Re: Topband: Where to ground the Beverage feedline?
I learned NOT to ground Beverage feedline on antenna side. Using K9AY Remote-Powered Preamplifier PRE-1 the feedline IS grounded as far as the preamp mounting bracket should be grounded. How to overcome ? Any hints, please. 73 de Thomas, DL1AMQ ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Where to ground the Beverage feedline?
Topbanders, thank you for the comments so far. With the initial setup the feedline crossed the entire run in the air, high enough to let even cars with antennas pass under it. After i buried the feedline, the antenna had become so quiet that i checked for loose connections at the feedpoint and the termination resistor. Amazing. The feedline is buried about 3-4 inches for the first 7-8 meters, then about 1 inch for the rest (about 20m). The transformer is a BN73-something binocular core, wound as suggested by W0BTU and others. Someone suggested to ground the feedline where it leaves the ground (at the shack end), will this improve things? -- Ohne CW ist es nur CB.. 73, Martin DM4iM ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Toroidal common mode choke
On paper I agree but what about real world? Topbanders seemed to do quite well with the old 43 mix and the resultant lower impedance. How much is good enough? That's a good point. It seems we tend to go to extremes of black and white and abandon common sense or reasoning in everything we do these days. That pattern has crept into some very simple things, perhaps so one answer fits all and no one ever says it depends. I havent changed any of the 43 material in the house since they removed the noise from each consumer device; some have been in place for over 30 years going back to the prior QTH. As new stuff is added I use 31 mix, seems to work the same. I've never been a big proponent of peppering a system with beads, because often a common-mode series impedance by itself is the least efficient way to do mitigation. It takes a terrible CM signal levels to cause problems, if connectors are good and the antenna is a reasonable distance away. If the antenna isn't a reasonable distance away, then correcting the source is often better. It's really a big soup of things, and I think some of this has gone beyond sensible solutions. I lived years without problems without any ferrite cores, BUT I grounded feeders sensibly and looked at the system. It all about ratios and changes in CM impedances. Once something fixes something, it all seems the same. After all, fixed is fixed. Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems we think noise all comes from common mode and if we add increased suppression things get better and better with nearly no limits. We become almost anorexic with suppression. What really happens is once antenna noise dominates, which can even happen without any suppression at all in many systems, all the rest is a wasted effort. In other systems once the feedline has reasonable suppression, direct radiation takes over. We can add a billion beads to the feeder and nothing changes. There should be more focus on telling people how to find problems, and less on treating every system the same. I was visiting a friend and he told me stories about building massive bead strings a few feet long on Yagi antennas!! Someone should stop the bead madness enveloping us, and get us back to rational thought. 73 Tom ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Topband: antenna wire
Hello Wich antenna wire do you use for large delta loops for 160 and 80 mts, or other wire antennas? I did something with Polys-13 from DavisRF, but not sure if I need a thicker wire to run high power My 80 mts delta loop wire is very dark over 5 years, and was broken at one of the corner where I have insulator and RF is to high 73, Jorge CX6VM/CW5W ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Where to ground the Beverage feedline?
Um -- what did you say was the typical skin depth of soil at 2 MHz? Somehow, I seriously doubt it was down that far. :) Common mode suppression requirements depend on things: 1.) The sensitivity of the antenna to all signals, either bad unwanted signals like noise or good wanted signals. This is the good signal and bad noise power output of the antenna. 2.) The level of unwanted signals and noise fed down the feeder towards the antenna. 3.) The ratio of series and shunt impedances along the system, but only **if** the system has enough unwanted CM junk to overcome antenna signal power. For some reason beyond my understanding, I think we are going far over the top of what is reasonableand it is getting worse. I was at a friend's house and he told me about installing very long bead strings in Yagi antenna feeders. Please, let's all stop this needless bead insanity and get back to some common sense. Any conductor very near earth for a long distance has considerable attenuation along the conductor. If it didn't, we could bury our NVIS antennas or run longwires laid right on dirt with high efficiency. It's all about ratios everywhere in the system, including the CM injected and signal level sensitivity of the antenna. I make enough measurements of antennas here every year, some right in my driveway near noise sources, to know when something is getting overblown. 73 Tom ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: antenna wire
I doubt the wire broke at corner because RF is too high. Mechanical dressing at any corner is far more relevant. The stranded Polystealth is good stuff, will survive bends without good mechanical stress relief much better than solid copper, but it too will break at a corner after enough flexing if not dressed appropriately. Also note that polystealth is copper clad steel, with a rather thin coat of copper, and will show some rust of the steel core wherever the copper is nicked. Nothing against polystealth I've had 130 feet of it over my house for many years now. It is so much easier to deal with than solid copperweld. I would still be entwined in a snake of wire if I had tried to put up 130 feet of similar gauge solid copperweld over my house. I advocate the way to build a long lasting corner, involves two separate antenna wires dressed appropriately (large radius loop through insulator and no tight corners) through the insulator, with the two wires connected by a flexible electrical jumper that has no mechanical stress applied. I learned the above dealing with both solid copperweld and solid copper ladder line at corners. At any corner or support where the wind would whip the ladder line, the wire was guaranteed to break. But stress relieve the corners with large radius loops, good mechanical dressing and a flexible electrical jumper that has no stress on it, and it'll last forever. Tim N3QE -Original Message- From: Topband [mailto:topband-boun...@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Jorge Diez - CX6VM Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 8:58 AM To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Topband: antenna wire Hello Wich antenna wire do you use for large delta loops for 160 and 80 mts, or other wire antennas? I did something with Polys-13 from DavisRF, but not sure if I need a thicker wire to run high power My 80 mts delta loop wire is very dark over 5 years, and was broken at one of the corner where I have insulator and RF is to high 73, Jorge CX6VM/CW5W ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Toroidal common mode choke
In the real world, receiving (or transmitting) problems are often caused by faults rather than by inadequate design. The most common problems are connectors and deteriorated coaxial cable caused by poor installation practices and moisture entry. Faults are best found through regular inspections, rather than (as many of us do) waiting for the fault to become so severe that its obvious. A DX resistance measurement of your transmission line performed inside your shack takes only a few seconds and will reveal many of the most common faults. A VSWR sweep with an MFJ-259 or your favorite instrument is also very useful. VNA and TDR measurements are also very helpful if you have that capability (you should!). Keep records of your measurements so that changes will be apparent. Any change is cause for an investigation. 73 Frank W3LPL Original message Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:42:26 -0500 From: Tom W8JI w...@w8ji.com Subject: Re: Topband: Toroidal common mode choke To: topband@contesting.com On paper I agree but what about real world? Topbanders seemed to do quite well with the old 43 mix and the resultant lower impedance. How much is good enough? That's a good point. It seems we tend to go to extremes of black and white and abandon common sense or reasoning in everything we do these days. That pattern has crept into some very simple things, perhaps so one answer fits all and no one ever says it depends. I havent changed any of the 43 material in the house since they removed the noise from each consumer device; some have been in place for over 30 years going back to the prior QTH. As new stuff is added I use 31 mix, seems to work the same. I've never been a big proponent of peppering a system with beads, because often a common-mode series impedance by itself is the least efficient way to do mitigation. It takes a terrible CM signal levels to cause problems, if connectors are good and the antenna is a reasonable distance away. If the antenna isn't a reasonable distance away, then correcting the source is often better. It's really a big soup of things, and I think some of this has gone beyond sensible solutions. I lived years without problems without any ferrite cores, BUT I grounded feeders sensibly and looked at the system. It all about ratios and changes in CM impedances. Once something fixes something, it all seems the same. After all, fixed is fixed. Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems we think noise all comes from common mode and if we add increased suppression things get better and better with nearly no limits. We become almost anorexic with suppression. What really happens is once antenna noise dominates, which can even happen without any suppression at all in many systems, all the rest is a wasted effort. In other systems once the feedline has reasonable suppression, direct radiation takes over. We can add a billion beads to the feeder and nothing changes. There should be more focus on telling people how to find problems, and less on treating every system the same. I was visiting a friend and he told me stories about building massive bead strings a few feet long on Yagi antennas!! Someone should stop the bead madness enveloping us, and get us back to rational thought. 73 Tom ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Topband: 2011 ARRL 160 Meter Contest Certificates
Hi folks- Certificates for the 2011 ARRL 160 Meter Contest were mailed today. Look for them in your mailbox soon. As always, you can track the progress of ARRL contest awards processing at the following page on the ARRL site: http://www.arrl.org/plaques-and-certificates 73, Sean Kutzko, KX9X Contest Branch Manager ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio 225 Main St. Newington, CT 06111 860-594-0232 skut...@arrl.org ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Topband: ROD NEWKIRK, W9BRD/VA3ZBB SK
I have just learned this morning that Rod Newkirk, VA3ZBB/W9BRD died last night. Old time DX'ers will remember the column How's DX - by Rod Newkirk W9BRD which appeared monthly since some time in the 1940's until the 1970's. About 20 years or so ago on 40m CW, Rod, W9BRD worked Betty, VE3ZBB. Skeds followed. Then letters. Then visits. Then marriage, and a move to Ottawa for Rod where he has lived for about 20 years, obtaining the call VA3ZBB. He also retained his old call W9BRD. Rod has been in poor health and living in a constant-care facility for several years, with daily visits by Betty. They were a great couple, and regularly attended our weekly QCWA breakfasts for many years. We will miss him! Bert, VE3QAA ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Looking to improve TX antenna Efficiency
Steve, I have an inverted L with 32 feet vertical and then 96 feet horizontal leg. The horizontal leg runs southeast and slopes from 32 down to 10 feet at the last 15 feet of its run. The antenna is resonant with SWR of 1.3 at 1.810. It is fed directly with 50 ohm coax. No chokes, coils or tuning of any sort. I have 5 random length radials made of 14 gauge solid wire. Due to property constraints none of the radials run in a westerly direction. This fall I improved the ground system by adding two more 8 foot ground rods spaced about 19 feet. Those ground rods are all interconnected. I also raised the horizontal leg up as far in a tree as I could. When I raised the horizontal leg the SWR dropped considerably. The antenna plays better now. It seems that the improved ground system helped. I will continue to make ground improvements as this seems to help the most. I cant raise the antenna any higher. Perhaps you can also benefit by improving your ground system? 73, Joe KB3KJS On Tue, 2012-11-20 at 00:23 -0500, Steven Raas wrote: Last 'Season' was my 1st real dive into 160m. Running a 'InvL' ( which I will describe lower in detail ) and 100w, I managed to pull 19 DXCC and 48 states cfmd. I am in looking into ways to improve my TX antenna efficiency, for this season w/o getting to crazy . (rx antennas are in the works and a different topic ) Current TX antenna is as follows: (Tuned in shack / not self reasonant ) Main Element: 32 feet vertical - 90 deg bend ( the 'L' ) which runs 43' horzontally pointing north. Then, another 90 deg bend, and ascending 26' in length ( from 30' up to about 11' above ground running from west to east. ), then..you guessed it.. another 90 deg bend that now runs to the south flat top for 27' ( @ 11' up ) Ground radials qty 24. Min length 22' - max length 62' ( from az 330 deg - 70 deg with the longer radials pointed from 35-60 deg az) The FCP idea is not practicle for me @ this point in time. My Thought.. add a Coil @ the 30' point of the main vertical run made from perhaps 1/8th inch copper tubing ( refrigerant line ) in a fairly large diamater ( 16-20 ), perhaps 14-20 turns even spaced, using perhaps drilled lexan as spacers.. Try extending the vertical run another 8-10' or so.. and then the rest of the antenna as is. Going above 40' vertical is not an option @ this point in time either. ( yes i know the more vertical the better its just a no-can-do for now) At the moment the antenna's best 'swr' is at roughtly 1818 khz @ 2:1 there is no resonant point that I can find within the 160m band. ( no antenna anyalizer either - Mabey santa will provide ) My best guess is that in its current configuration... the antenna is probabally in the 8-12 ohm area.. I have nothing solid to back that up however. At the feed point I have a coaxial choke, 21 turns on a 8 form, the cable is similar to RG213 , with the exception the center conductor is solid. ( its actually 50 ohm quad shielded cable i got form a place I used to work, HP node cluster inter connect cable. .405 blue in color, i cant remember the vf on it but i did spec it out a while back, and its ok for HF use. ) Or, tuning the antenna @ the base with a variable cap. of sufficent size, or perhaps even both? I know there is NO magic that can come..im just trying to improve on what I have and can do @ this point in time. Suggestions, thoughts, flames and raised brows are all welcome. Steve Raas N2JDQ ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: ROD NEWKIRK, W9BRD/VA3ZBB SK
On 2012-11-20, at 12:22 PM, Bert Barry wrote: I have just learned this morning that Rod Newkirk, VA3ZBB/W9BRD died last night. Old time DX'ers will remember the column How's DX - by Rod Newkirk W9BRD which appeared monthly since some time in the 1940's until the 1970's. About 20 years or so ago on 40m CW, Rod, W9BRD worked Betty, VE3ZBB. Skeds followed. Then letters. Then visits. Then marriage, and a move to Ottawa for Rod where he has lived for about 20 years, obtaining the call VA3ZBB. He also retained his old call W9BRD. Rod has been in poor health and living in a constant-care facility for several years, with daily visits by Betty. They were a great couple, and regularly attended our weekly QCWA breakfasts for many years. We will miss him! Hi Bert, Many thanks for that note...very sad news, indeed. I grew up reading How's DX? in QST---I especially loved his ...continued adventures of grommethead schultz. Those stories were rip-roariously funny to me. I especially liked the one about Schultz losing his mind over the fact that he'd misplaced the details of ...expeimental antenna no. 9: Strongest NA signal, bar none! and, You interfere with Thailand QRO phone net! were written on letters he'd received, days after discarding the details of his wunderkind aerial... And then there was the DX Hoggery Poetry Depreciation Society, the contents of the poems therein being probably even MORE applicable now than when they were first written...! R.I.P. Rod, thanks for the wonderful memories... ~73~ de Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Toroidal common mode choke
Tom wrote: There should be more focus on telling people how to find problems, and less on treating every system the same. That is a great suggestion, Tom. Can you recommend a resource that gives a cookbook approach to identifying and resolving problems? Brian K1LI ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Looking to improve TX antenna Efficiency
We need to put gorilla detectors in SWR meters. Loss in the ground counterpole will be the thousand pound gorilla in the room. Heavily bent antennas as you describe lower the radiation resistance significantly, which makes the resistance of the counterpole even more critical than for a pure 125 foot vertical. Doing stuff in the air with the wire is unlikely to make significant improvements. You will have to deal with the gorilla somehow. I have had people describe a system with family resemblance to yours tell me that the feed Z was 45 to 50 ohms. With an effective radial system, you should be having to match some thing like 15-20 ohms, perhaps less, and it should be fairly narrow. You should need one of those low Z ununs to feed a low, bent wire, unless you've gone long on the wire to raise Z and be content with a lot of NVIS. A friend of mine with a fan vertical, kept adding 125 foot radials made from insulated stranded #18 (he had an inexhaustible supply) on the ground until he quit lowering Z at NINETY of them. At that point it was a 17 ohm feed with a series coil made from 1/4 inch copper tubing. He had to use a unun to step it up to 50 ohms for the trek to the shack. It worked very well. Top ten USA finishes in 160 meter contests. With that much current at the ground, getting dense and uniform all around is worth a lot of radiated energy. Irregular, miscellaneous short radials in/on the ground are just about always serious losers. With a 160 antenna system, the FIRST thing you plan is where and how to deal with radials or counterpoise correctly, which could be quite the difficult exercise, and ONLY THEN start worrying about the wire. The payoff for care to that is huge. 73, Guy. On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 12:23 AM, Steven Raas sjr...@gmail.com wrote: Last 'Season' was my 1st real dive into 160m. Running a 'InvL' ( which I will describe lower in detail ) and 100w, I managed to pull 19 DXCC and 48 states cfmd. I am in looking into ways to improve my TX antenna efficiency, for this season w/o getting to crazy . (rx antennas are in the works and a different topic ) Current TX antenna is as follows: (Tuned in shack / not self reasonant ) Main Element: 32 feet vertical - 90 deg bend ( the 'L' ) which runs 43' horzontally pointing north. Then, another 90 deg bend, and ascending 26' in length ( from 30' up to about 11' above ground running from west to east. ), then..you guessed it.. another 90 deg bend that now runs to the south flat top for 27' ( @ 11' up ) Ground radials qty 24. Min length 22' - max length 62' ( from az 330 deg - 70 deg with the longer radials pointed from 35-60 deg az) The FCP idea is not practicle for me @ this point in time. My Thought.. add a Coil @ the 30' point of the main vertical run made from perhaps 1/8th inch copper tubing ( refrigerant line ) in a fairly large diamater ( 16-20 ), perhaps 14-20 turns even spaced, using perhaps drilled lexan as spacers.. Try extending the vertical run another 8-10' or so.. and then the rest of the antenna as is. Going above 40' vertical is not an option @ this point in time either. ( yes i know the more vertical the better its just a no-can-do for now) At the moment the antenna's best 'swr' is at roughtly 1818 khz @ 2:1 there is no resonant point that I can find within the 160m band. ( no antenna anyalizer either - Mabey santa will provide ) My best guess is that in its current configuration... the antenna is probabally in the 8-12 ohm area.. I have nothing solid to back that up however. At the feed point I have a coaxial choke, 21 turns on a 8 form, the cable is similar to RG213 , with the exception the center conductor is solid. ( its actually 50 ohm quad shielded cable i got form a place I used to work, HP node cluster inter connect cable. .405 blue in color, i cant remember the vf on it but i did spec it out a while back, and its ok for HF use. ) Or, tuning the antenna @ the base with a variable cap. of sufficent size, or perhaps even both? I know there is NO magic that can come..im just trying to improve on what I have and can do @ this point in time. Suggestions, thoughts, flames and raised brows are all welcome. Steve Raas N2JDQ ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Looking to improve TX antenna Efficiency
Steven Raas wrote: Main Element: 32 feet vertical - 90 deg bend ( the 'L' ) which runs 43' horzontally pointing north. Then, another 90 deg bend, and ascending 26' in length ( from 30' up to about 11' above ground running from west to east. ), then..you guessed it.. another 90 deg bend that now runs to the south flat top for 27' ( @ 11' up ) This type of question is hard to answer because we don't know what you are able to do. If you are able to do it, I would suggest changing from an inverted L to a T top loaded vertical. This suppresses useless horizontally polarized waves and improves the efficiency in terms of what is heard at the receiving end. You may still need a coil at the base to achieve resonance if can't put out long enough top loading wires. That's OK. Rick N6RK ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Where to ground the Beverage feedline?
As Ive mentioned here many times I started by removing noise sources around the house as well as at a few cooperative neighbors. That involved Mix 33 1/2 x 7.5 rods and 43, 75 and 77 mix 2.4 toroids. Ive been doing this for decades at 2 homes and long before most of the current crop of noise suspects were even on the market. That work continues and I can get up and personal with a battery radio to each part I suppress as well as listen right at the AC panel. The main feedline is 750' of 1/2 CATV hardline thats been in place since late 1989 and is checked a few times a year with a 75 Ohm CATV load at the far end. It is always dead quiet with just a single 4' ground rod driven at an angle about 30' from the switching hub and then another about 100' the house where it goes elevated over the lawn and down into the house using RG-6 quad shield for the final 25' into and inside the house. The switch is a RCS-8 with 750' of elevated unshielded control wires with a big 31 toroid about every 100' since its in a narrow strip about 30' wide between the N/S Beverage and the ends of elevated radials for 80 and 160. It was fine without them on the ground but not at 6.5' tacked to trees where RF triggered relays at times and seemed to couple noise into the Beverage. At almost $7 a pop from Mouser it was a pricy educationbut the 1000' reel of wire was free maybe 20 years ago. Amidon prices are a rip off. Another relay hub is fed with twin runs of elevated RG-6 quad from two more 2 wire bi directionals and about 250' and 200' of coax. No ferrites at all on any feedline and the 73-202 transformers are using the dual sleeves (4 per core) Ive also championed here to provide minimal coupling C. All Beverages have their own antenna ground rod and radials at both ends as well as a rod before the relay boxes for the last 2 mentioned. Some Beverages at the rear relay box start only 10-30' from it so Ive used only 2 4' rods about 8' apart at the box for all 8 feeds. All unselected feeds just float, no resistors used but doesnt seem to hurt anything; relays likely have enough isolation and there is no daisy chaining thru multiple relays as did the old RCS-4 Carl KM1H - Original Message - From: Herb Schoenbohm he...@vitelcom.net To: j...@audiosystemsgroup.com Cc: topband@contesting.com Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 12:00 PM Subject: Re: Topband: Where to ground the Beverage feedline? Only if this before buying all those expensive 3' Type 31 Ferrite Rings I could have saved some money. I though that having many 250-350 foot lengths of RG-6 feedlines running all over the radial system (ROG's or radials on the ground) as well as having nearby 80 and 40 meter verticals that during some contests where I am operating on 160 and a guest is operating via remote control on 80 and 40, that trapping as much RF from the Receive Only coax shields made sense. on some Beverages I would get a de-sense making copy of weak signals very problematic. So I installed 12 turns on a 3 inch ferrite on both sides of a common ground bus and several ground rods outside and about 20 feet from the shack. I also have inline a KD9SV band pass filter with the Beverage bank output and now it is possible to co-exist with other operators on higher bands running full power. Maybe getting a higher quality flooded coax meant for direct burial would have been a better way to go but this is not convenient with the low cost of cable TV RG-6 even here. The coax shield at the feed transformer on both the single wire and reversible Beverages is not grounded, only the Beverage side secondary has a ground connection. So now I am not sure if I have really been wasting time this way. f it helps the debate I plan to take a very noisy Chinese switching supply running from a car battery and an 800 watt inverter and lay it running on several RG6 runs coming back to the shack at about 200 feet away while checking the difference in noise reduction. I thought that these toroid rings, although expensive, would buy me so isolation from cable induce noise, whatever the source. Winding some turns through these toroids of the AC power cable on the wife's entertainment center as made all IX vanish in the living room. But if it was wrong to buy all these type 31 ferrite rings, keep you eyes on e-Bay soon. Herb, KV4FZ On 11/20/2012 12:44 AM, Jim Brown wrote: On 11/19/2012 12:25 PM, Tom W8JI wrote: If the feedline is bonded to the same ground on both sides of the choke, any choke would do no good at all. It would be shorted. I was not suggesting the same ground electrode, rather widely spaced electrodes. 73, Jim K9YC ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version:
Re: Topband: Toroidal common mode choke
Replace existing #43 stuff that's working? No way. Do any NEW #43 stuff for low bands? No to that also. The proper mix is dependent on many things, not just net impedance. We have to consider core stress. Resistance heats, while reactance doesn't heat. Sometimes higher Q cores are necessary for power handling reasons. There should be some planning involved for the system. When people don't plan properly, we wind up with things like tuners with baluns on inputs. Almost everything is a compromise of several things, so a single focus (which is common) often gets us less than optimal compromises. 73 Tom ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Topband: the winter...
After a full summer spent on 160M, with great results... here we are, on the winter. Guys, do you know what I say? I think it was better (for me) in the summer, hee. Unfortunately between my mountains the situation sounds very difficult: a lot of traffic, a lot of people, a lot of operations... am a little bottled, a little too, hee. Note that on 160M am running with fullwave deltaloop ( recommended for my valley by I8UDB ), some tools to receive and... amplifier. Friends less equipped than me... work better than me because, of course, they have the so called free space. ... So, so hard. ** Still not in log on PT0S and V84SMD... but I have not tried very much,WX was very bad over here. But... in the log for: HL5IVL; XP2I and (finally) Algeria 7X5NZ. So, not bad! See you... between the mountais! Alessandro, IZ5MOQ ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Topband Digest, Vol 119, Issue 24
Keep me posted as I need that on 80 and 160 but would be happy for just 80 Will be in the CQ WW this weekend. Got a HI Z 8 vert array going at the farm.. Sound pretty good.. -Original Message- From: topband-requ...@contesting.com Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 12:00 PM To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Topband Digest, Vol 119, Issue 24 Send Topband mailing list submissions to topband@contesting.com To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/topband or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to topband-requ...@contesting.com You can reach the person managing the list at topband-ow...@contesting.com When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than Re: Contents of Topband digest... Today's Topics: 1. Where to ground the Beverage feedline? (Martin) 2. Re: Converting a full-size G5RV to a T for 160m (Michael G. Carper) 3. Re: Where to ground the Beverage feedline? (Jim Brown) 4. Re: Where to ground the Beverage feedline? (Tom W8JI) 5. XW2CW (George) 6. Re: XW2CW (George) 7. Re: Toroidal common mode choke (ZR) 8. KD9SV Dual Band Pre-Amp and F.E.S. (Rick Arzadon) 9. Re: Where to ground the Beverage feedline? (Jim Brown) 10. Looking to improve TX antenna Efficiency (Steven Raas) 11. Re: Where to ground the Beverage feedline? (Jim Brown) 12. Re: Where to ground the Beverage feedline? (Thomas Herrmann) 13. Re: Where to ground the Beverage feedline? (Martin) 14. Re: Toroidal common mode choke (Tom W8JI) 15. antenna wire (Jorge Diez - CX6VM) 16. Re: Where to ground the Beverage feedline? (Tom W8JI) 17. Re: antenna wire (Shoppa, Tim) 18. Re: Toroidal common mode choke (donov...@starpower.net) 19. 2011 ARRL 160 Meter Contest Certificates (Kutzko, Sean, KX9X) 20. Re: Where to ground the Beverage feedline? (Herb Schoenbohm) -- Message: 1 Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 18:33:19 +0100 From: Martin dm...@t-online.de To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Topband: Where to ground the Beverage feedline? Message-ID: 50aa6d5f.7060...@t-online.de Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed Topbanders, please comment on this : The feedline of a beverage is buried all the way from the feedpoint to the shack. There it goes up vertically about 5meters, enters the shack side by side with other feedlines and is- after about another 5meters - connected to the radio . The cable is fitted with a common mode choke near the radio. Where should i ground the feedline? Is it a good idea to ground it where it comes off of the soil? Should it ( additionally) be grounded at the radio? Should i install another common mode choke at the feedpoint? All comments welcome. -- Ohne CW ist es nur CB.. 73, Martin DM4iM -- Message: 2 Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 14:17:12 -0500 From: Michael G. Carper m...@wa9pie.net To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Re: Topband: Converting a full-size G5RV to a T for 160m Message-ID: 006501cdc68a$7b7d05f0$727711d0$@wa9pie.net Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Thanks for all the replies. I've also found this article by AD1B in CQ from 1995 to be helpful. http://techdoc.kvindesland.no/radio/antennas/20061010171110285.pdf Thus far, the (102') G5RV is up at about 50' and I'm not using it in a T configuration. It's loading up on 160m like a regular G5RV. I know that's not optimal, BUT... I only need 30 more countries on 160m for DXCC and we'll be moving by March. So I'm not going to get all fancy with another inverted-L... or putting down a full ground field. I'll do the best I can to work 30 more with the G5RV or by following the attached article. Mike, WA9PIE -Original Message- From: Topband [mailto:topband-boun...@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Michael G. Carper Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2012 7:09 PM To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Topband: Converting a full-size G5RV to a T for 160m Hey guys. I saw a few items in a Google search where guys had converted their full-size G5RV into a T antenna on 160m. It had something to do with adding the obligatory counterpoise and shorting the feedline. This would turn the antenna from a horizontal radiator to a vertical radiator. Anyone have any info on this? Or can you refer me to a source? Mike, WA9PIE ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com -- Message: 3 Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:45:52 -0800 From: Jim Brown j...@audiosystemsgroup.com To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Re: Topband: Where to ground the Beverage feedline? Message-ID: 50aa8c70.7010...@audiosystemsgroup.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed On 11/19/2012 9:33 AM, Martin wrote: Should i install another common mode choke at the feedpoint? Absolutely! And bond the shield to ground on both sides of the
Re: Topband: ROD NEWKIRK,W9BRD/VA3ZBB/W9BRD died last night.
Hello Charlie, Nice to see you on the web. In the early 50s, we would send in contact information to Rod and he would publish some in QST How's DX. I sent one in with some QSOs on 10 meter AM and CW. Rod put in the publication : W0CKC actually worked someone on 10CW. W0CKC was my first call and now my Club Call. 73...Price W0RI I remember Rod from the old days (40's at least). The following is a quotation from Rod that's been posted in my shack forever: I HATE THE GUYS WHO CRITIZE THE ENTERPRIZE OF OTHER GUYS WHOSE ENTERPRIZE HAS MADE THEM RISE ABOVE THE GUYS WHO CRITIZE. For Auld Lang SyneCharlie, W0CD.. ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Topband: PT0S
Logs are on LoTW. Incredible. Those guys are amazing! Thank you es 73! Bob AA6VB Sent from my iPhone ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Topband: Is PT0S still on 160M?
They were on a lot last week, but I have seen very few spots the last few days. Are they finished with 160 meters? The original plan was to be on during all dark time. Rick N6RK ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Is PT0S still on 160M?
Booming in on 1825.5 right now at 0331z here in Florida -Original Message- From: Topband [mailto:topband-boun...@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Rick Karlquist Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 10:23 PM To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Topband: Is PT0S still on 160M? They were on a lot last week, but I have seen very few spots the last few days. Are they finished with 160 meters? The original plan was to be on during all dark time. Rick N6RK ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2221 / Virus Database: 2629/5407 - Release Date: 11/20/12 ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Is PT0S still on 160M?
They had a lot of WX problems, rebuilding antennas destroyed by the sea waves but they are doing the best, they really are heroes in this small place, just four ops to do all the work Will be there till next weekend, cqww cw included 73, Jorge CX6VM/CW5W Enviado desde mi BlackBerry® device de Antel -Original Message- From: Rick Karlquist rich...@karlquist.com Sender: Topband topband-boun...@contesting.comDate: Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:23:24 To: topband@contesting.com Reply-To: rich...@karlquist.com Subject: Topband: Is PT0S still on 160M? They were on a lot last week, but I have seen very few spots the last few days. Are they finished with 160 meters? The original plan was to be on during all dark time. Rick N6RK ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
Re: Topband: Is PT0S still on 160M?
They had been up on 80 cw earlier tonight but QSY to 160 at 10 pm local time, 0300z Wed, on 1825, listening up 2 and with best signal I have hrd them so far (in FL), wkd with 200 w out and 70 foot longwire, after I had thrown down a sketchy radial field. Best around 04 z and was working a mix of EU and NA. Still going at 0520z. Reporters on a MW DX list are reporting good skip to the south tonight. 73 Bob k2euh Jorge Diez CX6VM cx6vm.jo...@gmail.com wrote: They had a lot of WX problems, rebuilding antennas destroyed by the sea waves but they are doing the best, they really are heroes in this small place, just four ops to do all the work Will be there till next weekend, cqww cw included ___ Topband reflector - topband@contesting.com
