PA3DEB
For my friends from abroad: I'm trying to translate at least parts of this site in English.
You can also try to drag the complete site thru one of the site-translators. Don't be alarmed when the results look like this: “All your base are belong to us”
This site is about my radio-hobby. Special qso's, or just plain nice ones, radio-amateurmeetings and so on.
Also some pictures of radio's, old or new, boat-achors or DSP, it's all there.
The latest contribution is always on top. But you can also scroll way down into the past...
Click here for 2010 and earlier.
Elecraft K3, max. 100 W
Weber Dual Bander, max. 8 W
2 x 28 mtrs dipole, 15 mtrs up
email: ksites at gmail dot com
My xyl's website (in Dutch)
Tuesday, jan. 3 2012
Another new arrival: the G3KHZ keyer. Pure nostalgia, even the colors are right! My old friend Rinus PA0BFN (SK) used to work a lot with this keyer on his TS820s
Click for key-pic's in larger format
Saturday, dec. 17 2011
Finally made the switch TS590 out and enter the Elecraft K3. Definitively better!
Tuesday, dec. 06 2011
The Begali HST is very clever combination of a HiSpeed single lever key and a sideswiper. Some of the really fast guys reach speeds of over 60 wpm. I'm way out of the league, but trying to get a bit faster won't hurt. Single lever-action is rather different from squeezing technique, so it takes some getting used to. Nice to kill some time, practicing ;-)
This is what my shack looks like, right now, waiting for the K3 to arrive. The main rig is a Weber Dual Bander. A formidable litlle bugger, that produces approx. 8 Watts of RF and has a remarkably good RX. Who needs a K3 anyway when you have the Weber?
Tuesday, okt. 25 2011
Here is the schematic diagram of my fully symmetrical antenna-tuner. As can be seen there are no balun's involved!
This is what's inside. I tried to lay it out as symmetrical as possible. Works like a charm and tunes my 2 x 28 mtr dipole to all bands, except 160 meters. (never mind that, it's an old men's band, I never go there, I´m still young, according to Grumpy....)
Wednesday, sept. 28 2011
Today we hired a boat and went on the trip we'd been talking about all summer long but never got round to, because of the bad weather.
You can see how beautiful nature can be. ( No, not me ;-)
Checking the s.w.r. on the antenna.
Trying to make a qso. Made only one, with my friend Wouter, PG2W and only partially. Probably chosen the wrong spot, too many trees around.
Too bad I couldn't get closer to the lake. But it was a situation like in the Louisiana swamps (infact, a Cajun came by with a dog...) one meter from the water's edge the seemingly firm soil turned into muddy waters.
Time to go home and get a cold beer.
The XYL enjoyed the afternoon too!
Wednesday, august 31 2011
Tuesday, aug 23 2011
Another oldie, a gift from Rinus, PA0BFN.
The knob was missing, so I mounted a Begali Spark knob to try it out. Works fine with it.
wednesday august 17, 2011
New OLD key
Through Ebay I have scored a nice old straight key from J.H. Bunnell & Co. NEW YORK.U.S.A. As far as my key-archeology goes, this key was manufactured probably between 1881 and 1918. So it´s at least 93 and at the most 130 years old. For it's age, it's been remarkably well preserved and it still functions flawlessly. So don't worry if you hear me on the straight key, it's only temporary. (Must say it is a joy to pound away on it ;-)
The “Patented” remark on the lever seems to indicate it was an early production, later the name Bunnell appeared over the letter S
Had to try it out right away ofcourse, so I carried all the gear to the garden, hooked up some wire and a tuner and fired away. Made a number of very nice qrp-qso's and had a very good time outdoors!
Click for larger format
wednesday july 27, 2011
Cootie Nr 1 Version 2
Here we go again: building, changing, redesigning etc etc. Here are the (more or less...) final results
Cootie Nr 2 Version 2
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friday july 22, 2011
Cootie Nr 2 ! ! !
It's always a challenge building your own keys. Used materials: from my junkbox. Had an extra couple of them nice, big relaycontacts still lying around. They make the key almost noiseless!
Click for larger format
Click for larger format
saturday july 16, 2011
Cootie Nr 1 changed agn.
Gave the base a good sanding and painted it black (yes, ever since the Stones I love painting things black!). Shortened the contact-posts and the screws. Installed a better cable, etc....
Click for larger format
Monday may 30, 2011
Cootie Nr 1 modified again.
Scored a pair of nice old relay-contacts for my h/b cootie. As Promised, here are some detailed pics.
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Monday may 23, 2011
Cootie Nr 1 modified.
Removed the saw-blade and mounted a piece of two-sided pcb with contacts that were saved from an old relay. Also tried to sand away the rough saw-cut; some of the guys seemed to resent it somewhat.... The fun of this home brew key is, you just keep fine-tuning and improving it. Ideas keep popping up and have to be implemented. Keeps you off the street and the pub!
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Wednesday may 10, 2011
Here it is! The TWanger!
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Sunday may 8, 2011
Another fine SSN (Sideswiper Net) tonight! All stations were 599, getting stronger by the hour! Thanks for letting me in with qrp (8 Watts from my Weber Dual Bander). Had no key present so had to make do with some pieces of wire! Thanks to Nigel for qsp!
Wednesday may 4, 2011
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Latest addiction: Cootie-keying. Here you see my home brew sideswiper.
Friday march 25, 2011
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Did a test today, using the WDB in my garden on 10 mHz. Max. 8 Watts powersupply was a batterypack from my Black & Decker at 14.4 volts, excellent performance! Antenna was abt 30 mtrs long, end fed thru an MFJ tuner.
Worked Keith, GW4OKT/P somewhere in North Wales on a hilltop as a Sota station. Very nice to have wkd u, Keith!
Biggest distance this afternoon was 1432 km to EW4IDP, Dima. Also very nice qso. Test ok, let the holidays begin!
Friday februari 25, 2011
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A small tip for the Vibroplex-users among us: a little extra damper to avoid contact-bounce. Sometimes the Vibroplex makes the dits sound a bit scratchy. This little addition helps make your code more solid. Don't make the damper too big, this will decrease the adjustability. Have fun with the Vibroplex!
Thursday january 18, 2011
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This year has started out very well: our new kitchen, and now the new HF rig Kenwood TS590. For a CW-addict this is a perfect radio. Very compact, excellent DSP, a super receiver (in the same league as Elecraft K3), very good ATU, world famous Kenwood Audio, excellent QSK and a superb internal keyer (up to 60 wpm)
Saturday january 15, 2011
The Kent Twin Paddle is an indestructable nice little paddle, once it is adjusted to your liking you don't have to worry anymore.
One thing that bothers me though, and that's the quality of the funny black teaspoons that Kent mounted as paddles. Absolutely sub-standard for a key of this quality.
Here's a simple modification
Mounted a pair of Begali fingerpieces. Not easy to get the screws in the right places
with only a hand drill and a loose vice
The Begali fingerpieces are relatively thick aluminium and do not bend, like Kent's original teaspoons!.
Sunday january 9, 2011
Happy New Year to everyone!
I moved the contents of last year to another page, the site was beginning to load slower, due to a very long page. Click the link in the left column to check what happened last year
I wasn't able to update this site for a while. We've been very busy, planning and building our new kitchen. Gave us lots of extra workspace and new equipment. See the pic's
CW
CW is short for continuous wave and in modern amateurradio-talk means morse-telegraphy.
99.9% of my qso's are made in CW. I am not a key-collector, like a wood-craftsman has several hammers, I own several keys, each for it's purpose. Click on the SSN-logo to find a lot of info on Sideswiper-keys.
From top they are now: Begali HST, homebrew Cootie; TWanger by Tom, G3HGE; the Kent Twin paddle; the “Anniversary Original“ semi-automatic Vibroplex and last but not least: the Begali Spark
