Contesting and networking …
I stuck my toe in the Commonwealth Contest, AKA BERU, (from the days when it was called the British Empire Radio Union contest, who says we aren’t progressive.) There weren’t as many contacts in the log at the end of the day, but it was still nice to get re-acquainted with the radio again.
It wasn’t a full time effort as it coincided with the weekend the RAC office moved from the old suite 217 to the NEW 217 down the hall. Most of the weekend was spent moving tables, chairs, cabinets and boxes. So many boxes. There was a lot of “where does this go?” and a few “What is this?”. Later it was “Do we need this, or can we toss it?” We had a good team, and many hands made light work, although electricity helped too. Over the week we managed to pull in over a thousand feet of network cable, so there are multiple LAN sockets everywhere. The fridge and coffee maker aren’t networked. I’m not sure about the microwave oven yet.
Droning on about Homebrew …
Here’s something to think about as homebrew night approaches:
I was talking with a new ham just after he passed the Basic test. He has a property out of town and was wondering if he could get into more distant repeaters by using a drone to lift up a dual band hand held to use as a cross band repeater. It would be like having a 500 foot tower, but with some limitations- The rig would only put out around 5W into a little antenna, and who knows how long a drone could stay on station while carrying the rig.
Interesting idea, though. I wonder if anyone else has tried it. I can see his idea getting to become the little project that grew. First, see what you can take off the drone and the rig to make the package lighter. After all, you don’t need the case, or the display. The keypad, antenna socket and battery case can all go. Maybe one could find a minimal rig on a bare board to minimize the weight.
Then add a bigger battery, so the drone can stay up longer, then a bigger drone to support the extra weight of the battery. And what does Transport Canada say about such things? Maybe ditch the battery and feed power through thin wire. Does the regulator consider it a drone if it is tethered?
How much 30 ga wire can you get before it outweighs the battery? Can you get aluminum wire that small? at 30% of the weight it might be worth looking for some. Can you glue it to a kevlar thread so it won’t break so often? What happens to the drone if (when) the cable breaks?
As a thought experiment you can go pretty deep down the proverbial rabbit hole, but sometimes offbeat ideas generate useful concepts. Who knows?
73
Keep thinking, keep building.
mk
VE3FFK
Last Updated on 2024-12-23 by AdminOARC