I have started to use the new amplifier and it has been great. The fan annoyed me at first, so I built the small circuit below to switch it on once the temperature of the copper spreader is above above 30C. That means that it is silent until I engage in a long QSO, then it comes on after a while. It will stay on for a few minutes after the QSO and then goes off while I am tuning the band. That's how it works right now, where it is 20C in the shack. On a hot day it may be different!
The circuit is pretty straight forward (ignore the components along the top because this is cut from a larger circuit diagram). The thermistor is in physical (but not electrical) contact with the copper spreader. When it heats up slightly and its resistance lowers, the voltage on the FET gate rises above 4V and the FET is switched on. At room temperature, the variable resistor is set so that the fan is just off and the voltage on the FET gate is probably 3-3.5V.
My quest for DXCC using only home built equipment continues. I have now worked 36 entities but only 11 are confirmed. I have sent out 10-12 cards in the last few days, since the amplifier came online. Sitting on my desk right now are envelopes ready to post to SV9 - the Island of Crete, a separate DXCC entity from Greece, PY - Brazil, CO - Cuba and EA8 - The Canary Islands, off the coast of Morocco.
In fact I filled out enough that I got tired of writing addresses on envelopes. My wife gave me a set of Avery labels and I have used them to print out my return address and the addresses of people on qrz.com. The avery labels were simple to use, I just downloaded the template from www.avery.com and pasted in the information.
Quite a few of the countries I have worked don't have an address for direct QSLs. The only Swiss station I have worked, HB9ATM, is not on qrz.com and the only English station I have worked has an incomplete address. I will probably just rely on working another station in those countries because they are not rare. I don't think I am going to send cards via the bureau. I'm just too impatient. I suspect I will work another station in those countries before the bureaus could process the round trip QSLs.
I do want to receive any cards that come in through the bureau though. So that means understanding how the bureau works for my callsign area.
The W2 area QSL bureau is run by the Northern NJ DX Association. You don't send Self Addressed Stamped Envelopes too them. You just purchase credits online from their Website. They handle incoming cards only. If you want to send cards out through the Bureau then you need to send them to the ARRL outgoing QSL bureau. I have bought some credits, but I have not received any cards. I wonder if any will come through that route.
Working stations with the amplifier is a lot of fun. I am really enjoying the longer QSOs and the ability to exchange more information than callsign and name. I'm not sure that I can achieve DXCC easily on 40 meters alone though. I will continue tuning the band and see how many more countries I can work. I still suspect that I need to build a radio for one of the "DX" bands if I am going to be successful in this pursuit.
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