My Homebrew 1/4 Wave Vertical Antenna Was Damaged And I've Had A Hard Time Resoldering The Main Element

Not wanting to try to fool with the solder again, i decided to go a different route and instead of soldering the main, copper element onto it, I opted to use an electronics coupler, minus the plastic sleeve.

Bands have been wild during the DX contest 25 & 26 Oct 2024

I crimped thr coupler over the main element and the contact of the SO-239 connector before using some heat shrink for a bit of added structural support. I'm not like all the other high class and fanciful hams, so I used my daughter's hair dryer on high heat to shrink the heat shrink. It worked like a charm!

MARS modding my FT-897 hoping to fix the TX Error on VHF and UHF. I was unsuccessful, not because of an error on my part, but I learned that it's a Japanese version and is hard wired to prohibit transmission on U.S. various U.S. frequencies.

The radio frames made by Tony G on printables.com truly are well designed and if anyone is thinking about building meshtastic radios I would highly suggest downloading any of his designs that suits your needs.

I would have only one fix for this radio frame though, it's this blasted lip/shelf where the heltec v3 is supposed to sit. The design prohibits the connections for the hot and ground wires to the GNSS radio to sit. Granted, I'm not good at soldering but I was good enough to ruin my radio trying to find a way to get the wires soldered in a way that would work. But I think I have a solution.

I apparently live in a soldering replacement tip black hole, so when I need a new tip I have to buy a new iron. The Chicago Electric soldering iron ($3.99 @ Harbor Freight) and the Weller soldering iron ($19.99 @ Ace Hardware) appear to be the exact same, aside from color. I've looked online and haven't found any specific manufacturer for thr Chicago Electric iron aside from "various Chinese" production companies, while the Weller is produced by Apex Tool Group, LLC out of Apex, NC. Still yet, the packaging for the Weller says it's made in China. Here's to hoping that the tip on the Weller is a bit better quality and doesn't deteriorate as quickly as the Chicago Electric one.

I'm not a man of great means, so when I look at antennas, like my purchase of the Moonraker GPA-80, I need it to be versatile so I can take it to the field if needed and collapse it relatively fast if needed. I've been eyeballing alot of these telescopic masts but most won't work with the Moonraker, but I still have the field expedient 1/4 wave 40m I made that I could run up a crappie rod which is relatively cheap. If anyone wants to take a look at the source for the one in the picture, the link is below.

... --- ... We've all heard the dits and dahs of the morse code signal for S.O.S. ... --- ... It's been used in every type of entertainment medium. It's also the name of steel wool cleaning pads. ... --- ... S.O.S. wasn't formally adopted by the International Telecommunications Union until around 1908, so did no one need help before then? Before the ITU adopted ... --- ... there was -.-. --.- -.., or CQD. Come Quick Danger was the common call for help prior to the S.O.S. ... --- ... The radio operator aboard the Titanic had sent out various calls for help over morse code with CQD DE MGY, MGY being the callsign of the ship, before alternating between CQD and S.O.S. ... --- ... Alot folks have thought the meaning of the S.O.S. is "save our ship," or "save our souls," but the letters have no real meaning. The meaning can be found in the simplistic and easily remembered dit dit dit dah dah dah dit dit dit tones. The ITU believed that operators and listeners alike would better hear and understand the call for help. CQD lives on in amateur radio though. A general call of CQ can be heard over the airwaves for other stations to hear and respond. And now, ... --- ... you know ... --- ... the rest of the story, --. --- --- -.. -.. .- -.--!

73

Artwork by F. Allen Gilbert, 1909

After being a Technician Class since 1997, I passed my General Class exam last month. I only missed one question! *pats self on the back* It took about two weeks to be updated on the FCC website.