Solar-powered tower winch

Here are some photos and commentary from N0SAP about his recently completed tower project.
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I modified my Glen Martin tower from a hand winch to a Solar Powered Electric Winch.

This is the electric winch installed in place of the hand winch.  The winch has a 2000 lb capacity from Harbor Freight.  Normally costing $99.99, I had a coupon for half off.  Harbor Freight always has these winches on sale, so just keep watch of the sale bills.  I needed to drill new holes to mount the winch.  After getting the antenna back in the full and upright position, I used nail polish to mark the full extension of the antenna.  That way I do not have to stop the operation during raising.

 Using an old scrapped out homebrew rig someone made, the cabinet was made with aluminum.  I had cut some pieces off from other projects so all I had to do was use tin snips to notch each side to slide over the tower rung.  The weight of the battery keeps it in place without having to anchor it any further.  The battery is a 125 amp hour gel cell which is plenty enough power for the winch.

 Using another piece of scrap aluminum angle, I formed it to fit the tower and drilled the holes to use the extending holes holding the rungs to the tower.  Then cut the bottom half which fanned out to mount a flat piece of aluminum to mount the solar panel.  That put the solar panel at the right angle to the sun to trickle charge the battery so it is always ready to work. 

 This is the solar panel after mounting.  Another sale priced item from Harbor Freight I purchased a while back for another project I do not use anymore.

 Here is the complete setup now ready for action.  All the wiring, boxes, and switch that comes with the
electric winch is waterproof.  So using some ty-wraps to strap the control box to the tower and to keep the excess wires wrapped up and tucked away.  All this for under $75.00 was well worth the investment for now and in the future.

Huntsville Hamfest 2012

Photos from various sources are collected or linked on this group photo page.
Be sure to also see W4UOA's presentation that is now available here.

N4OLN at W1AW

N4OLN visited W1AW this morning and contacted several of us on 20 m. Photos from Gary's visit are available here.

On the Alabama end were W4UOA, KB4XX, KE4ID, and (via Skype patch to W4UOA) W4BXI and WA5MLF. Here are links to two audio clips from my recording during part of the QSO:

• Gary with Carl and John -- click here
• Gary signing off -- click here

Nice to contact you during your visit to W1AW, Gary!

Chat Room Issues

Several regular users of our chat room have experienced problems recently due to some changes in the addonChat software and the URL. Here is a summary of the issues. If you are having problems presently, you may need to apply one or more of the following:

1.  The URL was changed to provide a certificate signed version of the chat applet, which downloads to your computer each time you use chat. The new URL is:
   http://client0.addonchat.com/sc.php?id=237773&s
   The Bell Ringers home page and W4UOA's blog have this new URL. If you are using an old bookmark to it, please update.
2.  Some computers were not able to run the chat applet using Java 6 update 33. Updating to Java 7 update 5 solved this problem. Java 7 adds some (unnecessary) new presentation functionality, somewhat akin to Adobe Flash.
3. Some of our group members, when attempting to start the chat applet, received the error message: Unsigned Access Violation Exception. If you are getting this, try the following steps recommended by our addonChat support contact:
   Close all browsers and then try the following;
   1. Open your computer's control panel.
   2. Double click the java coffee cup.
   3. Click the "Settings" button.
   4. Click the "Delete Files" button.
   5. Check ALL things to be deleted including "Installed Applications and Applets".
   6. Click "OK"
   Once you've done this open your browser and see if it works.

All of the regular chat users are grateful to W4UOA for hosting this application on his server space.

John WA5MLF

Vintage Techno Wizards

This is the title of a June 14 feature article about the Alabama Historical Radio Society that was published in the Black & White City Paper.  Click here to read the article.

HF Digital Modes: JT65

An article in the May 2012 QST (page 44) highlights JT65, an HF digital mode that is seeing strong growth. Its main appeal seems to be that it enables contacts at very low signal levels (using low transmit power and simple antennas). This is a result of its being developed for meteor scatter and EME communication. The digital protocol and software were developed by Nobel laureate Joe Taylor K1JT whose web site devoted to weak signal communication provides background.

A while back Jorge NN4QQ made us aware of WSJT software being used to test propagation paths (Weak Signal Propagation Reporter) and to populate a database and map - WSPRnet - that is available for viewing by anyone on the Web.

A special HF Digital page from ARRL provides links to information, software downloads and audio samples for JT65 and several other digital modes, including the ever popular PSK31.

A Windows version of the JT65 software was developed by Joe Large W6CQZ and is available at the HF Digital page. A brief web search shows that Mac users are also running JT65 via two options:

• Compiling WSJT software to run on a Mac
• Running the Windows version under WINE or Crossover

For details see this Google Groups posting or this Yahoo Groups posting. Many other applicable results can be found by searching with "JT65 Mac". Of course, Linux can also run this software.

Special Event Stations: 100 years since Titanic sinking

Many special event stations this month are observing the 100th year since the sinking of the Titanic (14 April 1912), commemorating the role of radio in reporting the event and summoning of help. Here are a few of the web sites that provide information, including dates, times, frequencies:

• Remembering Titanic MGY
  Includes many photos
• W0S Titanic Special Event
  Located at the Titanic Museum, Branson, MO, this station is a favorite of N0SAP.
• W4S Special Event
  At Pigeon Forge, TN

 On a related note, the article The Titanic's Role in Radio Reform tells how the Titanic sinking triggered a century of radio improvements. A sliding timeline brings a series of 29 short stories or profiles of events and developments.