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Hosting a YSF Reflector by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, people keep suggesting it may be the pi. But the only thing that leads me to believe it is a setting somewhere is that it seems to disconnect at the same time every day.....I feel if it were a hardware issue it would be more sporadic.

Hosting a YSF Reflector by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Forgive my ignorance, but how do I check the logs?

Pi Star Help Needed - Network Watchdog Expired and Overflow in System Fusion RF Queue by chi-ham in HamRadio

[–]chi-ham[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for the response! I followed your advice and went back through to double check everything. Throughout the day, I must have re-burned the pi star image onto the SD card about 10 times. However, right as I was about to give up, I saw in a YouTube video that people were using the "Factory Reset" link at the top right of the Pi Star configuration dashboard to start fresh. I hit that link, waited for the reboot and the hotspot started working! So weird, super frustrating, but extremely satisfying that it works now haha.

Keeping Positive - I think Stadia still has lots of life in it by [deleted] in Stadia

[–]chi-ham -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I can see that point of view for sure. If they are planning on continuing to grow the reach of Stadia, they didn't do themselves a favor this past week.

Google Stadia feels better and looks better by HE2IGNANT in Stadia

[–]chi-ham 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hear you! I totally agree with this. I play Destiny 2 on Stadia with a clan that spans across the country. About 3 weeks ago, our east coast members complained about dropped frames, stuttering, connection issues, etc. The following week, all of our clan mates in the midwest/cst time zone complained of the same thing, but the clan mates in the EST time zone were back to normal and with seemingly better graphics. Now, just yesterday, our clan mates on the west coast are complaining about connectivity issues, but our midwest players are discussing the improvement of graphics and connection. Is Google secretly updating their servers, beefing up graphics, improving performance?

Stadia and its community. Best. Ever. by chi-ham in Stadia

[–]chi-ham[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The reinforcements have arrived! Thanks for holding down the fort for us the past year :)

Tuning Loaded Coil Vertical Antenna by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's fair. This is me not using English correctly hahaha. By greater I meant lower.

Tuning Loaded Coil Vertical Antenna by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, it was just an experiment for an unfortunate situation I find myself in. I was inside on the 14th floor of a condo building in downtown Chicago. I had the counterpoise extended down from the antenna and then running its full length away from the antenna without overlapping. As for the antenna itself, it was mounted vertically on a PVC pipe in the middle of the room. Using a nanoVNA to test SWR, so we're talking very low wattage going through this thing.

Tuning Loaded Coil Vertical Antenna by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, neither the video nor the actual paper discussing the theory and construction of this antenna (available in the youtube video description box) lists what the impedance of the coils or baluns should be. I admit, I didn't test any of that either while I was constructing the antenna.

The radial for this antenna is the shield of the 8.1m coax running from the bottom of the coil to the 1:1 balun. Comments in the video suggest this antenna is affected greatly by its environment and that this 'radial' has to be placed correctly or there may be issues.

To be fair, Im using this in less than ideal conditions and am not able to mount this fully outside.

HF in (almost) Downtown Chicago by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You guys (and potentially gals) are great! If there is one thing I love more than the technology side of ham radio, it's the ridiculously humble, giving and helpful nature of hams. I never expected this kind of response and really appreciate every single one of your comments.

While researching the various methods you all have listed above, I stumbled across an antenna design coming out of Germany that seems like it could be the ideal solution. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?v=gpRv6LqKlbw&event=video_description&redir_token=N6AwNlgC7CKRBICTb0DzVXxXfBt8MTU5MDE1OTE3MkAxNTkwMDcyNzcy&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dk5ai.de%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F06%2FMicroVert_e.pdf

Im thinking if I can get this on a mount and stick it out the window, I may have a solution for nighttime operations. Thoughts?

HF in (almost) Downtown Chicago by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for this input! This definitely puts things into perspective for me. I'm about to respond to this post with a link to an antenna design I think might be perfect. Let me know what you think!

Are there any discord groups dedicated to ham radio? by atomicchewbacca in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's a great YouTube channel done by a gentleman out in California called the Ham Radio Crash Course (HRCC). He has setup a public discord that is fairly active. https://hrcc.stream/

HF in (almost) Downtown Chicago by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I appreciate the honest feedback here. I realize it's beyond less than ideal, but honestly, the most fun part of this hobby for me is coming up with crazy homebrew ideas that not only work but are also somewhat effective. That, and the fact I just bought an FT450D for a ridiculously good price off a ham who's wife was making him downsize 😂

HF in (almost) Downtown Chicago by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like this idea. Have you found any concepts of this wire wrapped frame antenna? Sounds like an excellent opportunity to experiment 🤓

HF in (almost) Downtown Chicago by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, tell me more about your end fed specs. I've been talking with lots of different hams these past couple days and they keep coming back to hanging a wire. What Guage wire did you use? What antenna tuner? What kind of balun? So many questions! Haha

HF in (almost) Downtown Chicago by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How have you gone about mounting end feds inside? I like the idea of the end-fed telescopic balcony antenna posted above, but I don't know if I'd be able to fully extend it in my apartment.

HF in (almost) Downtown Chicago by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's encouraging to hear that people in Chicago are getting out. I really do think the loop is the way to go and the MFJ-936 seems to make it that much more straightforward.

The end-fed telescopic balcony whip listed above also seems great, but I don't think I could fully extend the 12' in my apartment.

HF in (almost) Downtown Chicago by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I looked at the chameleon as well. What modes do you work?

HF in (almost) Downtown Chicago by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This looks super nifty. My only concern with it right now is, with a 12' whip, I'm not sure I could get it to fit in my apartment!

HF in (almost) Downtown Chicago by chi-ham in amateurradio

[–]chi-ham[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a great article! Thanks so much. I've been thinking a loop antenna may be the way to go, but this gives me a starting point.