Greetings Dave.
Yes, 1 of the two amps is being modified as we speak. It is going to ham
here in AZ upon the promise of getting on the air off the moon. He is
collecting antennas at the moment and excavating dirt in his yard for the 2
yagi array. While I cannot match the build quality that you put into
yours, I am offering "AV turn key" ready. They will work but you have to
be smart. The owner will be able to take it from there... or we can talk if
that is totally out of their league.
The other is still looking for a home. It is still wrapped up in the
packing materials from how I got it here.
The station in NM where the second one was going doesn't want to go the EME
route on 222.
I beat some bushes for stations in WA or OR, but didn't get any bites. I
am glad that you were able to find someone in those area.
If there is another station in NV/NM/ ID/CO/CA HOT to get on 222 EME and is
willing to put their efforts and $ into the other gear needed to get on
the air, let me know.
- Jay N1AV
On Fri, Apr 7, 2023 at 5:29 PM David Olean <k1whs@metrocast.net> wrote:
> Hi Pete
>
> This is a long e mail. My apologies, but lots of territory to cover.
>
> I would agree that last Tuesday night had some really good tropo peaks
> if you could catch them. At other times it seemed normal, but I really
> wanted to try a sked with K3SK at 575 miles. I think it was possible
> given some time to try. Last year there was one night when KE8FD came
> through weakly on CW (after I worked him on FT8) and that was a good one
> too, but I have never heard WA3EOQ as loud as this past Tuesday. He was
> S8 or so at his peak, and I mistook him for a local!
>
> One of the reasons I got on the 222 MHz kick was to exercise the 222
> array before it all fell down in an ice storm or what ever. I realized
> that it only was used on a few weekends and that was not good. We built
> it to optimize our multi op contest station and were amazed at how well
> it seemed to work. I am glad it is finally getting some regular use. I
> don't have a lot of money invested in the VHF gear, but there is
> definitely a lot of sweat equity in the project. Most of the gear is
> homebuilt and the antennas are similar. Even the towers are scrounged.
> I think I can recall buying three or four new Rohn 45 sections in my
> career. While my investment in cash is low, my time involved is
> astronomical. I admit it. So it is fun to get to use the ham gear on a
> regular basis.
>
> Last summer I dredged up 13 Larcan 1500 watt amplifier pallets and my
> plan was to pass them out but only to people in rare sections of the
> country in an effort to build up activity. It sounded like a good idea
> to me, but I am not the typical ham. I realized it today, as have spent
> the last several days entirely working on ham projects non stop from
> dawn to midnight. It seems that if I am home, I am working on a ham
> project. I would gladly grab an amp pallet and make it into something
> that was very usable in a New York minute. Many hams are not that way,
> which brings me to this point. In conversations with many VHFer friends
> whom I admire greatly, they have convinced me that the amplifiers should
> be a turn key operation and should not be given away. There must be
> value attached to every endeavor or it will be valueless to the person
> or persons involved. In other words, There must be some sort of hoop to
> jump through to prove that you are serious both to yourself and to
> others. I hope I am making sense. The plan has now evolved into making
> a turn key amplifier available to prospective VHFers around the country
> at a very agreeable price, but they will not be free. I have tied up
> about $3K in parts to accomplish the project with more on the way. I
> have made one trial run with a single 500 watt amplifier to develop an
> idea of the magnitude of the project. The end result has me all excited,
> as the amplifier is a sweetie and works so well. I made up a 500 watt
> version as I did not have QRO caps for a 1500 watt filter in house yet.
> So here is a summary of the amplifier specs:
>
> Honest Dave's 222 MHz LARCAN
> AMPLIFIER Conversion Project
>
> Frequency: 222-225 MHz
> Power Output: 1500 watts peak
> Devices: All solid state 6 X MRF151G FETs with combiner These are NOT
> LDMOS and have more tolerant gates. (just a little bit!)
> Power required: 50 volts at 70 amps. (You supply the 50 V power
> supply) No other voltages needed
> Drive power: 35-40 watts
> Harmonic filter is built in and tuned for low loss.
> Sequencer: built in (two phono jacks ) Ground on TX
> Directional Coupler: Included (no output indicator though)
> Built in cooling fan with fan ramp up at higher temps.
> High VSWR Protection: built in
> High Temperature protection: built in. Amp overheats and it
> shuts down.
>
> Form Factor: Front panel will be about 15" wide X 5" high and contain
> an AMP enable toggle switch plus four LEDs to indicate Power On, Xmit
> ON, VSWR Fault, and Hi Temp Fault. Basically you will see a rather large
> 15 x 23 " heatsink fins on top and a buttoned up bottom. The protection
> and filter circuits are built on a mezzanine just above a portion of the
> heatsink on top. I tend to rack mount these things, but most folks do
> not. this arrangement is low cost but effective. The fans are also above
> the heat sink.
>
> While there is a relative forward power voltage available in the amp to
> indicate RF power, no indicator will be included in this amplifier as a
> cost constraint. Most folks have a Bird 43 or similar instead. The plan
> is to put it on your desk, apply 50 volts and then start transmitting.
> This power level is not trivial and would be a shot in the arm for 222
> MHZ WAS activity as you would become EME capable right away with any
> sort of 15 ft long antenna! My first order of business is to offer these
> amps at a relatively low cost to 222 MHz ops in the less populated areas
> of the country that have no good EME activity as a rule.
>
> Here is a list of people who want the amplifiers as of today's date:
>
> KB7IOG Washington
> W7ID Idaho
> AB4AB Florida
> KC7OOY CM82 in Oregon
> VE7PS in BC (This is Peter ex VE3EMS)
> NX9O GA
> VE6TA wants to retire his old 4CX250 pp amp.
> VE7HR
> Trent Fleming (no call given) in TN 1500 or 500 is OK
> WZ1V wants to retire his AM-6155 too. wants a 500 watt unit if possible.
> W1GHZ if any are left
> N1AV took 2 of the amplifiers and is converting them for suitable hams
> in Arizona and NM area. I have not heard if he has finished them or not.
>
> There might be a few more that I missed.
>
> So here is the deal..... You pay $700 and get one of the converted 1500
> watt amplifiers, I might have two 500 watt amps available as well.
> ($500) My plan is to deliver them to the Central States VHF Conference
> in Arkansas. Most of the movers and shakers from around the country make
> it there. That can save on shipping. Now $700 is less than 50 cents a
> watt. The cost will cover my material costs and a small portion of my
> labor.
>
> I have sent emails to all who inquired in the past. There are 11 people
> on the list but two want 500 watt units. that leaves two more 1500 watt
> amps still available. We really should be beating the bushes for
> suitable hams to take advantage of this. My hope is that it becomes a
> big activity builder. Remember the band is only as good as the people
> who get on and exercise it! We need activity in places like Oklahoma,
> Montana, Nevada, Mississippi Kentucky, etc. Please scour your
> immediate neighborhood for suitable candidates. Let them know and lets
> try to find some suitable homes around these 50 states!
>
> So, if you are still interested, please let me know. If you want to be
> added to the list and you are contemplating EME, let me know too. I am
> pretty sure the amps will go fast. I better get off my tookus and start
> on the filters etc.!!
>
> *Also N1AV..... How is your amp project coming along? Let us know.*
>
> 73 Dave K1WHS
>
> aka "Honest Dave"
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 4/6/2023 4:34 PM, Peter Motyl wrote:
>
> > Dave,
> >
> > In all of the many 222 Tuesdays we have had in the past few years,
> > this week we had some of the best band conditions in all that time.
> > In all this time, I think I only missed one week. I don’t think this
> > week was the best week for activity. Particularly in my neck of the
> > woods there were missing stations. Nevertheless, my 17 is my best
> > total yet.
> >
> > Here they are:
> >
> > WZ1V, N2SLO, KA3FQS, K1WHS,
> >
> > K1MAP, K1FSY, AF1T, N1SFE,
> >
> > K1TR, WA3DRC, WA3NUF, KO4YC,
> >
> > W1AIM, K1OR, WA2LTM, WB2RVX,
> >
> > And K1ZE.
> >
> > I haven’t been posting my results lately, there is a bit of a
> > logistics issue and my qsos list is mostly the same each week around
> > ten qsos.
> >
> > All you said about getting on is good. I would add, Think of all the
> > time, effort and money you put into your 222 station. It is a darn
> > shame just to use all that just for a hand full of contests and
> > sprints each year. It occurs to me that those of us who post our
> > contacts give a good source of who and where active stations are and
> > you can plan accordingly. I’m sure many of us are not in locations
> > where there is lots of activity or the home qth might not be a good
> > vhf location. If all you have is a rover station, you can be like
> > N1SFE and take your rover for a spin as often as possible. Tuesday’s
> > 222 actavity is definitely helping my qsos per dollar ratio a lot.
> >
> > 73, Pete K1PXE fn31ke85mx.
> >
> > *From: *David Olean <mailto:k1whs@metrocast.net>
> > *Sent: *Wednesday, April 5, 2023 12:01 AM
> > *To: *wz1v@sbcglobal.net; newsvhf@mailman.qth.net
> > *Cc: *vhfcontesting@contesting.com
> > *Subject: *Re: [NEWSVHF] [VHFcontesting] 222 Activity night
> >
> > Hello Ron,
> >
> > That is quite a list of stations. I found the same results up here in
> >
> > the Pot capitol of Maine. If you drive into town from NH on Route 202,
> >
> > you will see more pot stores than anything else. I think there are four
> >
> > in the first 500-600 ft when you cross the border. But I digress......
> >
> > I worked N1SFE for my first contact just before 2300 UT. Paul had a good
> >
> > S6 orS7 signal once I peaked him up. Pretty soon WA3EOQ sent a message
> >
> > that he was looking my way on 222.105, but I asked him to move up as
> >
> > 222.100 +/- was getting very busy. I mentioned 222.130 and I finished a
> >
> > contact with WW1Z and tuned up to 222.130 only to hear a loud station
> >
> > that was calling WA3EOQ. (?) Who could that be? Then I realized that it
> >
> > was in fact WA3EOQ signing his call. He was 57, so I called him on SSB
> >
> > but he did not respond so I went to CW and called him and then heard
> >
> > Howard come back with a very good 559 signal on CW. It had dropped a bit
> >
> > from when I first heard him. When we finished with 73s etc he was weak
> >
> > but still Q5. All in all that was a huge tropo peak and is the loudest
> >
> > that I ever heard WA3EOQ on 222 MHz at any time I think. I also got to
> >
> > thinking that this 502 mile path has been successful every Tuesday
> >
> > during the fall and winter months. The only time a contact was not made
> >
> > was when one of us was not on that evening. We have not missed this
> >
> > entire winter! I was hoping to try a sked with K3SK and to look for a
> >
> > tropo enhancement, but that never happened. I listened a bit but heard
> >
> > nothing, but I was not really sure he was even transmitting at the time.
> >
> > I did try an impossible shot with K8TQK at about 700 miles. We each
> >
> > heard nothing. My other long haul QSO was with KO4YC who is just North
> >
> > of Richmond, VA. We worked easily on SSB. SIgnals were S2 to S4 over a
> >
> > 520 mile path. Others worked included WZ1V FN31, WA3NUF FN20 SSB, KA3FQS
> >
> > FN20 SSB, WA3DRC FM28 SSB, W9KXI FN12 SSB, WA1MBA FN51 SSB, WB2VVV FN41
> >
> > SSB, K1TR FN42 SSB, KV1J FN42 SSB, KC0IYT FN42 SSB, K1FSY FN31 SSB,
> >
> > K1OR FN42 SSB, WW1Z FN42 SSB, WW1M FN43 SSB, W1AUV FN32 CW, K2AEP FN32
> >
> > SSB, K1MAP FN32 SSB, W1AIM FN34 SSB, AF1T FN43 SSB, K1PXE FN31 SSB,
> >
> > W1FKF FN43 FT8, and VE3DS FN03 on CW. The VE3DS contact was a bit
> >
> > unusual as I did not hear Dana at first and found out that his keyer had
> >
> > a broken wire and was stuck. He got it fixed and we worked with pretty
> >
> > good signals. Then he tried working Good Buddy Ron, WZ1V and that
> >
> > requires a change in beam headings for VE3DS. So I was hearing VE3DS
> >
> > even louder when he had his beam directed toward Ron in Connecticut.
> >
> > This must have been another tropo peak. I called VE3DS after he finished
> >
> > with Ron. He was 57 or better and he gave out a 57 to 59 report as
> >
> > signals were drifting up and down. Not a bad report for a 435 mile path.
> >
> > I have a feeling that some really good contacts were made around the
> >
> > eastern USA. I know K9MRI made some and AJ6T was successful too. I know
> >
> > thatWA3EOQ made lots of skeds and completed some good contacts. N1GC was
> >
> > quite active along with K3SK.
> >
> > Temperatures are moderating. The shack was at 47 when I arrived at about
> >
> > 22:30, so it was quite comfortable from the start. The electric heat
> >
> > warmed it up nicely. It is probably warm enough now to bring up the
> >
> > permanent desktop computer so I don't have to drag one up with me every
> >
> > time.
> >
> > Thanks to all who got on 222 and made noise.
> >
> > 73
> >
> > Dave K1WHS
> >
> > On 4/4/2023 9:12 PM, Ron Klimas WZ1V wrote:
> >
> > > Activity and band conditions were both up tonight on 222:
> >
> > > K1WHS FN43, N1SFE FN31, WA3NUF FN20, W9KXI FN12,
> >
> > > WA3EOQ FM09, WA1MBA FN51, N2SLO FN30, K1PXE FN31,
> >
> > > KA3FQS FN20, WA3DRC FM28, KV1J FN42, WB2VVV FN41,
> >
> > > K1TR FN42, AF1T FN43, K1MAP FN32, K1FSY FN31,
> >
> > > KO4YC FM17, W1AIM FN34, K1OR FN42, KC0IYT FN42,
> >
> > > VE3DS FN03, and WA2LTM FN20. TNX for the QSO's !
> >
> > >
> >
> > > 73 Ron WZ1V
> >
> > >
> >
> > >
> >
> > ______________________________________________________________
> >
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