am i transmitting?

Hello again Im gerald W. KC3JET out of SE pennsylvania, im a returning operator been off air for about 20yrs, but i am back i now have a general license and am working toward extra.

please bear with me as i ramble on. with my current situation.

ok i live in an older house and the landlord said i can put up a couple of wires, antenna and ground for my radios.

So i have a yaesu FTDX-1200 , jetstream power supply, mfj969 tuner, ultimax dxtreme 53' antenna.
setup by running 10ga wire out 1st floor window too a ground rod near front of house where cable tv is also grounded both radio and pwr supply connected too this ground wire
. Ran about 30 feet of rg58 with a 8turn loop choke at both ends across the room too the window. where the antenna box is.
ran the antenna wire out the window too a tree out back , a sloper i guess but only about 20-25 feet up( im going too try too raise the tree end up another 15 feet or so) WHEW.

so antenna tunes up nicely on all but 80-160 bands usually 1:1, 1:2 range pretty good tune. so i can hear quite a bit mostly 20,40.15,10, meter and get some digital stuff thru fldigi (still learning the digital programs). but i have yet too make any contacts, i call and call but 2 months and nothing. So im assuming my setup is not working.

any ideas or suggestions, Please.

thank you for reading my post GW KC3JET

PS i have many years experience in electronics in assembly and testing of various kinds of electronic equipment, so i am familiar with all this stuff but still need help sometimes.

Gerald,

I'd be happy to schedule a QSO with you sometime. I use a portable HF antenna which I don't leave setup all of the time but I know that I will be setting it up later today and have it up over the weekend for some contests. You can send me an message here if you like to coordinate that if you can't find someone local.

I've been on HF since September and have made 5 contacts with stations in PA from my location in FL. 4 were on 20m in the afternoon and 1 was on 40m at nighttime. All were SSB using 100 watts. Propagation probably isn't as good now as what you remember from years past.

This website is my favorite for all around radio stuff, but if you haven't already reached out for help on QRZ you should try there as well. It's focused on amateur radio.

There are some HF receivers connected to the internet that you could use to remotely listen for your signal if you wanted to try testing without requiring the assistance of a second person. I don't use them myself but that's another option.

For my first two years as an amateur I used a 20 meter dipole (about 35 feet long) fed with RG-59 and strung between the chimney on my parents 2 story house and a clothesline pole in the back yard. I manged all sorts of contacts worldwide. So you should get out to some degree with what you're using.

What does your radio's power meter & ALC show when you're talking? Is there any movement?

EDIT. I'd also be available to try a sked on 20 meters.. I've got a 3 element Yagi pointed your way right now. You pick a frequency...

Gerald - First thing I looked at when I saw your post was your location... and I'm in PA but not that close to you. However, if you are ever up in the Wayne Co area at the end of the month please stop by our meeting and say hello. Website is W3ARrg
Your station description sounds as though it was set up properly. Only thing I might have done differently was use something other than RG-58 coax.... it's best for short runs such as mobiles but is pretty high loss for anything more than about 15 feet. HOWEVER, I don't think that is why you're not getting replies when you call. Check the basics such as ensuring your mic gain is up and you are actually getting modulated output RF onto the wire (watch the meters or use a separate SW receiver). More than once I've called CQ and wondered what was going on... and discovered I had an input audio problem... usually involving mic gain or audio settings. I'm betting that it is just poor propagation condx we've been having most of this year. Unless you are on the right band at the right time, it's tough to be heard with 100 watts and a wire. Not impossible by any means, but more difficult at some times / places with some antennas than others.
Having written that... you do need to get your digital stuff going. Here's why: if you use FT8 (WSJT-X software) or PSK (FLDIGI and others).... you can call CQ on any band, any time and then go to the PSKReporter website at https://www.pskreporter.info/pskmap.html and see plotted on a world map where you were heard in the last 12 hours, what bands, and what signal strength. No actual QSO needs to take place. It's a fantastic way to confirm you are being heard... and exactly where and when.

Agree with what's already posted.
Check your meters when you transmit, there should be needle movement.
Check, which I assume you have already done, all the obvious things. Then the more complicated...

jwt873 said:

For my first two years as an amateur I used a 20 meter dipole (about 35 feet long) fed with RG-59 and strung between the chimney on my parents 2 story house and a clothesline pole in the back yard. I manged all sorts of contacts worldwide. So you should get out to some degree with what you're using.

What does your radio's power meter & ALC show when you're talking? Is there any movement?

EDIT. I'd also be available to try a sked on 20 meters.. I've got a 3 element Yagi pointed your way right now. You pick a frequency...

Click to expand...

Hello there thanks for the replies both meters po and alc show a good deflection when transmitting and the mfj tuner also shows movement whan trnsmitting so i think thats ok.

Would you like try tro a qso around 2 pm or 7pm today im thinking 14.260.000 freq? im not sure if day or evening would be better. but pick one and ill try it.


thank you

Hey popnokick thanks for this info i will try too get the digital going i like that idea of seeing if/where i am being heard that will help a great deal.

ill get into that ASAP

As for listening for yourself on SSB, try remotehams.com all sorts of receivers you can listen on free of charge.

And I'll throw my +1 in the hat for a scheduled contact attempt just about any evening after 6pm central..

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

let me digest this stuff from here and other thread ill get back too some of you about a qso see if we can me on the air.



many thanks for the help i really appreciate it.

73's GW KC3JET

Makes the heart feel good to see hams trying to help each other like what's posted above for qso.

I'm home, and listening to 14.260 until the pizza shows up ;-) The band is pretty dead.. might have more luck on 40..

I worked a station in Canada and one in OK earlier this evening on 20m but the conditions weren't great. I just made a contact in Virginia on 40m.

edweirdFL said:

I worked a station in Canada and one in OK earlier this evening on 20m but the conditions weren't great. I just made a contact in Virginia on 40m.

Click to expand...

OUTSTANDING!! Glad to hear it.. yea, bands have been pretty crappy lately.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

contacts

The first thing is to replace the rg58 coax. I would make a 20 meter dipole

transmitting

I have a 53 ft qso king, If you only run 100 watts you do not need a choke You need 50 feet of coax The shield is part of the antenna.;

I would try some nets like the ones on 40 meters which I linked below or even the Maritime Service Net when they make calls for any station. Those 40 meter nets are easily worked from the East Coast during the day. I have worked them mobile. The net control operator would be glad to give you and a signal report to test your setup.

ECARS Home Page

SCARS

Maritime Mobile Service Network

Hope that helps you out.

Other than making sure the ground you are using is bonded to your service ground(should be per NEC), I see nothing that jumps out at me. Bands have been bad lately, I would suggest 40 meters after dark. I would check the antenna 'run' with a ohmmeter to make sure everything is connected (no shorts or opens) out to the antenna. Best to do that one piece at a time. Other than that, check receive (CHU is on 7850 kHz). If you hear that, I would say see it you can get someone to listen for you-just post and see if you get a reply. I am in Wyoming so 40 would be after the band quiets down in the evening (after 9 here would be 11 there). Someone more 'local' to you would be good. NVIS on 40 would be about 200-400 miles which would be reliable almost anytime.

Another thing to try is to tune around and answer a CQ or call someone after they sign with another station. The hobby hasn't changed much-listening is the key more than transmitting.

73

wb6uqa said:

The first thing is to replace the rg58 coax. I would make a 20 meter dipole

Click to expand...

Why? At HF the loss is at most a db and a half or so. Unless you are running lots of power RG58 is fine on HF and even then I know one ham who runs the legal limit on RG58 with resonant antennas

making contacts

I have a Cobra Junior ant. It gets out many s unit louder than my QSOKing. It is a 73ft doublet with 84ft of window line Very good 40 and 80 meter antenna.

Hello again

Still trying too get a contact overr the weekend, no luck. Did listen too a lot of veterans on the air ragchewing about their experiences , great stuff. these guys are the best. real heros

So this morning i redid the antenna checked the wiring again. Antenna (ultimax DXtreme 53' is another 20' up at about 45degree angle). its at about 40' up at the tree end and not touching any branches, my end coming in the window about 15' up. checked wires again. no shorts good continuity throughtout cable.

So when i am not hurting so bad i can sit down and try it out.

heres hoping it works better 73's everyone