Topband: ZK1 Project

[John Meyer]

         Received this from NZ9Z...please respond to him directly

Hello, Bill!

My good friend, and fellow DXpeditioner (from T88II), Dave, KJ9I, suggested 
I write to you.

Last spring I contacted Victor, ZK1CG on 80 meters.  Later, during an 
exchange of e-mails, I asked him if he ever got onto 160.  He replied that 
he had no antenna for that band and that parts were very hard to find on 
Cooks (something Dave and I can attest to from Palau, when our beam antenna 
was delayed in shipping!)

Anyhow, I told Victor I'd bring it up to our local DX club, the Northeast 
Wisconsin DX Association (<http://www.newdxa.com/>www.newdxa.com), to see 
if we could help.  I priced out the parts and what shipping will cost and 
it comes out to about $250.  I asked KJ9I if there was some 160-meter group 
that might be able to help us out with this project, and he suggested I 
contact you, as moderator for the Top Band Reflector.

I'm also looking for advice on parts for a 160M dipole in the environment 
of South Cooks.  Victor wanted to use heavy grounding cable 
(pencil-thickness) for the antenna to give it broadbandedness (as he did 
with his 80 meter antenna).  I managed to convince him that the weight of 
that length of wire make it a problem to hang, and that he really wouldn't 
achieve (and really didn't need to achieve) on Top Band that much 
additional bandwidth with the heavier wire.  So I suggested to him using 10 
AWG insulated wire, figuring that the insulation would lessen corrosion, as 
well as shortening slightly the length of the wire needed for the dipole.

Victor suggested using RG-213 as coax.  He said that his RFI problems seem 
to be less with 213 than with RG-8 and that 213 seems to outlast 8 in their 
seaside environment.  I was planning to get CG-213 Enhanced Mil. Spec from 
the Wireman.  It seems reasonably priced.  For rope, Victor likes the black 
Dacron rope that some hams from Texas had sent him in the past.  He says it 
lasts well.  However, they apparently sent him 7/16" diameter (1700 lb 
tensile strength) rope and he's taken a liking to that.  I hope to convince 
him that 1250 lb, 5/16" black Dacron rope will serve his needs just about 
as well, and will be half the cost and less weight than the 7/16".  We 
probably should also throw in a balun -- I haven't priced those yet.

Any suggestions/ideas you might have in this would be greatly 
appreciated.  And as I said, if there would be some way we could get some 
help financially in this project from the Top Band DXers, that would be 
great also.  Not that many NEWDXA members work 160, and $250 would be a bit 
of a push for me to get them to spend on one project.

Thanks in advance!   73, John


=====================================
John Meyer,  NZ9Z / 4S7NZG
Timberdoodle Meadow
P.O. Box 146
Kellnersville,  WI 54215

E-Mail:  nz9z at arrl.net  or  jmeyer at ticon.net
Phone:  (920) 732-4517

Make Friends Worldwide Through Amateur Radio


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