Hamming Fun

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  • A Nice Suburb But Not For Hams

    View from the gate
    View from the gate
    I live in a slightly older suburb in Johannesburg. I bought this property because the streets and houses are surrounded by trees and we are adjacent to a river where families walk their dogs in the afternoon. When you enter my property from the street you are greeted by green lush trees and shrubs.

    Oh, I forgot to mention one small unimportant detail: Being next to the river also means my property is at the lowest point in Johannesburg. No matter in which direction you start moving, the only way out, is UP. This is especially true for ham radio signals.

    That little dot in the middle of the photo is not a spot on your screen. It is the balun on my new antenna, a BFTD (balanced terminated folded dipole). I read about it on the Buxcomm website and tried it out. Seems ok, but more about it later.

    Sigh. Any clever suggestions, anyone?

  • A Room With A View

    View from my Shack
    View from my Shack
    This is what I see when I look up from my radio in my shack. This picture speaks a thousand words if you know anything about ham radio. Since the details are going to be a little unclear in this photo taken with my cellphone, can I point out something interesting?

    Yes, behind that big tree (and I’m surrounded by big trees) is one of two big Eskom power line towers.

    And yes, I get a full S-9 noise on 40 meters. It is a little better on 20 but not much, and by 10 meters one can hear yourself think but it is not silent by any stretch of the imagination.

    The dimensions are awesomely interesting: The power lines are about 40 – 50 meters away from my shack and I’m not sure about the height but they could be 40 meters high or more. That is a full wavelength, and the lines are running East-West (the same as my antenna). There could not have been a worse situation even if I invented it!

    I don’t know what to do to get rid of the noise. Watch this space though, there must be some things one can start looking at.

  • On The Roof

    IMAG0194I picked up a nice sun tan on Saturday and it was unintentional.

    I just unpacked my radios after many years, I renewed my SARL membership, and I was ready to go! But … no antennas. So out of the house, survey the environment and check with the XYL about the limits of aesthetic encroachment she would tolerate. You will probably hear about this many times but I live in an old suburb, I’m surrounded by tall trees, I have an Eskom servitude on my back wall with tall power lines 40 meters away. Any signal will struggle to get in or out. Nevertheless, there is an old FM antenna bolted to the chimney and it is not being used any longer as we’re using a DSTV dish.

    In my excitement I forgot to watch the weather. It was a blistering hot day and on a freshly painted matt black tile roof Apollo the Sun-God did his best to cook me from both sides.

    Nevertheless, my faithful casual labourer Thulani stood it out with me and we pulled down the old TV antenna, extended the pole by 1m with a swimming pool pipe, and pulled up a wire antenna. This is temporary though and we will have to go back up again once Ra has depleted his wrath.

  • New Website

    Welcome to the new home of ZS6ALU, Leon Uys. I haven’t been on the air for a while. An acrimonious – read expensive – divorce took its toll. Hobbies took second and third place after my little one (you can read more about her here) for a long time, maybe 20 years. During that time I packed my radios away in bubble wrap, my desires became frosted memories, and I barely survived.

    The good news is that things are starting to stabilise on the home front. So, with some trepidation, I unpacked my FT-707 and cut a piece of wire for an antenna. On that same Saturday I got myself a suntan on the roof and a stretched muscle from tying cable ties. I claimed my corner of the world in the spare bedroom, next to the window, I wheeled in an old computer stand, laid down an extension cord for power, and checked for smoke. Hearing the crackle of static was euphoric.

    Eventually it is all coming together. This is posted in January 2013 and I will keep you updated as I start putting it all together.

    Watch this space for pictures and news.