QRP Club

QRP Club => Mike's Tavern => Topic started by: GM0LVI on February 09, 2014, 23:05:46 UTC

Title: The Idiot Factor - Your boo boos ?
Post by: GM0LVI on February 09, 2014, 23:05:46 UTC
We all make mistakes while operating - what have yours been?
Come on confess, it's good for the soul!

Here are a few of mine -

My most recent one - I couldn't get my KX3 to transmit on CW. Thought it must be a fault with the keyer or cables so pulled out the cables, wriggled them about with no cure. Took the batteries out of the keyer and replaced them - still no result. Finally solved the problem when I realised the KX3 was in SSB mode and not CW!!

On 20m SSB running 100W made a contact into Germany, but it was only about S2 and all signals were low so thought there had been a short wave fade out. Weak signal report was due to the fact that I was transmitting (and receiving) on my dummy load.

When I was QSL manager for VP8GAV in Antarctica we'd had contacts on all bands 10 - 40m but hadn't got round to trying 80m and VP8GAV was due to return to the UK in a couple of weeks, so we set up an early morning sked.We managed it, but only just, as signals were marginal both ways. It was only after we'd finished that I realised that I hadn't been using my 40/80m antenna and had been using my pair of phased 30m verticals that I'd been using the previous evening.

Decided to make an entry in a UK 2m/P contest. So with a friend took my IC-706, 22 element yagi, portable mast and sealed lead acid battery up one of the local mountains. It was a hard climb. The battery died after a couple of contacts. I'd not used it for several months but after charging it it seemed fine, but I'd not tested it under load!

I feel so much better now I've confessed  :D
Title: Re: The Idiot Factor - Your boo boos ?
Post by: IZ5ZCO on February 09, 2014, 23:38:17 UTC
I transmitted without antenna (tuning only the cable) and I thought: "Very poor propagation today".  :-\  :))
Title: Re: The Idiot Factor - Your boo boos ?
Post by: G0BVZ on February 10, 2014, 08:39:04 UTC
A couple of days ago I believed I had somehow killed my main rig. I could not get it to transmit and sidetone was absent.  Pretty obviously a major fault, serious.  So I methodically combed through the cabling: nothing. I combed through an arcane menu system: nothing.

I'm kinda deaf and have the sidetone linked to the audio volume. Volume high, sidetone high, volume low, sidetone low.  I find that agreeable because I get fewer audio shocks when going from TX to RX.  I turned up the volume and by some miracle the sidetone returned.  Hot on the trail I then enabled breakin.

I'm a genius: my rig was fixed!!  I can tell you, my relief at having a healthy rig was utterly eclipsed by the realisation of what a complete fool I had been.   ;D    (I should say I often disable breakin because I have a horror of accidentally transmitting when fiddling with something in the shack. I rarely turn down the volume.....)

The other embarrassing booboo I committed was in my first year of having a full ticket.  I routinely ran 80~100 watts out.  I had not even heard of QRP.  Then I attended a lecture by the Reverend Dobbs, G3RJV and I saw the light:  I was saved from a life of QRO degradation by this good man.  I owe him a lot.  But when I look back on my QRO days, I feel so DIRTY........

Title: Re: The Idiot Factor - Your boo boos ?
Post by: sm5mek on February 10, 2014, 08:45:28 UTC
Well..... i has happend that i woundered about why he newer answer ME ? :-\  He is strong 59++ so he shold hear me also, after some calls i find out maybee go to simplex and skip previous split mode... hrrrrm.Grrr
Sucsessfull contact after one call!  ;D