Hi Pete, The common mode issue doesn't really affect your decision. You will need to ensure that common mode pickup on the coax doesn't get into the antenna, which ever position you choose for your p
Hi Pete, The lower limit on the operation of a PIN diode, is not arbitrary, it's set by the carrier lifetime of the diode. The carrier lifetime has to be longer than the half cycle time at the freque
30 minutes of daylight overlap is not too much, and there should be a really good chance of a contact. I agree with Herb, starting at 1010z instead of bang on their SS at 1033z, would give him a real
Hi Mike, I have not tried to run two Bevs like that, but I have tried to run one close to a wire fence. The best F/B I achieved was about 8 dB. I would think that the two scenarios would be very simi
I tried one of these back in the late 90's, while active as ZS5K. Sure it cancelled most of the noise arriving from the horizon, but, then, most of the DX comes from there as well. I never heard anyt
Hi Tom, I used to have the same problem with my N2PK VNA, but then I put a switchable high pass filter in before the detector - after the reflection bridge that is. Provided that the VNA calibration
Having not heard our digi for a while, I decided to do a licence check on the website of the licensing authority here in ZL. The Digi's licence for 1818.5 kHz was cancelled a few months back. While i
Sad news Bernie. I remember "Push Button" very well, when I was ZS6BPL and ZS5K. Please pass on my condolences to his family. 73, Greg, ZL3IX Pieter Botha [86] passed away last night 7 Nov 2012 at 18
Hi Carl, I was in e-mail contact with N7QT during his J6 operation, which finished a couple of days ago. You are right, the antenna had to be shared with 160m and 80m, and for some reason could not b
Hi Eddy, I did buy this book some months back. For some reason I don't find it in my shelf now - must have lent it to someone. I seem to remember I was a bit disappointed, and I think it was because
Hi Jim, Have you tried measuring the current in the parasitic when connected? 73, Greg, ZL3IX We've got this set up in W6GJB's pasture, roughly 5 miles S of me, with me centered on the main lobe, and
Does anyone have Jack's e-mail address - it's not on QRZ? I'm sure he answered my CQ last night, but didn't come back when I replied. Just wondering if he lost me or had a rig problem. If Jack doesn'
Hi Jim, One other effect that fools sensitive DMM's on their resistance scale, is the electrochemical voltage that gets developed between the ground rods used for Beverage antennas. I also experience
Hi Gary, if you have not made up the Time Domain Reflectometer in the ARRL Antenna Book, then now is a good time to do so. Disconnect the coax at the far and and terminate it 75, and then apply the T
The Tx antenna I have been using very successfully for the last 8+ years, is a top-fed vertical. This feed arrangement requires the yagi used for top loading to be insulated from the mast. I have bee
Many thanks to everyone who commented on the above. The consensus is that nylon is a particularly bad choice of insulator for high field environments, even on Topband. Tomorrow I will be looking for
I decided to take a day off work to see if I could fix my TB Tx before leaving for a week away. I duly bought a length of acetal rod, as suggested here, and had my friend turn it down to size for me.
Hi Steve, I'm afraid that if remote receivers were not allowed, I would not be taking part. That is the only way that I can do ham radio nowadays, due to planning restrictions. I can assure you that,
I think I reviewed it for our national magazine some years back. I don't think you will find much in there that isn't in ON4UN's book. 73, Greg, ZL3IX On 2014-01-22 04:29 a.m., James Rodenkirch wrote