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Welcome to my home page. I became blind at birth. I started programming computers at a young age. I also earned my general class amateur radio license, KA3TTT, a hobby to which I have returned with great joy. I practice Qigong and consider myself a Taoist. I use Linux as my desktop and Android as my mobile OS. I eat gluten-free vegan meals. For the rest you'll have to read my blog.
Traffic Handling
June 06, 2023I have started handling traffic for the Philadelphia area. Hams have passed messages like this for over a hundred years. It works like a human powered internet. For a long time it provided a free alternative to commercial telegrams. Now it seems almost obsolete in a world where you can send a message around the world in seconds. So why do we still do it?
I remember after i upgraded to general, around age fourteen. I stumbled upon the Maryland Slow Net. An adult might listen for a while, research what they had heard, and maybe send an email. A kid won’t care, and will just send their call. I did exactly that. Despite the fact I had no idea what I stumbled into, and despite the fact that I live in Pennsylvania, they acted very friendly to me. They took me off frequency and kindly explained to me how a traffic net works. They began training me, and sent me some information in the mail, which my Mom had to read since I can’t see. Sadly I got out of the hobby when I went off to college.
When I got back into ham radio in 2019, I remembered the people and groups which treated me well, and the ones which didn’t. Getting on 80 meters (3.5 MHz) took some work, but I considered it well worth it. I knew I wanted to get back into traffic handling. Most traffic nets happen on 80 meters because the band offers reliable regional communication.
Two years ago, I took a class in traffic handling offered by the Pennsylvania Traffic Net. I learned exactly what I needed to know to check in and handle a radiogram, though it would take practice. Last year my brother put up a stealth end-fed antenna, which improved my performance on 80 meters. My friend Dan, W4GMN, swapped my AFCI breakers for regular ones. They did not like 80 meters, and would constantly trip. Now I could finally get on air.
Ham radio has so many wonderful facets, but a few months ago I started checking into the Pennsylvania Traffic net regularly. It meets on 3585 kHz at 07:00 PM local time. I practiced by copying the traffic sent on the net, and began an email dialog with Roger, N3GE, and Tom, KC8T. They answered all my questions, and finally I felt ready.
On may 20, I received my first message from Tom:
All messages are good practice including this one. 73.
73 means good luck and best regards. I made an error, but after another email exchange I knew what I did wrong
That night I also copied my first non-practice message. It congratulated a ham on his license upgrade. It had a wrong telephone number, so I couldn’t deliver it. I notified Roger, who sent a copy in the postal mail.
A few days later I copied another message. It welcomed a new ham to the hobby. The message came from Kate, K6HTN. It originated in Pasadena, California. From there it made its way onto the regional and state net, up to the national net, down to the eastern regional net, down to the 3 area net (area 3 includes Pennsylvania), then down to the Pennsylvania Traffic Net, where I coppied it using Morse Code.
Nervously I dialed the phone number, prepared to hand deliver this message of welcome over the human powered internet. I asked for the person by name.
“Well, I am his father.”
came the reply.
“Oh! Is he a young ham? I got my license when I was twelve!”
I had to repeat myself, probably because I felt so nervous and excited. The message asked for a reply, so he suggested texting it to him, and he would pass it onto his son. I immediately did. I haven’t heard back. I hope I didn’t freak out his father too badly. I remember getting similar messages and my Mom calling me to the phone.
On May 24 I sent message number 1 thanking Kate for my first QSP (relay). Since then I have exchanged a few messages with friends, and continue my training
As for why we still do it, I can think of a few reasons. Most importantly, it can still provide a way to send messages when all else fails. That last happened after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017. Additionally, it makes a great way to welcome new hams to the hobby. I can also tell I will have fun sending out radiograms to friends and random contacts. I recently heard a guy in a Philly row home who returned to the hobby after ten years. I sent him one to say hi and welcome him back. I could relate.
I like handling traffic in the Philadelphia area. Perhaps I will deliver a message to you one day.
Roll-up J-pole Test
June 08, 2022I recently purchased an Ed Fong Roll-up J-pole. I wanted something to give me more gain than my rubber duck while on the roof deck. This antenna has already exceeded my expectations. I love it.
I found the antenna easy to assemble, and would consider it very blind friendly. It has a length of twin lead wire, which hangs vertically from a little loop. Another loop of wire fits between the two leads and also hangs down. The top end of the twin lead has a zip tie for suspending the wire vertically. Thebottom end of the twin lead has a BNC connector with included adapters for SMA and reverse SMA. Some time ago I saw a random video about working satellites from a former Ham Radio Outlet employee. He said that most HT failures come from a worn out SMA jack, and recommended switching to BNC connectors. Given that Kenwood has discontinued the TH-D74a I want to do everything I can to prolong its life, so made the switch immediately.
I went up to the roof deck for the first test. I had no idea how I would hang it. Nothing would give me quite enough height and keep me close enough to the antenna. I decided to try holding it up with my fingers and checked in to the Drive Time net. It worked, but I got a small RF bite on my thumb when it touched the wire.
I realized that I needed a small mast. I remembered the mast and the table clamp that came with my Buddistick. I ran down and grabbed it. The mast fit on the clamp, and the zip tie on the end of the J-pole fit into the hole on the top of the pole. It gave me just enough height, and I could throw it in my backpack. Perfect!
I put out a call on the Phil-mont repeater. As it happened someone else also needed a radio check. He sounded fine, and he said I sounded loud and clear on 5 Watts. In my apartment I need to run 10 Watts into a Diamond X50A. I wanted to see how low I could go. I went down to medium power, around 2.5 Watts. Still fine. I went down to low power, 1 Watt. To my surprise, I still sounded fine. Even more surprising, I made the repeater with a lot of static at extra low power, 100 mW. Amazing! The Ed Fong Roll-up J-pole had exceeded my expectations.
On Friday, May 20, I put it to the ultimate test. Philadelphia County ARES took part in the Eastern Pennsylvania Simulated Emergency Test. A powerful nor’easter has struck the area, rending power and communication useless. Hams have sprung into action, delivering messages between Red Cross shelters and the authorities.
Luckily this didn’t really happen, but we had a tremendous storm on Friday afternoon, which gave the exercise a taste of realism. We had test messages to deliver, but I couldn’t read the images. We used the standard ARC-213 form. I sent our emergency coordinator Cliff, KC3PGT, a note, and he transcribed the test message for me. I believe that emergency service should have accessibility as part of its design. After all, a powerful nor’easter won’t wait for a sighted person to come on air. Thanks Cliff!
That night I packed up my gear and returned to the roof deck. This familiar location would still offer the same challenges as going to a remote location. I had the test message in an email on my phone. I held it up to my ear and repeated what I heard into the radio.
THE SEPA RED CROSS SHELTER IS OPEN AND OPERATING IN PHILADELPHIA COUNTY. THERE ARE SIXTY-EIGHT RESIDENTS. SHELTER REQUIRES FIVE HUNDRED MEALS FOR NEXT FORTY EIGHT HOURS. RADIO OPERATOR IS your name, your call.
Everything performed flawlessly! The roll-up j-poll passed the test. I knew it would.
My First Begali Adventure
April 22, 2022The nice days have come again! For me, this means going up to the roof deck of my building, usually with a ham radio or two. Elecraft, the manufacturer of my HF radio, makes a portable key which connects to the radio. I really liked the concept and the way the key screws into the radio, which provides the base, but I could never get it sending just right. At the end of last year I knew that I needed to buy a new portable ke. I decided on the Begali Adventure Mono. It exceeds my expectations, and I would highly recommend it. For the non-hams, we use a key to send Morse Code.
The K1USN Slow Speed Test happens on Friday afternoon and Sunday evening. It provides a fun hour-long event where we make simple contacts, containing the name and state abbreviation. For example, I would send Austin PA. Last October I went up to the roof deck for the final time. I wanted to give the KXPD3 key a final chance. I sent Austin PA and it dropped the first dot of the P, turning it into a G. The other station thanked me for GA. I knew I needed a better key for next year.
Many other users of the Elecraft KX3 recommended the Begali Adventure, so I decided to make the purchase. Begali makes both a double paddle and a single paddle version. I started on a double paddle key, but ever since I switched to a single paddle key I cannot go back. Plus, I can use it both as an electronic key and as a mechanical key for doing SKCC work. I set the PF1 programmable function key on my KX3 to let me select the CW keying mode. The key took a month to arrive from Italy, but I didn’t mind. I ordered it well in advance for just this reason. I also ordered the base and a steel plate to mount it on, if I wanted to use it in the shack.
The weather had not warmed enough, so I first tried it in my shack with the base. It performed beautifully. It did not miss a dot or a dash. It has one knob to adjust the tension on both sides of the paddle, which I appreciated especially for field use. I looked forward to its initiation on the roof deck.
Today we had a lovely day with temperatures in the low 70s. I got a haircut, and made it back just in time for the Slow Speed Test, feeling good and ready. I unpacked everything, and tuned up my AX1 antenna. I had started later than I wanted, and of course the first time of the year meant untangling wires and testing things. Still, I worked two stations, one in Illinois, and one in Oklahoma. I felt good, but not great. I had worked both stations before from my shack using my Alpha Loop. I wanted something more.
I checked in to the Drive Time net on the Phil-mont machine, a fun local net. The temperature had started dropping, and I also had to think about dinner. I decided to tune around 20 meters one last time before going back downstairs. I tried a few stations, then heard YL3CW calling CQ and working stations.
In ham radio parlance, we refer to all men as OM, which stands for Old Man, and all women as YL, which stands for Young Lady. CW means Continuous Wave, the way we send Morse Code over the air, so clearly this call belongs to a woman who loves CW. I hoped that she loved it enough to pick my little QRP (low power) signal out of the noise.
I sent my call, and she heard the 3. I slowed my speed and tried a few more times, and finally she got it. KA3TTT! We exchanged signal reports and names. She gave her name as Val. I gave her a signal report of 569, and she gave me one of 449. A signal report contains the readibility, signal strength, and tone, abbreviated as RST. I gave her a perfect readibility and a pretty good signal. I had almost perfect readibility, and a signal 2 S-units less than her’s, which I consider respectable given that I made the contact running 5 Watts into a loaded whip. The AX1 continues to impress me. We completed the exchange and ended the contact.
After it ended I looked up where I had just worked – Latvia, 4300 miles. I had gone on my first Begali Adventure! I wonder where my next one will take me.
My Grandfather’s Straight Key
December 29, 2021My grandfather , James Edward Talbot, flew seaplanes in the navy during World War II. He joined in 1941 and flew out of Mustin Field. He could fly any of the planes until jets came along, especially the Catalina PBY and S.M.J. Beechcraft. Towards the end of his career he flew celebrities such as Bob Hope, Charlie McCarthy, and Kay Kyser. He also flew an admiral. We never found out which one. He served for nine years, and earned the rank of lieutenant. He passed away in 2005.
He told us a few stories over the years. One time he landed as another plane took off. He crashed and lost a wing. Another time they had to land at a base in North Carolina during a blackout. The men at the base lined up their cars and turned on their headlights so he could see. And one of his favorite stories: while taking off from a pacific island, he could not get the plane to clear the trees. The men had loaded so many watermelons into the back of the plane that it could not take off and they had to hurry to open the bomb bay doors and heave them all out the back.
He salvaged the clock from his PBY, which my Mom restored. I also remember a wing standing in the bathroom to which he mounted an ashtray. He smoked all his adult life. I have no doubt that his plane also had a radio, and that he knew how to use it.
I’ve always loved radios, and Radio Shack made a wonderful kid’s walkie talkie. It included a buzzer to send Morse Code, and it had a helpful chart of the dots and dashes. However, I couldn’t see the chart. My mother worked with my grandfather, and created a chart on heavy poster board, which my Mom made tactile with Elmer’s Glue. I loved that chart. I would read it every night to help me go to sleep. I would look forward to practicing it whenever I would go stay over night at my grandparents’ house.
Around this time my parents took me to the Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia which had a ham radio room. I touched the “big knob” as I thought of it, the VFO, and I tried sending Morse code with an iambic key. I knew right then that I wanted to become a ham. I started studying for my license, and got it a few years later, at age twelve. I got out of the hobby when I went off to college, and got back into it in 2019.
Ham radio has provided a wonderful outlet during the pandemic. I can always find some fun new thing to do. As 2020 rolled on I had a curious thought. I wondered if I could find out what kind of key my grandfather used. I figured that the Straight Key Century Club would know. I posted a message, and Chris, NW6V responded with a riveting story about his father which I would encourage you to read. You can find it if you scroll down to April 2019 on his page. The story ended with
His key was a Navy Flameproof.
I searched on eBay, and found a key up for auction. I placed a bid, waited, and to my delight I won! I asked the seller if he had any information on the key’s history. He said that he purchased another piece from the same place, and that it came from the U.S.S. Pyro, an ammunition ship which launched in 1958. The Flameproof key uses enclosed contacts, making it suitable for use in explosive environments. The key has the part number of CMI-26003A, indicating its manufacturer: the Moulded Insulation CMI Company of Philadelphia.
I got the key in a few days. The metal felt grainy, and I could feel its age. The arm had the famous navy knob, which looks like a small plastic disk, good for gripping while rocking and rolling. The key had two screws to adjust the distance and tension of the arm. It came mounted to a piece of wood. At first this seemed rustic, but I quickly would realize that I needed a better base. The wire terminated in two connectors which looked like hooks, certainly not the 3.5 mm headphone plug which my Elecraft KX3 expected. I would have to deal with that as well.
I tried tapping out some code for fun. The key had a crisp feel. Instinctively I began adjusting the key, and got a chill down my spine. I had just felt it adjusted to the position preferred by the previous operator. I reverted it and spent a few minutes sending as he would. He liked a lot more distance, probably from slapping it around on a moving boat. Finally I decided to adjust it for my lighter touch on terra firma.
Next I had to figure out how to hook it up to my radio. The KX3 has standard headphone plugs, but the key still had its original cable with two terminals. I posted again to SKCC, and Dean, KG7WGX made me a perfect replacement cable. It had the hook-like plugs on one end, and a standard 3.5 mm headphone plug on the other. In theory I could just swap it out.
In normal times before the pandemic I could bring the whole mess to my local radio club’s next meeting, and someone could do it. However, we do not live in normal times. I showed it to a friend, and she discovered solder on the existing cable. She didn’t feel comfortable proceeding, and I had no idea what to do. For a while the key and cable sat in my desk drawer. A year passed, and when I realized this I decided to just use electrical tape to join the cables. I taped each side of each cable together, then wrapped tape around the two sets of terminals, banding them together. So far it has worked perfectly.
Finally I could send CW on my radio. I began practicing, but soon realized another problem. The piece of wood made it impossible to send comfortably. Now I understood why all my keys have narrow bases. The side of the hand needs to clear the base as you push down. I posted another message to SKCC, and someone helpfully advised me to search on eBay. And of course, a ham makes custom metal bases specifically for the Flameproof. Luckily I didn’t need to bid on this one, I just bought it and had it in a few days. I used my pocketknife to unscrew the old piece of wood, and screwed in the new base. It felt perfect.
Some people do not like the smaller navy knob. I found that rotating the wrist to a 45 degree angle helped. This makes the thumb and index finger sit on top, and the middle finger rest to the side. I also have to credit NW6V with this tip. Telegraphers used to get what they called glass arm, what we would now call carpal tunnel syndrome. This happened because they would move the key with the wrist, instead of with the whole arm. After some practice I could send comfortably.
I wanted to take my newly restored key for a spin. I began tuning around the SKCC portion of 40 meters, around 7.055 MHz, and to my annoyance I found an RTTY contest in full swing. Radio teletype sounds like two fast tones, and the stations tend to run high amounts of power, and usually don’t listen to see if anyone uses the frequency.
I tuned up to what we call the novice portion of 40 meters, around 7.114 MHz. When I started out as a novice I made plenty of contacts here. As soon as I began scanning, I heard KY4ID calling CQ. I gave him an RST of 589, and he gave me a 579. In other words, my little QRP signal running 5 Watts using an indoor magnetic loop only had 1 S-unit less. Not bad at all! He gave his location as Hedgefield, SC, and his name as Mike. He ran 100 Watts into a doublet, the kind of antenna I had when growing up. We concluded the QSO, and I knew that I had a good luck key. I immediately made a new friend the first time I used it.
Since then I have made a number of QSos with it. Originally I planned to use it for special purposes. I already have a beautiful N3ZN HKII. However, I can’t stop using it. It feels nice and snappy. It reminds me of my grandfather. And I restored it myself, with some help from my fellow hams. The key has come full circle. A company in Philadelphia manufactured it, the U.S.S. Pyro carried it around the world, then years later I bought it from a seller from Maryland, and it has returned to Philadelphia. I imagine it feels happy to have a peaceful new life in the amateur service.
Running the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club Weekly Net
October 06, 2021Ham radio has a sense of tradition. I appreciate this more as an adult. As a fourteen-year-old I just wanted to get on air.
I had upgraded to my technician and general class license. This happened around 1991, before the restructuring. Upgrading to technician meant that I could finally go on 2 meters, the popular band with all the big local repeaters. A repeater takes a weak signal from a walkie-talkie, which we call an HT, and repeats it so people can hear it over a wide area.
I got a Kenwood TH-F6A for Christmas. It looked like a big walkie-talkie, with an odd rubber button for the push to talk. It provided the best accessibility for the blind at the time, providing audio feedback through different beeps. I loved it. I remember going on a local repeater on Christmas afternoon, W3UER if memory serves. I could already talk to them through their 220 MHz link, but now I could get on 2 meters like one of the big guys.
A few months later I stumbled on the WM3PEN repeater. It sits atop a building at the University of Pennsylvania in the city. They had their weekly net going on, like a round table, and I tried checking in. I had trouble making the repeater from Swarthmore, a suburb of the city.
“Try standing on your bed.”
suggested a helpful ham. As a kid I thought nothing of it, and shamelessly jumped up on my bed. It may have helped. Either way, I remembered the frequency 146.685 MHz and the helpful people there. Some radio clubs did not treat me so kindly.
When I got back into the hobby in 2019, I found myself in a much different place. Now I lived in a condo in the city. This means no outdoor antennas. I began with the antenna which came with the radio, a coil of wire with rubber around it. We call this a Rubber Duck. I got the Diamond SRH320A, an upgraded rubber duck, and thought I’d try going on air.
To my delight I found a repeater on an old frequency I remembered, 146.685 MHz. They had a net going on, like a round table. A nice sounding man ran it. He gave his name as Charlye, K3CJ. The first week I felt too scared to check in. The second week I started to warm up. Finally I decided to give it a try. Charlye asked for checkins a number of times, and after the regulars gave their call signs I decided to make my first transmission. I felt so scared.
“Kilalphathreetangtangtango!”
“You’re a bit quick on the trigger! Can you come back with your call a little more slowly?” K3CJ had heard me. No going back now!
“This is kilo alpha three tango tango tango.”
It went from there. Charlye advised me to upgrade to a better antenna, so I did, first to a J-pole and later to a vertical. I started checking in every week. I soon discovered the Elmer Net which preceded the main net at 07:15 PM, later moved back to 07:00 PM.
A cool guy named Steve ran it, W3AZT. As he drew to the one hundredth net he announced that he would stop after a hundred to attend to his Mom. The final net soon came, and we did not have a plan. I wondered if I should offer to run it. I felt a little hesitant because I have to deal with headaches, and don’t know how I will feel on any given day. I needed a backup. As I thought this, my friend Cliff spoke up.
“This is KC3PGT, and I can run the net, but I can only commit as a backup.”
That did it. The net drew to a close.
“Well, we’re reaching the end of the net, and I don’t know what we will do next week.” said Steve.
“I’ll do it.” I responded.
I ran the net up to #137, and Cliff thankfully filled in a few times. We had a great time. Little did I know what this would prepare me for.
A few weeks ago, we received the sad news that Charlye would retire from running the net at the end of the month. He ran it since 1998, 23 years. As the only remaining full time net control, it seemed logical that I should take over the main net. I didn’t feel like doing any ham radio stuff for at least a week. My brain needed to process this. I felt good after a lot of thinking and a well run board meeting. I plan to combine the best parts of the Elmer Net and the general net. I don’t know exactly what I will do, but I hope you will join me. I will listen for you on the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club Weekly Net.
It feels surreal to run the net that I remember checking into as a kid. The cycle continues in the world’s greatest hobby. 73 (good luck and best regards) to Charlye, K3CJ. 73 to the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club. And 73 to whoever told me to jump up on my bed.