Reached the DXpedition on Banaba Island (T33A)

Pleasantly surprised to make it into Banaba Island tonight. There was a pileup on 40m with a lot of activity on and around the split frequencies with the added bonus of some deliberate interferenceas - everyone tried to get T33A into the log. I had no joy getting through the pileup but just as I was to call it a night the op changed their listening frequency and I was first on the new one and picked up the contact. The new Alinco can at least make it the 4 thousand kilometers to Kiribati in the central Pacific.

www.t33a.com

Some changes to the station and a quick update.

Latest addition to the station is a new (to me) Alinco DX-70 which has just arrived from the states.

In great condition although I have not had many contacts on it as yet so still no decision on performance. I am 50:50 on whether I prefer the receive on the Kenwood TS-120V.....

To coincide with this my main 10M vertical threw a wobbly and jumped to a SWR of over 10:1 across the board.

I assumed this was the feed line and dropped the antenna for a quick look....not the feedline. Tried to retune, no go. Took a while to notice that the antenna was shorter than usual. One of the screws holding two sections together had sheared and the antenna had telescoped by one section. New screw, retuned and away we go. Well almost. I don't have the same magical tuning with great resonance on 7Mhz and 28Mhz. Such is life.

The EFHWV (http://earchi.org/proj_homebrew.html) is up and running and it is a cool antenna. All set up for portable operation as a sloper with my 7 metre squid pole. I'm thinking of running one of these at the shack as a permanent if I can work out how to string it up with the vertical height I have. Speaking of portable I have dismantled my Dragon SS485H manpack.

I'm looking to rebuild something a little smaller and more self contained. Lighter more efficient batteries are on the cards as well as SLA batteries are just too heavy. Get this one sorted and some SOTA activations could take place.

I'm also picking up a 10 metre mast on Saturday and chopping it down to be a 6-7 metre mast with 3 metre boom. 1 pole = more antennas on it. I'm not decided on what to put up there yet but the UHF CB dipole I'm running is giving me poor performance so a vertical may be the go....luckily the pole comes with a 6DB and a 9DB vertical, only snag is I have to dismantle it as well.....still, the price is right. Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society (http://www.gcars.com.au/)had their annual hamfest yesterday and despite my best intentions I couldn't make it. Have to be next year.

Reliving past glories

A long time ago I bought a Yaesu FT-530 and moved it on after about a year. It seems to have reached some sort of cult status as it is very popular in reviews and sought after to some degree. I started looking for another one.......didn't find one but up came an Alinco DJ-G5. Cue past glories from around 1998/99. I sold my last one as I headed over seas for a year but had fond memories of it as a solid performer. Price was right and I won the auction. Opening the parcel I received a mint example and am very happy with the unit. Feels solid in the hand - more than the Yaesu VX-7R I have.....

.....and in typical fashion right after I buy the Alinco a Yaesu FT-530 pops up for sale and goes for $65.....DOH!