I'm not surprised there are only one or two makers of this kind of
switching. My perception has been that Array Solutions/WX0B have been
innovators in this, as well as their stack switching boxes, and this sort of
any antenna to either radio with two coaxes was not commercially available
to hams until WX0B came out with this one.
73 - Rich, KE3Q
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuck Chandler" <chchandler@adelphia.net>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 7:48 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Was: Getting antennas into the shack. Now: SO2R
antennaswitching
> Thanks to all who replied!
>
> The consensus of the listmembers who live(d) in brick houses is that
> removing one brick (hammer and chisel, masonry drill w/big pipe-sized bit)
> or possibly more than one brick (for a bigger hole) and PVC or galvanized
> pipe with a rain elbow outside, stuffed with insulation is the best way to
> go. Quick and easy to repair if/when we leave.
>
> My plan is to have several antennas - I use a Butternut HF9V vertical now,
> which will be the last one down here and the first one up at the new QTH.
> After that will come a wire antenna (not sure what yet) and then the tower
> and beam. I may also experiment with a second vertical with elevated
> radials later. There will be a primary rig, a secondary rig and several
> QRP
> rigs.
>
> My current idea is to use an Array Solutions six-pack to allow any antenna
> to be selected for the primary or secondary radios. Any of the QRP rigs
> would have to get their antennas off the secondary radio feed when the
> secondary was not in use.
>
> I started to diagram how to do this with manual switches to save a buck or
> two but the page got so covered over with crossed out, erased, scribbled
> shapes that I think I was going to almost spend more on manual switches
> and
> coax jumpers than the Six-Pack costs. I managed to diagram something that
> I
> think would give me the ability to have any antenna on either rig but I'd
> hate to have to build it.
>
> Am I missing something? I checked e-ham and found only two makers of this
> sort of SO2R switching - WX0B and microham(?). Prices are about the same
> and reasonable for the product.
>
> What do others do for this sort of functionality? I don't want to use
> cheap
> switches with little isolation and that drives up the price for a manual
> arrangement. The most reliable and simplest is to physically swap cables
> and that has excellent isolation qualities plus automatic lockout between
> the two rigs. A bit slow and awkward, though...
>
> I'm leaing strongly towards the Six-Pack - added bonus of keeping all
> cables
> entering the shack within the one-brick width pipe size mentioned above.
>
> Bill, W5VX, got it right when he wrote "I never dreamed it would take so
> much planning."
>
> 73,
> =======================
> Chuck Chandler
> WS1L
> chchandler@adelphia.net
> =======================
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
> Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with
> any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
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> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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