PHANTOM PREAMPS Ray: A preamp is only useful if the G/T ratio of your antenna is large enough (i.e. 3db beamwidth narrow enough and sidelobes small enough) to reduce noise sources other than from the
Hi Folks: For anyone considering building their own 222 and 902/3 MHz transverters as an alternative to buying a kit or ready made transverter consider this LO scheme. If you use a 170MHz LO on 222MH
Hi Folks: With both CH2 and CH13 going digital, those of us at W3KWH are looking forward to actually being able to hear weak signals out to the East Coast in the June contest. Channel 2 switched from
Steve wrote.... I recall calling CQ on 1296.100 on the evening of Nov 27, 1986 (well 0150Z Nov 28, 1986 to be exact) and getting an answer from WB0YSG in EM28. I was in EN90xn at the time. The band s
Hi All: With respect to using un-uns, I found them to be reasonably low loss through 50 MHz with type 61 cores, having built a dozen or so and measuring back to back pairs of them on an HP141T for th
One might observe that feeding a 36 ohm ground plane antenna with a 75 ohm feedline, the quarter wave matching section would be in the 50 ohm range. F to PL259 adapters are readily available. A good
Hi Everyone: Try good filters in the FT817/897/847. It costs $125 or more a filter, but the performance change is dramatic. I put the Collins 300Hz filter (Inrad #712) in my '847 and one in an 817. T
Paul: Try using the adustable attenuator in the w3ccx quick picks technical notes on the Pack Rats web site. It is essentially a 5W or larger 50 ohm load with a small value variable capacitor in ser
Hello All: I received a call from Dave Kir, WA3DJG, Saturday evening informing me that Jim Danner, K3JRD passed away from a heart attack that evening. Jim was the vice president of the Uniontown Radi
Chris: In addition to what type of diode detector you might build or purchase, keep an eye out on ebay or other equipment exchanges for "wave meters" or "frequency meters". These are available in bot
Tom K6EU Hi All: Here's my 2 cents on vhf/uhf choke baluns. What provided the best choking action at 50MHz for me was a a set of 10~12 type 31 cable beads that measured 34 db of (mismatch) attenuati
Hi All: Just a note to mention the EN90 wa3tts/b on 50.069MHz is now on the E-W leg of the legacy CH2TV 3xbatwing array at approximately 2000ft ASL and 1000ft HAAT on a temporary basis until the arra
Bob and All: EN90xl is the six digit locator for the wa3tts/b on 50.069.1~ I hope to have the N~S leg phased and online in a week or so. Mike wa3tts _______________________________________________ VH
Hi All: Does anyone have the assembly diagram for the old Telerex 4 ele 50 MHz yagi? I have three specific questions: What is the driven element length? (It looks like someone cut a few inches off th
HI All: I helped John, K3PGP with that optical transverter project in the early 1990s. We were using 2 meter I.F.s at the time and we could get non-LOS "fog scatter". I lived on top a hill with an in
Hi John/w1rt & All: Interesting on the Covus lithium batteries. Last fall I came across a set of Concorde RG-390E aviation batteries at a local hamfest for $8 each. These are 24V nominal 28AH units,
Hi All: I decided to blow the cobwebs out of my AM-6155 amps that had not been used in 20 years. I have HV ok on two units but the screen V is low on one (275V) and not present on the second. I will
Hi Kent (& All): Thanks for the thought on paralleling the screen resistors. The one AM-6155 unit here was using only one of the 100K-ohm resistors on the left side of the PS module (the other 100K r
When I first put my omni beacon antennas up several years ago I tweaked the 6, 2, and 432 loop stacks for low SWR near ground level--i.e. mounted to a 10ft mast. But when they went up on the roof my
GPS in the field.....K1WHS Dave: I picked up a Samsung Tab 3 WiFi only version on sale several months back And run the HamGPS Android app that works offline. GPS sensitivity remarkable On it comp