He opens with a minute of silence for Memorial Day, then the weekend. Saturday in central New York was too rotten for the antenna work at the house. He spent it at the shop instead.
The BuddiHEX
Sunday morning Matt texted. Matt shows up on the channel and in the comments. He was at a park with another friend, putting up a BuddiHEX. Kevin drove over. It was already in the air. Their first time with it took about 30 to 40 minutes. He compares that to a first DX Commander: it feels impossible, and then it gets faster. The antenna is large. It packs into a couple of bags, mast included. He thought it worked.
The contacts he talks about are from the clips, not from a log he is keeping himself. The station identifies as KE2BXZ and calls from two parks, US-8078 and US-6532. They drop to 20 meters to move the pile. Most of what he remembers is in the United States. Sweden was audible and they were not pointed at it, so that one got away. Mexico made it. So did France. One more he cannot sort between Central America and South America. Several operators were on the radio. He wants to say 50 or 60 contacts, in a short window, which is why the stop felt good. He had gone by the shop first, to collect a few things from Hamvention and hand them to his friends.
On the air, KE2BXZ gives KQ4OQL a 59 into both parks. That station is portable, 59 the other way, in central Tennessee, at a campsite. KD9KJC is park to park, 59, and comes back from US-4282 in Wisconsin. Doug is the long one. 59 plus 10 into both parks, 59 on the return, and someone on the frequency says the antenna is gangbusters.
The video is Tuesday morning. He meant to edit on Monday and spent the day with his family instead. The last few weeks had been chaos, and the field trip was not the same as time with them.
The Wire That Snapped
The sun was out after the BuddiHEX, so the end-fed half-wave had to go back up. It came down just before Hamvention because the roof was being replaced, and he did not want the roofers taking it down their way. He wanted a different tree this year anyway. It had rained since he got home. A couple of weeks, no chance to hang it.
His 15-year-old came out. They sling the throw bag with a kids lacrosse stick. The boy decides he can free-throw it, and he is close, a branch away, joking the whole time. It wraps a couple of times. The lesson is the one every wire antenna teaches: shift the bag until it drops, then pull the string, because the bag will not climb back over the limb. His son still does not care about radios. He asks a question now and then. Kevin treats that as enough.
The yard slopes up, so the height looks right and is not. They pull. It hangs. They pull harder. It breaks free. He hopes the rope parted where it meets the antenna. A tug from the house says the break is at the house. It is worse than that. The wire snapped halfway between the far end and the house. The tension is what did it. The clip shows the mess. The box is fine. He has to roll a new length of wire and start over. An 80-meter coil is the piece that runs from that end back to the box. It did not yank out of the box. He will take the box down and rewire it anyway. The rope can stay in the tree. The spot cannot. He may go back to last year’s tree.
A Used R8, and a Wall of Filament
That failure sends him back to a Cushcraft R8. He has read the reviews. It is out of production, so it is a used-market antenna. People will tell him it is the same thing as the DX Commander Expedition. Same idea. The R8 does not cover as many bands. The DX Commander lives in the truck. Long stops, that is the one. It takes a few minutes, and he likes it. A quick activation is the ATAS, the JPC-12, or a hamstick, on whatever mount or tripod is in the truck. The R8 is the one he thinks of as a permanent vertical. He has seen a video of one on a trailer hitch, in the desert, where there is room. He is not planning that.
Someone who runs estate sales for a local club has an R8 in the box, still to be assembled. Kevin asked around because he was looking. The price, he says, is a good one. He does not say the number. If he buys it, the house gets a vertical and the end-fed both.
The back room of the shop is a print farm for another business and another channel. Antenna winders, boxes and rails for radios, accessories, wire-antenna band markers that sell, home decor, card holders, kids’ dragons and fidgets that started as gifts for his grandkids, replacement parts that are not made anymore, wall mounts. Monday, while he was off, the filament wall fell. He thinks one spool slipped and loaded the rest. The last clip is the floor.
Transcript
Memorial Day weekend, and he starts with a moment of silence. Saturday in central New York was a bad weather day. The antenna work at the house did not happen. He was at the shop on other projects. Sunday morning Matt texts. Matt is the friend who shows up on the channel and in the comments. He is at a park with another mutual friend, putting up a BuddiHEX. Kevin drives over. It is already up. First setup, about 30 or 40 minutes. He says a first DX Commander feels the same way, and then it gets faster. The BuddiHEX is big, and it folds into a couple of bags, including the mast. The clips are mostly United States contacts. They did not work Sweden. They were not pointed at it. Mexico was in there. So was something he cannot place between Central America and South America. France was in there. Several operators. He wants to say 50 or 60 contacts, quickly. He had stopped at the shop on the way, to grab Hamvention finds for his friends.
The video is Tuesday. Monday was supposed to be the edit. He spent it with his family. The last few weeks were chaotic. After the BuddiHEX, the sun was out and the end-fed half-wave had to go back up. It came down before Hamvention so the roof replacement would not take it down the wrong way. He wanted a different tree this year anyway. Rain since Hamvention, a couple of weeks, and no chance to hang it. His 15-year-old helps throw the bag. A kids lacrosse stick. The boy tries to free-throw it and gets close. It wraps a branch. He learns to shift the bag so it drops and the string comes back. Kevin calls it a teaching moment. His son still has no interest in the radios. He asks questions sometimes.
The slope in the yard makes the height look fine. It is too low. They pull. It hangs in the branches. They pull more and it breaks free. He hopes the rope failed at the antenna. It pulls too easily from the house, so the break is at the house. Then he finds it snapped in the middle. Too much tension. The clip shows it. The box is not destroyed. Just the wire. He will roll a new length and do it again. The rope stays in the tree. That spot will not. He may move it back. The house end has an 80-meter coil going to the box. It did not pull out of the box. He will rewire it anyway.
He has been looking at a Cushcraft R8. Out of production, so it is used. Same principle as the DX Commander Expedition, fewer bands. The DX Commander stays in the truck for long deployments. Quick activations are the ATAS, the JPC-12, and hamsticks. The Commander takes a few minutes and he likes it. The R8 is the permanent antenna in his head. He has seen one mounted on a trailer hitch in the desert. A local who handles club estate sales has an R8 in the box, unassembled, at a price Kevin calls good. He does not say the number. A house vertical, plus the end-fed, is the idea.
The back of the shop is a 3D-print farm for another business and another channel. Antenna winders, radio boxes and rails, band markers that sell well, home decor, card holders, fidgets and dragons that started for his grandkids, replacement parts, wall mounts. Monday, while he was off, the filament wall fell. He thinks it was a chain reaction. The clip is the mess. On the radio clips, KE2BXZ checks the frequency and calls CQ Parks on the Air from US-8078 and US-6532, on 20 meters. KQ4OQL, portable, gets a 59 into both parks and returns 59 from central Tennessee. KD9KJC is park to park, 59, from US-4282 in Wisconsin. Doug is 59 plus 10 into both parks, 59 back, and the antenna gets the credit. Then the end-fed clip: hung in the branches, too much pull, the house end with the 80-meter coil, the box still intact. Then the spools on the floor. He asks for R8 stories and goes to clean up.
Frequently Asked Questions
What parks were the BuddiHEX contacts from?
The operator on the recording, KE2BXZ, called CQ Parks on the Air from US-8078 and US-6532 and gave both parks in the exchange. One contact was KQ4OQL, portable, 59 both ways, in central Tennessee at a campsite. Another was KD9KJC, park to park, 59, from US-4282 in Wisconsin. Doug, on a longer contact, was 59 plus 10 into both parks, 59 the other way. Kevin was visiting. He had stopped at the shop first to pick up things from Hamvention for them.
How did the end-fed break?
It had been down for the roof replacement, and he wanted a different tree anyway. Rain since Hamvention kept it on the ground. The backyard slopes up, so the first branch looked high enough and was not. Pulling it higher hung the throw line. More pull and the wire let go. He hoped the break was the rope at the antenna. It pulled free at the house end, then he found the wire had snapped in the middle. He will put a new length in the box. The 80-meter coil is the end that runs to the house. The box did not rip out. He may move the antenna back to the old tree.
What else did he walk into?
The back of the shop is a 3D-print farm for another business and another channel. Antenna winders, radio boxes and rails, wire-antenna band markers, home decor, card holders, fidgets that started for his grandkids, and replacement parts people cannot buy anymore. While he was off on Monday the filament wall came down. He thinks one spool slipped and took the rest. The clip is the floor covered in spools.