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I had to take down the G5RV dipole as I was hosting a party at my house. It would have been in the way and I didn’t want the kids to be messing around with it.
When I first put up the dipole I could not get my ladder high enough up so my Dipole was at an angle. Since I was tinkering around with the antenna I manage to get it much higher.  I am pleased with the results.

Now that my antenna is back up and had some spare time , I went on and made a lot of contacts. I also took part in the IARU Region I Field Day with only 16 contacts.
On PSK I manage to get my first contact with Saudi Arabia. His call was HZ1EA (emad) and he was running QRP @ 5 Watts.  Also worked Serbia for my first time with YU7AU.
I also tried PSK on 30m (10.140.ooMhz) for the first time. I got work UU7JC,  CO8LY and WB8TDG. WB8TDG was using RTTYM 8/500  which I never used untill tonight.

Overall very good night. Now I have to learn to submit contest  logs.

Ever since I got licensed I always wanted to try Satellite Communications. So after looking through one of my favorite websites (HackADay.Com) I saw an article on how to build a Yagi antenna using some screws pvc pipe and aluminum arrows. This peaked my interest in Satellite communications. I’ve been aware of the commerical antennas built for this purpose and I am also aware of some of the DIY antennas. All I have for a radio is  a handheld Kenwood TH-78A that I will be using and I plan on mounting the antenna on a old tripod.

Hopefully I can have this built before my daughter arrives. But either way it’s going to be a fun simple project.

While my parts for my CW keyer are out for paint all I had to play with is the plexiglass base of the keyer.

I managed to get it working and I went on 7.040.50Mhz (40m) and started sending CQ TEST. All of a sudden I hear “-. .—- -… — -..- -.. . -.- -… —.. ..-. . (N1BMX DE KB8FE)”  I was happy because instead of using software to decode morse I did it by pen and paper. He was sending slow enough for me to understand even though I was sending much faster and messing up a lot. His call is KB8FE (Keith, OH). He asked me about my station and then told me to keep practicing CW. So I am please to make a contact and it makes me want to master CW now.

I’ve been noticing that I have been practicing CW more than I have been doing any other mode.

Had some spare time and I finally got a working code keyer

I just had to update.

Got around to doing some more fabricating. I laser cut the base, insert and plexiglass. The 1/8″ insert combined with the 1/4″ Plexiglass will make the glass sit flush on the 3/8″ steel base. I need to make the paddle contacts and the cover to complete fabrication. Can’t wait to test it out and powder coat it.