NZ4O
AMATEUR & SWL
RADIO AUTOBIOGRAPHY

THOMAS F. GIELLA 
LAKELAND, FL, USA
27 57 26.6 N 81 56 46.6 W
GRID SQUARE EL97AW
CQ ZONE 5
ITU ZONE 8
Current Time:
"There is no better fun to be had then sitting in the radio shack on a cold winter evening DXing"

"It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class of the Amateur that holds the license"

"I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out that there isn't, then live my life as if there isn't a God and die to find out that there is"

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. P. 3:5 & 6

THE RADIO AMATEUR'S CODE

By Paul M. Segal W9EEA (1928)

The Radio Amateur is:           

CONSIDERATE... never knowingly operates in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others.          

LOYAL... offers loyalty, encouragement and support to other amateurs, local clubs and the American Radio Relay League, through which Amateur Radio in the United States is represented nationally and internationally.          

PROGRESSIVE... with knowledge abreast of science, a well-built and efficient station and operation above reproach.          

FRIENDLY... slow and patient operating when requested; friendly advice and counsel to the beginner; kindly assistance, cooperation and consideration for the interests of others. These are the hallmarks of the amateur spirit.          

BALANCED... radio is an avocation, never interfering with duties owed to family, job, school, or community.   

PATRIOTIC... station and skill always ready for service to country and community.


Some Beatles Tunes To Surf By
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Welcome to my blog styled "NZ4O Amateur & SWL Radio Autobiography". Effective on February 18, 2009 my callsign changed from KN4LF to NZ4O. This site exists as an amateur radio educational tool. Amateur radio has done allot for me and this is one of my ways of giving back to our great hobby and service.

Amateur radio is a Fraternity. An order of gentle men and gentle women who share equal space in a common community. Ham's are the grassroots citizens of the United States and our "free to speak" voices are heard worldwide by all humanity. What we say, what we do and how we act is a mirror image of America to this alliance outside our borders.

I still believe in the concept of a brotherhood through amateur radio. I still believe in the fraternity of amateur radio, where I can meet a total stranger and we immediately hit it off and become friends at some level. I still believe in elmering new hams, though many new hams take offense when you try to assist them in learning how to properly operate. I still believe in international diplomacy and peace through amateur radio. I still believe in voluntary public service. Unfortunately though I'm afraid that I'm part of a rapidly shrinking group, a dinosaur!

Recently I joined Facebook. You can find me at  http://www.facebook.com/thomasfgiella?ref=name

On April 1, 2004 (no joke) I became a born again Christian, though actually I prefer to call it a follower of Jesus Christ and his teachings. That means that I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior. A fundamental truism is that as a Christian I am not perfect just forgiven. Though I live my life in a sanctified manner, which means that I follow God's Ten Commandments and Jesus' teachings, most of the time. I say most of the time because Jesus Christ is the only one to ever walk the Earth in a perfect sanctified manner. No mortal man can, has or ever will. When I do slip up at times and commit sin, I ask God for forgiveness for that sin, he forgives me and then I move on. It's just that simple.

I check in to some Christian oriented HF radio nets. One is the Ambassadors For Christ which meets Monday through Friday on 7280 kc at 2:00 pm EST and on Saturday at 3:00 pm. They have a website at:

AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST NET

Another great net is the Spirit Net which meets Saturday through Thursday on 3905 kc at 9:00 pm EST. They have a website at:


THE SPIRIT NET

You only die once but with Jesus Christ as your personal savior you live twice and eternally.

JESUS CHRIST IS COMING #1 (A REALLY POWERFULVIDEO)

JESUS CHRIST IS COMING #2 (A REALLY POWERFULVIDEO)

JESUS CHRIST IS COMING #3 (A REALLY FUNNY VIDEO)

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE BY MERCYME (GREAT MUSIC VIDEO)

WHILE I'M WAITING BY JOHN WALLER (GREAT MUSIC VIDEO)

HERE I AM TO WORSHIP- BY HILLSONG (GREAT MUSIC VIDEO)

SHOUT TO THE LORD- BY HILLSONG (GREAT MUSIC VIDEO)

OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD- BY HILLSONG (GREAT MUSIC VIDEO)

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD- BY CHRIS TOMLIN (GREAT MUSIC VIDEO)

Quite often I'm asked how I can be an accomplished scientist and at the same time a believer in a supernatural creator god. Well from my point of observation our Almighty God Jehovah is the ultimate Physicist and science actually proves the existence of Him.

Check out this web page link at http://www.doesgodexist.org/Charts/EvidenceForDesignInTheUniverse.html . Also http://www.discovery.org .


Do You Know Jesus?

.....For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew 24:27.....

I have many interests within the hobby and they include solar, space, geomagnetic weather as well as ionosphere radio wave propagation data collection, study and forecasting, antenna design including modeling, construction and experimentation, DXing, contesting, digital modes operation such as BPSK31/63/125, Feld Hell, Olivia MFSK 500/16, MFSK16, MT63 and RTTY, AM and SSB mode operation. I'm also a very active SWL and spend quite a bit of time DXing the LF/MF/HF bands both broadcast and utility.

I entered the realm of contesting in 2006 but so far I have limited myself to RTTY only. I especially enjoy RTTY contesting as I'm competing with top notch hams that make me look like a rank amateur, no pun intended.

For more information on contests worldwide check out the WA7BNM website at http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/weeklycont.php and the SM3CER Contest Service website http://www.sk3bg.se/contest . Here is an interesting website about contesting in general. It's called the Contesting Compendium http://wiki.contesting.com/index.php/Main_Page .

I do have other hobbies besides amateur radio. They include terrestrial weather forecasting and observing, space weather forecasting and observing, sport fishing and sport shooting with lot's of very big guns. In the military, law enforcement and Corrections I was an expert shooter and range officer.

Other interests include astrophysics, computers, cosmology, gardening (flowering plants), geology, geomorphology, guitar playing/song writing, oceanography, paleoclimatology, reading, theology, website design and world history.

Here is one of my favorite astronomy/astrophysics oriented websites. Check it out it will make your head hurt.

AN ATLAS OF THE UNIVERSE

I'm medically retired military as of 2004, the U.S. Coast Guard. In the military I worked in radio communications as well as aviation and marine weather forecasting/pilot briefings, physical oceanographic research and environmental law enforcement. I also did weather forecasting for some private weather forecasting companies, other federal government entities and in my consulting business.

I also have some education and experience in law enforcement, prison corrections, private investigations, loss prevention and the national security arena. I retired from law enforcement in 1999 and weather forecasting in 2004.


I found a dusty old book from the 1800's and now I think that I know everything about space plasma physics, solar, space and geomagnetic weather, also radiowave propagation.

In my personal opinion understanding and taking advantage of radio propagation conditions is an integral part of successful DX operation, whether it be as an amateur radio operator or SWL and can really fatten up your DX totals!  Unfortunately the new Technician, General and Amateur Extra Class exam's together only ask a total of nine questions about radio wave propagation. To offset that disparity I have several websites that cover LF/MF/HF radiowave propagation theory and also keep track of current solar, space and geomagnetic weather conditions, as well as an archive for the data.

I also produce a free daily LF/MF/HF/6M frequency radiowave propagation forecast. The forecast is very unique in that nothing similar to it is produced by any other amateur radio operator, SWL, government or university entity. I publish it every Friday at approximately 1500 UTC. I am also the only amateur radio operator on the planet that has produced a forecast for new solar cycle 24, published on March 30, 2009 a (SSN) smoothed sunspot number peak of 100 in July 2013. My previous prediction published on February 1, 2008 was for a solar cycle 24 peak at a SSN of 105 in October 2012.

Amateur radio has done allot for me and this is another one of my ways of giving back to our great hobby and service.

.....MY SOLAR CYCLE 24 FORECAST ISSUED ON MARCH 30, 2009 IS FOR A SMOOTHED SUNSPOT NUMBER PEAK OF 100 IN JULY 2013.....

G4ILO has written a piece of propagation prediction software called VOAProp v1.1 It is actually an interface for the very accurate but otherwise difficult to use VOACAP software written for the Voice Of America and honed to near perfection over many decades. After you download VOAProp you then download VOACAP and the two pieces of software work together in a seamless fashion. When you unzip the VOACAP file called itshfbc allow it to install on your C:\ drive directly, not into the "Programs Files" folder. The software covers 1.8-30 mc and the 120-11 meter shortwave bands. BTW both pieces of software are free.

DOWNLOAD G4ILO'S VOAPROP V1.1 

DOWNLOAD VOICE OF AMERICA'S VOACAP  

NZ4O 160 M RADIOWAVE PROPAGATION THEORY NOTES

NZ4O SOLAR CYCLE 24 FORECAST DISCUSSION AND ARCHIVE

NZ4O SOLAR SPACE WX & GEOMAGNETIC RAW FORECAST DATA LINKS

NZ4O DAILY SOLAR SPACE WEATHER AND GEOMAGNETIC DATA ARCHIVE

NZ4O NZ4O SOLAR SPACE & GEOMAGNETIC WEATHER IN GRAPHIC & IMAGE FORMAT

NZ4O DAILY LF/MF/HF/6M FREQUENCY RADIOWAVE PROPAGATION FORECAST & ARCHIVE

SUBSCRIBE TO COL LF/MF/HF/VHF/UHF FREQUENCY RADIOWAVE PROPAGATION EMAIL REFLECTOR

 

I have been involved with radio in one form or another since 1965, through long wave, medium wave, shortwave, VHF and UHF DXing and Amateur Radio since 1989. I currently hold an Amateur Extra Class license which I earned in 2008.

I am the only amateur radio operator in my family. My grandfather of whom I was named after was an MF AM broadcast band SWL and owned an Italian language newspaper in New York City, NY in 1930's and 1940's. He had a 1960 Zenith Royal 50 all transistor portable (huge by today's standards) AM radio and a 1959 Zenith AM/FM table top radio. In 1965 he began letting me listen to the Zenith table top radio both day and night and this began my fascination with radio and The Beatles, as they were on AM radio at that time. He also was an amateur weather observer and forecaster as he raised citrus, of which I also picked up from him.

My XYL had an uncle named George Friend. He was a very active amateur on CW, AM and SSB and held the callsign W4MTU but is now a silent key. He also co-owned the local MF AM broadcast radio station WPLA 910 kc 5KW in nearby Plant City, FL for many years. When the station signed off at local sunset he would use the self supporting 1/4 wave station tower on 160 meters and had a very big signal. He was very fond of Heathkit equipment and had an enormous setup at the radio station and also at his home QTH.

WPLA 910 KC GEORGE FRIEND W4MTU
CLICK TO ENLARGE

As of August 31, 2005 I began operating at a newly purchased relatively low QRN QTH on the south side of Lakeland, FL on approximately 1/3 of an acre at an elevation of 218 feet, on the NW slope of a 280+ foot hill overlooking a good sized lake with
no unreasonable
CC&R's and no out of control wannabe Marxist HOA nonsense. Though I'm on a hill I have wetlands on the east and west side of my property, with the surface soil type consisting of black muck underlain by red clay, with a high water table. So this QTH is a pretty good location for vertical antennas.

I also have my own dedicated radio shack for the first time since 1995. It is 11' x 13' in size and contains an electronics work bench, computers, radio and weather observing equipment. My current rigs are two Icom IC-746 Pro's powered by Astron RS-35M power supplies and monitored with Autek Research WM1 SWR/PWR meters. My amplifier is two Ameritron AL-811 amplifier with three 572B's which easily puts out 700 watts PEP but I run it at a maximum of 400 watts PEP. Initially I used Icom SM-6 microphones but now use Heil iCM desk microphones, which are mounted on professional looking homebrewed booms. The iCM is designed for Icom rigs and at -3db passes 30 hz to 12000 hz audio with a bit of a peak at 4000 hz. I've received some very good audio reports with the microphones so far.

You can directly key a linear amplifier such as the Ameritron AL-811 and most other modern amplifiers with the Icom IC-746 Pro. The IC-746 Pro can handle switching voltage and current of 16 volts at 500 ma and the Ameritron AL-811 16 volts at 100 ma. However to be safe I use a rig to amplifier buffer interface. I use the Ameritron AR-704 interface.

HEIL ICM MICROPHONE

On the receive side I use a pair of MFJ-392B headphones. The impedance is 16 ohms and the audio range on the headphone is 20-20000 hz and has independent volume controls for each can. This is my third pair of 392B headphones in the past ten years, as the first two sets fell apart electrically and mechanically due to poor construction. However my newest set seems to have been totally redesigned and much more sturdy. Of course only time will tell. I'm loyal to this model as it's one of the few that has independently varied audio output in each can.

I also use an active noise canceling headphone made by Encore, model #ANC-01 with an impedance of 32 ohms and audio range of 20-20000 hz, that I bought on eBay for only $5.99, a once in a lifetime deal! They actually make copying CW under poor conditions easier!

ICOM IC-746 PRO DIGITAL MODES INTERFACE INFORMATION BY NZ4O


NZ4O IN FRONT OF THE
ICOM IC-746 PRO STATION
CLICK TO ENLARGE 

STUDIO A THE ICOM IC-746 PRO STATION & THE ICOM IC-746 PRO STATION CLOSE UP
CLICK TO ENLARGE

STUDIO B THE ICOM IC-746 PRO STATION & ELECTRONICS WORK BENCH
CLICK TO ENLARGE
 
INSIDE STATION ANTENNA & GROUND SERVICE ENTRANCE
CLICK TO ENLARGE

Other rigs I've owned over the years include a Hallicrafters BC-610, Heath Kit DX-60B and DX-100B, My first radio station when I got my ticket in 1989 was the Heathkit DX-100B transmitter and a Hammarlund HQ-180C receiver! Recently I was lucky enough to purchase these old boat anchors again.

In the past I've also owned an Icom IC-701, IC-735, IC-751A, Kenwood TS-830, Yaesu FT-101E, three FT-840's, FT-990 and FT-1000MP Mark V Field. On 160 meters I found the Kenwood TS-830 to have the best receiver as far as internally produced VCO phase noise, with the Yaesu FT-840 a close second (seriously).


My full parameter weather observing station is a model #6152 Davis Vantage Pro2 with model #6312 LCD console, model #7747 fan aspirated instrument shelter kit and model #6332 wireless wind vane/anemometer transmitter kit. It's tied to my personal computer with the Davis 6510SER data logger/PC interface. Wind data uploads occur every 1.5 seconds, barometric pressure every 60 seconds and temperature related parameters every 10 seconds. As far as software I use the excellent Weather Display v10.37O b24, Weather Display Live v5.04 and VP Live v1.1.10.14 I have a dedicated computer for the weather software. It's a home brewed PC clone running a 2 ghz Athlon XP 2400+ processor with 512 megs of RAM, a 150 gig hard drive and runs the Windows XP Home SP3 OS.

All weather observation parameters are in real time to the Internet via a 20000 kbps download 5000 upload kbps speed permanent broadband connection. My weather station is part of the National Weather Service (NWS) Citizens Weather Observer Program (CWOP) and is ID'ed as #AR692/NZ4O. The weather observation data enters NOAA Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS) in Boulder, CO, where it enters the weather forecasting model's and 500 other end users.




LAKELAND, FL, USA
WEATHER OBSERVATIONS
AT SCOTT LAKE IN THE LAKELAND HIGHLANDS

Weather observations collected by a Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station with
fan aspirated temperature/humidity shelter and wireless anemometer/wind vane kits

Use the reload or refresh facility on your browser to retrieve the latest data

5 minute update Weather Display v10.37P b17 software



CLICK TO ENTER

MY VERY CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH FLORIDA LIGHTNING BOLTS
HARMFUL MAN INDUCED CLIMATE CHANGE (GLOBAL WARMING) REFUTED

LAKELAND FL DAILY CLIMATOLOGICAL WEATHER OBSERVATION DATA ARCHIVE

FLORIDA WEATHER DISCUSSION BY RETIRED METEOROLOGIST THOMAS F. GIELLA

 


When I manage to get up early enough I check into the New England Weather Net. It operates on 3905 kc Monday through Saturday beginning at 5:00 am EST for informal check ins and 5:30-6:20 am EST for formal check ins. The New England Weather Net began operation in 1955 and has operated continuously since. Check ins are not limited to the New England region. For more information check out the website below.

NEW ENGLAND WEATHER NET

MIXW RIG EXPERT TINY & TIGERTRONICS SIGNALINK USB DIGITAL INTERFACES
CLICK TO ENTER

As I already mentioned above I'm very active on the digital modes on 160 through 2 meters using the Rig Expert Mini soundcard interface and the Tigertronics Signalink USB outboard soundcard interface to my Icom IC-746 Pro's. My first digital modes interface was homebrewed and I still have it but it does not allow for computer control of my rig.

I also operate a little on all MF/HF bands but am most active on 80, 40 and 20 meters using CW, SSB and AM, both rag chewing and DXing. About half of my time is spent on the digital modes such as BPSK31/63/125, FELD HELL, MFSK16, OLIVIA MFSK 500/16, MT63, RTTY and THROB.

While on the subject of the digital modes there is an issue with the PSK mode that I am going to address. I've been operating the PSK mode since 2003 and I'm seeing more and more dirty PSK signals (as wide as 3000 hz versus 31 hz) than ever on the HF bands, especially on 20 meters. I always make it a point to work stations with a dirty signal so as to assist them in cleaning their signal up.

Most of the time they are running 30 watts or less and the problem is how they are operating their rig, i.e., controlling output power with the RF output potentiometer on their rig. Unfortunately though too many newer digital operators are unwilling to do it the right way and often get offended when you tell them that their signal is dirty.

The correct way is to turn up rig output power for maximum ~100 watts and control the power output with the rig mic gain potentiometer and/or computer or outboard sound card slider. I say control as in reduce output until the transmitted signal is clean with no adjacent sidebands.

With my Rig Expert Tiny interface on my Icom IC-746 Pro using this method I can run up to 100 watts with no ALC movement and have a clean signal. I did add split beads on all input and output cables out of general principle.

With my Signalink USB outboard sound card interface I can run up to 150 watts with no ALC movement and have a clean signal. The performance of the internal sound card of the Signalink USB is very impressive, much cleaner than the expensive sound card in my computer.

Because the audio input on ACC(1) jack is very sensitive on the IC-746 Pro, I have created a 100 Kilo ohm resistor modification to the Signalink USB. On JP1 I placed the resistor between MIC and modulation out. This allows full range use of the TX pot. for maximum power output. Otherwise you get full output by barely opening the pot, very nonlinear.

I belong to a good number of radio clubs and organizations. I am a member of the:

American Radio Relay League,
#3040 of South Cars
#349 of the Pennsylvania/Ohio DX Association 070 PSK31 Club,
#141 of the Feld Hell Club,
#1723 of the North American QRP CW Club,
#3097 of the Straight Key Century Club,
#691 of the 30 meter Digital Group,
#1243 & 1915 of the Digital Modes Club,
#279 of the Ambassadors For Christ http://getbible.org/AFCkwork33kied38s9f.html
#222 of the WARC Bands Century Club http://www.obriensweb.com/warc-cc.html
U.S. Coast Guard Radio Club,
East Pasco Amateur Radio Club http://www.eparsonline.org
 


ARRL

FELD HELL CLUB

PODXS 070 PSK31 CLUB


AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
CLICK TO ENTER

Click here to join 30 Meter Digital Group
30 METER DIGITAL GROUP
CLICK TO ENTER


Click here to join 30 Meter Digital Group
DIGITAL MODES CLUB
CLICK TO ENTER


NORTH AMERICAN QRP CW CLUB (NAQCC)
CLICK TO ENTER


STRAIGHT KEY CENTURY CLUB (SKCC)
CLICK TO ENTER
 

FLORIDA CONTEST GROUP
CLICK TO ENTER
 

As of 02/01/2010:

Through eQSL I have 108 confirmed for mixed DXCC #107205 and 50 confirmed for mixed WAS #107694.

Via direct QSL cards, eQSL and LOTW all together my mixed DXCC entity worked total is 198 and 149 confirmed. WAS is 50 confirmed.

Through ARRL's LOTW I have 134 confirmed for mixed DXCC #42580 and I have 50 confirmed via RTTY for WAS #756. Via LOTW I also have 50 confirmed for Basic WAS.

Via direct QSL cards, eQSL and LOTW all together my all band RTTY DXCC entity worked total is 149 and 114 confirmed.

Through ARRL's LOTW I have 112 confirmed for RTTY DXCC #2308.

RTTY DXCC VIA LOTW BY ANDREI EW1AR-NP3D

RTTY WAS HONOR ROLL VIA LOTW BY AD1C

Via direct QSL cards, eQSL and LOTW all together my all band BPSK31 DXCC entity worked total is 111 and 77 confirmed. BPSK31 WAS is 48 confirmed. Via LOTW I have 50 confirmed for Digital WAS.

I recently purchased a U.S. Navy flame proof straight key. It has the orange U.S. Navy stenciled on the bottom and the serial number on the base is CMI-26003A. CMI means that it was made by Molded Insulator Company and the number is the model number.

I am also second owner of a non iambic paddle, the Vibroplex Vibrokeyer. It's a beauty with a serial number of 243902 that was manufactured in 1965.

I also do some of my Morse Code sending with a computer, sound card, keyboard, MixW v2.19 and MRP v4.061 software due to rheumatoid arthritis in my hands. At times I find it less painful to peck with my index fingers then to actuate a key. MixW is an excellent piece of software for handicapped amateur radio operators that want to send CW, the MRP v4.061 software not as good due to an increasingly outdated interface.

Though I can copy CW at 20 wpm by ear, when my MFJ-392B and Encore model #ANC-01 headphones fall short the software assists me in detecting signals below my local receiving noise threshold when signals fade (QSB) and noise (QRN) is high and allows for good contacts to be made 99% of the time. In any event marriage between computer and rig is total in this radio shack.

My radio hobby computer is a Gateway W3650 with a 2 gig Celeron Pentium Processor, 2 gigs of DDR2 RAM, a 160 gig hard drive and running the XP Home SP3 OS. I connect to the Internet via a 20000 kbps down and 5000 kbps up permanent broadband connection. Besides running amateur radio related software on it I access callsign databases, DX spots, radiowave propagation and lightning strike data.

As far as amateur radio related software programs I run the following: N3FJP ACLog v3.0 for general and DX logging, G4ILO's VOAProp v1.1 and W6EL v2.7 for propagation prediction, EZNEC 5.0 for antenna modeling, Geo Clock v8.4 for sunrise, sunset and gray line mapping, MixW v2.19 and Digital Master 780 v5.1 beta b2321 for BPSK31/63, FELD HELL, MFSK16, Olivia MFSK 500/16, MFSK16, MT63, RTTY and THROB operating, MRP v4.061 and MixW v2.19 for computer keyboard CW sending, Ham Radio Deluxe v5.1 beta b2321 and CATCI-V v2.6 for CAT rig control and Storm Lab v4.0 radar for thunderstorm tracking.

NZ4O HOMEBREWED DIGITAL INTERFACE PLUS HOOKUP INFO FOR THE FT-1000MP/MARK V/FIELD TRANSCEIVER



Homebrewed Wrist Rocket For Hanging Skyhooks
Click To Enlarge

Recently I decided that I wanted to buy one of the commercially manufactured wrist rockets for hanging skyhooks in trees. What I found did not seem very well made and was very overpriced (>$100) in my personal opinion.

So I decided to build my own. I went to the local China Mart and purchased a model 3061 "Laser Hawk Marksman" adjustable sling shot for $10.00. I also picked up a light weight Shakespeare fishing reel for $9.00, a spool of 700 yards of #8 clear colored fishing line for $4.00, a package of four one ounce "Water Gremlin" lead egg sinkers for $2.00 and a package of six small hose clamps for $2.00. I also purchased an 8" long by 1/2" diameter gray irrigation type PVC for $1.00 from Home Depot.

In 15 minutes I made my own for $28.00 and I can now hit branches in 100 foot pine trees. As you can also see in the picture I use several different sized nylon ropes from small to large in succession to pull the antennas up. As I'm a politically incorrect person I do use lead sinkers but I tie them in such a manner that they won't break away from the fishing line. If I hit the wrong branch which is very rare I then cut the fishing line and drop the sinker back to the ground for reuse. If one tries to pull the sinker back out of the tree there is a good chance that it will get snagged in a limb and you will leave behind the sinker and fishing line for a bird to possibly ingest. All it takes is a little common sense for the environment to be protected, no eyes be put out and no new safety laws enacted.

I currently have four transmit antennas and one receive antenna. All are grounded for lightning surges with impulse suppressors/arrestors (I.C.E. model #303/U and #309/H) purchased from The Wireman. http://www.thewireman.com/openwirearrestors.html . Speaking of lightning check out the website below:

CHOICES AND CONSEQUENCES OF STATION LIGHTNING PROTECTION

My station ground system is made up of 300 feet of #6 solid bare copper wire buried 3" deep that encircles my house. Attached are six eight foot ground rods, plus the three eight foot ground rods for the power mains, cable TV and telephone, my house copper pipe plumbing system and the city water system. The ground rods do nothing for collection of RF and are tied in per NEC standards for lightning protection.

Antenna #1 is a 300 foot horizontal full wave loop on 80 meters (3350.000 kc) that is made up of black UV resistant double coated plastic stranded #14 wire. It is in a square configuration with each leg 75 feet long and mounted 35 feet above ground at each corner. The feed point is in the middle of the leg that is broadside N-S. For 80-10 meter operation the antenna is fed with 40 feet of high quality #18 gauge stranded hard drawn copper 450 ohm window/ladder feed line. It is tuned by my link coupled balanced Johnson Viking Match Box (275 watt carrier/1100 watt PEP).


FEEDPOINT OF HORIZONTAL LOOP
CLICK TO ENLARGE
 

NZ4O 80 METER HORIZONTAL FULL WAVE LOOP ANTENNA

Antenna #2 is a W4TWW 1/4 wave coaxial inverted L for 160 meters. I made it out of very strong Belden 88241/RG-59. It is a 72 ohm coaxial cable with a velocity factor of 66%. The stub is 87' 6" feet long and the rest of the antenna 38' 6" feet long for a total of 126 feet, which is a 1/4 wave on 1857.142 kc However the resonant frequency is 1830-1852 kc due to interaction with other nearby antennas. It is fed with 75 feet of RG-213 coax and 25 feet of 50 ohm Cushcraft Ultralink TL-93605 RG-213 type coax, which comprises a choke BALUN to reduce local QRN (noise) on receive.

The ground system consists of twenty 1/8 wave radials (64 feet) using #14 stranded bare copper wire. I also have nine eight foot ground rods, my house copper water pipe system and city water system tied in with the twenty radials. The radial plate was purchased from DX engineering and is of high quality stainless steel.

W4TWW 1/4 WAVE BROAD BANDED COAXIAL INVERTED L ANTENNA FOR 160 METERS

Antenna #3 is a K4TR D&G Antenna MFG. & Sales http://www.k4tr.com three half waves (3/2) doublet for 6 meters made out of 28.5 feet of black UV resistant double coated plastic stranded #14 house wire. It has a G5RV type feed point arrangement with 8 feet of 300 ohm window line to a 1:1 BALUN and then 75 feet of 50 ohm hard line. The antenna has approximately 3 db of gain with a bidirectional broadside pattern. It is currently mounted at 30 feet above ground broadside N-S. The antenna is built like a tank and will hold up under most high wind conditions.

Antenna #4 is a 1/2 wave vertical J Pole for 2 meters and is made up of soldered copper water pipe. The highest current point is at 25 feet AGL, 115 feet HAAT and 218 feet AMSL. The antenna is fed with 50 feet of 50 ohm Cushcraft Ultralink TL-93605 RG-213 type coax. At 100 mhz one hundred feet has a loss of 1.2 db. This setup allows me to hit most repeaters within a 200 mile range. The antenna was designed and constructed by Don Jeerings KI4EFL.


2 METER J-POLE DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED BY KI4EFL
CLICK TO ENLARGE



8 FT DIAMETER BALANCED COAXIAL LOOP
CLICK TO ENLARGE

NZ4O 160 METER 8 FT DIA. COAXIAL RECEIVE LOOP ANTENNA

Another all band transmit antenna that I've had great success with in the past is the switchable horizontal doublet/vertical Tee transmit antenna. For more information about it go to:

NZ4O 160 METER LINEAR LOADED TEE VERTICAL/DOUBLET ANTENNA

NZ4O 160 & 80 METER 1/4 WAVE FAN INVERTED L ANTENNA

NZ4O 80-10 METER FAN DOUBLET ANTENNA

K4TR Antenna Manufacturing & Sales is a good source for well built and reasonably priced antennas check out the website link below

K4TR ANTENNA MANUFACTURING & SALES

If you really want to learn about antenna's, feed lines and VSWR check out W2DU's .pdf file sitting on my server. He is a retired professional in the field of antenna design and put's to rest allot of bad antenna theory that's been floating around within our hobby for decades.

TO LOW AN SWR CAN KILL YOU BY W2DU

UNDERSTANDING ANTENNAS FOR NON TECHNICAL HAMS BY NJ4A

As far as QSLing I use ARRL LOTW AND eQSL. A direct QSL is okay too with an SASE or IRC. I don't use a bureau. If you would like to save $$$ and design and print your own QSL card check out this website link.

K7LS ONLINE QSL CARD MAKER

Previous callsigns that I have held are as follows. Novice in 1989 KC4ONQ, Technician & General in 1990 N4YPV, Advanced in 1990 KN4LF, Advanced in 1993 KN6YO, Advanced in 1994 KG0NY, Advanced in 1998 KU4QV, Advanced in 1999 KN4LF vanity, Amateur Extra in 2008 KN4LF vanity, Amateur Extra in 2009 NZ4O vanity.

MY EQSL PROFILES

Enter your callsign to see if you have an eQSL waiting!


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I passed the Amateur Extra class written test on December 20, 2008. As I passed the 13 wpm CW test in 1990 I guess that makes me an Amateur Extra "medium".

Actually I passed the Amateur Extra written and 20 wpm CW tests between 1991 and 1994 but as I was overseas allot of that time the two CSCE 365 day valid periods did not coincide. Boy was I pissed. I began studying for the Amateur Extra written and 20 wpm CW tests again between 1999-2000. However when the 20 wpm CW test was canned in 2000, which in my opinion destroyed the accomplishment of becoming an Amateur Extra class ham, out of protest I held onto my now unique 13 wpm Advanced class license for the past 8 years.

As I enjoy working DX on CW I decided that I wanted access to the extra 25 kc of spectrum between 7000-7025 kc, 14000-14025 kc and 21000-21025 kc, so I began studying for the Amateur Extra class test again in early 2008. At that time I found that the new 50 question Amateur Extra class test was harder than the old 35 question Amateur Extra class test, so I still feel that I still did accomplish something somewhat special.

In early 2008 I bought the Amateur Extra class study course from the ARRL http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=1379 . I studied the material for one month and also began taking the online exams on QRZ dot com http://www.qrz.com/p/testing.pl . When I consistently scored above 90% I was ready. However I'm disabled and could not find a location to take the exam that was convenient for me. Then I became seriously ill for six months and the upgrade to Extra class went on the back burner AGAIN!!!  I did finally pass my Amateur Extra class written test on December 20, 2008.

By the way I am now a certified Volunteer Examiner (VE) through the ARRL VEC. http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/become-a-ve.html .

I'm also still an active SWL going back to 1965. My grandfather of whom I was named after was an MF AM broadcast band SWL and owned an Italian language newspaper in New York City, NY in 1930's and 1940's. He had a 1960 Zenith Royal 50 all transistor portable (huge by today's standards) AM radio and a 1959 Zenith AM/FM table top radio. In 1965 he began letting me listen to the Zenith table top radio both day and night and this began my fascination with radio.

My current modern SWLing receivers include an Icom R-75, Sangean ATS-909, ATS-818, ATS-505P, Grundig S350DL and Eton E10. I actually find the Grundig S350DL to be better on the MF AM broadcast band then the others, as the analog circuitry of the S350DL has no PLL or DDS VCO phase noise.


GRUNDIG S350DL MF/HF RECEIVER & TECSUN AN-200 RECEIVE LOOP
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Older receivers include a Zenith Transoceanic H500 and Royal 7000, Realistic DX-60 and DX-100, Hallicrafters WR600 and S120, Sony ICF-6500W, Kenwood R-1000 and R-2000 and Collins R-390A.

However for serious DXing I use my Icom IC-746 Pro. Rig control is via Ham Radio Deluxe v5 b2356 and the logging program is B Log v1.1.

On the low frequency (LF) band, I've logged 100's of part 15 LOWFERS, air navigation, marine and broadcast stations in 27 countries. I'm also active experimenting with DSP receiving software such as Argo, Spectran, Spectrum Lab, etc. for weak signal reception. As far as receive antennas for LF I use a 160 meter 1/4 wavelength coaxial inverted L.

On the medium frequency (MF) AM broadcast band I have logged 1300+ stations in 43 states and 41 countries. BTW my first job in weather forecasting was at a small 1 kw station in Florida, WDCF 1350 kc in Dade City, FL. As far as receive antennas for MF I use an outdoor 5 foot diameter balanced coaxial loop, a 160 meter 1/4 wavelength coaxial inverted L and a Tecsun AN-200 indoor receive loop.
I am or have in the past been a member of the International Radio Club of America (IRCA) http://www.ircaonline.org ,the National Radio Club (NRC) http://www.nrcdxas.org and American Broadcast Band DXers (ABDX) http://www.americanbroadcastdx.com .

On the
shortwave (SW) broadcast bands, I have 2000+ stations logged in 201 countries, approximately 75% broadcast and 25% utility. I actively DX on all of the shortwave bands, with an emphasis on the 120, 90, 75 and 60 meter bands. I'm also a news and programming listener of shortwave broadcast stations on all bands. As far as receive antennas for SW I use an 80-10
meter (90-11 meter) horizontal full wave loop (288 feet long) up at 35 feet.


"Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security, Benjamin Franklin"

NOTE!!! If the following pro U.S. Military content offends you then feel free to keep scrolling past it. I support the "War On Terror" (though I feel that it has been mismanaged due to the rapidly spreading plague called political correctness) and I strongly support our troops.


Freedom Is Not Free With It Comes Responsibility



As A Disabled Veteran I can Tell You That There Are No Atheists In Time Of War    



I'm A Disabled Life Member Of Chapter 65 Of The
Disabled American Veterans


I'm A Medically Retired Veteran And Proudly
Served My Country In The Vietnam Era
In the U.S. Coast Guard
 

Are you fat dumb and happy? Do you sleep well at night in your warm and comfy bed because you feel safe and secure? Are you a life long taker, not a contributor to our great representative republic? Well check out how our military personnel lived early on in the "war on terror" in Afghanistan and Iraq while protecting our precious freedoms!!!

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CLICK HERE TO VIEW A TRIBUTE TO OUR
BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM

VA HOMELESS VETERANS SITE

CENTER FOR MILITARY READINESS

NATIONAL COALITION FOR HOMELESS VETERANS

MILITARY DOT COM ALL THE BENEFITS OF MILITARY SERVICE

VETERAN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWYERS & SETTLEMENTS DOT COM


Some of the steel from the fallen World Trade Center towers in New York City was used to build a new USS New York.


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You can contact me
Thomas F. Giella, NZ4O
Lakeland, FL at

nz4o at arrl dot net



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