Radio Network

22 February 2025

Wow. No pressure at all… I went out to get on 15m and my linked dipole SWR would not get below 8:1. What was going on? A quick inspection of the alligator clips used to make the mechanical connections have rusted significantly in the time on Wake Island. As my activity time was fast approaching I had to make a quick decision on how to fix it. My first thought was to try and bypass the clips. I found a small section of junk CAT6 cable in my buggy that I was using to keep my tailgate from rattling.

During my time here on Wake I have fabricated many CAT6 ethernet connectors for work on network cables. The color code has been drilled into my head: white orange, orange, white green, blue, white blue, green, white brown, brown. “Who would be the luck pair?”, I thought as I used my multitool to pull out a strand from the cable jacket. White Orange/Orange slid right out and I used the two six-inch pieces of copper wire to make a field fix by tightly wrapping the wire around either end’s connector that wasn’t completely corroded.

Back in the air, I tested the antenna again quickly. 1.2:1! Network cable for the win. Time to get this Radio Network on the air.

15m was amazing. 158 QSOs. I could have kept it going but I had to work in the morning and had to get ready for bed. 73 and good DX, Allen