This page is for SPRC members to have their recent radio hobby related activities and experiences posted for others to gain some new ideas/knowledge. Think of it as a forum socializing with other club members and Hams on a regular basis as new information arrives!
Please send your requested post in an email to kc0inp@hotmail.com
Postings will be updated on a regular basis, or at least weekly!
KC0INP Tom – posted February 4,2026
Just reminding everyone that the Minnesota QSO Party takes place this Saturday February 7, 2026 1400 UTC to 2400 UTC. iT IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY to get on the air and hunt other Minnesota stations and create pileups from stations hunting for Minnesota stations and county multipliers .
For information https://www.w0aa.org/mn-qso-party/
N0PEY Dale – posted January 18, 2026
it is actually my last years plan, but we got rained out.
My summer project, using the six pees, prior planning prevents piss poor performance. N0PEY
Antenna and tower project for refitting, what we have to do and what we want to do in step-by-step procedures.
Prepare for the event:
On the ground, build replacement rotor system with new rotor, cable and controller with water tight connections and new coax and control cable. Test it and confirm good operation.
Refurbish the 40M dipole to include cleaning as many joints that we can and clear the feed point for a new coax wound balen. Must be non-foam coax, 8-10 turns as balun, and test as best we can on the ground. Rig now added diagonal support lines to tower, hold it in position which will be 90 degrees off North/beam.
Prep the top hat of the top mounted vertical for reinstallation when the tower adjustments allows for it. Must include replacing the aluminum radials and verifying the coil is good. ???? OR get a new vertical! Build new Lanyard pole of PVC over large dowel, extend it to 15 feet and maybe push it up a section with a drop down 45 degree support. Getting the feed points for wires at 70 feet, but keeping it far enough away from the beams.
Gather all the hand tools, wrenches and sockets, and power gear for the jobs times two, ground and tower.
Gather tape and ties, paste and lube, sprays of all kinds, rags and towels.
Bring down the connector selections and tools, find anything else that may be needed to make this plan work.
On the tower.
Free up all the wires taped or attached to the tower. Pull all wires from the house and access points. Some may be reused, but I have a ton of other coax that we can TEST and find the best ones and length without putting on new connectors. But new crimp on connectors are here. Consider at this time, whether to increase the height of the UHF repeater antenna to 70 feet upside down and off to the SE or NE or not. It would swap locations with my 2M Comet which I am replacing with a duel band Comet G-3.
The HF9V will be reconditioned and mounted on the wood post and masts up about 15-20 feet. Above ground tuned radials are planned with the red 14G wire, from stock. I have bury able cable for it.
KC0INP Tom – posted January 15, 2026
Operated in the latest RTTY and CW QSO parties. After having an issue with the N1MM+ logging program during an RTTY contest I made a few changes to my Icom IC7300 radio which ended up causing the radio to PC connection to malfunction. I tried restoring the connection, but after many failed attempts changing settings and reloading drivers on my computer, and countless searches on the internet, I finally enlisted help from Rob AA1BS whom I know from my daily participation in the Propagation Roundtable Group on 17 Meters. Rob set up a Zoom Session with me to go over the settings that he has in his 7300 radio. My 7300 is connected to the PC via a USB cable and I noticed that there eas an unrecognized USB error message briefly displayed when I plugged in the cable or powered up the radio after the PC was up and running, so I decided to try powering up the radio prior to starting my computer. As luck woud have it, this resolved the issue. I discovered the fix just prior to the Zoom session with Rob, but learned much more information on radio connector settings in the 7300 from Rob. He also had a few ideas on radio control programs he uses with his Icom radios. Once again my radio/PC are connected!
I have been slowly working the Special Stations operating in conjunction with the ARRL Worked All States theme activity for 2026. This is another way to promote interest in getting on the air along with the continuing Parks On The Air (POTA) operations.
Band conditions continue to be pretty good and lots of fun activities available to keep involved with on the air!
I
Your experiences posted here!!!!!!!