toyota Camry in the garage and not have to worry about folding over (or removing) the whip on the High Sierra. My XYL has driven the Camry into the garage and forgotten to fold-over the whip several times.

Shortening the antenna to 22″ (plus the height of your coil) will make the HotRodz worth the investment alone to some hams. Due to the way the DX Engineering HotRodz hub is machined, I have the option to install a whip on top of the hat section. For now though, I’m leaving the whip off.

More on the performance of this system later…

LA2:  “You guys should have listened. I had the frequency first.”

HiFi Guys: “No we had the frequency first. Besides, we’ve been meeting here for years.”

LA2:  “No one owns a frequency. You know that. I was here first and so I have the frequency. You can move your net.”

HiFi Guys: “You certainly know that we meet here every day. We are appealing to you as a fellow ham and a gentleman to QSY.”

LA2: “You are welcome to move…. CQ North America. CQ North America. CQ DX.”

This sort of thing went on for most of my ride to work.  It was like passing a car wreck – you don’t want to look but feel compelled to do so.

Who was right? Who was wrong?

In my opinion, both the LA2 and the net were wrong.

The HiFi SSB audio net has met on 14.178 MHz for years, however…

• The LA2 ham was clearly there first and had a strong signal into the US.
• Adjacent frequencies were open. They should have a plan-B frequency and use it instead when their primary freq is in use.
• No one “owns” a frequency. Sure, there are considerate operators frequency guides and these are great. http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/conop.pdf  However, neither freq guides nor governments permit an individual or group to have sole ownership of frequencies not in use.

Sure, the LA2 was there first. So, technically, the freq was his. However…

• I’m guessing that he probably did know that the HiFi SSB guys met regularly on 14.178. He didn’t deny that when the HiFi guys pointed that out.
• He wasn’t in QSO the whole time. He’d eventually work someone over the top of the net, then continue to call CQ on top of it. He could have given up and moved on rather than feel that he had to make a point.
• Worse, today he came onto the exact same frequency and did the same thing over again.

This sort of operation on 20 meters sure makes ham radio look bad. Escalating ridiculous on-air feuds is a sure fire way to steer newcomers away from the hobby.

Two choices that I’m considering:

• DXEngineering Hot Rodz

• The High Sierra Six Shooter
  

The DXengineering Hot Rodz top hat is a top loaded design with a 22″ stainless mast, hub and stainless steel rods (of various lengths). $54.

The High Sierra Six Shooter is a hub that mounts at the base of the whip and has six 2 ft long rods. They claim it has an electrical length of ~6 ft.
For the moment, I’m leaning towards giving the DXengineering product a try but would like feedback on either.

Again,  if anyone is interested in joining the alpha test process, let me know!

Here is a screen shot.

I’ve found that over the years, analogies and comparisons to fishing work quite well. I have a younger brother who has no interest in ham radio, but loves to fish… big time. He has the bass boat, he enters tournaments, he is a member of several clubs…  Why don’t folks question my brother about his passion for fishing in the same way they question me about ham radio?
Since I’ve been spending some time this summer on the tower project, I’ve had the chance to talk with many non-hams about the project. As you might expect, this generates a few questions to which the fishing comparisons apply…

“What do you do with ham radio?”

I enjoy contesting (the sport of trying to see how many contacts can be made within a defined timeframe – often with a score that is calculated by multiplying by a factor such as the number of countries contacted during that time) and DXing (the hobby of trying to contact as many “countries” as possible) – among many other aspects of the hobby.

“What’s the fun in contesting? Spending a weekend trying to talk to a bunch of places on the radio doesn’t sound very fun.”

Ham radio / fishing comparison #1: Ham radio contesting can be a lot like a bass fishing contest. The contestants in a fishing tournament aren’t out there fishing to put food on the table (what many would say is the primary reason for fishing). They are competing with each other and trying to see how well they can do personally – for the sport of it.

“This DXing thing… If you want to talk to someone on the other side of the world can’t you just call or email them?”

Ham radio / fishing comparison #2: This is a lot like asking a fisherman “why bother fishing when you can simply go to the store to buy fish?” It’s more about the art and science and love of radio… With HF radio propagation (and many other factors), you never really know what you’ll find on the airwaves. That’s what makes it fun.

“Do you really need a tower if you have a radio in your car? Does the tower need to be that tall?”

Ham radio / fishing comparison #3: This question is a lot like asking a guy who competes in bass fishing tournaments if he really needs the boat. Sure, he could simply cast a line from the shoreline – but not if he wants to be competitive. Similarly a tower is more or less a requirement to compete in a ham radio contest.

As for tower height… a tall tower does several things…

• It can lower the take-off angle of a signal (allowing for longer-distance contacts)
• It can help reduce or eliminate the potential for interference with nearby electronics (the antennas are higher and further away from cordless phones, TV sets, etc.)

“Ok, but do we really need to look at that thing? Don’t your neighbors think it’s ugly?”
Thankfully, I haven’t been faced with this one yet. But here is where I might use:

Ham radio / fishing comparison #4: Just like your friendly neighborhood fisherman keeps his bass boat in his backyard, I have to keep my tower and antennas in my backyard. In the event of an emergency (let’s say it’s a flood), your neighbor with the boat might be able to assist by using the boat to transport people or property safely. Likewise, ham radio operators may be called upon to use our equipment in time of an emergency. I am involved in community and national disaster preparedness drills in which ham radio operators use their skills and equipment to handle radio messages for the sake of the public.

How do you explain ham radio to the public at large?

• wake up in the U.K. at 4:30 A.M. to catch a 6AM flight from Leeds to Amsterdam
• layover in Amsterdam followed by a ~9 hour flight to Minneapolis
• my bag doesn’t arrive in Minneapolis
• my connection was too tight, so I miss my flight to Des Moines
• finally get to Des Moines at 5pm central time, NorthWest says my bag was misrouted
• exhausted, I start my ~40 minute drive home (19+ hrs of travel at this point)
• accident on I-35 has things to a crawl, so I take the back roads
• turn on the Icom 706-MKIIG to hear a guy (GØREK) on 20m from Yorkshire of all places.

I made a few attempts to work Darren, but conditions just aren’t quite good enough to make it through the QRM and noise. I’m still not convinced that my mobile HF setup is fully functioning (I think my High Sierra Sidekick needs some additional grounding).

Ever the optimist, I think “oh well, I’ll give him a call and let him know that I was in his neighborhood this morning once I get home”. That was the idea anyway. When I tried to call the guy, no luck. I’m fairly certain that the cheap RadioShack coax is either flaky or has a bad PL-259 (naturally, that’s the “temporary” section purchased in a hurry that was never replaced).

Well, back to the bright side… hamfest this weekend in Cedar Rapids… tower work will start soon… got a shipment of rotor cable today from Jay @ ArraySolutions….won’t be long now.