My OCF Dipole and the 30m Miracle

 
As modern radio operators, we take a lot for granted.  It's my understanding that back in the old days a ham might have several dipoles that might each work on 1 or 2 bands.  Now we have good multiband antennas like the off-center-fed dipoles.  I use an OCF dipole made locally in Georgia called a Maxcon OCF-3K80.  This antenna claims "Operating bands 10, 12, 17, 20, 40 & 80 meters without a tuner."  Let me tell you, it works FB just as advertised.  I've also used the Maxcon OCF-3K80 on 6m, 15m, 30m and on even 60m with fairly good results using just the built-in tuner on my rig.  

Unlike a lot of folks, I like to use LMR400 equivalent feedline even on HF especially to reduce noise (in and out of the coax) and to prevent loss since I'm feeding my OCF dipole with 100+ft of coax.  I do use the Maxcon line isolator choke to isolate the antenna from the feedline.  I'm not sure this is working exactly as it should...

Maxcon OCF-3K80

When I first got setup at my new QTH with my OCF dipole, I was able to use it on all advertised bands plus 6m, 15m, and 30m with the tuner.  I could not use it on 60m as I could at my previous QTH.  At that location, I was feeding the antenna with 150ft of LMR400.  So I assume the line isolator isn't fully isolating the antenna from the feedline and therefor the longer length of feedline was allowing the radio tuner to see a different resonance.  

Yesterday, I added a barrel connector and 15ft of LMR400 to the 100ft already feeding my OCF dipole.  After a little cable management, I tested and found that it no longer was able to tune 30m.  I removed the 15ft coax extension and tested and was still not able to tune 30m.  Quite frustrated, I went to bed. This morning, still bothered, I went to check again.  I pressed the tune button on my FTDX-101D...just a beep and it gave up.  I pressed it again...and it tuned it flat.  What the hell?  All I can figure is that it's a miracle my rig's tuner is able to tune this OCF dipole flat on 30m.  Looking at the antenna on an analyzer shows no discernible dip for 30m and the SWR is about 5.4:1 on the entire 30m band.  That is beyond an internal tuners capabilities.  Somehow, my rig's tuner apparently can do it but slight adjustments to the antenna (or feedline by extension) might push it out of the tuners capabilities.  Apparently even the time of day, moisture in the air, or other unknown variables can also prevent it from tuning (such as last night it wouldn't tune and this morning it would).  The weird part is that when the rig does tune it, it will memorize this tuning and so the antenna is usable on 30m until another adjustment is done that might need a retuning.  

I was rather frustrated with losing 30m.  Even though this antenna doesn't advertise 30m capabilities, it works quite well and I've worked some good DX with it.  I only use FT8 on 30m, so I really didn't want build a 30m dipole for this one band considering I can pretty much work all the other bands except 160m with the Maxcon.  Spoiled little modern operator.  In any case, I'm hoping that I can once again extend my coax and clean up the cable management without losing 30m.  Here's hoping I hold my mouth right.

UPDATE 2/7/2023

I found that again, I couldn't not get my tuner to retune and the SWR was just a bit high on 30m.  After moving (separating) my coax feedlines for HF and VHF antennas, I was once again able to tune 30m flat.  The latest theory is that the VHF feedline right beside the HF feedline was somehow coupling and presenting as additional "length" on my OCF dipole.  All is ok for now...except the wheels are turning for additional antennas.

73 de K4LST sk   

Worked Guinea - 3X1A

3X1A Guinea

We have a good group of  locals here in North Georgia that chase DX.  We try to help each other out and share "spots" over the repeater, text, and other messaging apps.  I received a spot from a friend for 3X1A, Jean Philippe Paulino, in Guinea.  I had not worked Guinea before, so I tuned to 10.133Mhz in Hound mode and began calling.  After a few minutes, I got a good signal report and put this new entity in the log!

The next day I found 3X1A on 21.081Mhz and worked him again.  It's nice to have this new entity on 2 bands!

Guinea is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Cote d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sierra Leone and Liberia to the south.

73 de K4LST sk

Worked Philippines - DU6/PE1NSQ

 After finally getting my OCF dipole up in the air, I've been hoping to get some good DX.  I had been catching a direct path to Japan on 12m FT8 and worked several stations there. Japan is good DX, but I wanted a new country.  Something to show me that the wire was working better than the small Comet CHV-5x rotatable dipole I had been using tied to the fence post (which had been working surprisingly well).

On 10m FT8, I was decoding a lot of DX (thanks to solar cycle 25 kicking in).  I worked some Japanese stations here too and then I started decoding DU6/PE1NSQ, Rick in the Philippines, with a pretty good signal.  He was actually working a friend of mine John-KA4JON and sending RR73.  I called him for some time and then got a reply!  We worked the contact through to the RR73 and he's in the log!  An all time new country for me and on the 10m band at that!

The Philippines is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It is situated in the western Pacific Ocean and consists of around 7,641 islands that are broadly categorized under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Philippines is bounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the southwest. It shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Japan to the northeast, Palau to the east and southeast, Indonesia to the south, Malaysia to the southwest, Vietnam to the west, and China to the northwest.

73 and Good DX de K4LST sk

 

Finally Got My Dipole In the Air - Thanks to the Air Boss!

 I purchased my Maxcon off-center fed dipole in November of 2022...but due to weather, holidays, sickness, and laziness...I wasn't able to get it up in the air until the end of January.  I'm a classic over thinker.  Believe it or not, that isn't always a good thing.  I had laid out in my head that I would install my OCF dipole in a horizontal or "flat top" configuration, balun at or above 50ft, and the legs North/South.  Upon inspecting my lot, I realized a few things:

Another Callsign Change (W4LSG now K4LST)

I was licenses as a ham radio operator in 2001 as KG4LST.  I upgraded my license to General class and then to Amateur Extra class in 2017.  I started thinking about changing my callsign to something more mature. At the time I really wanted a 1x2 callsign that started with a W.  Realizing how unlikely I was to get any 1x2 at all, let alone get one that had any significance, I decided to see what might actually be a feasible change.  When I was a young ham, I thought the FCC would automatically change my callsign when I upgraded.  So in the back of my mind I thought that I would become K4LST or KG4LS...I didn't really know how it worked.  So in doing my research for a vanity call, I checked on K4LST and found that it was not available in 2019.  Still liking the idea of a W call, I checked W4LST and found it also was not available.  I ended up choosing W4LSG because it was vaguely similar.  When my application was processed and my tech call KG4LST showed expired, I panicked.  I thought I was being silly and that I would probably eventually get use to W4LSG.  Three years later, I am not liking it very much.  It actually looks great written.  But, I think it was just too different from my original callsign and therefore has no real significance to me.  Like operating under someone else's callsign.

I've been looking around again to see what is available.  I've actually considered going back to KG4LST because it's so familiar.  But still wanting a more mature callsign, I checked on K4LST again.  It just became available in August of 2022.  Sadly the OM (Joe Luna of Smyrna TN) that previously held it passed away in 2019.  So I decided to put in my application to the FCC and change to that.  I hope it's a better fit for me. It's a callsign that seems like the natural progression from KG4LST.  My application is pending, but I think I'll get it.  I hope it fits and I can commit to keep it.  If it doesn't feel like the correct callsign for me, I guess I'll go back to my original callsign and just leave it alone.  It seems so easy for some to change their callsign and never look back.  Truth be told, I identified very heavily with my first callsign and it has felt a bit like an identity crisis since the change. I haven't seen many hams talk about this, missing their old call, or anything like that. I suppose this could be unique to me.  In any case, I shall give a try to a 1x3 homage to my original call and see how it goes.

73 de K4LST sk

QTH move from EM84fm to EM84gg

I'm not always one to admit defeat...but living in a small neighborhood with an HOA just didn't work out for me.  After moving to a new house a couple years ago, the neighborhood filled up much too quickly.  Houses were too close together and the HOA changed hands a few times and became a bureaucratic mess.  Taking advantage of the booming housing market, we sold the place and moved to almost an acre and half of unrestricted land in Banks County, GA.  Now I have the space and privacy to do as I wish...I just need the money! Hi hi.

QTH from OCT 2019 to AUG 2022 in EM84fm in Habersham County, GA

New QTH in EM84gg in Banks County, GA

You can see from the pictures above that it would have been tough to do anything fun with ham radio for the last couple of years!

73 de W4LSG sk

Goodbye Repeater

My last blog was about getting my own Ham Radio Repeater.  Sadly after only a couple years, I've decided to sell it.  I have not had the time or money to pay attention to it.  I had some radio friends that were excited about the opportunity to own a repeater and they have purchased it from me.  I still feel that eventually, when things get settled, I would like to own another one.  

73 de W4LSG sk