If you have been following my posting, you would remember my recent Amateur Radio Achievements.
Well, I recently was able to get on the small portion of HF (3-30 MHz Frequency) that Technicians get (28.300-28.500 MHz). We also call this band 10m, because that is the physical size of the radio waves at 28 MHz.
First, we had to set up the antenna (See image below)
How we set up our antenna
- First, we took all of the stuff out of its case, and took all of the caps off of the end of the pieces.
- Then had to run the coaxial cable out the door, to get a good idea of where to place the antenna.
- Then, we had to put in the ground spike and attach the feed line (the coaxial cable) to it.
- Next we attach the extension poles and tuning coil.
- Then, we put on the whip (the extendable part of the antenna).
- Finally, we plug in the ground radials (which are just wires) and the coaxial to their places.
Then we had to tune the SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) using the NanoVNA, and THEN and ONLY THEN could we operate (If we tried to operate without an antenna our radios electronics could go BOOM!, and if we tried to operate without tuning the antenna, our signal would be VERY weak).
At first, we couldn’t find anyone, the DX spotters (the one linked here is not the one we used) were VERY empty because band conditions have been HORRIBLE for 10m recently.
I looked at the DX spotter, in hopes of finding anyone and saw a guy named Ishmael, callsign J79PE, in Dominica on 28.454 MHz! I said my callsign (KD3BSR) and he acknowledged me! After that, I got off for the day.
I came back 2 days later (because why not) and got back on the air! The band conditions were the same as they were, the DX spotter was also quiet as it was before, nevertheless, I still made 1 contact! It was, however, harder to do, because this one was in Brazil, with a guy named Claudio, callsign PU2KNM on 28.395 MHz.
Me mugging with my Dominica contact
I really enjoyed getting on HF! I will be on HF again soon, so keep looking out for me!
I am going to end my post off with a traditional ham radio goodbye
Until Next time
73!
