Category: The Nugget

The next meeting of the MLDXCC will be on June 21st in Shingle Springs. Find out more.

From the Prez

Hello Nugget readers,

I do believe all of you are aware by now, but MLDXCC has won the club competition for the 2024 ARRL Sweepstakes. This is our 10th first place win in a row. It was announced in the June QST. I really like competing in the Medium Club category. It’s always a good competition and a win every year is never for certain unlike the Unlimited Club competition where PVRC is just shooting fish in a barrel. Congratulations also go out to PL259 for winning the Small Club competition.

I went to the Dayton Hamvention again this year and I actually spent some money. I came back with a Flex PGXL amplifier, the TGXL tuner, and the AGXL 8×2 antenna switch. All of this now makes for a complete SO2R remote station. To get to that point, I need to replace the Array Solutions 6×2 switch with the AGXL and W6SR and I need to do a bit more antenna work.

I am really impressed with the PGXL amp so far. The protection circuits work as they should and this amplifier can put out a true 2 KW. The amp has three fan/blower modes: Standard, Contest and Broadcast. In the Broadcast mode, the fans absolutely scream and I like that in an amplifier. It never hurts to blow too much air on an amplifier. The down side of this is if the amplifier is located at the operating position, it can be incredibly annoying when running in Broadcast mode, which is recommended for RTTY, FT8 and SO2R operation. The good thing is that in an all-Flex station, the transceiver, amp, tuner and antenna switch are all on the network. No serial cables, USB cables, etc. are necessary. All control is over the network. This means that the transceiver, amp, tuner and of course the antenna switch can be located nowhere near the operating position. I am going to be rack mounting the 6700, tuner, amp, rotor controllers, bandpass filters, etc. all in an open-frame rack that will be located away from the operating position.

We’ve got a great meeting planned for this month. Craig, K9CT, will be giving us a tour, via Zoom, of his contest super-station. Hope to see you at the meeting.

From the Veep

Hello MLDXCC! 

As a reminder, Field Day (6/28) is just around the corner. Yesterday I received my ARRL 2025 Field Day T-shirt so I’m ready to go!  As of now, Sue K6SZQ and I will be working from our home station so keep an ear out for us. Remember to update your logging program for Field Day use too.

Worked any good DX lately? I know HF DX lately has been a little sparse; however there has been some activity from Wake Island.  Six meters (50.313 FT8) however has been very active! Currently I’ve been able to log 46 states, only needing RI, DE, VA & WV at this time. As a suggestion from a club member I’ve started to pay attention to grids as well.

How’s your DX Marathon numbers looking? Remember even though you’ve worked a DXCC country before, they count as “brand new” again every year for the Marathon. WARC band & FT4/FT8 contacts all count for the Marathon as well.

Well that’s all for now, time for me to go check east coast six meter propagation.

73 and Good DX, Steve NC6R

Articles

Another Bug Restoration

Minutes of the May 10th Meeting (Habanero Hots, Lodi)

Presentations and Slides from Dayton

Photos from the 2025 IDXC in Visalia by N6TV

Norm N6JV’s Tube of the Month

SCDXC Newsletter Lives!

The Southern California DX Club is gone, but a newsletter is still being published – and there’s a lot of great content there! Check out the June 2025 issue. (Thanks Rick W6SR for the tip!)

Speaking of DX…

Upcoming DXpeditions via NG3K

DX Calendar via 425 DX News

Upcoming Contests

Via contestcalendar.com:

• June 21: All Asian DX Contest, CW
• June 28: ARRL Field Day (yes, I know…)
• July 1: RAC Canada Day Contest
• July 5: CQ Worldwide VHF SSB/CW Contest
• July 12: IARU HF World Championship
• July 19: North American QSO Party, RTTY
• July 19: CQ Worldwide VHF Digital Contest

Humor!

Steve NC6R wanted everyone to see this 😅.

Send more funny stuff for the next issue! – Ed.

Classifieds

That way, I can always see my input and output power.  Rick, W6SR, who uses my station remotely more than I do, has depended on the software display to know how much power he’s running.

There are several options for the look of the computer display.  And there are several other features such as rotator control and antenna switching but I have just used the wattmeter function.

I’m selling this because I have purchased the Flex PGXL amplifier, which has built in and remotable watt meters.  It can be yours for $200. Contact Bob W1RH w1rh@yahoo.com

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Need a REAL dummy load, rated 500W continuous (2 kW peak)?  Here’s an old MIL TS-118A/AP, which is also a Bird 693. Flat to >1 GHz. Normally configured to use the included thermocouple sensors and a built-in meter, I’ve included a little shorting plug that turns it into a simple dummy load (disables the meter), but you can run it either way. The steel case weighs more than the instrument! Will sell for $140 because that’s what the special LC to N adapter cost me.   Manual:  https://birdrf.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/23027152223767
Contact Gary NA6O gwj@me.com

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Jim K9YC passed along information about some free towers and antennas “for a lot of labor”. They are located west of Portland OR. More details here.

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Rick N6RNO has one of these shack warmers for sale, new in box. Contact Rick at rick@eversoles.com for details.

ClubLog DXCC Standings

As of 17 June 2025. You can see complete MLDXCC standings on ClubLog here.

Overall

1	NK7I	227
2	W1SRD	224
3	W6DE	201
4	K6OK	184
5	K6YK	182

CW

1	K6YK	162
2	NO5Z	122
3	K6OK	120
4	NA6O	105
5	N6WM	104

Phone

1	W1SRD	116
2	K6YK	115
3	NO5Z	114
4	N6WM	111
5	K6TQ	101

Data

1	NK7I	216
2	W1SRD	195
3	W6DE	177
4	K7QDX	173
5	K6OK	154

Resources

Check out the Resources menu up there at the top of every web page for useful DX and contest info.

Prepared for the MLDXCC by Editor and Webwookie Jeff WK6I. Please do send me any corrections, omissions, or material for future issues of The Nugget. It is much appreciated!

All the news from the home of the very first Cinco de Mayo celebration…

The next meeting of the MLDXCC will be on May 10th in Lodi. Find out more right here.

From the Prez

Hello DX’ers and Contesters,

It’s interesting how I became the President of this club again… especially when I said I would not do it. I’m just too involved in our Community Emergency Radio Assn, CERA, the non-profit organization supporting the El Dorado County Amateur Radio Club, the El Dorado County Neighborhood Radio Watch, and El Dorado County ARES. I am also a board member with the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council and am the Chair of the Coloma-Lotus fire Safe Council. In short, that’s all the bandwidth I have.

So, as things were going downhill, at that lightly attended meeting at the end of the year, Steve NC6R reminded everyone that the Southern California DX Club folded because no one would agree to run the club. He also said that there was nothing we could do since he was termed out except perhaps to do a bylaws modification. At that point, and perhaps without a lot of thought, I suggested that I take on the position of President on paper and Steve take on the position of VP on paper. I continue arranging meetings and speakers and Steve continues to run the club.

And that’s how we’re making this club survive today. And, I’m asking myself why I’m taking the time to write a President’s article for the Nugget when I’m really only a paper prez!

OK, end of rant, unless you want to hear me rant about all of the email QSL’s I’ve been getting in the past few months. Makes me want to take my email address off of QRZ…

Now to the good stuff.

We have a terrific meeting this month. “6 meter DX’ing, From Northern California”. Our speaker is Chuck, NA6XX, and he will be giving his talk in person at Habanero Hots, on May 10th in Lodi. We will also stream this meeting. I’m told that the internet is good at that location, so cross your fingers.

Next month, Craig Thompson, K9CT, will do a talk and virtual tour of his incredible contest station, in Illinois. The meeting will be at the Break Room, on June 21st, in Shingle Springs, and we will stream it via Zoom.

Stu, K6TU, will also be doing a talk for us on his great propagation website, K6TU.net. No date or location yet.

We may also do a joint meeting with NCCC. And, I am working on several other super speakers, thanks to the magic of Zoom.

I want to thank Jeff, WK6I, for taking on the job of newsletter editor and running the website. Also, thanks to Norm, N6JV, for doing both of these tasks for years prior to handing it all over to Jeff. Norm will continue to do those great tube articles that I look forward to every month.

If we’re going to grow this club, we need to get the word out to the local clubs as to when we have our meetings. Please help us out and notify your club of our meeting dates and presentations. – Bob W1RH

Articles

Santa Maria 2026 DX & Contest Convention

Norm N6JV’s Tube of the Month

A Ham Radio Station for Jenna by Gary Johnson, NA6O, and Jim Ewing, N4TMM

Humor!

Send more funny stuff for the next issue! Thanks Sue K6SZQ for this one! – Ed.

Classifieds

 “I have three items for sale. All the items are on a make and offer basis. The items below are excess to my need, since I live in a HOA 55 plus community. I use a remote station location at W1RH’s QTH. Call or email me for more info. or offers.” de Rick, W6SR ricksamoian@outlook.com or (530) 672-2885.

Johnson KW matchbox very nice condition. This is an original unit that has NOT been modified.

Honeywell 4 cycle KW inverter sine wave generator. Used for portable operating. Quiet, and perfect for K3 and KPA 500.

ClubLog DXCC Standings

As of 7 May 2025. You can see complete MLDXCC standings on ClubLog here.

Overall

1	NK7I	220
2	W1SRD	215
3	W6DE	194
4	K6YK	178
5	K6OK	162

CW

1	K6YK	149
2	NO5Z	116
3	NA6O	104
4	N6WM	104
5	W1SRD	99

Phone

1	K6YK	115
2	NO5Z	114
3	W1SRD	114
4	N6WM	111
5	K6TQ	101

Data

1	NK7I	209
2	W1SRD	182
3	W6DE	173
4	K7QDX	163
5	K6OK	139

Resources

Check out the Resources menu up there at the top of every web page for useful DX and contest info.

Prepared for the MLDXCC by Editor and Webwookie Jeff WK6I. Please do send me any corrections, omissions, or material for future issues of The Nugget. It is much appreciated!

All the news from the “NCCC’s Kuiper Belt” – K6DGW

We had no meeting in April due to the International DX Convention, so no minutes to report, and the March minutes made it into the previous issue of The Nugget. Also no missives from the Pres. or VP this time. We’ll be back in sync next month! – Ed.

Treasurer’s Report – 2025 1st Quarter

12/31/2024: Opening Balance = $2,629.07

• Income $230.00
  • 2025 Dues – Paypal $40.00
  • 2025 Dues – Checking $190.00

• Expenses $72.00
  • P.O. Box Rental $72.00

3/31/2025: Ending Balance = $2,787.07

Articles

Why is The Nugget no longer published as an Adobe PDF?

Norm N6JV’s Tube of the Month

The 2024 DX Marathon results were posted, and the MLDXCC placed 4th World in the Small Club category!

Some interesting websites gleaned from IDXC presentations.

Gary N6AO is taking a break from the Antenna of the Month. Stay tuned.

And with the dissolution of the SCDXC, no more Deleted Country of the Month, unless someone would like to step up and continue them.

Another Editor’s Note – Club History

I am still hoping someone has some history about the first 5 or 6 years of the MLDXCC locked away someplace – please let me know if you do. If it is memories, I’m quite happy to interview you and take notes.

I’m also still hoping someone knows anything about John Fogg, K6AO. I have so far learned that he edited the NCDXC newsletter in 1965 (source: NCDXC SK list), he built a 2 meter “pip squeak” transmitter from a design in QST in 1972 (Palo Alto ARA news), he lived in Pine Grove as early as 1976 (ditto), and in 1949 he lived in Alhambra not far from where I grew up (Callbook). And, for a brief moment I was excited to see a Wikipedia article, but it’s likely that our John Fogg was not the mayor of Pensacola FL from 1994 to 2009 (Wikipedia). Hihi. – Jeff WK6I

Classifieds

 I have three items for sale. All the items are on a make and offer basis. The items below are excess to my need, since I live in a HOA 55 plus community. I use a remote station location at W1RH’s QTH. Call or email me for more info. or offers. de Rick, W6SR ricksamoian@outlook.com or (530) 672-2885.

Johnson KW matchbox very nice condition. This is an original unit that has NOT been modified.

Honeywell 4 cycle KW inverter sine wave generator. Used for portable operating. Quiet, and perfect for K3 and KPA 500.

ClubLog DXCC Standings

As of 15 April 2025. You can see complete MLDXCC standings on ClubLog here.

Overall

1	NK7I	215
2	W1SRD	206
3	W6DE	186
4	K6YK	168
5	NO5Z	162

CW

1	K6YK	139
2	NO5Z	116
3	NA6O	103
4	N6WM	103
5	W1SRD	98

Phone

1	NO5Z	114
2	W1SRD	113
3	K6YK	111
4	N6WM	111
5	K6TQ	90

Data

1	NK7I	204
2	W1SRD	172
3	W6DE	167
4	K7QDX	151
5	K6OK	129

Resources

Check out the Resources menu up there at the top of every web page for useful DX and contest info.

Prepared for the MLDXCC by Editor and Webmaster Jeff WK6I. Please do send me any corrections, omissions, or material for future issues of The Nugget. It is much appreciated!

You’ll notice that The Nugget is no longer published as an Adobe PDF file. It’s now being produced in a blog format. This is for a couple of reasons:

• Nobody really knows what goes in the depths of search engines on the Internet, but it is generally believed that content posted as normal website content (using Hypertext Markup Language, aka HTML) show up higher in search results than PDF content. This helps us attract new members better.
• PDF files are not easy to read on small devices like phones and small tablets. Modern web pages know how to adapt to the size of the device – they call this “responsive” – making it easier for our members to enjoy the content on any device.

Also, you’ll see that some of the major content and news is getting published right away – items like the Tube of the Month – rather than waiting for a monthly Nugget cycle. This is done to get the info to you in a more timely manner, and frankly it’s easier for your editor to spread the work out over the course of a month.

Since it’s now in a blog format, you can access The Nugget and related news and features using an “RSS Reader” application such as Feedly, which runs as a web app in your browser, as well as iOS and Android. Copy this link:

RSS Feed

…on the Nuggets page to add The Nugget to Feedly. (It works here too.)

While you are setting up Feedly, you might also want to add some other ham radio related blogs, like:

• SolderSmoke Daily News
• World Wide Radio Operators Foundation
• OnAllBands
• KB6NU’s Ham Radio Blog
• Hack a Day
• AE5X
• Calaveras Amateur Radio Society
• WQ6X Contest Activities
• Q R P e r

Do you have any other favorite radio blogs? Let us know in the comments!

If you are someone who prefers to print The Nugget, I’ve briefly tested it and things seem to print fairly reasonably. But if you have issues printing do let me know.

Meeting Minutes – March 22,2025

Round Table Pizza, Jackson
Meeting was called to order at 12:19 p.m. by Treasurer Sue Allred, K6SZQ. There were 12 attending in person, with 2 more attending via zoom. Of these there was one guest. Sue welcomed everyone. Each member and guest introduced themselves.

Old Business:

• The January minutes were published in the February Newsletter. Rick Casey, W6RKC, moved to accept the report as published. Dave Sanders, K6TQ, seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
• The November and December treasurer’s reports were published in the February newsletter. Rich Hill, NU6T, moved to accept the reports as published. Stefan Nicov, AF6SA, seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

New Business: None.

Member Achievements:

• Rick Samoian, W6SR, worked VK9DX Norfolk Island on 6 meters.
• Jeff Stai, WK6I, got the banquet organized for the Visalia International DX Convention

Announcements/Discussion:

• The upcoming International DX Convention was discussed, along with the uncertainty with future events.
• Bob Hess, W1RH, while managing the livestream, showed photos of Stefan Nicov’s Solid State HF amplifiers and discussed the possibility of him doing a presentation on them.
• Bob Hess also passed around a list of equipment for sale from Tony Dowler, K6BV.

Next Meeting: Proposed date to be May 10, the location is Habanero Hots in Lodi.

Adjournment: Rick Samoian, W6SR, moved to adjourn the business meeting and move to the presentation. Jeff Stai, WK6I seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Meeting was adjourned at 12:50 p.m.

Presentation: John Stanley, K4ERO, gave a fascinating presentation on Antipodal Focusing and its effect on ionospheric propagation near the opposite side of the earth from the transmitter. You can also get further information from his article in the March, 2025 QST.

Respectfully Submitted,
G. “Skip” Chraft, N6NFB

Treasurer’s Report

Sue K6SZQ reported that, given the low level of activity, she’s going to switch to quarterly reporting. Look for the first quarter report in the next issue of The Nugget.

President’s Corner

Hi MLDXCC’ers,

Well, here I am as President of this club again.  I swore it would never happen but Steve, NC6R, termed out.  In an attempt to keep the club healthy, I made the suggestion that I’d take over as President and Steve will be VP… with one condition… Steve will keep running the meetings and I’ll continue to arrange the meetings and speakers.  So, nothing has really changed other than a “loophole” in the Bylaws that allows us to continue as we have over the past three years.

I want to thank John Stanley, K4ERO, for a terrific presentation at last month’s meeting on the subject of Antipodal Focusing, meaning propagation from your QTH to the opposite side of the earth.  We did record the meeting and, hopefully, Jeff will find a way to post the link on the all-new MLDXCC website.

I can’t thank Norm, N6JV, enough for what he has done for our website and newsletter.  Without Norm’s constant “nagging” for content, we would not have had a newsletter and website with the great content we have had over the years.  Alas, Norm has finally found someone to take over the website and Nugget.  We all thank Jeff, WK6I, for taking on the challenge of filling Norm’s big shoes.  Keep doing those great tube articles, Norm!

We have some really good speakers lined up for the upcoming months.  Our May speaker will be Chuck, NA6XX, who will give a presentation on 6-meter DX’ing and propagation.  Chuck, who lives in San Jose, will be driving to Habanero Hots, in Lodi, to give us his presentation in person.  I also plan to stream this meeting.  The date is May 10^th.

A few others have agreed to do upcoming presentations.  Stu, K6TU, will give a talk on his K6TU.net HF propagation site   Craig, K9CT, will give us a presentation on his super contest station.  Gary, NA6O, has also offered to give another one of his very entertaining talks.  Other presentation for future months are in the works.

Both Steve and I have resisted streaming our meetings in the past for various reasons.  We will be streaming more of our upcoming meetings.  I do hope we can get more of our members from outside the core area to attend.  Maybe even Will, from down south who often participates in our reflector conversation, will show us what he looks like!

In our February meeting, I did a contesting and DX’ing quiz, which seemed to get rave reviews, so we may do another one of those in the upcoming months.  The February quiz, and the answers, are in this month’s nugget.

Last, and certainly not least, several of our members participated in the CQ WPX SSB contest last weekend at WC6H’s contest station.  Besides Rich, the operators included Jeff (WK6I), Steve (NC6R), Gary (VA7RR), Tim (NU6S), and Barry (K6ST).  The team did a whopping 14,097,405 claimed score to support NCCC’s effort.

For those headed to Visalia, travel safe and have a great time! – Bob W1RH

Articles

Norm N6JV’s Tube of the Month

Gary NA6O reminds us how to properly Rotate Your Yagi (no, not that way!)

The Questions and the Answers to the quiz that Bob W1RH presented at the February 2025 meeting.

The Deleted Country of the Month, courtesy of the SCDXC.

2025 RTTY Roundup Final Results

Classifieds

Tony K6BV has the following items for sale, please contact him at dxer@k6bv.net.

ClubLog DXCC Standings

As of 31 March 2025. You can see complete MLDXCC standings on ClubLog here.

Overall

1	NK7I	211
2	W1SRD	200
3	W6DE	181
4	K6YK	164
5	K6OK	154

CW

1	K6YK	136
2	NO5Z	113
3	N6WM	103
4	NA6O	102
5	W1SRD	95

Phone

1	W1SRD	112
2	N6WM	111
3	NO5Z	106
4	K6YK	101
5	K6TQ	81

Data

1	NK7I	200
2	W1SRD	168
3	W6DE	161
4	K7QDX	149
5	K6OK	128

Resources

Check out the Resources menu up there at the top of every web page for useful DX and contest info.

Prepared for the MLDXCC by Editor and Webmaster Jeff WK6I. Please do send me any corrections, omissions, or material for future issues of The Nugget. It is much appreciated!