Ham Gear, Garage Doors, Electric Blankets and other stuff

Here is an item of recent experience that may benefit others in HAM Radio and make life a little easier for them at home:  

Ever have one of those situations that just turn you upside down trying to figure out why it happens and then most of all, how are you going to fix it? Well, I have such a situation and thought maybe you would like to learn what it was and how it got resolved.

My shack is inside my home. Until I get the "extra" funds, if there ever are any, so I can have one of those neat Tuff Sheds brought in and assembled to make my personal "Dog House" and my retreat, I will have to be satisfied with it inside.I've gone through all of those new radio operator issues with RF, RFI, and such inside my own residence. Yes, I've turned my electric blanket on and off, lit up the touch lamps and finally burned those out and a host of other things too. Each of those learning experiences provided me with real life issues and great satisfaction for myself in learning how I could prevent it.There has been one issue though that has perplexed me for quite some time and it has also been the source of great consternation for my XYL giving her reason to make issue everytime she drove to the driveway and could not then open the garage door.

Each of those times that I discovered I would have to drag out the step stool and get under the door opener and unplug it then plug it back in to reset it. For some reason my rig was causing some kind of RFI and I had no idea why. So after many times at climbing the ladder and hearing XYL say something about my character, I finally put my mind to work and ordered a set of torroid snap-on beads from Palomar Engineers(http://www.palomar-engineers.com/). It was not long before I had my items in hand and went right to work dragging out the ladder again and applying these snap-on beads to every wire, power cord and ground wire that was emanating from the box of the door opener unit.

Once that was done, the big test was ahead. I went in and turned on the radio, tuner and amp then set about transmitting on every band. Once I was in one band I would get up and go to the garage to see if the trip light was blinking. So far so good. Back to the radio and changing bands, then looking for the light. I am proud to say that I now have an RFI free garage door opener unit that is not now affected by RFI and a wife that is still skeptical because she knows how I am with technology, plumbing, and all the other things that a MAN - husband is supposed to be able to repair.

So for now, I believe I have both issues resolved and hope you have some good information courtesy of my experience.

73 

Gary Sawyer  W0GDS 

Remember the guy...

Remember the guy*...

Who replied to you after the first time you nervously keyed up and welcomed you to the hobby?

Who offered to come to your home to get you on the air or correct a problem you had instead of complaining of your signal?

Who excited and interested you in public service events and invited you along to an event to show you the ropes?

Who lent you equipment to work a public service event?

Who listened and recognized you had an interest in HF and invited you over to their home to participate in a contest weekend?

Who interested you or took your interest in modes other than repeaters such as PSK31, EchoLink, D-Star, Sideband or IRLP to name a few?

Who offered a handshake and greeting at your first club meeting or event?

Who quick keyed or overtook the conversation with his “ten cents” and left you holding the microphone for another day?

Who recognized you had been left out of a conversation and invited you back?

Who saw your question in the forum and offered some valuable guidance or resource to help answer your question?

Who recognized your operating practices were not as good as they could be, corresponded with you to offer you advice or resources to increase your skills?

Who simply made you feel welcome in the hobby?

Are you that guy?

*(for illustrative purposes only)

President's Letter February 2008 By Charlie Taylor K5USS

Where did January and February go?  It seems like only yesterday our Klub was holding the Holiday party and now it’s almost March!  Over the last couple of months we have had some strange weather that has prompted some of us to stay indoors and that can get boring after a short time.  I decided to keep busy working on some antenna projects and while doing so I realized something; we, as amateur radio operators, can just about make something from nothing to get on the air.

Most any of us can go to the local amateur radio shop or get online and buy something, but what is the challenge in that?  When I make something to use on the air, or for testing purposes it really gives me a sense of accomplishment.  It’s also fun to get on the air with something you just finished and tell someone about the antenna, switchbox, or whatever you are using to make the QSO with.

A lot of our members have expressed an interest in kit building and we have decided that later this year PARK will be hosting a kit building party.  There have been several suggestions mentioned for the types of things to build, from antennas to field strength meters, and several others.  As the date grows closer we will be sending out information to our members asking which one of several they would like to see as a Saturday project.  We’ll keep everyone informed about the progress through the web site and at upcoming meetings

Coming up over the next several months we have many scheduled events in our area in which volunteers will be needed, a couple of events to celebrate our Klub’s 35^th anniversary, and of course Hamcom!

Scheduled event dates:

March 22 SonRise Run
April 21st 35th Anniversary Klub Meeting
May 3 - 4 MS150
May 17 Richardson WildRide
June 14 Collin Classic
June 13 - 14 Hamcom
June 28 - 29 Field Day
August 9 - 10 PARK Special Event Operating
September 19 - 21 Plano Balloon Fest

To volunteer for any of these events you can send an e-mail to activities@k5prk.org

On another note, we have a lot of new amateurs getting on the air in our area, keep an ear out for that new voice or callsign and welcome them to the K5PRK repeaters.  I’m sure all of us remember the thrill of our first on air contact and it’s just as exciting to be someone else’s first contact!  From that point if we lead by example we will continue to have the friendly machines that people talk about when they travel through our coverage area.

I look forward to seeing each of you at next month’s meeting, and hope to work you on the air prior to that!

73,

Charlie K5USS

Print | Posted by: Roger Ady on Mar 02, 08 | 12:12 pm | Profile

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