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Jan
08
Easy Peasy. Works great!
Used this: https://m0ukd.com/calculators/quarter-wave-ground-plane-antenna-calculator/
Came up with 98.77" for the vertical. Had a Buddistick shockcord antenna I trimmed to 99 inches. Aluminum tubing or even a crappie pole and wire should work as well.
Attached it to a typical stud connector and mirror bracket atop a 4.5' light stand from Lowes. https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-72-04-in-to-72-04-in-Plastic-Work-Light-Stands/1000655903
Used 16 ga. wire for radial. Started with 110" and trimmed for lowest SWR at 28.400 MGZ (10 Meter Calling Channel). Wound up with a SWR of 1.02 using a tick over 100".
Trying to approximate an angle of 76.5 degrees, I attached it to the top notch on my electric fence post. (76.5 is the recommended angle for achieving an impedance of 50 ohms when using a single elevated radial. 45 degrees is recommended when two or more or used. https://www.qsl.net/kk4obi/Elevated Radials.html.)
10...
Used this: https://m0ukd.com/calculators/quarter-wave-ground-plane-antenna-calculator/
Came up with 98.77" for the vertical. Had a Buddistick shockcord antenna I trimmed to 99 inches. Aluminum tubing or even a crappie pole and wire should work as well.
Attached it to a typical stud connector and mirror bracket atop a 4.5' light stand from Lowes. https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-72-04-in-to-72-04-in-Plastic-Work-Light-Stands/1000655903
Used 16 ga. wire for radial. Started with 110" and trimmed for lowest SWR at 28.400 MGZ (10 Meter Calling Channel). Wound up with a SWR of 1.02 using a tick over 100".
Trying to approximate an angle of 76.5 degrees, I attached it to the top notch on my electric fence post. (76.5 is the recommended angle for achieving an impedance of 50 ohms when using a single elevated radial. 45 degrees is recommended when two or more or used. https://www.qsl.net/kk4obi/Elevated Radials.html.)
10...
Jan
03
All,
I have undertaken another long term project. It started in early September and is nearing the finish line now. A local operator I have done work for in the past brought me a Heathkit SB-220 in original but very dirty, neglected and homely condition. (I felt a little sick seeing it for the first time.) Operating condition unknown. He came by it through another local operator who purchased and built the kit while he was living and working for an oil company in Venezuela around 1970. The original owner/builder of this amplifier is in his 90's now and is thinning his collection.
The amplifier has its original set of Eimacs in it and includes the original Heathkit assembly manual with the Eimac warranty card stapled to the inside of the back cover. Interestingly, replacement parts and parts prices at the rear of the assembly manual show replacement Eimac 3-500Z tubes priced at $47.00 each. (Another sick feeling!
)
I have taken many pictures of this rebuild/rehab and will...
I have undertaken another long term project. It started in early September and is nearing the finish line now. A local operator I have done work for in the past brought me a Heathkit SB-220 in original but very dirty, neglected and homely condition. (I felt a little sick seeing it for the first time.) Operating condition unknown. He came by it through another local operator who purchased and built the kit while he was living and working for an oil company in Venezuela around 1970. The original owner/builder of this amplifier is in his 90's now and is thinning his collection.
The amplifier has its original set of Eimacs in it and includes the original Heathkit assembly manual with the Eimac warranty card stapled to the inside of the back cover. Interestingly, replacement parts and parts prices at the rear of the assembly manual show replacement Eimac 3-500Z tubes priced at $47.00 each. (Another sick feeling!
)I have taken many pictures of this rebuild/rehab and will...
Dec
31
Earlier this year, I decided to sell my trusty Ameritron AL-800H tube amp so I could purchase the Elecraft KPA1500 solid state 6-160 meters amplifier with built-in auto tuner. Boy am I glad I did.
My goals were fairly simple: I've been wanting to play QRO on 6 meters for years, and I was looking forward to the experience of changing bands without having to retune both the amp and the tuner. Initially I thought I might be able to eliminate the Ameritron ATR-30 tuner, but I ended up keeping it in line - more on that later.
The KPA1500's rich feature set is intended for use with any modern transceiver. My current HF rig is the Elecraft K3 (upgraded to the K3S), I purchased the matching Elecraft transceiver interface cable. The amp has several interface capabilities but my needs are pretty straight forward. I use the control cable to connect to the ACC port on the K3, the Key In line which runs to the iPlus mic/speaker switch box, the USB interface to my PC, and the requisite...
My goals were fairly simple: I've been wanting to play QRO on 6 meters for years, and I was looking forward to the experience of changing bands without having to retune both the amp and the tuner. Initially I thought I might be able to eliminate the Ameritron ATR-30 tuner, but I ended up keeping it in line - more on that later.
The KPA1500's rich feature set is intended for use with any modern transceiver. My current HF rig is the Elecraft K3 (upgraded to the K3S), I purchased the matching Elecraft transceiver interface cable. The amp has several interface capabilities but my needs are pretty straight forward. I use the control cable to connect to the ACC port on the K3, the Key In line which runs to the iPlus mic/speaker switch box, the USB interface to my PC, and the requisite...
Aug
21
This summer I've been making a few upgrades to the station and now I've installed a 3 element 6 meter yagi on the roof. In the past, I've just tuned my Alpha Delta DX-CC multiband dipole for 6m, but I've been wanting a proper small yagi for quite some time. So I pulled the trigger on the M2 6M3, bought a new rotator and got it on the roof.
While light weight, this antenna is built like a tank and will last for years with little to no maintenance. All of the materials are top quality. The tuning instructions for the T match and element lengths where clear and concise, making the job easy. I added a few Palomar Mix 31 ferrite split beads on the LMR 400 for good measure.
The old TV rotator I used on this vent pipe for the previous 2M antenna was shot (it was pretty old), so it was time to toss in the trash and buy a new one. I picked up a new RCA TV antenna rotator, which has zero problems with an...
While light weight, this antenna is built like a tank and will last for years with little to no maintenance. All of the materials are top quality. The tuning instructions for the T match and element lengths where clear and concise, making the job easy. I added a few Palomar Mix 31 ferrite split beads on the LMR 400 for good measure.
The old TV rotator I used on this vent pipe for the previous 2M antenna was shot (it was pretty old), so it was time to toss in the trash and buy a new one. I picked up a new RCA TV antenna rotator, which has zero problems with an...
Aug
07
Aug
07
Apr
07
For many years, I've been using the Gizmotchy 4 element 2 meter antenna along with a Discone antenna for 2m/440 TX/RX. With my back against the local mountains, my 2 meter SSB options were limited and I decided a long time ago that operating that 2m ssb at the QTH was a limited affair. Since most of the repeaters I talk on are on 440, I decided it was time to rethink my VHF/UHF situation and upgrade antennas. Down came the HF vertical on top of the roof, and up went the Diamond XD510HDM 2m/440 vertical antenna.
As far as VHF/UHF antennas go, this things is a beast, but it is supported easily on top of the 30 foot push up mast. It's 17 feet tall and is composed of 3-5/8 wave elements on 2m and 8-5/8 wave elements on 440. Gain is advertised at 8.3 and 11.7 db respectively.
My QTH elevation is about 800 feet, which is good elevation above much of Los Angeles and Orange County. The feed point of the antenna is at 42 feet. With this antenna, I can finally work most of...
As far as VHF/UHF antennas go, this things is a beast, but it is supported easily on top of the 30 foot push up mast. It's 17 feet tall and is composed of 3-5/8 wave elements on 2m and 8-5/8 wave elements on 440. Gain is advertised at 8.3 and 11.7 db respectively.
My QTH elevation is about 800 feet, which is good elevation above much of Los Angeles and Orange County. The feed point of the antenna is at 42 feet. With this antenna, I can finally work most of...
Feb
16
Late last year, I upgraded by portable station (mostly used while RV'ing) by adding a Raspberry PI 400 and 5V powered portable monitor to the mix.
I found the Nexigo monitor on Amazon - was $150 when I bought it and now I see the price has dropped a bit.
Both the Raspberry Pi 400 and Nexigo monitor run on 5v, so I just plug them into the West Mountain Rigrunner 4004/USB which is also what the KX3 and amp plug into. As you can see in the pic, the Raspberry PI 400 runs digital mode stuff quite well - in this pic, I'm running FT8 with WSJTX but I have also since installed and used JTDX and FLDigi. For the OS, I just stuck with the native OS that comes with the PI. Most of the ham radio apps show up in the PiPackages Add/Remove Software app and others are simple enough to install. One thing to remember is that RPI 400 doesn't have a sound card built in. I just found a...
I found the Nexigo monitor on Amazon - was $150 when I bought it and now I see the price has dropped a bit.
Both the Raspberry Pi 400 and Nexigo monitor run on 5v, so I just plug them into the West Mountain Rigrunner 4004/USB which is also what the KX3 and amp plug into. As you can see in the pic, the Raspberry PI 400 runs digital mode stuff quite well - in this pic, I'm running FT8 with WSJTX but I have also since installed and used JTDX and FLDigi. For the OS, I just stuck with the native OS that comes with the PI. Most of the ham radio apps show up in the PiPackages Add/Remove Software app and others are simple enough to install. One thing to remember is that RPI 400 doesn't have a sound card built in. I just found a...
Nov
14
I got the RV out to a local RV Park in the wilderness and spent the weekend having some fun on 40 meters. The setup is simple but effective for what it is.
I put a portable table next to the RV and ran clamp on power wires from the house batteries into the West Mountain Radio Rig Runner 4004U. I just picked up this little power distribution unit for about $85 at HRO. You get 4 anderson power pole connections with varying current capabilities, plus a couple of USB ports, which is also useful for things like Raspberry PI based ham applications.
The HF Amp is an MX-P50A, capable of 50 watts on 10-80m. I found that the amp had no problem delivering the desired power when working within 2:1 SWR conditions. And of course, the rig is the Elecraft KX3. You can tell I took this pic in the morning because of the coffee cup; that was replaced by beer later in the day.
The antenna used is the Buddipole deluxe kit with the Low Band coil, Triple Ratio Switch balun (I operated at...
I put a portable table next to the RV and ran clamp on power wires from the house batteries into the West Mountain Radio Rig Runner 4004U. I just picked up this little power distribution unit for about $85 at HRO. You get 4 anderson power pole connections with varying current capabilities, plus a couple of USB ports, which is also useful for things like Raspberry PI based ham applications.
The HF Amp is an MX-P50A, capable of 50 watts on 10-80m. I found that the amp had no problem delivering the desired power when working within 2:1 SWR conditions. And of course, the rig is the Elecraft KX3. You can tell I took this pic in the morning because of the coffee cup; that was replaced by beer later in the day
.The antenna used is the Buddipole deluxe kit with the Low Band coil, Triple Ratio Switch balun (I operated at...
Aug
15
Well good afternoon Friends, as you might remember in my last post,I was slowly starting to put together my base station,well there's been a change in radios,went from the Ranger 2950 to the brand New Uniden 980 and the receive is night and day from the Ranger , it's so much better on the Uniden!!
Finally got everything hooked up to the Antron 99 and I checked the Swr on 1 and 40 and they were 1.1 on channel 1 and 40 was 1.3, didn't have to adjust anything!! I spent 2 hours on the roof getting everything ready ( my dad was my spotter just in case) and everything is going well!! I usually hang out on 38 LSB listening and my numbers are 575!!! Hope all of my radio friends have a great day and God Bless you all!!!
Steve
AE # 575
Finally got everything hooked up to the Antron 99 and I checked the Swr on 1 and 40 and they were 1.1 on channel 1 and 40 was 1.3, didn't have to adjust anything!! I spent 2 hours on the roof getting everything ready ( my dad was my spotter just in case) and everything is going well!! I usually hang out on 38 LSB listening and my numbers are 575!!! Hope all of my radio friends have a great day and God Bless you all!!!
Steve
AE # 575
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