Washington County ARES February 2015

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Upgrades & Certificates

Stations – Served Agencies

 New computers for EOCs – _---still waiting…  New Templates for Winlink –  RMS Express classes Lisa Clark & John Core

 Oregon ARES web site oregonaresraces.org – register and log in  ARES HF Net 3.964mhz – 1 st & 3 rd Tuesdays have a message to give  Register with “mail chimp”

Who’s Who  OEM ARU : Oregon Emergency Management Amateur Radio Unit  OEM : W7OEM  SEC : K7VV Vince Vanderhyde  DEC : District Emergency Coordinator  DEC : KD7WZI James Bryant  EC : KE7WKM Emergency Coordinator  County EOC : WC7EOC

WashcoARES.Org

Coaxial Cable and Connectors 10

Feedlines - overview  Connects the rig to the antenna  Most important characteristics are usually:  loss (varies with frequency)  characteristic impedance  power handling (varies with frequency)  balanced / unbalanced  physical characteristics  price  There are many types that can be used: selection is a based on a series of trade-offs among these characteristics. 11

Common Feedline Types  Coaxial cable:  RG-213 / RG-8* 0.4” diameter 50 ohms  RG-8X* / RG-8 MINI* 0.24” diameter 50 ohms  RG ” diameter 50 ohms  RG ” diameter 50 ohms  RG-6 (TV coax) 0.24” diameter 75 ohms  and many, many more… * not a MIL STD cable designator 12

Dale’s general guidelines  Up to 1dB loss - don’t worry about it.  2dB loss - not optimum, but probably usable  3dB loss - find a better alternative if you can Note: feedline loss is much more critical for VHF weak signal work, or trying to be heard through a pile-up. On VHF/UHF no feedline is too long if it runs vertically.  The loss due to length is more than overcome by the increase in signal strength due to height. 13

Coax Loss (dB / 100’) vs. frequency and coax type.

Coax recommendations  RG-58  Good for lower HF bands, marginal at 100’ on 15m and 10m  Light and flexible for portable antennas  Up to ~25’ on 2m  RG-8X / RG-8 MINI  Good for most HF use at reasonable SWR  Up to ~50’ on 2m  RG-213 (and relatives)  Best for most uses where weight isn’t important  Low loss types such as LMR-400 have slightly lower losses.  RG-6 TV cable (75 ohms)  Lower loss than RG-8X  Sometimes available surplus at very good prices  Aluminum shield - use crimp-on connectors  75 ohm impedance needn’t be a major problem  RG-174  Very small cable with higher losses - keep it short  Useful for backpacking where weight is critical 16

Coax Recommendations RG-58: Solid polyethylene inner insulation Relatively cheap and commonly available  OK up to 200’ on 40m, 80m and 160m.  Marginal at 100’ on 15m and 10m  Up to about 25’ on 2m  Often used for mag mount leads because it can be slammed in a car door. 17

Coax Recommendations (continued)  RG-8X / RG-8 MINI  No standard specification  Foam inner insulation  can be damaged by crushing or sharp bends  Smaller and more flexible than RG-213  Lower loss than RG-58  Good for most HF applications  Good up to 50’ on 2m 18

Coax Recommendations (continued)  RG-213 / RG-8 types  Suitable for most uses where weight isn’t important  Low loss types such as LMR-400 have slightly lower losses.  RG-6 TV cable (75 ohms)  Aluminum shield - use crimp-on connectors  75 ohm impedance needn’t be a major problem  RG-174  Very small cable with higher losses  Useful for backpacking where weight is critical  Small size can fit through small holes 19

Coax calculation tool: TLDetails  Coax calculation program from AC6LA  Free download for Windows machines  Calculates losses and impedance transformation based on coax type, frequency and cable length. 

TLDetail s

Losses and SWR  Feedline losses increase with SWR. (Well, mostly…)  This tends to be come more significant when the SWR is over about 5 : 1 or so.  Just because you can match it with a tuner doesn’t mean it is very efficient.  With high losses, the SWR at the rig will be less than it is at the antenna.  The higher the cable loss to start with, the greater the increase in loss due to SWR. 22

Increase in loss due to SWR

Coax cable tips  KEEP WATER OUT OF YOUR CABLE  reduces contact between wires in shield  increases losses, which improves SWR  Seal connectors, splices, holes  Prevent physical damage, especially with foam insulation  crushes easily (step on it, bend too tight, tie wraps)  foam acts like a sponge if water gets in  Run in conduit if underground, or to protect from animals 27

Connector types  PL-259 / SO-238 “UHF”  most common type on base and mobile rigs  usable up to 450 MHz  designed for RG-213 size cable, use sleeve for smaller types  Type N  Higher quality connector  Supposed to be waterproof  Better at UHF  BNC  quick connect/disconnect (push and twist 1/4 turn)  used on many older HTs  SMA  used to save space on small HTs  Not as strong  Solder vs. crimp-on connectors 28

Connector tips  USE THE RIGHT TYPE OF CONNECTOR FOR YOUR COAX  You can use the same PL-259 for RG-8X and RG-59, but you can’t use the same BNC connectors.  Crimp connectors must fit just right, and be crimped with the proper tool  End of connector shell is the point of maximum flexing / stress  Provide strain relief so connectors aren’t under tension  Losses in properly assembled connectors and adaptors are quite low. 29

Common causes of problems  Water in the coax  broken braid (or center) from flexing at connector  braid improperly soldered on PL-259  worn or recessed center pin (especially BNC)  female socket splayed out from PL-259 with extra solder  stray strand of shield shorting out to center conductor  connector insulation damaged by heat of soldering 31

DSTAR Net N7QQU Synopsis Sundays at 6PM Voice PM Digital

DSTAR Class  Ronler Fire Station  Feb 21 st  9:00AM to 12PM  Cue Chris KU7PDX

Winlink Class – I Want It All!!  Location Ronler Fire Station  March 14 th 9AM to 12PM  TNC’s  Radios  Packet  Pactor  Cables  Dummy Loads  Get your hands on everything

Task List 1 John Core KX7YT Sam Corbin KF7BUC John Bucsek KE7WNB Kent Powloski N7KPN Pat Flanagan KE7NVB Richard Stack K7TKK  Frank Wenzel AE7IS  Bob Yolton W7ZXX

Cascade Rising Quake Ex I April 25th State and Federal CSZ Plans

 A Joint FEMA-OEM Exercise, June 2016  FEMA Region 10 has recently released the Cascadia Rising Exercise Scenario Document which has just been posted at:   This is a large file about 7 Mb in size with many maps of expected damage from a CSZ quake based on the most recent research. Our Spring and Fall SETS this year will be based on this document. You will find it very interesting reading.  John Core, KX7YT  ASEC SET Coordinator

Run with Paula 5/3/15 Kiezer Volcanoes

Morning ham radio mhz Tone Mhz Offset

 Anything Else