Topband: FS: rx antenna surge suppressors

Shameless commercial plug follows - Topband types usually have large rx antennas, and when my beverages and rx 4-square coaxes started snapping at me when thunderstorms rolled over last year (they were disconnected in the shack at the time), I installed a few of these in my single-point ground

Re: Topband: Bi-Directional Beverage Question

Phil, I built my own bidirectional, two-wire beverages (probably very like the DXE units) and, in my opinion polarity only matters if you are phasing two beverages. 73, geo - n4ua On Sun, Jul 31, 2011 at 3:38 PM, Phil Clements philcleme...@centurylink.net wrote: I have four bi-directional

Re: Topband: question about RX splitter

Or, if you don't want to do your own packaging, I have a large quantity of new Minicircuits ZSC-2-1-75 available (same two-transformer design, although smaller cores). http://www.minicircuits.com/pdfs/ZSC-2-1-75+.pdf They have 75 Ohm BNC connectors (100% mechanically compatible with 50 Ohm BNC

Re: Topband: Beverage transformer enclosures

Paul, The last two sets I built, I used Bud PN-1321 for the reflection transformer at the far end, and the slightly larger Bud PN-1323 for the input transformers and relays at the feed end (these were 2-wire bidirectional transformers). They are UV-resistant grey plastic and gasketed and not too

Re: Topband: S21 impedance measurements

On Sat, Jul 14, 2012 at 9:28 PM, Richard (Rick) Karlquist rich...@karlquist.com wrote: On 7/14/2012 2:15 PM, George Dubovsky wrote: All, I guess it's time for me to put up my common mode choke test technique for all to shoot at. I have a HP 4815A Vector Z meter, a N2PK VNA, and a HP

Re: Topband: Vertical Array Over Uneven Ground

All, This argument has been going on ever since I got out of Engineering school, and frankly, it's not going to stop until my generation is gone. I'm an EE and I work in my own machine shop in my (new) retirement. I work in Imperial units because I THINK in Imperial units - it's what I learned as

Re: Topband: ARRL LOTW and More

It's a contest - I don't care if I miss KP4 and KP2 as long as everyone else does too! 73, geo - n4ua On Tue, Dec 18, 2012 at 7:14 PM, Herb Schoenbohm he...@vitelcom.net wrote: I guess if I do as you suggested then next time stations will not only miss KP4 which did not show this time but

Re: Topband: Don W6AM

On Sat, Jul 27, 2013 at 10:33 PM, Tom W8JI w...@w8ji.com wrote: That, of course, doesn't change how antennas work. I have no doubt a good monoband Yagi is as good as or better than a pretty large Ham Rhombic. Anecdotal information to be sure, but back in the 60's there was a series of

Re: Topband: RX antenna transformer winding

I have used plastic coffee stirrers from the fast food joints; they start out smaller and they cost the same... ;-) 73, geo - n4ua On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 11:48 AM, n0...@juno.com wrote: From recent postings: I started using Teflon sleeves in windings because I ran out of small Teflon

Re: Topband: Beverage antenna terminations

Look at the Ohmite OX and OY series of resistors; they are pretty rugged under surge conditions and, as best I can measure, they are claimed to be non-inductive at HF. 73, geo - n4ua On Tue, Sep 24, 2013 at 10:46 PM, Bruce k...@myfairpoint.net wrote: They were supposed to be non-inductive

Re: Topband: Replacing F Connectors with BNCs

Pete, I recommend you stay with the F-connectors. BNCs are fine in a lab environment where cables must be disconnected often, but their convenience factor comes with a trade-off in reliability. If, however, you are connecting and disconnecting F-connectors a lot, the female F will start to show

Re: Topband: PZ1AA

They sent me Zone 9... 73, geo - n4ua On Sun, Jan 26, 2014 at 6:53 PM, Don Kirk wd8...@gmail.com wrote: Worked a station identified as PZ1AA during the CQWW 160 meter CW contest this weekend, and the zone they reported was 8. Wonder if this was a valid call, as I believe the zone should

Topband: Apology for QRM

All, I apologize for briefly QRMing the FT5 this evening. Mistakes were made; buttons were pushed. I will try to pay attention in the future. 73, geo - n4ua _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband

Re: Topband: N2PK VNA

The N2PK design is a well-regarded piece of kit, and I built one about 4 years ago. It compared very well with the HP 8753 VNA I had on my bench at work back before I retired. It has a very enthusiastic following worldwide, surprising for something that is only available as a fairly complicated

Re: Topband: tool for install radials

This is the radial plow I used to put in 60 radials under my full-size 160 vertical. It was originally an ag implement called a middle-buster, and it was originally built by W4PK and improved by me. It goes through most roots, and it dislodges small rocks but can't do a thing with really big

Re: Topband: tool for install radials

: Bad link? I get: The open folder can no longer be viewed. The folder that you were viewing no longer exists or you no longer have permission to access it. You have been moved to My Drive. 73, Charlie, N0TT On Wed, 10 Dec 2014 17:55:12 -0500 George Dubovsky n4ua...@gmail.com writes

Re: Topband: tool for install radials

=0B3V9JKlc_l_ZMWlOZFJWUXp2VDgusp=sharing See, it even has the word *sharing* in it... ;-) 73, geo - n4ua On Thu, Dec 11, 2014 at 7:24 AM, George Dubovsky n4ua...@gmail.com wrote: OK, try this now. I may not have had link sharing on. https://drive.google.com/drive/#folders/0B3V9JKlc_l_ZMWlOZFJWUXp2VDg Let

Re: Topband: 78th Anniversary of First Ham License

Well, congratulations Paul. That is one heck of an accomplishment, and one I certainly aspire to. Not the getting sunk part... ;-) 73, geo - n4ua On Mon, Jan 19, 2015 at 8:41 PM, Paul Elliott p...@valornet.com wrote: Today I have the extremely good fortune to celebrate 78 years of being a

Re: Topband: Snap and seal F connectors

Hi Bob, Yes, they can be, but when you're all done, you'll wonder why you went to the trouble. Firstly, they are difficult to remove, in that the wedge locking mechanism at the back is really good at its job. You will have to devise some sort of tool to force the plastic part back away from the

Re: Topband: G10, GPO3 was Re: rohn insulators

On Fri, Dec 18, 2015 at 8:57 AM, Tim Shoppa wrote: > I notice that the G10 insulators I have made (wire insulators, turned or > cut on my crude home tools... I don't have a tower!) start out "G10 green" > but then turn brown after a few years in the weather. I suspect this is

Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

Hi Art, I have 2 classes of rx antennas for 160/80, an active rx 4-square with short 108" verticals (a copy of the first-generation DXE array) and 3 pretty long bi-directional beverages. In general, the 4-sq is not as "razor sharp" as the beverages, so I generally put the 4-sq on the main rx of

Re: Topband: Rx splinter

Shameless plug: if anyone needs a new Mini-Circuits ZSC-2-1-75 (different package, still BNC connectors), I have a bunch of them for $15 each plus shipping. Change one internal chip resistor, and it's a very good 50 Ohm splitter/combiner too. 73, geo - n4ua On Sat, Feb 2, 2019 at 4:35 PM Phil

Re: Topband: DXCC Committee.

> This would give new meaning to the 'oldie' WFWL. I never heard of a > "Slim" confirming a contact. > > Perhaps you never heard of P5RS7. I've got a card. > 73, geo - n4ua > > _ > Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband > Reflector > _