Monday, December 31, 2012

New "ManCave" for N4LA !!

N4LA ... My Last Project & Post for 2012
( Click on pics to enlarge)
In the beginning ..... There was lots of work to be done.

I purchased a new pre -fab 12ft X 12ft Building.
to make into my new Ham Radio Shack / ManCave !!

Sheet Rock and Painting ... Not alot of fun !!

.... will it be worth all the effort ?

I used 3 gallons of Cabot "Australian Timber Oil" 
on the exterior.

Coax / Cable and Station Ground Entry Points.

Here's the new look at N4LA !!
Looks like all the hard work paid off.

Here is my main operating position at N4LA

Happy New Year to all ...
"ManCave" Complete !!!!!

To view additional pics of my new shack
click here on QRZ.COM



73 de N4LA



Wednesday, July 4, 2012

RARSfest 2012 SOTA presentation

What is SOTA ?
by
W4MPS / Marc Sullivan




Thanks Marc !!

Check out more of Marc's excellent Videos
at
http://www.youtube.com/w4mps

Get
"RADIO-ACTIVE"

73 de N4LA

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

VP2M with new KX3's !!!!!


The "Buddies in the Caribbean" mini-DXpedition group is off to VP2M (Montserrat) April 8-16th, 2012 with a new group of operators who have never experienced the "other side of a pileup"! We will have two of the new Elecraft KX3's (Ser#23 and #24) with us! We believe this will be the first DXpedition using the new KX3 radio!
Because of severe baggage limits on the Antigua to Monserrat flight (one bag under 50 lbs!), we will be limited to 100 watt or less low power radios and the Buddipole portable antenna systems. Yet our goal is to demonstrate "ultralite" dxpeditioning into magnificent "vista" locations, operating a field portable, battery-only KX3 radio with backpackable, lightweight antennas and most of all "having fun" on the "volcano isle".

The eight operators are: Budd/VP2MFF (W3FF), Guy/VP2MUN (N7UN), Paul/VP2MVO (KB9AVO), Larry/VP2MLR (W7DGP), Russ/VP2MQR (N7QR), Tom/VP2MTM (K2GSJ), and Chris/VP2MYZ (N2YYZ). There will be several Gingerbread Villa stations in operation on 160-10m using CW, SSB, and RTTY or PSK. At the same time, several teams will be battery-only, field portable either from Montserrat beaches or scenic mountain tops with the KX3 and signing callsign/p. 

QSL via LoTW, eQSL,or mail to the operator’s home callsign (SASE required).

73 de N4LA

Sunday, February 12, 2012

My Favorite Radio Spot for Portable Ops is on FIRE!!

Coolers Knob is Burning !!
As many of you know ...
one of my favorite radio spots
to operate portable ... 
is only minutes from my home.
It's on the peak of "Coolers Knob"
which is located in the Birkhead Wilderness Area.
I turned on the news about 6:30 am on Sunday morning
And to my surprise ...
I found out that one of my favorte hiking spots
in the area was on fire !!
The picture above shows trucks from the
US Forestry Service
And a specialized group of fire fighters
called the " Asheville Hotshots"
were also called in from western North Carolina.

They also brought along Air support
with a helicopter and drop bucket.
The winds for the past couple of days have been gusty
and have caused problems with containment.
At the present time, just over 50 acres are burning
and the fire is expected to continue spread due to high winds.



As of the last report...
They say it may take a few days to put the fire out.
When they open the trail back up
I'll try and hike up and gets some photos for the blog.
For the latest info go to my local news link below.