Dayton has lost some of its luster over the years, but it’s still the coolest gathering of amateur radio operators in the world. For the second year in a row, I took some time off so I could be down in Dayton for more than just a single day.
My Dayton started at 5 am Thursday morning, when I pulled out of my driveway, hoping to get to the Fairborn Holiday Inn by 8:30 am. Why so early? Well, that’s when QRP Amateur Radio Club International‘s Four Days in May (FDIM) started.
I drove it in on swell foop and actually made it just in time. I pulled into the parking lot right about 8:15 am, and by the time I got out of my truck, stretched, and got myself registered, it was 8:30 am. How’s that for timing!
The sessions were all really great, and I came away with a lot of good advice and great ideas:
- Antennas – the Practical Aspects, Bill Kelsey, N8ET. “Don’t think too much. Throw up some wire and make contacts.”
- High-Density Design and the KX-1 Transceiver, Wayne Burdick, N6KR. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” (I’m referring, of course to how they shoehorned yet another band into the extremely small box of the KX-1.)
- A Regenerative Receiver Primer: A Little History and Some Practical Ideas, George Dobbs G3RJV. “Non multa sed multum” or “Not quantity, but quality.” This was a wonderful talk on how to build regen receivers, and George included a bunch of circuits to play with. I’m going to get my middle school kids to try some of these.
- K7QO’s Mark IV Transceiver, Chuck Adams K7QO. I don’t think I came away with any specific idea from this particular session, but certainly a lot of little ones as they relate to homebrewing your own radios.
- Making Antennas With Fiberglass Poles, Gary Breed K9AY. “It’s more fun to use these things to make antennas than it is to go fishing with them.”
I’m probably the most geeked about building the regenerative receivers. The circuits are relatively simple, and George showed one project that bore a striking resemblance to the no-solder code practice oscillator that I had the kids build. You first print out the circuit diagram and then paste it to a chunk of wood. Then, you pound in some copper finishing nails at all the circuit nodes and solder the components to them. No circuit board required!
In fact, George advised against doing a printed circuit board for these projects. I can see why. Doing so would add a level of complexity that isn’t really needed. These circuits are simple enough that using copper nails–or perhaps terminal strips–is the way to go. These construction techniques would certainly make experimentation easier.
That evening, there was a “Meet the Authors” gathering, and I got to meet both G3RJV and K9AY. Both are great guys, and it was a very enjoyable time. George was selling a CD with all of the circuits he described in his talk, and I bought that from him for $10. In fact, I was advised to buy one of everything that George was selling, but I only bit on the one item.
In the hallway outside the meeting room, Lloyd K3ESE had set up a small station consisting of his KX-1 and a Buddipole (or some such antenna) just outside the door. They were using the callsign K6JSS, the QRP ARCI club call. For some reason, just as I approached, Lloyd had to step away.
Since none of the other guys were familiar with operating a KX-1, I got pressed into service, and over the next half hour or so, I made about ten contacts with other QRPers operating their QRP rigs in the Holiday Inn and adjoining hotels. That was a blast.
Perhaps the coolest QSO was with AB1AV, who I found out afterwards, was standing right behind me. He was operating a little rig in an Altoid tin feeding a dummy load! We had to quit when he reported that the dummy load was getting too hot to hold on to. :)
Well, that’s all for Day One. Stay tuned for my report on Day Two at Dayton 2006.
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