The most common problem (by far) seen at Ameritron and other companies that use relays in hard-wired applications is flux contamination of contacts. It's pretty tough to get a high-resistance connec
First, most people just do not understand how difficult it is to use large heavy contacts to switch weak signals with any reliability. EVERY manufacturer fights that problem, unless they use very sp
I either use multiple ground rods spaced several feet apart or a single rod and at least two radials on my beverages. I've found that when it gets really dry, the ground resistance of a single groun
I just modelled a two element phased array, and adding a "nonresonant" wire right in the middle of a recommended "safe length" 1/8 wl below the phased array center decreased the null from almost inf
While it is big and heavy, it has an aluminum case. As for batteries...anyone who uses dry cells in this day and age deserves to pay for batteries! 90% of the battery current goes to RF output, whic
Grounding and lead layout, IMO that is the key. I have miles of coax and miles of wires spread over a large area, and the tallest tower is over 300 feet tall. The 2-meter metal dipole array at the t
The only known way to reduce the probability of a lightning hit by "bleeding off" charge is by sending a streamer of ions up to the cloud...since it is the cloud that actually has the concentrated c
The best place for the suppressor, if you feel them necessary, is at the house end of things....not at the tower. Keep in mind what the suppressor does, it simply ties the center to the shield when
Yes, there is an excellent chance! First of all, remember that the the polyphaser, like any other discharge device or gap, must have significant center-to-shield voltage to fire. It also does absolu
I always use air core solenoid chokes when leaving a problem area, like the bottom of my 300 ft tower. Broadcast stations with insulated towers often do something similar, even if it is just a big o
Even lightning doesn't move around as much as this thread. Since the cloud is the primary concentration point of charge, there is very little you can do about it except to have something discharge th
It isn't a promotional or license requirement problem, it is a social change. All technical or skilled hobbies are declining at a rapid rate with younger people, from automotive interests to radios.
Hams often tell me I'm not "allowed" to have a 300-foot without FCC permission, and even claim I should "ask FCC permission" every time I install a new amateur antenna on my registered structure, or
Contrary to folklore and wive's tales that claim silly things like "0.5dB per splice" or other such nonsense, connectors can be considered lossless at HF. Another bit of folklore is that an S-unit i
It's easy to put such claims to a "smell test". 1-2dB loss and 1500 watts the power loss would be between 150 and 350 watts in the connector. A reasonable test would be to run 500-1500 watts for a f
The revised new RCS-4 with sealed relays is very good to 50 Mhz. That is wrong also, so some adv or catalog must be wrong. The RCS-8V is good to 250MHz, not 450MHz.73, Tom W8JI W8JI@contesting.com
1/4wl slopers ALL depend on the tower impedance at the connection point to be very low...otherwise you will have SWR problems you won't be able to cure. Because they depend so much on whatever else
Rich, I measure things like this from time to time. I understand it is difficult, in the face of so many silly rumors and false claims, to accept the fact that virtually all connectors have negligib
Hi Jeff, Be sure to include a rabbit's foot, it will probably reduce the chances of a lightning hit as much as the "air terminal"...and costs less (except to the rabbit). Like other person said, the
Hi dave, I'm confused by this. If it is a dual-sloper isolated from the tower, then it is really a dipole or a bent-up Inverted V dipole isn't it? To be "tower independent" would require two wires ma