N3QO » Antenna Stuff

Just like Frampton…

jeff — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:22:31 +0000

…it’s alive!!!

Yesterday, since I ran out of room in a 1 car garage, we finished assembling the Mosley in the backyard. All that’s left is to install the feedpoint and run some frequency sweeps on it. And No, that isn’t a miniature picnic table.

Almost there….

jeff — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:04:34 +0000

We’re just about ready to do an new antenna installation within the next week or so here at N3QO. This project was a chance in opportunity with everything lining up completely unexpectedly. The Yaesu G800SA rotor just arrived today. I’m still waiting on the mast mount bracket for it and the shipment of replacement parts from Mosley for the beam. Weather permitting I’m planning on the installation next weekend.

Soon the homebrew hexbeam and light duty rotor will be available to the highest bidder. I’m also looking forward to the days when the “large” expenses are over to get this station to where I want it. Almost there!

Free Laptops College Students

The Mosley has arrived.

jeff — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:10:00 +0000

Laurie and I drove down to Fredrick, Maryland this morning to pick up the Mosley TA-33. It’s in good shape, except for a few trap covers here and there. Counting the days until I can get it in the air.

160m Inverted L

jeff — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:08:38 +0000

Saturday we threw 123 feet of wire in the air in an “L” configuration for 160m. The “pin” side connects to the L while the shield connects to the existing radial field for the other vertical antenna. Signal reports are slightly better. We’re waiting for the snow to melt to shoot new lines through the trees to hopefully get it to it’s permanent location. Below is the interface box. Seeing about 40 ohms at the feedpoint.

Got snow???

jeff — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:53:18 +0000

Blizzard of 2010 in Pottstown, PA

Antenna switch label

jeff — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:58:33 +0000

After working some 40m PSK this evening, I found I had to move the switch positions around a little. With the updated configuration, I can work someone off the Vee, and then make one switch movement to get to the vertical for DX. Doesn’t sound like much, but in a QSO or contest, this allows for quick change in antenna take-off angles. The label is a custom label template in Microsoft Visio.

The chores before the storm…

jeff — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:29:25 +0000

With the upcoming snow storm that’s predicted to hit the Northeast US in the next few hours I decided to move my Ameritron RCS-8V antenna switch to it’s permanent home so it doesn’t get buried under the supposed 18″ of snow. I used my new RG8/U cable to connect it into the shack. I swept the 110 foot coax run with .3 db loss at 1.9mhz and 1.1db at 29.7.

DLARC Hamfest

jeff — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:44:39 +0000

Tonight was the 2010 DLARC mini hamfest which brought a great turn out to our monthly meeting. I’m pretty psyched to have come home with about 300 feet of RG8/U. Coax is a non-stop necessity in this shack… At least for the time being. All in an effort to convert from my RG8x to support an upcoming amplifier purchase. For those not in the know, RG8x is a smaller diameter 50 ohm coax cable that serves the HF world very well, but usually has a maximum power rating of 300-500 watts.

..the festivities continue..

jeff — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:46:13 +0000

The morning of the last NAQP (North American QSO Party) I put up an 80 meter inverted vee using an Alpha Delta Delta C center insulator hoisted 50 feet up a tree in my backyard. Seeing as how successful my results were on 80 meter, I added a 40 meter vee about 8 feet below it. The balun of choice was from Hy-Power Antenna company. KU3X, Barry the owner happens to be a fellow club member of DLARC and offered a bunch of information on antenna design.

Since I now have 3 antennas in the backyard and only 1 cable running to the house, running outside in the rain or snow to flip antennas got old quick. Hence my recent purchase from a ham on QTH.com. I was lucky enough to acquire a used Ameritron RCS-8V, 5 antenna remote switch for a very discounted price. I ended up using 100 feet of CAT5 cable as a temporary run between the control box and relay box outside. When my permanent cable arrives next week, the plan is to bury it and a run of RG8U coax out to the relay box. Ultimately a 40 meter delta loop will also makes it way to this switch as well as a 40/80/160 meter off-center dipole around 60-70 feet.

For now I can switch between to 2 vee’s and vertical from the laziness of my own chair.

Antenna switch panel

jeff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:36:40 +0000

After building my desk rack a few months back, it’s time to actually start using it. My plan was to have anything shared between operators to be place in the middle of the desk or in the rack. One of these things is antenna switching.

Starting with 2 Alpha Delta switches I already had, I went out and bought 2 3U blank rack panels. I drilled out the panels for screw mounting, control switch and GAS fuse. I have enough room now for 6 switches. I also created labels in Microsoft Visio for the panels.

The idea is to assign an antenna to each individual switch, which is where you would select the radio. On the next row, you would select your antenna on a specific radio switch.