[VHFcontesting] 222 MHz Activity Night

Tue Apr 12 17:24:23 EDT 2022

Hi Bill,

I will definitely be on and looking for you in FN54! It has been a long 
time. I just got back from the shack and all seems in order. I put the 
big PA back in the rack but did not try it. I am pretty sure it will be 
OK now that I fixed the tuning control. I also got the preamp back up on 
the tower, but I forgot that I needed two right angle adaptors so I had 
to make two trips up the 100 ft tower. The good news is that it seems to 
be working again. I fixed a bad cable in my driver amp wattmeter, and 
even installed another 115 vac power strip on one of the racks and 
eliminated a rats nest of AC cords. I checked my internet 5 GHz link and 
that is working, so maybe I can have a relaxing evening trying to work 
some good ole buddies with white hair or no hair at all. I did have a 
scare in that my $1000 battery showed no voltage and the solar charger 
would not turn on. For some reason, I left it all on overnight and ran 
the battery down to zero! Yikes!!  I had to bring it home and charge it 
up so it would look like a battery to the charger and allow it to turn 
on.  It is always something!!

On another topic, I have finally completed my 1500 watt Larcan 222 MHz 
amplifier and it looks pretty sweet. I saw +61.5  dBm with 0.4 dB of 
feedline loss before the power meter, so the amp is putting out +61.9 
dBm. I am using a different driver amp for the new amp.  My normal old 
setup has a Teletek 12 V solid state amp that puts out lots of power 
with low gain.  The new driver will do about 50-60 watts and consists of 
two MRF148 FETs running at 50 volts. I suspect it is cleaner than the 
Teletek running on 12 volts. I rigged up a bias circuit to turn off the 
MRF148s in receive, but it will still amplify if drive is applied. I 
need to change that and will probably use a P channel FET DC switch and 
turn on and off the 50 volt power when keyed. I think I want a good 
filter in the driver as well. Hopefully, I can get the solid state amp 
installed by the June contest. Both amps weigh about the same, but the 
8877 HV supply is sure heavier than the switching supply that drives the 
solid state amp.  I even wrote up an article about the new amp.

73

Dave K1WHS

On 4/12/2022 4:54 PM, Bill Olson wrote:
> woo hoo! Due to some unforseen circumstances, my music gig has been 
> cancelled tonight.. SO... instead of making lots of money I'll be able 
> to get on the radio and talk to a bunch of old geezers!! Yay.. I'll be 
> there at 7 and as long as it seems interesting.. Running 350 watts to 
> a 15-1/2 el K1FO at 120 feet SSB/CW preferred other modes "if I have to"..
>
> bill, K1DY in FN54JQ Maine
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* VHFcontesting 
> <vhfcontesting-bounces+callbill=hotmail.com at contesting.com> on behalf 
> of David Olean <k1whs at metrocast.net>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, April 12, 2022 4:24 PM
> *To:* NEWSVHF at mailman.qth.net <NEWSVHF at mailman.qth.net>; 
> vhfcontesting at contesting.com <vhfcontesting at contesting.com>; 222 >> 
> 222Activity at groups.io <222Activity at groups.io>
> *Subject:* [VHFcontesting] 222 MHz Activity Night
> Hello 222 fanatics!
>
> Today is Tuesday and I am getting geared up for the activity night. Last
> week was a comedy of errors on my part. I am finding that I am losing
> most of my fast ball and most problems are self inflicted. My amplifier
> would not tune properly and I thought that my tower mtd preamp was blown
> out. I also had no internet connection.  First we fixed the 5 GHz link
> and got the path working again. I suspect RF on 160 meters is tripping
> the link up as the dish and CAT V shielded cable is very close to the
> 160 radiator. We had to reset everything and re assign the proper path
> names etc.   The amplifier needed some work and I dragged it down to the
> shop and re worked the plate tuning caacitor system.  It had a bristol
> wrench set screw that defied finding a proper tool to loosen. I tried
> everything I had to no avail. I ended up machining some new parts and
> used set screws that normal folks can deal with. I modified things to
> allow a wider tuning range. I hope it works. My PRM-10 GDO says that it
> works.
>
> The tower mounted preamp was another hassle, and I climbed the tower and
> opened the wx proof box then clipped out the preamp and took it doen to
> the shop. I magine my surprise when I fired it up and saw 20 dB gain and
> a 0.4 db noise figure. (?)  I also checked the SAW fiter and it checked
> just fine too. To my chagrin, I found that the preamp cable in the shack
> had fallen off the 7/8" cable. What a dumb move!! Now I have to climb
> back up and re install the preamp at 105 ft up!  I keep saying that I
> need a chaperone to watch me all the time.
>
> So if you have any 222 MHz gear, now is the time to try it out on 222
> this evening.  Most folks get on around 7 PM EDST or 2300UT. Most
> activity is on CW, SSB and FT8  and use of chat pages is encouraged.
> Most folks in the NE use the ON4KST page, but do whatever works in your
> area.  We are trying to build activity in the entire country and that
> will allow attempted skeds with stations outside of your typical
> operating area. This is obviously a great way  to find elevated band
> conditions. Here in the NE, we have terrible conditions this time of
> year, but the Gulf states are starting to heat up and soon, with warmer
> wx and a bit of humidity in the air masses, we should start enjoying
> some long haul contacts here in the northeast. These great contacts are
> only possible if we all make an effort to be on the band. Tuesday
> nights are a good way to ensure that your setup is working at 100%. If
> the band opens on another day, you are sure that your system will be 
> ready!!
>
> I dragged my computer up to the VHF shack and got it all hooked up and
> going. I have it interfaced with my 222 rig and am ready for FSK441,
> MSK144,  FT8, and JT65.  I am now off to re install the KW amp and try
> to put the preamp back on the tower! I hope it all works!!  CU this 
> evening.
>
> Dave K1WHS
>
>
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