Re: Topband: Temporary antenna suggestion for 160

Hi Csaba, My experience is that an extensive radial system on the ground performs significantly better than a few elevated radials. I suspect its difficult to obtain nearly equal currents among a small number of elevated radials. There is nothing wrong with gull wing elevated radials, but

Topband: W3LPL Band Pass Fiters

Nice job Alan! Many hams are now using those inexpensive filters so they can share their Beverages among three bands without switching. And -- as you noted -- the 160 meter filter does a good job significantly reducing the signal level of AM broadcast stations below 1600 kHz. 73 Frank

Re: Topband: Temporary antenna suggestion for 160

Hi Mike, Years ago my 4-square transmitting array used "gull-wing" elevated radials sloping 45 degrees from the feedpoint at ground level to about ten feet high. When I replaced the radials with sixty 120-foot radials laid on the ground I had to shorten the verticals by about five feet to

Topband: Does this solar minimum seem a little more extreme than usual?

We've had 92 percent spotless days since May 19th. The last time this happened was more than 100 years ago when there were 93% spotless days from Feb 28 to Oct 24, 1913

Re: Topband: Presentation on the Development of Transoceanic Radio Communications from 1860

I gave a presentation on the history of transoceanic radio communications to the Frankford Radio Club a few days ago. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLN0MMxCvlc My presentation covers radio technology development from the Maxwell's mathematical description of electromagnetic waves in

Topband: NOAA/NASA international panel releases their latest Solar Cycle 25 forecast

The forecast consensus: Cycle 25 will peak in July 2025 (+/- 8 months), with a smoothed sunspot number of 115. Cycle 25 is forecast to be average in intensity and similar to Cycle 24. The panel concurred that solar minimum will occur in April 2020 (+/- 6 months). If their solar minimum

Re: Topband: K9ay loop not performing

Hi Pete, If your K9AY is near your transmitting antenna, it may be re-radiating signals into the K9AY loops. You may need to use a relay to detune the transmitting antenna while receiving, typically my lifting the connection to between the coax and the antenna 73 Frank W3LPL -

Re: Topband: 12V through coax

Hi Tony, George's advice is good. A few additional points: - you should also install a 100-150 uH choke across the coaxial connector going to your radio, it will protect your radio from the DC voltage if the capacitor shorts out. - its very, very important that all of your connectors be

Topband: 160 Meters in Thailand

According to E21EIC, hams in Thailand now have the full 1800-2000 KHz assignment. Look for HS0ZAR before and their multi-multi operation in the CQWW CW DX contest. 73 Frank W3LPL _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector

Topband: A new generation of Topband DXers

Topband was fairly quiet tonight with the usual dozen or so European stations. I decided to try FT8 for the first time on Topband. I've used it for several years on 6 meters mostly during the Transatlantic sporadic-E season but never on Topband. Much to my surprise after just one CQ, I put

Re: Topband: Circle arrays

Hi Dave, In order to get benefits from diversity your 8-circle needs to be very far away from your Beverages. If they are separated less than 500 feet the fading will be nearly perfectly correlated and there will be no diversity effect. I get excellent diversity performance with my

Re: Topband: Beverage Length vs F/B or (RDF?)

Beverage performance is optimum when installed over poorly conductive soil. Harold Beverage's first "Wave Antenna" (later named after him) was a BOG several miles long (used at 50 kHz) laid on sandy Long Island, NY soil. In order to achieve good directivity (especially front-to-side ratio)

Re: Topband: Blatant cheating using Remote Operation

Cecil, Please think again. Many topbanders use antennas and feedlines that extend beyond a 500 meter diameter circle. Please don't disparage us. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Cecil" To: "thorvaldur S T E F A N S S O N" Cc: "Greg - ZL3IX" , "topband" Sent:

Re: Topband: spark gap construction ideas for 160m tower

Just purchase them, they're not expensive. For example: www.antiquelampsupply.com/3-8-dia-brass-ball-tap-6-32f.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_auMy7GI5QIVho7ICh2C4wEvEAQYAyABEgJFGPD_BwE 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Jeff Blaine" To: "topband" Sent: Sunday, October 6,

Re: Topband: Inverted L redux

Hi Pete, Unless you're planning more than 30 radials eventually, there's no reason to install radials longer than the 50-60 feet you're already using. This is one of several classic references on the topic. See see Figure 3 and the 160 meter column in Table X:

Topband: Impressive demonstration of one dB of signal strength improvement

These recordings are an impressive demonstration of the benefit of one dB of signal strength improvement in a weak signal situation. Click on the links on this website: www.ab7e.com/weak_signal/mdd.html 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "David Gilbert" To:

Re: Topband: Effect of trees on vertical elements?

Hi John, Horizontal polarization isn't very effective on topband except for local QSOs. It would be far better if you could install an inverted-L vertical 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "John Harper" To: topband@contesting.com Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2019

Re: Topband: 160

Hi Bob The "how to" article is right here: http://p1k.arrl.org/pubs_archive/63144 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Robert Brennan via Topband" To: "Cecil" Cc: "rich k7zv" , "Harald Rester" , "Alan Swinger" , topband@contesting.com Sent: Friday, August 2, 2019

Re: Topband: Summer Update & a Surprise

Rotten Damped Spark Stuff http://p1k.arrl.org/pubs_archive/2989 - Original Message - From: "W0MU Mike Fatchett" To: topband@contesting.com Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2019 10:30:27 PM Subject: Re: Topband: Summer Update & a Surprise Same thing was said about SSB. The sky is

Re: Topband: FCP vs Gull Wing Elevated Radials

Hi Mark, I suspect the current -- and hence the radiation -- from the bottom of the vertical radiator is somewhat suppressed by proximity to gull wing radials. When I first installed a 160 vertical using two gull-wing resonant radials eight feet high I had to increase height of the

Topband: NASA Solar Cycle 25 Forecast: good news for Topband?

Using currently available observational data, predictions and prediction uncertainties have been calculated for Solar Cycle 25. The results, based on both the sunspot number series and observed magnetic fields, indicate that the upcoming Solar Maximum (Solar Cycle 25) is expected to be

Topband: Modern Grand Solar Minimum from 2020 to 2055?

This article in Nature forecasts that we're approaching a grand solar minimum -- similar to Maunder Minimum -- starting in 2020 and lasting for three solar cycles. I hope these scientists are wrong... www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-45584-3 An international panel of experts coordinated

Re: Topband: Fresnel Zone

Hi Sinisa, See the last paragraph in this email for a very specific answer to Ray's original question... Your comments about applying this 57 year old classic publication are exactly correct. First determine the desired elevation angle(s), t hen select the antenna height that

Re: Topband: Fresnel Zone

Hi Ray, The classic source for Fresnel zones as they apply to HF site selection is NBS Technical Note 139: https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/TN/nbstechnicalnote139.pdf While Technical Note 139 applies primarily to horizontally polarized antennas mounted above the ground, its

Re: Topband: NA activity CW topband ....................

Hi Nick, All of my receiving antennas have been removed until October and the four verticals in my 4-square vertical array have been disconnected. I can be quickly QRV with the verticals when desired 73 Frank W3LPL On 2019-04-13 03:31, uy0zg wrote: Hi What happened ? One NV3N from

Topband: 3Y0I team riding out a severe storm

Update: 0355Z March 27, 2019. We have communicated with our Rebel Pilot Andre (V51B) who Dom called just minutes ago via the Atlantic Tuna’s satellite phone. The 3Y0I Team and Crew of the Atlantic Tuna are OK. They have turned the ship with the winds to the east and are riding out a severe

Re: Topband: Bouvet

They've drifted only 36 miles downwind - Original Message - From: "GEORGE WALLNER" To: wb6r...@mac.com, "Steve Lawrence via Topband" Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2019 11:32:57 PM Subject: Re: Topband: Bouvet Maybe not. They seem to be in the middle of a huge storm. Sometimes, it is

Re: Topband: [CQ-Contest] sunspot cycle

Hi Bill, The current computerized SWPC Solar Cycle Progression product is fatally flawed and an embarrassment to NOAA's scientists. Why they don't have the wisdom to remove it from their web site is beyond rational understanding or explanation.

Topband: Donation to Association des Radio Amateurs Tunisiens - ARAT

Many topband operators had at least one QSO with the Scout Amateur Radio Club station 3V8SF this season thanks to the efforts of ARAT, the Association des Radio Amateurs Tunisiens and their president Ash KF5EYY. The Tunisian government has imposed a new transmitter conformity testing

Re: Topband: Lack of QSO's

Hi George, Its apparent that times have changed. There's still a large amount of topband CW activity, but today's operators are attracted to contests and working DXpeditions. Casual mid-week CW RTTY and SSB operating is drastically reduced on every band but contest activity is still

Re: Topband: V84SAA SR report 15 Feb - ANd final schedules of operation

Similar problem this morning, V84SAA had a strong enough signal from the NW from about 1155-1205Z that a QSO should have been easy, but he just kept calling CQ. Not even a hint that he heard any callers. Possibly a l ocal QRN issue. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From:

Re: Topband: Quick question.

Hi Iain, Simply use a relay at the base of your inverted-L to disconnect or detune the antenna when you're receiving 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: g4...@justfans.co.uk To: topband@contesting.com Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2019 4:40:05 PM Subject: Topband:

Re: Topband: V84SAA report 1530z 09 Feb

Very low solar activity at sunspot minimum makes 40 meters nearly a 24 hour DX band, especially during December and January and especially further north where there are 14 hours or more of darkness. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "terry burge" To:

Re: Topband: Locating Problem Signals

Simple TDoA techniques are useful for direction finding on non-ionospheric propagation modes, but TDoA-only DF techniques are very unreliable for ionospherically propagated signals A recent example is the intruder that was continuously active on 14.000 MHz for several days. Operators on the

Re: Topband: V84SAA report 1530z 09 Feb

Hi Jeff, I never heard even the slightest trace of V84SAA on topband this morning. I'll be there again starting at 1000Z tomorrow. I started to hear Krassy on 80 meters at 1213Z, 6 minutes after sunrise. It was extremely difficult to break through his big JA pileup, but after what seemed

Re: Topband: BOG near noisy powerline on 160

Hi Pete, Unfortunately you've installed your BOG so that the power line is in the near field of your antenna. Antennas fully develop their directive patterns in the far field, not in the near field. Large antennas develop their directivity far from the antenna, small antennas develop

Re: Topband: Inverted L improvements - Part 3 (now with data)

Hi Todd, In my opinion you're giving up too easily on your tall antenna. I suggest that you focus more on evaluating its on-the-air performance , and not focus as intently its feed point impedance and VSWR bandwidth. I hope you've been measuring the impedance and bandwidth of your tall

Re: Topband: elevated radial

Hello Anton, One elevated wire will work, more than one will work much better. Elevated wires must be near resonant length, a good starting point is to make your wire about 125 feet (38 meters) long Good luck! 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Anton

Topband: MIT Ionosphere, Shortwave Radio, and Propagation Lecture 2230Z (5:30 p.m. EST) Today

The next MIT radio technology presentation at 2230Z today will be "Ionosphere, Shortwave Radio, and Propagation" by Phil Erickson W1PJE at: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWwWW7rc6eKh8xfLl4Pac7W9l54h7oj-B_polymer=true The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Radio Society

Re: Topband: Waller Flag

Hi Stan, A horizontally polarized receiving antenna only 64 feet high on 160 meters will have exceptionally poor performance at the angles you need for DX QSOs. The performance is much worse when both horizontally polarized loops are very small and close spaced compared to the proven

Re: Topband: Rather use N-type (was Re: The answer to PL-259

Hi Jim, A 13-30 DIN connector is like a flange connector used with high power transmitters (e.g., television transmitters and 50 KW AM), but it uses threads rather than a flange. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Jim Thomson" To: "TopBand List" Sent: Saturday,

Re: Topband: [CQ-Contest] At least four more years of solar minimum?

Hi Yuri, There are two types of forecasts... Lucky or wrong. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Yuri Blanarovich" To: "CQ Contest" Cc: donov...@starpower.net, topband@contesting.com Sent: Saturday, December 8, 2018 4:39:32 PM Subject: RE: [CQ-Contest] At least

Re: Topband: At least four more years of solar minimum?

Hi Paul, I'm only the messenger! I'm very suspicious of that NOAA forecast, although its disappointing that there is scant evidence of Cycle 25 activity other than occasional very weak, tiny, very short lived opposite polarity sunspots. The future isn't what it used to be! 73 Frank

Topband: At least four more years of solar minimum?

NOAA updated its predictions for smoothed sunspot numbers and solar flux through the end of 2022. As of last month, their predictions ended in 2019. Their prediction shows a smoothed sunspot number of 10 for December 2018, declining to 2 in July 2020 through January 2021, then 1 during

Re: Topband: Rather use N-type (was Re: The answer to PL-259

Hi Mike, Captivated pin N connectors for hardline coax fits tightly over the center conductor. Captivated pin N connectors for flexible coax typically has a pin that requires solder. Floating pin N connectors belong in the trash bin. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message -

Re: Topband: Rather use N-type (was Re: The answer to PL-259 soldering/reliability problems)

Hello Arunas, While the relatively new 4.3-10 family of "mini DIN" connectors is far superior to any connectors we've discussed in this thread, their cost is nearly ten times higher. On the other hand, the much bulkier 7/16 DIN connectors offer similar high performance and they're widely

Re: Topband: Rather use N-type (was Re: The answer to PL-259 soldering/reliability problems)

I agree Clive, there is no reason to switch from high quality UHF connectors such as Amphenol 83-1SP silver plated connectors on 6 meters or below. They have much better center pin contact pressure than N connectors and are much less susceptible to installation errors by either amateur or

Re: Topband: Vertical antennas aren't always best for DX everywhere - the facts

Hi Rick and Steve, Steve's QTH is almost directly north of the south geomagnetic pole. His latitude is approximately 32 degrees south geographic latitude and approximately 43 degrees south geomagnetic latitude. His QTH is at approximately the same geomagnetic latitude as the Georgia in the

Re: Topband: Impedance of inv l?

Hi Jamie, I forgot to mention that nearby conductive objects, especially nearby towers can significantly affect the base impedance of a vertical. Nearby on 160 meters is about 200 feet... 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: donov...@starpower.net To: "Topband" Sent:

Re: Topband: Impedance of inv l?

Hi Jamie, I use my AA-54 frequently in exactly the manner you're using your AA-23, I've never had any reason to be suspicious of any of its readings. I'm lucky to have no AM broadcast stations within ten miles. Your AA-230 is telling you that at least half of your power is being lost to

Re: Topband: ARRL DXCC - 160 Meters

JC, I have well over a million QSOs in my computer log but not even a single QSO with OK1YQ 73 Frank W3LPL On 2018-11-16 13:32, n...@n4is.com wrote: > I never heard him on any band but he must be very active on EME > > ARRL DXCC - 2 Meters -151 OK1YQ > >

Re: Topband: Propagation improves from VK6 into Europe

Corollary: You can't have too many antennas except when they interfere with each other which they often do on Topband where a wavelength is approximately 500 feet... Even on 20 meters, the pattern of a Yagi is noticeably degraded when it points through another 20 meter Yagi or tribander 500

Re: Topband: Accuracy of modeling of 160m verticals

Hi Ignacy, Salt water is very special! In a salt water environment potentially the entire Fresnel zone -- where as much a 6 dB of gain is obtained from ground reflection -- is in a highly conductive environment. Low angle radiation from a vertical with a salt water Fresnel Zone is much

Re: Topband: Which compromise receiving antenna

Hi Pete, The bad news is that 215 feet is not long enough to produce good performance from a Beverage. It will work for a BOG, but that's not your best choice. Could you install two or three short verticals over a total length of 120 feet? The YCCC three element array is a superb choice

Re: Topband: Radial length

Hi Buzz, This topic has been examined in detail over the years, such as: http://www.w0btu.com/Optimum_number_of_ground_radials_vs_radial_length.html http://ncjweb.com/bonus-content/k3lcmaxgainradials.pdf Do you know how many radials you might eventually install? Most of us stop at

Re: Topband: Loss Question

Wes, Sorry, I mis-spoke about which calculator is which... But my clear message remains unchanged: The additional loss caused by a 50 ohm coaxial cable feeding a 36 ohm load is insignificant at 1.8 MHz. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Wes Stewart" To:

Re: Topband: Loss Question

Hi Bob, As Wes points out, the AC6LA calculator is overly simplified and not very accurate. Despite that, the answer to your question remains the same: The additional loss caused by a 50 ohm coaxial cable feeding a 36 ohm load is insignificant at 1.8 MHz. 73 Frank W3LPL -

Re: Topband: Loss Question

This is an alternative calculator: www.qsl.net/co8tw/Coax_Calculator.htm For 200 feet of RG-213 terminated in a 36 ohm load, the additional cable loss at 1.8 MHz is only 0.026 dB . 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - On 10/25/2018 10:24 AM, Chortek, Robert L. wrote: >

Re: Topband: Shunt feeding AB-577/621

Hi Pete, I'd suggest you proceed with an inverted-L 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "N4ZR" To: "topband reflector" Sent: Monday, October 1, 2018 3:47:37 PM Subject: Topband: Shunt feeding AB-577/621 I have an AB-577 with a C-3E on top, and am interested in the

Re: Topband: YCCC common mode feedline choke

Hi Terry, I've had the same problem with some PCB mount F connectors. eBay has multiple sources for soldering lug you need, this is the least expensive of them

Re: Topband: alternative to shunt fed tower

I sent a pdf copy of N7DF's April 1984 CQ Article to Mirko via direct email. I'll send a copy to anyone else upon request to my email address 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "S57AD" To: rich...@karlquist.com Cc: "TopBand List" , "N7DF" Sent: Monday, September 17,

Re: Topband: [TowerTalk] Advise needed on phased beverages

Hi Tonno, Broadside phased Beverages and short verticals do work! As you should have seen in your modelling, broadside spacing determines the angle of radiation with optimum front-to-side ratio. I've had excellent results with broadside phased Beverages at W3LPL, and more recently with

Re: Topband: Radial wire

Hi Jeff, I use 14 AWG THHN stranded wire for temporary radials laying on the ground. Its lays flat. www.wireandcableyourway.com/14-awg-thhn-stranded-building-wire-500ft-or-2500ft-spool.html 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Jeff Draughn" To:

Re: Topband: Air wound coil

Hi Jim, If you base load a 68 vertical on 160 meters it will create very high voltage at the base of the vertical which may damage the base insulator. Much better to use top loading to avoid high voltage at the base. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Jim Garland"

Re: Topband: OT - US Hams, WWV closure

Hi Hank, This is an exact quote from page NIST 25 of the proposed FY2019 NIST budget: < www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/FY19CBJ/NIST_and_NTIS_FY2019_President 's_Budget_for_508_comp.pdf> "NIST will discontinue the dissemination of the U.S. time and frequency via the NIST radio stations in

Re: Topband: Several BOG questions

Hi Mike, Congratulations on your first post regarding BOGs. They're a great antenna when stealth is the driving requirement, but here are better choices when stealth isn't so important. The front-to-back ratio of a BOG results mainly from its laying on the ground. A signal arriving from

Re: Topband: making a bev seem longer

Hi Ron, A short Beverage -- regardless of its velocity factor -- has the radiation pattern of a short Beverage. You can't improve the performance of a Beverage antenna by lowering its velocity factor. That's why BOGs have a radiation pattern similar to an elevated Beverage of the same

Re: Topband: WB6RSE Flag type loop question

Hi Mike, A horizontally polarized loop -- or any other horizontally polarized 160 meter antenna -- has extremely poor sensitivity when installed less than about 0.1 wavelenght above the ground. Even if you raise a horizontally polarized loop to about 0.1 wavelength (50 feet on 160 meters)

Re: Topband: Beverage transformers tht work down to 630 m

Chuck, I used the BN73-202 transformer exactly as shown on W8JI's website and it work very well on 630 meters. I wish my Beverage were 2000 feet long instead of 580 feet... 73 Frank W3LPL On Sun, Jul 15, 2018 at 6:29 PM, Chuck Hutton wrote: > The commercially available Beverage

Re: Topband: Beverage Ant Thread

Hi Ed, 600 feet is much too long for a BOG on any ham band except 630 meters. Performance deteriorates as you lengthen a 160 meter BOG beyond about 225 feet. Because a BOG is so lossy, an unterminated BOG has significantly reduced response from the backward direction. 73 Frank W3LPL

Re: Topband: Beverage Antenna Tuning

Hello Ash, Your results are normal for a typical Beverage. Receiving performance is not significantly degraded by imperfect matching of the coaxial feedline to the Beverage feed point or by non-optimum termination resistance. You could optimize your matching transformer and termination

Re: Topband: Radial plate

Hi Tony, Your proposed configuration will work fine. Your three foot wire is actually part of your vertical. You're vertical will need to be shortened a few feet to achieve resonance. While its very important to use a common mode choke with elevated radials, its completely unnecessary

Re: Topband: Biodegradable staples

Hi Larry, A 600 foot Beverage 6 feet is a superb topband receiving antenna, especially if you're careful to prevent common mode signals on the outside of the coaxial cable shield from entering the coaxial cable feedline. BOGs are good alternatives if you can't install a 500-600 foot

Re: Topband: Laying ground radials

Hi Adrian, Google is your friend, search for "radial plow" Good luck 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "vk2wf" To: "VK3HJ" , topband@contesting.com Sent: Thursday, June 7, 2018 1:52:24 AM Subject: Re: Topband: Laying ground radials Hi LukeI have similar

Topband: Progress to solar minimum and early indicators of Cycle 25 intensity

Solar precursors correlating solar physical phenomena with the level of future solar activity are much better indicators of the progress of a broad phase of the solar cycle -- solar minimum -- than forecasting a specific event such as the bottom of a broad solar minimum by observing the

Re: Topband: Straws in the wind, continued or, "Where's the DX?" (Epilogue)

If we could turn the clock back to the 1950s we'd hear exactly the same arguments from the AM DXers. If we turned the clock back to the early 1920s with the discovery of 40 and 20 meter DX you'd hear the same arguments from the 200 meter operators. The clock is not going to turn back

Topband: Laser Com introducing a breakthrough Top Band antenna at Dayton

Laser Com Announces New Topband Antenna System Reported by Woody K3YV Laser Com, Inc. of Titusville, Florida recently announced their development of a revolutionary new 160 meter antenna system based on their proprietary laser communications system. Dr. Benjamin Dover, Laser Com’s

Re: Topband: 160m polarization and elevation angles

www.arrl.org/news/storm-takes-down-amateur-radio-contest-club-towers-in-northern-europe - Original Message - From: "Merv Schweigert via Topband" To: topband@contesting.com Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2018 9:33:19 PM Subject: Re: Topband: 160m polarization and

Re: Topband: 160M Balun

Hi Peter, What you need in a common mode choke is adequate resistive component to absorb common mode signals as heat. The choke doesn't need to be at resonance to achieve adequate choking resistance, but it doesn't hurt either. It takes some thought and technical understanding to determine

Re: Topband: 160M Balun

Hi Jim, Have you considered using RG-303 or RG-400 ? They're commonly available on the internet and at hamfests at discount prices. Its similar in diameter to RG-58 but rated well over 1500 watts on 160 meters. However... You don't need a high performance choke on your vertical unless

Re: Topband: 160m polarization and elevation angles

Hi Luke, What I should have said is that propagation towards much lower latitudes doesn't suffer from the polarization related issues that high latitude paths suffer from. My thinking suffers from northern hemisphere biases! 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "VK3HJ"

Re: Topband: 160m polarization and elevation angles

Hi Mark, Very true on the HF bands. but not true on 160 meters at mid to high latitudes. On 160 meters both entry and exit polarization tend to be vertically polarized at mid to high latitudes. This also applies to the exit from the ionosphere and re-entry into the ionosphere of

Topband: Anyone else hearing broadband digital signal intruder from 1905 to 1925 kHz?

_ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband

Re: Topband: FW: Excessive noise on beverages

Hi Joel, In my opinion your elevated radials are a show stopper for an adjacent receiving antennas unless you can disconnect all of them when you're receiving. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Joel" To: "Herbert Schoenbohm"

Re: Topband: Conditions on 160m for ARRL Contest

Hi Terry, 500 pf "doorknob" capacitors are not rated for carrying significant RF current. They work great in high impedance applications such as plate blocking capacitor but in low impedance circuits they carry much more RF current than they're capable of handling which heats them and

Topband: FCC authorizes 1KW wireless power transmission experimental station WJ2XGB on 160 meter band

https://swling.com/blog/2018/02/fcc-authorizes-wireless-power-transmission-experimental-station https://apps.fcc.gov/els/GetAtt.html?id=204036=. http://www.texzontechnologies.com/technology _ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband

Re: Topband: Beverage transformer and testing

Hi Trevor, Simply terminate the high impedance side of your transformer in a 470 ohm resistor (or almost any other resistor) and use an antenna analyzer to measure the input impedance of the transformer. The reading should be consistent the impedance ratio of the transformer. Sláinte

Re: Topband: High voltage insulator

Hi Ray, Suggest you use two porcelain insulators in series. I have some long porcelain insulators that might be a better long term solution. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Raymond Benny" To: "160" Sent: Thursday,

Re: Topband: Bury beverage wire?

Hi Martin, Matching transformers aren't necessary for your 160 meter Beverage b ecause your coax is only five meters long, b ut its probably best to use a pair of transformers. I ts likely that the loss in the matching transformers will be very slightly greater than the mismatch loss

Re: Topband: Supporting Ladder line

Hi Rys, Simply change the turns ratios of the reflection transformer and matching transformer to correspond to the approximate termination impedance and feed impedance. 4:1 transformers work well for a reversible BOG and a 9:1 transformers works well for an elevated Beverage. For a

Topband: Measured Loss in Copper Clad Steel RG-6 on 160 meters

I measured the difference in loss (dB per 100 ft) between solid copper (SC) center conductor RG-6 vs. copper clad steel (CCS) Quad-Core RG-6 coaxial cable. The difference is insignificant on 160 meters until cable length exceeds 350 feet. You can see the affect of the steel core and its thin

Re: Topband: Bury beverage wire?

Hi David, It should be perfectly okay to bury a short coaxial cable under the driveway with a matching transformer at each end that connects to each Beverage segment. Keep the coax as short as possible because signals passing though the coax will be slightly delayed by the velocity factor

Re: Topband: Supporting Ladder line

A reversible Beverage or BOG can be constructed out of a single run of RG-6, there's no need to form an open wire line out of two runs of RG-6, See ON4UN's Low Band DXing, Volume 5, page 7-88 and fig. 7-118 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Vic Lindgren"

Re: Topband: Common mode choke 160m inverted L

Hi Gurt, With only two radials on your inverted-L, you should use a good common mode choke on your coax. The W2DU style choke on only one meter of RG-393 will not be very effective Suggest you read this excellent reference: http://k9yc.com/CoaxChokesPPT.pdf 73 Frank W3LPL

Re: Topband: suggestions on receive antenna to EU

Hi Larry, A 500 foot Beverage will provide excellent results. Ground rods are only one solution. Excellent alternatives are chicken wire laid on the ground or multiple radials laid on the ground or buried. 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "Larry"

Re: Topband: ARRL 160

Hi Trevor, I looked at your QRZ.COM page and I'm concerned that your tower and Yagis may be degrading the performance of your nearby 160 meter vertical. It can contribute unwanted nulls and unwanted ground loss. What is the height of your tower to the top of your mast? Small loop antennas

Re: Topband: ARRL 160

Hi Trevor, Please share with us the details of your antenna and ground system Better transmit performance should be achievable 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: MR TREVOR DUNNE ei2...@eircom.net To: g...@ka1j.com Cc: ''topband List'' topband@contesting.com Sent: Wed, 06

Re: Topband: Rotator creating spur on 1820

Hi Jerry, There's a good chance the problem originates inyour control box rather than your rotator. Does the problem stop if you completely disconnect the control box? 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: "K4SAV" To: topband@contesting.com Sent:

Re: Topband: RDF for Transmit 4 Square vs 8 Circle Array

To add to Dennis' comments: you can never have too many antennas (very important exception: unless they interfere with each other). Very large arrays such as 8 circle arrays form their deep nulls in the far field which may be many hundreds of yards away from the array. Very large arrays are

Re: Topband: RDF for Transmit 4 Square vs 8 Circle Array

Hi Chuck, I have both a full size transmitting 4-square and a W8JI BSEF 8-circle array using 25 foot low impedance passive umbrella verticals. There are no active electronics in the W8JI's BSEF 8-circle array, unlike the Hi-Z array. While the transmitting array is an excellent receiving

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