September 1997 QST, K9AY relay and switch box. Usually done with two DPDT relays (giving 4 possible permutations) rather than three SPST relays. Google will find you many slight variations of the rem
Fair-Rite 2631803802 is the Amidon FT-240-31. Available at Mouser, Newark, Arrow, and other places. I have a personal cross-ref between some Amidon and Fair-rite numbers. Not sure if I'd get in troub
I use my 80 foot doublet by tying the ladder line together at bottom and feeding against ground+radials as a "T", in every 160 contests with excellent results. It helps that mine is up 75-80 feet but
Read and envy: http://shakespeare-military.com/masts.asp They take Visa and Mastercard! Tim N3QE I have seen some thing like those military surplus mast sections. I believe the ones I saw were made b
Not a new problem for hams. For most of a century consumer stuff had poor to nonexistent RFI compatibility... And if the equipment itself wasn't so bad, it was connected with huge loops of wires that
I use RF Connection "Polystealth 18" in the trees and bushes at the edge of my lot. Very lightweight. 117 pounds breaking strength, way stronger than your Cat 5. It is stranded copper-clad steel with
I have had several summer outings on 160M this summer. Picked up Guantanamo a few weeks ago. Some South American stations in past few weeks too (don't know if LU5OM is on this list but he's trying on
I think proposed symbol rate verbiage is inspired by digital voice technology. As long as digital voice doesn't come to CW bands I'm OK. But I do not see anything in the language that would ban digit
Yes Thursday nights in summer you will find us on in NCCC Sprint just the last minute or two on 160M. 0228-0230 UTC Friday. Sometime we chat a little after 0230 on 160M. LU's (esp LU5OM) has been on
I myself, tune my 160 antenna with a simple L-matching network at the base. I used EZNEC to model the antenna, and an online L-network calculator, and it was spot-on. I was very impressed. Since you
Anybody on this list have a Rhombic for 160M? W1AW used to use one for bulletins and code practice on 160M but I think it came down years ago (1989?) I seem to recall pics in CQ of a big California d
If receive only, you will do just fine using the 2873000202 binocular 73 material core that Tom mentions. I think this corresponds to Amidon part number BN-202-73. Newark stocks the part under the or
You'll notice in my original response I was trying to determine if this is only for receiving or if you were planning on transmitting with this transformer too few turns of skinny wire through it wou
Different folks here have promulgated a "high voltage point loss" model for antennas in trees. I think this could be a valid model for a doublet hung with wires directly touching wet tree branches, I
A transformer that is connected such that it is UNbalanced on one side and BALanced on the other, and connected that way on purpose, is not a balun? Tim N3QE Thanks for the detailed post, Carlos. BUT
Short of expensive fast vacuum relays, what sort of readily available T/R (not QSK) relays handle QRO power at non-50-ohm points? If it was purely 50 ohms, I wouldn't feel bad using a big ice cube re
YW5X (IOTA activation in Venezuela) has been active on 160M CW past couple of nights with a fair number of callers. Tim N3QE ________________________________________ From: Topband [topband-bounces@co
There is an "official S meter scale" based on microvolts at the antenna jack, 50uV is S9. Objective S meter reading? When band noise is S9+20 on my transmit antenna, a "true" S9 signal wouldn't even
A skimmer in EU picking up my CQ means that conditions are really quite good. Skimmers only post to reversebeacon if signal is well above the noise. Humans can copy just fine under far more adverse c
Isn't this a "Vertical dipole"? Two quarter wave radiating elements? And tower behind it will be some kind of reflector/director depending on height. The radials seem unimportant if thought of this w