KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

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Operating Notes: Four in a row, bad contacts

Posted: 30 Jun 2016 04:12 PM PDT
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I blogged before about working N8BUS and WB2PAY one right after the other
last Friday while testingÂ*out the rig we used at the GOTA station on Field
Day. Well, later that evening, I got on 30m CW. The band conditions werent
much better than they were on 40m earlier, but I was not only surprised,
but excited to get a call from D44TWO. Now, Id worked D4 many times, but
TWO is another ATNO! That made three in a row.

After working the D4 station, I started calling CQ again. This time, Tom,
W1EAT returned my call. Id worked Tom before, and even have his QSL card,
but it was still a blast to work four stations whose calls spell words in a
row. When I mentioned to Tom that wed worked before, and that I had his
card, he remembered me, even though it had been five years. He quoted to me
the comment on the card, Because W1DRINK is toooooÂ*long.


Bad contacts

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that I couldnt increase the power on my
IC-746PRO to more than 80 W. The radio is north of 12 years old, so I
started thinking maybe its time to replace the final transistors.

I Googled around to see if anyone else had a similar problem, and one guy
mentioned that he had the same symptoms, and he fixed it by shortening the
power cable from his PowerPole distribution strip, and in the process,
removing the fuses and fuse holders. He noted that the fusesÂ*really werent
necessary, as the distribution strip was fused. Several other guys noted
they had also had problems with the cheap fuse holders.

Well, I rarely run the radio above 75 W, so I didnt get around to
disconnecting the power cable until last Friday, when I connected the clubs
746PRO up to the power supply. Before I re-connected my radio, I opened up
the fuse holders and twisted the fuses a little. I put it all back
together, and Im now getting 100 W out of the rig again. What a simple fix!
The moral of the story—and Ive said this before—always check the
connections first!
Dont hesitate to call the weak ones

I just finished a QSO with Frank, WA2BQU. When I heard him calling CQ, he
was only about S4, so I hesitated in returning the call, but I couldnt hear
much else on the band, so I figured what the heck.

Well, as it turned out, it was a nice contact. The band picked up and he
was R5 all the way, peaking at S9. The moral of this story is dont hesitate
to call the weak stations. It may turn out to be a great QSO after all.

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