Category Archives: B’s Blog

2013 North American Summits on the Air Weekend

August 20, 2013 by Bryan Bibeau | 0 Comments

September 7th & 8th is the annual SOTA Activity Weekend

North America SOTA Activity Weekend is a casual event involving tiny battery-powered radios on mountain summits.Â It is not a contest but is intended to introduce “Summits on the Air” to newcomers with home stations who try to work summit operators during one or two days. There are no rules regarding power levels, modes or number of bands worked, but please be courteous when more than one station is trying to talk to a SOTA operator on a summit.Â The SOTA operators have just climbed mountains as high as 14,000 feet; they use low power; and they don’t receive on split frequencies.

Check SOTAWATCH.org to spot who is on which mountain.Â Summits are numbered, and you can hover your cursor over the number to see the name and point value for each summit.Â Expect that website to show activity near 7.032, 7.185, 10.110, 14.342, 18.095, 18.155, 21.350, 24.905, 24.155, 28.420, 146.52, 446.00, and 61 Khz up from the bottom of 20, 15 and 10 meters CW.Â Participants are invited to collect points toward certificates and trophies offered by the eleven-year-old international SOTA group (SOTA.org.UK).Â As we learned in past years, this is a barrel of fun for both hill climbers and home operators.Â See you then.

Also posted in B's Blog, N0BCB, SOTA Tagged nasota weekend 2013 sota |

Honda Element Ham Antenna

March 17, 2013 by Bryan Bibeau | 0 Comments

Installation of a NMO mount in a Honda Element:
Removing the upper console. Pry out the 2 light covers, then use an 8mm nut driver to remove the bolts.

The A pillar trim pops off without any tools. The coax can be tied to the wire bundle behind the panel.

Lay a tape measure on the roof. Line up the end of the tape with the black edge of windshield. This could vary depending on your windshield. On mine I measured 9″ from this point for my 3/4″ hole, made with a step drill.

Here is a larsen 2/70 antenna installed. I am going to order something shorter that will clear the garage door.

Also posted in B's Blog, N0BCB Tagged Honda element nmo antenna ham radio |

Gulf Hagas

September 23, 2012 by Bryan Bibeau | 0 Comments

Paul and I took the Blue Bird of Happiness to Gulf Hagas this year for the annual bus trip. We had trouble at the gate. They told us we were too big for the active logging road. Our solution? The moto! Nope, that’s too small she exclaimed.

So, we found a camping spot out an unused logging road. The next day we searched for a secret road into Gulf Hagas on the moto, but found it does not exist. We hitched a ride from the gate.

There are more photos at Smugmug!

Also posted in B's Blog Tagged Gulf Hagas Maine ME |

Road Trip!

June 29, 2012 by Bryan Bibeau | 0 Comments

I got to spend 2 weeks camping with the dogs between California and Colorado. We hit up Zion, Bryce, Moab and the Dixie National Forest. Great trip!

Also posted in B's Blog Tagged Honda Element Camper |

High Park Fire photos

June 11, 2012 by Bryan Bibeau | 0 Comments

Here is a gallery link to the photos I’ve taken (and will take) of the High Park Fire burning near Fort Collins, CO.Â This fire apparently started from a lightening strike that smoldered for several days, then roared to life early on Sunday morning, 6/10/2012.Â I’ll continue adding photos to this gallery as I take them.

Also posted in B's Blog Tagged High Park Fire Fort Collins Photos Images |

Element Bed, part 2

May 21, 2012 by Bryan Bibeau | 0 Comments

I am about finished with the construction of my bed, and it turned out as good as I had hoped for! It can be installed or removed in less than 15 minutes, and it retains all original functionality.

The rear legs support the bedframe against the floor of the Element.Â They need to be removed to get the frame in/out of the car, and can be easily removed with a 7/16″ wrench.Â I used Nylok nuts to keep them from vibrating loose.

I added Unistrut spring loaded nuts to the Honda strut rail where the original seats attach.Â I did need to grind a tiny amount off the strut nuts to fit the metric rail.Â These nuts can stay installed when the bed is removed.

Photo of the bed rails installed with the original seat trim.

Photo of the bed installed, before being wrapped with faux leather.

Bed frame before paint and plywood.

Full view of bed frame.Â The plywood is attached with #10-1″ self-drilling metal screws.Â They fit the 3/4″ light-gauge square tubing very well.

Frame with plywood, getting ready to staple on the faux leather.Â I used automotive headliner as the backer for the leather, to add a little cushion.Â It turned out to be very comfortable to lay on.

Bed with front section folded back for travel.Â The plywood measures 47″ Wide.Â The rear section is 48″ long, and the front section is 24″ long.Â I used a piano hinge for the joint.

I stapled continuously along the bottom edge.Â I plan to make a lighweight aluminum trim strip for the visible section on the front folding section.

Also posted in B's Blog Tagged bed, camper, element, Honda, platform |

Honda Element camping / sleeping platform

May 18, 2012 by Bryan Bibeau | 1 Comment

Getting ready for a 2 week road trip from Colorado to California, then back through S Utah, I’m deciding it is finally time to outfit the Element with a proper bed. In looking under the trim piece where the rear seats attach, I noticed that a Honda-made unistrut piece exists! And, it is compatible with standard spring strut nuts. I am going to weld up a frame from 1″ square tubing, that will attach at these two points with wing nuts and all thread. There will be 2 vertical supports at the rear, and a piano hinge at the front, so that part of the platform will store folded over the back section, and will fold forward and be supported by the front seats. Puctures of that to come. My idea is to have full access under the platform for storage.

Also posted in B's Blog Tagged bed, camper, element, Honda, platform |

Adjustable mounts I built

April 18, 2012 by Bryan Bibeau | 0 Comments

I built these for a client to mount environmental telescope enclosures on rooftops. They are welded from 1/4″ wall Aluminum tubing, and have azimuth and height adjustments.

Also posted in B's Blog Tagged Adjustable telescope equipment mounts |

Kenwood TH-D72A Frequency Unlock

April 14, 2012 by Bryan Bibeau | 3 Comments

Today I decided to attempt the unlock procedure I found on the web for the TH-D72A. There are a few different ideas out there that differ from each other. I looked around a lot, and the one I tried worked! I thought I’d add some additional photos here to make it easier for people to do this on their own. All the other sites I found were forums, and those sometimes drive me crazy to read through. Before you get started, use MCP-4 Kenwood programming software to back up all your radio settings!
The first step is to remove the antenna and the 2 knobs on the top of the radio. The knobs simply pull straight off. After you are done that, remove the battery, and then remove the 2 small black screws that are near the bottom of the radio, under the battery.

Remove the rubber cover that protects the ports on the side of the radio (USB, speaker, etc). To do this, you will notice a small rubber flap under the battery, near the middle of where all the rubber flaps are. Use a small regular screwdriver to pry the rubber up and over the metal stud, then just pull the rubber flap assembly off. Once this had been done, you can carefully lift the body of the radio up and remove it from the housing.

If the rubber key membrane did not stay in the housing, remove it from the radio body now so that you can access the circuit board.
There are 2 diodes that need to be removed, Diode #729 and Diode #730. Diode #729 is located near the bottom of the circuit board. Use a small tip soldering iron and a pair of tweezers. I used a very small screwdriver to put pressure on one side of the diode, the pushed slightly as I heated the solder joint on that side. Once it moved a little, I held it with tweezers while I heated the other side. I taped the diode to a post-it note, labeled it, and saved it in the radio box.
Here is a photo of diode #729.

To remove the other diode, you’ll need to remove the screw that holds the speaker assembly in place. Once the screw is removed, hinge the speaker over the cable and remove the diode labeled 1, saving it with the other.
Diode 1 before removal:

Diode 1 after removal:

The radio is now ready for re-assembly, in the reverse order. One thing I had difficulty with was the rubber key overlay. I found that in order to reinstall the radio body into the housing case, you must put the rubber key overlay onto the radio body first, not into the housing first.

Do a factory reset: MENU > RADIO > AUXILIARY > RESET > FULL RESET
The radio now has expanded Tx ranges. I like this option so that I can communicate over FRS or GMRS bands with non-HAM operators.