Dane DeValcourt – W5DLD

This website is a personal blog. There isn’t much here that is useful to many. I have posted a couple of things here that have gotten quite the response via comments and some attention at some rather large companies. Some of the attention has been good and some bad. Mostly good though so I’m proud of that.

SOPA / PIPA has the potential to kill this blog, it could be from a blog post I’ve done or a comment left by someone.

Obviously I’m completely against SOPA/PIPA.

Here we have piece of legislation that can erode freedom of speech, among other issues, comes straight from the big corporations and lobbyists such as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) who bought OUR politicians off to support this with no regard for true public comment or sentiment.

This bill is to solely protect the interests of greedy corporations and has gotten where it is due to greedy politicians. Absolutely no democracy at work here.

But it would appear that the people have and are speaking out. Finally taking a stand and united front on a cause. This I would say is democracy in action and now only time will tell if the voice of the people can win out over the pocketbooks of the corporations.

I beg you to please don’t stop calling your Senators and Congressmen and voice your opposition to this bill. The calls take just a couple of minutes but means so much.

You can find your Senator or Congressman here:

http://www.stopthewall.us/

If you live in Louisiana and have not already done so, please call the offices of Senators Landrieu (202-224-5824) and Vitter (202-224-4623) and (for the Lafayette area) Representative Boustany (202-225-2031) and tell them to vote NO on these bills!

You can also sign Google’s online petition here: http://www.google.com/landing/takeaction

Making a list of the ham radio contests I’m hoping / planning to participate in this year:

Jan 7-8 RTTY Roundup
March 3-4 International DX Contest – Phone
April 15 Rookie Roundup – SSB
June 23-24 Field Day
August 19 Rookie Roundup – RTTY
November 17-19 November Sweepstakes, Phone

Please share with me any others you think I might be interested in.

Ok well I think I’m ready for my very first real contest. ARRL RTTY Roundup! I’m going to really give a true go at it. I don’t expect much, but I’m hoping to really make some serious contacts. Don’t think a small dipole, single op is gong to compete with te big boys but I plan to have fun none the less.

I have worked on getting my MMTTY and N1MM configured and seems to be working. I have messed around with and tweaked some macros based on suggestions from http://rttycontesting.com and I’ve been reading both the RTTYContesting.com pages as well as AA5AU’s site at http://www.aa5au.com/hamradio/hamradio.html

Apparently AA5AU is a pretty big RTTY contester and seems to live pretty case by here in LA. Also paid a recent visit to my friend Charles KI5XP who lives just a few blocks away and discovered he was once pretty involved in RTTY competitions and has a lot of plaques from contests he won. He gave me some tips also that I’m going to give a shot and see how that helps.

My goal is simply to see what I can accomplish and how my setup works out. Hopefully I can actually have a real chance to win an award at the ARRL RTTY Rookie Roundup on August 19, 2012

Time to have some fun!

What a year 2011 was for me in ham radio. Started out 2011 with the goal of just getting my Technician license. Honestly didn’t even originally have plans to purchase a radio, just wanted to get the license to say that I did.

Well.. needless to say I think I got a little carried away or bit by the proverbial bug.

On Jan. 6th 2011, I passed and got my Technician license

On Jan. 14th, 2011 I was granted my first call sign KF5JKZ

On Feb. 1st, 2011 I was granted my new vanity call sign W5DLD

On Feb. 10th, 2011 I passed and got my General license

On April 21st, 2011 my lovely wife gave me my first HF radio. She got me the Icom IC-7000 radio I wanted for our 10 yr anniversary.

Funny thing is that it took me almost 3 months just listening to my radio before I finally got the nerve to make my first HF contact.

On August 10, 2011 at 00:52 UTC I worked my very first HF contact NA0L in Boulder, Colorado on 40m SSB.

On August 28, 2011 I made my first DX contacts; Hawaii, Germany, Spain and Austria.

On Sept. 1st, 2011 I passed and got my Extra license

On Sept. 2, 2011 I made my first JT65 and PSK-31 contacts.

On Dec. 30, 2011 I decided to do my best to get the following missing states confirmed in LoTW before the end of the year: DE, GA, IA, LA, MS, MO, NE, ND, OR, VT and WA.

And about 24 hours later on Dec. 31st, 2011 with the help of many friends I’ve made through ham radio I was able to complete my first Basic WAS via LoTW!

Look how close that timestamp is for having submitted / completed my first WAS in 2011: 12-31-2011 23:37:59

I did technically have my Basic WAS via a mix of LoTW and QSL cards however I REALLY wanted to get all 50 states confirmed via LoTW instead of having to submit QSL cards.

Ham Radio has been an amazing hobby for me. I am very happy that I finally decided to get off my butt and get that first license. Since then it has been a wonderful experience that is constantly challenging me to learn new things as well as meet many new knowledgable people.

Looking forward to some new ham radio challenges in 2012!

Terrorism is the manipulation of fear for political gains. By that logic, Senators who voted for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) are terrorists.

Sounds like treason to me when you consider what they passed and their position of power:

trea·son
noun
1. the offense of acting to overthrow one’s government or to harm or kill its sovereign.
2. a violation of allegiance to one’s sovereign or to one’s state.
3. the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery.

*** Update***
It was not the power strip after all but it was the Ryobi battery charger that was causing all that noise.
*************

Very happy to report that I solved a MAJOR noise issue thats been affecting my radio for some time! I have been having horrible static and this really loud popping sound across all the bands. I’ve suffered with this noise since I got my Icom IC-7000 HF radio in June. Since I’m new to the hobby and didn’t have any radio experience to know the difference I kinda thought it was just environmental to be honest. I knew there was always going to be some noise so I thought maybe this was just it. However, after posting a video of it and hearing others point out that it was obviously not right and that I should look for the source of the noise I decided to try hunting it down using my handheld radio. I tuned the RX on my Kenwood TH-F6A to the same 10m freq. and could hear lots of noise but I couldn’t hear the popping sound so I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to figure it out.

Initially I walked around the house with my handheld and found plenty of sources of noise when I put the HT near them but I never heard the popping. I kept going and finally decided to try outside since after all that is where my antenna is.

First place I went outside was into the outdoor laundry room we have since it’s the only other place with electrical outlets and appliances (washer and dryer). Anyway, as soon as I walked in the noise got pretty loud on the handheld. As I walked closer the the outlet in there the noise got really loud. Still no popping but it was just so loud. Hanging off the outlet was a really old power strip. I’m talking really old! I unplugged the power strip and the noise instantly went away. I ran inside and checked the radio and sure enough it was dead quiet. Before I unplugged the power strip my noise level was an S7 and the popping would take it over S9 periodically. Now the noise didn’t even register on the S meter on the radio. My NR (noise reducer) actually works now and doesn’t just muffle the noise! Very very happy about this, only wish I had bothered to track it down sooner.

Below is a video I made showing the noise I was experiencing on all the bands. The video starts by demonstrating the really high noise levels. At 30 seconds in to the video I unplug the old power strip in the outdoor laundry room and you can see the noise level drop drastically from about an S7 to nothing. You can even start to hear voices come out of the noise once it drops calling CQ. I think its a pretty good demonstration of how old faulty equipment can generate really high noise levels.

Cause of the noise (Ryobi Lithium Battery Charger):

The noise it was causing:

I’m noticing a lot of interest in ham radio these days and have been asked on numerous occasions what to study and how to get licensed. So I decided to make a note on a few key things to hopefully help others get started.

For many you will be happy to know that you no longer need to know CW “morse code”. This use to keep a lot of people from getting licensed but this should no longer be an excuse. Go ahead and get your license now and later down the road if you decide you want to do CW you can just learn that on your own.

All of the questions and answers are actually publicly available and there are tons of test engines / test banks available for studying. If you review these and practice taking tests then there should be no surprises on the actual tests.

Despite the fact that all of the test questions are available I think it would be pretty difficult to think you can just memorize things. You really need to read some of the study materials out there and understand things. There is just way too much info out there to just memorize things. Not to mention that if your interested in getting licensed then you should be actually interested in the hobby itself and the content that the tests cover. If your not interested in actually learning something and wanting to know as much about the technology and the hobby as you can then I just don’t see the point in getting licensed. You won’t benefit from the license in any way other then personal satisfaction so you need to want to learn this content.

I highly recommend reading the Gordon West study materials. These materials organize the test questions in a logical way and break them down for you. He basically turns the questions and answers into a more readable format that actually flows like your reading a book and not just reviewing questions and answers.

You have two ways to approach the tests, you can just try to read as quickly as possible and review questions so that you can knock out the tests. The fast route would be to just get the Gordon West books and go. Nothing wrong with that I suppose. You can also take a little more time and a more detailed study path. In my opinion this would involve getting both the Gordon West book as well as the ARRL book. The ARRL books are very detailed and you will learn a lot. I really believe they are essential reading to anyone wanting to get started in the hobby. Once you read through the ARRL book then start going through the Gordon West book that will help you understand all the questions and prepare for the test. You should be able to find the ARRL books in your local public library. Make sure you get the most current version which will cover the proper material and test questions.

One final note about preparing and studying for your first test. I really think that a person should actually prepare for both the Technician and General at the same time. Surprisingly the material is darn near identical. In fact I think one could prepare for the General and then go and take the Technician and General in the same sitting. It usually costs about $10 for each of the tests. As soon as you pass the Technician test you can then take the General in the same sitting without having to pay another $10.

You will also want to confirm where you can take your test at and get the details on costs and date/time of the testing. You can usually find out this information from the ARRL website.

Good luck and hope work you on the air one day!

Haven’t been posting much on the blog lately but after the week and weekend I have had I thought I would share a little. I’ve actually had an amazing week and weekend. One of the best in recent years. It all start this last monday when I went see a new Dr. regarding the horrible pain I have been having in my neck and shoulders since the surgery two years ago

Honestly I didn’t expect much from this Dr. visit considering all the Dr’s I’ve seen since the surgery and everything they have tried to alleviate the pain. I’ve been on pain meds and muscle relaxers for nearly 6 years due to my muscular disease and my neck pain. After the surgery I have lived every single day for two years with basically a crick on both sides of my neck, cramped muscles throughout my neck, upper back and shoulders. They have tried massage therapy, physical therapy, botox in a lot of the muscles to loosen them, epidural steroid injections and lots of meds this past two years all without any real relief.

Obviously I have started to lose any faith I had that I would find relief from this pain and it’s been pretty trying. Well this new doctor listened to what I had to say and everything I just described above. I also informed him I was of the opinion that despite all the muscle cramping that is obvious I really think there is more to this pain. I explained how I believe this is nerve related. How the pain in the various areas felt interconnected and one directly impacted the other. To me this seems like pinched nerves or damaged nerves or something nerve related but it was just my opinion.

After I went through all of this with him he first told me he didn’t want to get my hopes up but he also didn’t want me to lose hope. He said he knows I’ve been through a lot and that he actually had gone through similar. He also apologized on behalf of other doctors and that I’ve been through so much and that I was way too young to have had this surgery and to have endured all this pain the last two years.

It was sounding pretty dire as he said all this and then he informed me that he actually agrees with me about the theory that this could actually be nerve related. He then told me about a couple of drugs used to help deal with the symptoms of nerve pain called Lyrica and Neurontin which he’d like me to try. He gave me a 7 day sample of Lyrica to take home.

Well that afternoon I took my first Lyrica and shortly after headed to bed. I ended up sleeping 12 hours that night! I haven’t slept 12 hours in I have no idea. It’s been over 10 years that’s for sure. I woke up in a panic Tuesday morning late for work and meetings. Next thing I know it’s 9:30 am before it occurs to me WHOA umm… I FEEL NORMAL! I mean I didn’t have this nagging pain anymore. It wasn’t perfect but I was just sitting in my car and realized I kinda feel good. I didn’t wake up hurting and trying to stretch out my neck and lumber into my home office and take my morning pain meds. Here it was almost 10am and I hadn’t even really thought about or noticed pain or felt the need to take pain meds. I just felt right!

Well it’s now been almost 7 days and things have only gotten better. My energy and attitude has really been impacted. It’s amazing how much the pain affected me. I always knew it did but I don’t think I fully realized just how much it did. It’s not 100% and there are still moments when it’s a little nagging. Seems to be towards the end of what I would term as the pills efficacy, basically as it wears off and before I have a chance to take another. But still it’s a night and day difference.

The pain doesn’t consume me. It’s not always nagging me mentally as well as physically. There is some relief psychologically I believe in that now I know I can feel better even for a brief period of time. I think that both the physical effects and the mental add up and also help to relieve some of the muscle cramping a bit.

There is a sense of just feeling normal. Of being at ease. Not so tense physically and mentally due the constant pain. Also the need to take the pain pills have drastically subsided just in the last 7 days that I’m rarely taking them now and this also has a big impact on me energy and mental state.

Only time will tell as always but I am now extremely optimistic about the state of things and really look forward to the days ahead.

Below is a picture of my neck today after the surgery. It’s pretty neat despite the personal hell it seems to have caused me:

Omissions are betrayal.

Omission:
1. Someone or something that has been left out or excluded.
2. The action of excluding or leaving out someone or something.

Betrayal:

1. To be false or disloyal to.
2. To lead astray.
3. To deliver into the hands of an enemy in violation of a trust or allegiance.

It’s funny how often this happens and usually it is with “good intentions”. Someone keeps something from someone to protect their feelings. Knowing full well that if the truth was known it would hurt someone. It strikes me as odd though that we don’t seem to care about just not doing something to begin with but rather just cover it up or keep it from someone after the fact to supposedly protect them because you don’t want them to be hurt?

It’s a pretty rampant behavior actually. I don’t think we all realize just how often this occurs. For instance, a parent replacing a child’s dead pet or something without them knowing.

Some powerful lyrics. Can’t hear this song without tearing up. No greater feeling in this world then the power of love, especially that of your kids. Others love may come and go but the love of a parent just can’t be matched. I can’t fathom how someone could just leave or even worst harm a child.

Gotta hold on easy as I let you go.
Gonna tell you how much I love you, though you think you already know.
I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm.
You’ve had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born.

You’re beautiful baby from the outside in.
Chase your dreams but always know the road that’ll lead you home again.
Go on, take on this whole world.
But to me you know you’ll always be, my little girl.

When you were in trouble that crooked little smile could melt my heart of stone.
Now look at you, I’ve turned around and you’ve almost grown.
Sometimes you’re asleep I whisper “I Love You!” in the moonlight at your door.
As I walk away, I hear you say, “Daddy Love You More!”.

You’re beautiful baby from the outside in.
Chase your dreams but always know the road that’ll lead you home again.
Go on, take on this whole world.
But to me you know you’ll always be, my little girl.

Someday, some boy will come and ask me for your hand.
But I won’t say “yes” to him unless I know, he’s the half
that makes you whole, he has a poet’s soul, and the heart of a man’s man.
I know he’ll say that he’s in love.
But between you and me. He won’t be good enough!

You’re beautiful baby from the outside in.
Chase your dreams but always know the road that’ll lead you home again.
Go on, take on this whole world.
But to me you know you’ll always be, my little girl.