Topband: Topband Dinner at Dayton

[GeorgeWallner]

Who is organizing the TB dinner this year?

TKS,

George
AA7JV
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Topband: Clean AC Power

[GeorgeWallner]

Hello Top-Banders,

Today's Wall Street Journal had an article on serious 
(fanatical) audiophiles in Japan who have their own 
utility poles (and transformers) installed to ensure that 
they get the cleanest AC power possible.


I had a bit of a chuckle ... but then I thought, wait a 
minute, why not for top-band? Let's say you've cleaned up 
everything in your house. What about noise coming in from 
the neighbors via the power lines? Would having your own 
transformer (with a shield) help? Or at least filter the 
AC as it enters your property? As far from the antenna(s) 
as possible. Maybe not as silly as we may think...


73,
George
AA7JV
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Re: Topband: Low noise preamp suggestions?

[GeorgeWallner]

Robert,

Gary, KD9SV, has designed an amplifier specifically for 
these low gain RX antennas. It is being sold by 
DXengineering.


George,

AA7JV


On Mon, 2 Nov 2015 22:54:54 -0800
 Robert Fanfant  wrote:
I’ve have built another TX3A.com DHDL antenna and am in 
search of a wide band low-noise preamp. My current custom 
built preamp has a 23db gain figure , as well as built in 
RX signal limiter , but I am unable to purchase a second 
unit from the manufacturer.


Any recommendations for a high quality, low noise, 
broadband unit? 

I have found a source for an external RX signal limiter 
and can purchase that separately. 


-rob N7QT

Sent from Mail for Windows 10
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Re: Topband: Boradband noise on 160 meters tracked down to apartment complex

[GeorgeWallner]

Don,

I have referred to VFD-s in an early posting as RF 
Weapons of Mass-Destruction. Still, they are useful and I 
got one in my house.


As the contractor in your description did, I installed a 
line filter on the input side. I also installed a three 
wire common mode choke on the three phase output (6 turns 
on a large #31 core) very close to the output terminals. I 
also added three 3.3 nF high voltage mica caps on the load 
side between each phase wire and ground. I used a wide 
braid strap for grounding. My RX antenna is about 200 feet 
from the drive but its noise is now well below my noise 
floor and I can not tell when the drive is running.


Good luck getting rid of the rest of noise.

Unfortunately, for all of us, we will increasingly see 
more of these drives residential buildings.


GW


On Wed, 13 May 2015 11:41:28 -0700
 Jim Brown j...@audiosystemsgroup.com wrote:

On Wed,5/13/2015 11:14 AM, Don Kirk wrote:
The local technician is now planning on additional 
changes since the input
line filters have not totally mitigated the problem (but 
they sure helped),
and will provide an update when I have new information 
to share.


Hi Don,

You might want to refer the people working on the 
problem to this Power Point for a tutorial workshop that 
I've taught to pro audio and video people. The principles 
are no different when the interference is at RF.


http://k9yc.com/InfoComm-Grounding2012.pdf

Henry Ott's excellent text on EMC includes a sub-chapter 
on these very nasty RFI sources. His book is widely used 
as an EE text, and considered the EMC bible.


http://www.amazon.com/Electromagnetic-Compatibility-Engineering-Henry-Ott/dp/0470189304

73, Jim K9YC



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Re: Topband: K1N 5,399 q's on 160 M

[GeorgeWallner]

Jon,

I was one of the 160 m operators.

NA callers were thick during the evening hours when they 
were competing with EU, making for some difficult 
pile-ups, but after midnight (and EU sunrise), often there 
were very few NA callers.


George
AA7JV


On Tue, 17 Feb 2015 22:57:38 +
 jon jones n...@hotmail.com wrote:
I consider VP6DX to be one of the top all time 160 meter 
DX operations. Despite being thousands of miles from 
North America, they worked many small stations including 
me (at the time had just moved so a random wire thrown 
over the house and 100 watts).


K1N had a great signal on 160, well over S-9 most nights 
- but seemed to be having difficulty hearing callers. 
Despite a full size inverted L, I was not QSO 5,400...


- Jon N0JK

IMHO the operations at 5A7A, K5D, K1N, R1MVW, HK0NA, 
TS7C,and TX5K did an

extremely
good job and were able to take advantage of the 
proximity to major

population areas.  They
had to have a good station and great operators, and had 
to be on the

ground long enough
to take make the large amount of Qs.

But, and again IMHO, the operations at VP6DX, T32C, and 
ZL8X are

OUTSTANDING because
they had to overcome the big one;  DISTANCE, for nearly 
100% of their Qs.


Now to separate those three just a bit.

ZL8X did 4,206 Qs with a crew of 14 operators and 18 
days of operation.


T32C did 4,985 Qs with a crew of 41 operators and 32 
days of operation.


VP6DX did 6,671 Qs with a crew of 13 operators and 17 
days of operation.

73 de Milt, N5IA


 		 	   		  
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Re: Topband: KP1

[GeorgeWallner]

Topbanders,

Rest assured that there will be a substantial 160 m 
operation from KP1. I am planning and building the low 
band antennas and gear right now.


We will be releasing more details later.

George,
AA7JV
KP1-5 Project Team Member

On Wed, 22 Oct 2014 15:10:35 -0500
 garyk9gs garyk...@wi.rr.com wrote:
I think you only have to look at who's on the team to 
KNOW they'll be on 160. 



73,

Gary K9GS

div Original message /divdivFrom: 
David Raymond daraym...@iowatelecom.net 
/divdivDate:10/22/2014  2:45 PM  (GMT-06:00) 
/divdivTo: Mike Waters mikew...@gmail.com,topband 
topband@contesting.com /divdivSubject: Re: Topband: 
KP1 /divdiv
/divOne of the participants indicated to me they would 
be on 160.


73. . .Dave, W0FLS
- Original Message - 
From: Mike Waters mikew...@gmail.com

To: topband topband@contesting.com
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 2:20 PM
Subject: Re: Topband: KP1



Thanks to you and to all who replied privately.
I didn't doubt that they would be on 160, I was just 
looking for more
information about this event. I didn't realize who this 
was. :-)


73, Mike
www.w0btu.com

On Wed, Oct 22, 2014 at 1:48 PM, Chortek, Robert L 
robert.chr...@berliner.com wrote:

The KP5 operation had almost 2000 160 meter contacts, so 
we can be sure
they will have a big presence on the low bands, 
including 160!


Bob/AA6VB


-Original Message-
From: Topband [mailto:topband-boun...@contesting.com] On 
Behalf Of Mike

Waters
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 11:38 AM
Cc: topband
Subject: Re: Topband: KP1

I couldn't find a thing there about 160 (or any other 
band). Did I miss

something?

73, Mike
www.w0btu.com

On Wed, Oct 22, 2014 at 1:27 PM, wb6r...@mac.com 
wrote:


 A new one for many on 160 coming in January. I’m sure 
the team will

 welcome any and all support.

 http://kp1-5.com/new/news.htm

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Re: Topband: Insulator problems- Notr og caution

[GeorgeWallner]

On Mon, 16 Dec 2013 14:32:41 -0500
 Charlie Cunningham charlie-cunning...@nc.rr.com 
wrote:
Many black plastics are blackened by the addition of 
carbon black that
can make them rather lossy at RF!  Been there, done 
that in my work - at

900 MHz.


I have been using 3 black Derlin (Acetal)insulators at 
the base of my 160 m vertical. Because the antenna is only 
91 foot tall, there are substantial voltages on the 
insulators at legal limit. Indeed, one them caught fire 
just after a rain-shower, when water got between the 
insulator and the metal. I replaced the burned insulator 
with the a new one and covered all the insulators with 
high voltage putty. That was about two years ago and I had 
zero trouble with any of them since.


George
AA7JV
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Re: Topband: Problems with my DX Engineering RTR-1 receive antenna switch

[GeorgeWallner]

On Tue, 25 Jun 2013 20:22:45 -0400
 Mark Lunday mlun...@nc.rr.com wrote:
I am wondering what other folks do for their receive 
antennas to protect

their rigs.


Mark,

I always add the following to my RX System:

(Loop or Beverage) Use an isolation transformer. I add a 
relay at the tranformer's primary that disconnects the 
wire and shorts out the transformer when the station is 
off, or during transmit. A 75 V gas discharge arrester is 
also across the primary (high impedance side) of the 
transformer. I add common mode chokes and several turns of 
coax and then ground the RX Ant coax outer braid just past 
the common mode choke and also at the entrance to the 
house. I have a second common mode choke and gas discharge 
arrester at the antenna selector panel in the shack. I 
make sure that the grounding is good.


My TX verticals' base is grounded using motorized 
actuators connecting 1.5 inch wide grounding braids 
whenever the station is off. Additionally, a 15,000 V 
vacuum relay disconnects the antenna from the antenna 
tuner.


Sounds excessive? Before I had all these measures I would 
lose an RX input or parts of the antenna tuner a couple of 
times a year. My QTH is in Florida and I take direct hits 
a couple of times a year. I have learned these tricks the 
hard way!


An absolute overkill is about the only way you have a 
chance if your QTH is in a place where you get hit often.


73 and GL,

George,
AA7JV
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Re: Topband: problems with RFID-key-cards / transponder door locks in Hotels ?

[GeorgeWallner]

Tom,

The technology you are talking about is called NFC, Near 
Field Communications. It uses the magnetic (H) part of the 
RF radiation -- near field -- but it does have an electric 
component, although that is quite weak. The antenna, both 
in the lock and in the card, is usually a multi-turn loop. 
The lock transmits power which is picked up by the card's 
antenna and is used for powering the chip and 
communications. Most systems use a rolling code, which 
provides security and protection against interference.


It is not likely that your transmissions (even on 14 MHz) 
will trick the locks to open. It is more likely that 
during transmissions locks may not open, or open 
sluggishly. You may also get some noise on 20 meters from 
the side-bands of 13.56 MHz signal.


NFC readers will in the near future be used for point of 
sale card payments (contact-less cards) and will be 
installed at millions of merchant locations. They may turn 
into another source of noise on HF.


73, George

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Topband: Patience in ARRL 160 Contest -- copying weak ones

[GeorgeWallner]

After spending 12 nights-in-a-row straining to hear and 
assemble thousands of weak calls, I would cautiously agree 
with Herb: if the DX clearly has the prefix, just send the 
missing letters.


Maybe it is mental, maybe something else, but time and 
again I heard clearly (almost loud) the caller's prefix 
and number, just to experience the rest kind of fizzle 
into something weak and incoherent ... This happened so 
many times that I was ready for it, focusing only on the 
suffix, and still many times I could not copy it, while 
the prefix came through (almost) loud and clear. It must 
be that you can hear what you know or expect, while it 
is much harder to hear and decode something random. But 
that does not explain the whole thing. How does one get 
the prefix so many times correctly when the suffix just 
fizzles into nothing. I have checked with the other 
operators on PT0S and they had similar experiences.


Perhaps there is some hearing mechanism at work, similar 
to vision; where acuity diminishes with usage...


73,

George


On Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:54:26 -0400
 Herb Schoenbohm he...@vitelcom.net wrote:
Doung,  So many times I just hear the prefix and the 
suffix drops out or is covered by noise.  It maybe a 
mental thing as I have no other explanation where the 
prefix comes through time and time but the suffix is 
lost.  Since I know what the correct suffix is, sending 
only the missing information make so much sense and saves 
valuable time.  In such cases sending only the missing 
data is what I would recommend for stations struggling to 
get in the log as the prefix is already confirmed to both 
of the stations.  So many times DX-peditions will not get 
my call correctly and butcher a portion of it...like 
KV4Z ur 5NN to which I immediately reply FZ...FZ...FZ 
KV4FZ K   This procedure works every time especially 
layers deep in piles up.


Thanks for your remarks,


Herb, KV4FZ


On 12/4/2012 9:51 AM, Doug Renwick wrote:
When a cw station asks for a fill I send my COMPLETE 
callsign.  Why?


a) My memory keyer or logging program has my full 
callsign, no partial
callsign.  I don't use the hand keyer just in case I 
have 'dead' fingers and

make a mistake.

b) It allows the other station to focus on my signal 
when other stations are

calling at the same time near or on my frequency.

c) It makes sure that the correct suffix is added to the 
prefix.


d) It confirms my prefix if part of it is copied 
incorrectly.


Patience is  needed when ones signal is subject to 160m 
QSB.  Sri Herb, I

fully disagree.

Doug


-Original Message-

I worked a whole bunch of Europeans in the 160 meter 
contest along with
UA9's and even 4Z1UF who had a good signal. My pet peeve 
is that when I
hear only a weaker stations prefix but miss the suffix 
and ask for a
repeat and request for example HB9 ?  AGN  all I hear 
is the prefix
before the suffix is in the noise.  The station knows i 
have the correct
prefix and number but how do I get them just to send the 
missing portion
which is crucial to completing the QSO?  Even if I send 
HB9??? they
return with de HB9### and the process repeats.  If in 
such circumstances
once the calling station realizes I have the correct 
prefix all they
need do is send the two or three letters of the suffix 
several times.
Resending the prefix is not helpful in high noise or qrm 
situation.  I
have tried SFX? SFX? but many stations are confused by 
that and keep
sending their whole call. So here is my advice in just 
difficult

circumstance:

Do *not* repeat your whole call if the other station has 
the correct
prefix and all they need is the remaining portion.  I 
just wish more
stations on TB would do this as it would enable them 
getting in the log
correctly and save time.  Time length of an opening to 
some parts of the

world is everything in a crowded contest.  Why waste it?

73,

Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ

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Topband: PT0S TB Summary

[GeorgeWallner]

G'Day Topbanders,

Here are some of the 160 m aspects of the PT0S operation 
that may of interest to those on this reflector.


Our TB TX antenna (and RX for the first 2 nights) was an 
inverted L located on top of a rocky outcropping that 
jutted into the sea, about 8 meters (25 feet) above the 
water at low tide. At high tide waves were crashing on and 
around the base of the antenna. The vertical section was 
16 meters long and the horizontal section 12 meters long. 
The antenna was fed via a home brew automatic antenna 
coupler located 1 meter above the base. A large number of 
radials (40+) of various lengths were draped over the 
rocks, most of them ending in the surrounding salt-water. 
The rocks beneath the antenna had numerous cracks and 
crevices leading down to the water. There were also pools 
of salt-water all over the rocks. (See PT0S.com for 
pictures.) The antenna had a clear shot over open water 
from East to West and was somewhat obscured to the 
west-south-west by the peak of Belmont.


We had K3 transceivers. The main station, which handled 
160 m, had a dual SG-500 amplifier with 1 kW output. 
Initially noise on the TX antenna was S9 + 10 dB. It was 
typical switch mode power supply noise. The antenna was 
located about 30 meters East of the main rock, Belmonte's 
peak, which is about 25 meters tall. The peak carries a 
light tower, two large satellite dishes and many 
scientific instruments. There are a large number of power 
and data cables criss-crossing the top of the peak. We 
suspected that the noise was coming from one or more of 
the scientific or communications packages on the peak. We 
also expected the large inverters located in the building 
of the scientific station to contribute to the noise. 
(They did not! German made, quiet as a mouse.)


The main station was ready to go by 20:00 Z and hoping 
that there may be some top-banders who can put a S9+10dB 
signal into the middle of the Atlantic, we sent out a CQ. 
Clive, GM3POI, responded instantly. We had real trouble 
copying his call through the noise, although he must have 
been well over S9. During that first night we made about 
over QSO-s, a testament to the fact that there are a lot 
of top-banders with great antennas (or serious QRO and 
decent antennas). Next night, we faced the same noisy 
conditions but were able to log another 100 contacts.


After the second night we located the main source of the 
noise (using a portable KX3 Receiver and a small loop 
antenna). It was one those very common switch mode lap-top 
power supplies, powering some of the commo gear on the 
peak. Once we eliminated this noise source, noise was down 
to a pleasant S6 - 7.


RX Set-up (built on days 3 and 5): We had two RX antennas. 
One , facing north, was a 4 m x 4 m flag, erected on the 
very steep north facing slope of the peak, about 2 meters 
above the rocks and 20 meters above the water. A second 
flag of similar size was erected later on top of the peak, 
next to the light house. This flag was facing south, LP to 
JA. The two RX antennas were connected to a custom built 
remote pre-selector and amplifier. The pre-selector had 9 
sharp band-pass filters, selectable from the operating 
position. The pre-amp had a gain of 25 dB and a very low 
noise figure. (See Gary, KD9SV for info.) The pre-selector 
was connected, via 100 meters of RG-6, to a receiver 
front-end, which contained RX antenna switching, remote 
controls for the pre-selector, a second low noise 
pre-amplifier (10 dB gain) and an output splitter for feed 
the K3 RX input and an QS1R SDR. The SDR was running CW 
Skimmer. (By the way, with the pre-amplifier, the SD1R did 
hear a little bit better than the K3!) We used this RX 
set-up on all bands. The LP flag was especially useful on 
40 meters when working JA-s in the morning. 0n 160 most of 
the time we had both pre-amps on for a total gain of 35 
dB. (We did not use the K3's  internal pre-amp.) I felt 
that we had a good RX set-up. Not like a Beverage, but 
given the limitations of the terrain, the best we could 
do.


Some observations: (Some of these are after-the-fact, but 
may help with the next one.)


* Propagation on most nights was very uneven. Some well 
known EU and NA stations were coming in very strong, while 
others were weak. We felt that on many nights our signal 
was strong in FL, weak in parts of the Midwest, and 
reasonable on the west coast. I would appreciate reports 
to verify that.


* On a few nights there were periods when 160 was like 40. 
We were able to operate at high speed and log a lot of 
contacts. Unfortunately there was also some 40-meter-like 
behavior. There were some persistent callers, who kept 
calling during exchanges or when the operator was asking 
for a completely different partial call. That was all 
visible on the SDR/Skimmer screen. You could see the 
persistent callers and you could tell who were just simply 
making a mistake calling out of sync; all with the 
relevant 

Topband: PT0S DXpedition

[GeorgeWallner]

G'Day Topbanders,

The PT0S DXpedition is scheduled to sail for St. Peter and 
St. Paul Rocks the evening of Nov 05 (maybe early Nov 06 
because of weather). We expect to arrive on the rocks the 
morning of Nov 09. The first to go up will be the 160 m 
station, which we hope to get on the air that evening.


Our plan is to TX somewhere around 1816.5 kHz and listen 
up 2 to 5 for EU/NA, and between 1822 and 1825 for JA-s. 
PT0S will be very challanging for JA-s (and other Asian 
stations) on 160. They will have to work through a very 
long path, close to the Auroral region, and over (really, 
under) much stronger EU signals. To give the JA-s a 
chance, EU and NA stations please do not call us between 
1822 and 1825. Your consideration will be much 
appreciated.


We will be located on the main rock, called Belmonte, 
where we expect very high levels of local noise from the 
various scientific equipment. We are planning to build two 
remote RX antennas on one of the remote rocks (called 
Cabral) and run the coax and control cables under water. 
These RX antennas should be up by the 11th or 12th of 
November. We hope they will improve our ability to copy 
weak signals.


For additional information and updates please visit 
http://pt0s.com/


GL and 73,

George, AA7JV
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Topband: PT0S DXpedition

[GeorgeWallner]

G'Day Topbanders,

The PT0S DXpedition is scheduled to sail for St. Peter and 
St. Paul Rocks the evening of Nov 05 (maybe early Nov 06 
because of weather). We expect to arrive on the rocks the 
morning of Nov 09. The first to go up will be the 160 m 
station, which we hope to get on the air that evening.


Our plan is to TX somewhere around 1816.5 kHz and listen 
up 2 to 5 for EU/NA, and between 1822 and 1825 for JA-s. 
PT0S will be very challanging for JA-s (and other Asian 
stations) on 160. They will have to work through a very 
long path, close to the Auroral region, and over (really, 
under) much stronger EU signals. To give the JA-s a 
chance, EU and NA stations please do not call us between 
1822 and 1825. Your consideration will be much 
appreciated.


We will be located on the main rock, called Belmonte, 
where we expect very high levels of local noise from the 
various scientific equipment. We are planning to build two 
remote RX antennas on one of the remote rocks (called 
Cabral) and run the coax and control cables under water. 
These RX antennas should be up by the 11th or 12th of 
November. We hope they will improve our ability to copy 
weak signals.


For additional information and updates please visit 
http://pt0s.com/


GL and 73,

George, AA7JV
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Re: Topband: Fishing beacons redux

[GeorgeWallner]

G'Day Topbanders,

These beacons are not frequency agile. As Mike points out, 
they are on a schedule. The entire environment they are 
used in is pretty primitive. They certainly do not know 
morse code, the beacons are pre-programmed and the 
fishermen just turn them on or off (and recharge the 
batteries).


During my July survey trip to PY0S (for the PT0S 
DXpedition) I was on a small long-line fishing boat and I 
looked at both the beacons and the receivers. I will post 
some pictures on the PT0S.com website later. For now, you 
can see an example of a direction finding receiver at

http://www.taiyomusen.co.jp/pdf/TD-L2200.pdf

73,

George

On Mon, 1 Oct 2012 19:45:54 -0500
 Mike Waters mikew...@gmail.com wrote:
On Mon, Oct 1, 2012 at 7:38 PM, Merv Schweigert 
k...@flex.com wrote:


They do not change freq out here in KH6,   if they did 
how in the world
would the boat know where to look for the beacon and DF 
it to find the

net??



I don't remember how they work. There was quite a 
discussion about this

hear about 3 years ago. I forget the details.

73, Mike
www.w0btu.com
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Re: Topband: The use of digital modes on 160 metres

[GeorgeWallner]

On Wed, 19 Sep 2012 08:33:28 -0400
 Tom W8JI w...@w8ji.com wrote:
That's a good suggestion. It really should be one award 
for the case where a human operator copies the signal, a 
man and his radio, and another certificate where a 
machine actually copies the signal, a man reading the 
text decoded and printed on a machine.


Its more than that! We are only a breath away (if not 
already there), when (in digital mode) software will be 
able to automatically make the QSO and log it. Leave it on 
for a year and collect your DXCC.


73,

George
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Re: Topband: Connector installation on flooded cable

[GeorgeWallner]

On Fri, 20 Jul 2012 08:15:28 -0400
  N1BUG p...@n1bug.com wrote:
 I am replacing the coax in my Beverage system and have a 
dumb 
 question. When using flooded cable and compression F 
connectors, is 
 it necessary to clean the goo off the stripped cable 

Paul,

I live near salt water in a very corrosive environment...
I do three things: Clean the goo with solvent (alcohol or 
MEK), mostly to get a good visual on the strands. I apply 
Noalox (contact grease) to restore water resistance. Also, 
I silver plate the inner conductor using Cool Amps. I do 
the silver plating because I hate the looks of the black 
copper oxide that develops on the surface of the inner 
conductor after a while, not for RF reasons. I also cover 
the outside of the connectors with self-vulcanizing tape. 
Sounds like a lot of trouble, but around here any bare 
metal goes green in less than a week.

73,

George
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Topband: PT0S DXpedition

[GeorgeWallner]

G'Day Topbanders,

I am happy to announce that due the amazing efforts of 
PY5EG, Atilano, we got all the permits and licenses needed 
to mount a DXpedition to St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks in 
the 2012 November/December time frame. Some difficulties 
remain, but at this stage we are pretty confident that the 
DXpedition will take place.

This DXpedition will have real TB focus: we will make our 
first QSO on 160, and probably the last one. For details 
please visit pt0s.com

TKS, 73 and CU in the Pile Up,

George, AA7JV
___
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Re: Topband: Strange CW Coded Messages

[GeorgeWallner]

On Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:37:26 -0400
  Herb Schoenbohm he...@vitelcom.net wrote:
 These fish beacons are sometimes very strong and 
normally out in the Gulf of Mexico.  I just wish I could replicate the QRP 
transmitter and antennaor is it just the saltwater ground?
 
  Herb,

It is simple: 2 W output, 10 foot whip wiht loading coil, 
and a 3000 mile wide perfect ground plane. Easy. :-)

73,

George
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Re: Topband: 2 Parallel Beverages

[GeorgeWallner]

Mike,

You are willing to run 2 coax cables and have 2 
transformers, but don't want to bother with remote relays, 
etc. You could simply have a single wire, terminated at 
each end by a transformer. Run from each transformer a 
coax to the shack. Use a DPDT relay or manual switch in 
the shack to swap the RX and the loading resistor. (75 or 
50 ohm loading resistor.) I.e. when the RX is connected to 
Coax 1 the resistor is connected to Coax 2, and vica 
versa. You could even use a variable resistor to optimize 
the F/B.

I have been using this method to switch directions on my 
DHDL and it has been working well for some time now (with 
some limitations).

73,

George

On Wed, 23 May 2012 15:46:56 +0100
  g3...@onetel.com wrote:
 Jeff,  EZNEC confirms what you and Neil have found.
 Modelling Neil G0JHC's antenna with 1000ft beverages at 
12ft and 10ft, 
 offset by 30ft length-wise, shows almost identical 
patterns to a single 
 beverage.
 Terminating both ends of the unused bev improves the f/b 
as one might 
 expect, but does not appear to change the basic pattern.
 If you terminate both ends though, isn't it easier just 
to use one wire and 
 relay switch between the feeder and termination R?
 73
 John
 
 -Original Message- 
From: Jeff Woods
 Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 3:19 PM
 To: topband@contesting.com
 Subject: Re: Topband: 2 Parallel Beverages
 
 I missed the original post, but if the question pertains 
to running two 
 independent beverages in opposite directions on the same 
supports - Yes.  It 
 works well.
 
 
 I began doing this last winter, adding shorter, opposite 
direction beverages 
 to my NE and NNW (EU and JA) antennas.  Performance in 
the primary 
 directions is not compromised by any discernible amount. 
 The antennas are 
 completely independent, sharing only the PVC support 
mast.  The two 
 secondary antennas share a feed point (DC relay 
switched) where the two 
 primary antennas cross.  The two primary antennas were 
up and running before 
 the secondary directions were added. No changes in 
performanceof the primary 
 antennas was noted after the addition of the shared 
secondary wires.
 
 
From a theoretical point of view, this is no different 
than the operation 
of a typical 2-wire bi-directional array that relies on 
either wire working 
independently as a single-wire beverage in generating the 
common-mode 
signal.
 
 
 Jeff W0ODS
 Somewhere in Iowa
 
 
 

   For various reasons I am considering two single, 
parallel but 180deg 
 opposing direction beverages on the same supports rather 
than a single 
 switchable bidirectional beverage.  The bevs would be 
separated by 12 to 
 18 inches or so. I've read that parallel bevs present 
performance 
 degradation issues but has anyone had any experience 
with this type of 
 setup versus the traditional bidirectional beverage? 
Thanks for reading 
 this and for any thoughts you could offer. 
 Mike  W2LO


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 UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK 
 
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 UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

Re: Topband: Home Depot LED bulb interference.

[GeorgeWallner]

On Fri, 6 Apr 2012 11:57:15 -0700 (PDT)
  Jim F. j_fit...@yahoo.com wrote:
...Since this bulb complies with
 part 15 of FCC rules 

It is marked to comply, but it may not. (Part 15 
compliance is self-certified. It would be interesting to 
test it against Part 15 requirements.

I believe that one of our potential defences against the 
worst offenders is to bring the attention of retailers to 
the pontial risks of selling non FCC comliant products. 
The more cautious they get the better off we will be. 
Returning it to the retailer is a good start in that 
direction!

George
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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

Re: Topband: Fwd: Re: Home Depot LED bulb interference.

[GeorgeWallner]

On Fri, 6 Apr 2012 17:24:25 -0600
  DAVID CUTHBERT telegraph...@gmail.com wrote:
 My calculations assume that the LED lamp conducted 
emissions are at the FCC
 limit at a single frequency in the 160 meter band.

What made me sceptical was the original posting mentioning 
that the bulb interfered with an FM broadcast.

73,

George
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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

Re: Topband: Home Depot LED bulb interference.

[GeorgeWallner]

On Thu, 5 Apr 2012 16:01:12 -0400
  Mike Greenway k...@bellsouth.net wrote:
 I wondered how long it would take before they started 
selling some RFI 
 generating lighting.  Soon we can have a complete 
neighborhood of RFI 

I have tested compact fluorescent bulbs a couple of years 
ago and found that they were noisy. I have not tried to 
quantify the level of noise emitted, but it was about S5 
on my K3 at a distance of about 4 feet using a one foot 
wire for antenna. I have stayed with incandescent, but my 
neighbor has installed over 50 of them on his house. The 
noise coming from that direction (NW) is significantly 
stronger than what I get from any other direction. Since 
he has installed the CF (and many LED) bulbs, I have not 
made one JA QSO! Fortunately, my DHDL, which looks towards 
EU (NE) completely blocks the noise and I am still able to 
work Europe.

On the other hand, I have LED lights installed on my dock, 
which is only about 20 feet to the East of the RX antenna, 
but these LED lights are driven by well filtered drivers 
in metal boxes. No noise from these lights can be 
detected.

It seems to me that we have a very serious threat from 
noisy switched light sources (and other digital noise 
generators, like Variable Frequency Drives) that have not 
been properly filtered. I am wondering the if the LED 
bulbs bought from Home Depot meet FCC Part 15 specs. Were 
they marked so?

George, AA7JV

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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

Re: Topband: how to hear through static crashes?

[GeorgeWallner]

On Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:57:32 -0700
  Robin wb6...@socal.rr.com wrote:
 Maybe this is a good time to share the techniques we 
individually find successful for
 hearing through the giant sparks.
 
Here are my experiences from TX3A (and other low-band 
DXpeditions). On TX3A, for 30 nights in a row, 8 hours 
each, I had the challenge of copying weak signals through 
strong, incessant lightning crashes (especially from 
sunset until about 10:30 local time). With the following 
set up, this is what I found to work best:

Local Set-Up and Conditions: Receiver K3, ANT DHDL (-36 
dBi Gain), No local RF noise, Bose noise cancelling 
headphones (strong local acoustic noise from birds):

I set the AGC to Fast, mostly used the RF gain to control 
levels, and set the IF Filter to 600 Hz. This last one may 
sound counterintuitive, but I have found that: a) setting 
the filter too narrow results in ringing which stretches 
out the effects of a lightening crash, masking more of the 
signal, b) setting the K3's DSP filter narrower changes 
the shape of the CW pulses and makes them stand-out less, 
and, c) somehow the narrower filter settings degrade the 
understandability of weak signals. (This last one was 
also confirmed by my DXpedition partner, Tomi, HA7RY, who 
has better ears and can copy CW great.)

One more thing, with the above settings and with weak 
signals, it was absolutely essential to be able to totally 
concentrate during  the crucial seconds when copying a 
call. I found that allowing any thoughts to intrude would 
wipe a call. Usually, with strong signals, you don't need 
total concentration to work without errors. You can think 
of other things, such as: should I change the RX 
settings?, should I try the other antenna?, shift in the 
chair as my butt is getting sore, etc. But with really 
weak signals, any intruding thought would create internal 
noise that could cause me to miss a call. I believe that 
learning to concentrate, and to be able to switch off all 
thoughts for a few crucial moments, is as important as any 
DSP filter or or other signal processing hardware.

I hope this helps,

George, AA7JV
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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

Re: Topband: It is not so much propagation

[GeorgeWallner]

On Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:20:02 -0500
  chacuff chac...@cableone.net wrote:
 
 QRPers generally do not need Beverages as much as other 
stations
 do.

Don't QRPers work other QRPers?

George, AA7JV
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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

Re: Topband: Ticked over intentional interference on top band

[GeorgeWallner]

On Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:07:39 -0500
  Eddy Swynar deswy...@xplornet.ca wrote:

 Unfortunately, VE1ZZ has a terrible signal with key 
clicks out to over1kHz
 Hi Roger,
 
 Sez who...?
 
 Jack's keying may well be a tad on the hard side, but 
his signal HARDLY emits ...key clicks out to over 1 KHz 

G'day Gentlemen,

I don't think it is branding when pointing out a problem 
with someone's signal. It happens to all of us and we need 
to know when our signal is not right.

N4IS called me once that I had two weak spurs about 3 kHz 
from my carrier. I could not detect them at all on my 
second RX, or see them on my spectrum analyzer. We started 
troubleshooting and soon found the problem: two burned out 
resistors in the K3's PA. (Resistors in the feedback loop 
can burn out and cuase the bias circuit to oscillate -- K3 
owners please be aware!)

Another time, I was really insenced at this strong station 
with very storng clicky signals, just to find out that I 
did not have my AGC set correctly and the clix were 
generated in my own RX! Ooops! Good that I checked first 
before making a comment.

I have also heard, however, during a contest, a station 
with strong clicks he normally did not have. Deliberate? 
Perhaps to keep his running frequency clean?
Perhaps he has just turned his drive a tad too high in the 
excitement. Pointing the clix out to him should not hurt 
his feelings, I recon.

We get all kinds of reasons for poor signals and the 
sooner we let each other know the better. The band is a 
precious and limited resource, we need to keep it clean. I 
sure will not be upset if somebody lets me know!

Of course, intentional jamming, that is an entirely 
different subject, but...

73,

George, AA7JV
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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

Re: Topband: Beverage is down

[GeorgeWallner]

On Sat, 12 Nov 2011 12:35:39 -0600
  Mike Waters mikew...@gmail.com wrote:
 I don't know how it will work on 160 being only 150' 
long.

At 150' it is really not long enough to work as a Beverage 
on 160 meters (a Beverage needs to be 1 x wavelenght long, 
or more, indeed, 3 to 5 times more). That antenna, 
however, may still be a good low noise RX antenna, and 
thus useful. So try it. It sure could be a great RX 
antenna for 80, 40 and 30 meters. If you have more space, 
make it longert. If not, lay it on the ground, as a BOG, 
which can be a lot shorter for a similar pattern, but with 
lower gain. (i.e. you may need a pre-aplifier).

GL es 73,

George, AA7JV
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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

Re: Topband: Receiver Frontend Protector?

[GeorgeWallner]

On Sun, 16 Oct 2011 15:31:32 +
Missouri Guy n0...@juno.com wrote:
 If not, what does everyone else use for a 
 receiver frontend protection?  

I build all my RX antennas with a relay in the transformer 
box. The relay, which is powered through the coax, opens 
the loop and shorts out the input of the transformer 
whenever the station is switched off or when transmitting. 
That way I get RX protection during transmit and during 
thunderstorms (when the station power is off).

George, AA7JV
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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

Re: Topband: Fwd: Capacitor for Inverted L

[GeorgeWallner]

On Sun, 16 Oct 2011 09:48:45 -0600
W0MU Mike Fatchett w...@w0mu.com wrote:
a low horizontal dipole can work amazing amounts of DX on 160 

Amazing high or amazing low?

George, AA7JV
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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

Re: Topband: Effect of current max not at base of vertical.

[GeorgeWallner]

On Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:17:58 -0400
  Guy Olinger K2AV olin...@bellsouth.net wrote:
 I share the frustration over the very minimal amount of 
data out there.
 
 However...
 Erection of a 260 foot vertical in a testing 
 environment... 

G'Day Topbanders,

I am not sure how general a conclusions could be drawn 
from my experience, but I have a set up that is somewhat 
relevant to this thread, and have done some on the air 
testing with it.

I have two verticals, about 2 meters apart. One is 21 
meters tall and the other one is 28 meters tall with a 
high Q center loading inductor to make it resonate at 1900 
kHz (this is my 160 m antenna). This antenna is fed via a 
low loss antenna coupler. The two antennas share a common 
ground system, which is salt-water to the east and a 
buried field of 40 radials of varying length between 30 
and 120 feet long to the west. On 80 meters the shorter 
antenna is a 1/4 wave vertical, while the longer one could 
be considered to be a half-wave vertical.

I have done extensive tests on 80 meters, comparing the 
two antennas towards the east. I have used the reverse 
beacon network, and a couple of friends' SDR-s in Europe 
for these comparisons.  In tests from my Florida QTH, 
towards the east (towards Europe) and the side where the 
salt water is, the taller antenna has almost always been 
better by 2 to 3 dB. Towards the west (and the land side) 
I have not done enough testing to draw conclusive results, 
but I feel that the 1/2 wave vertical is better in that 
direction too.

I understand the 80 meters is not 160 meters, but...

I would be happy to set up a test sched with anyone to my 
west or north-west, who is interested in carrying these 
studies further.

73,

George, AA7JV

PS: BTW, I almost always use the 1/4 vertical on 80 
meters, even towards the east, as going through the 
coupler is a PITA (as Guy has pointed out).
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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

Re: Topband: soldering radials

[GeorgeWallner]

On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 22:00:10 -0400
  Charles Moizeau w...@msn.com wrote:
 
 It has been my experience at this QTH in NJ that 
soldered connections outdoors do not do well with solder 
that contains lead.  Over time the connections all turn 
dull and often the solder on a well-soldered joint will 
crumble over time.
 
Jorge,

I use No. 16 multi-strand, tinned, insulated wires for 
radials. They are soldered to a ring made of 1/2 inch 
copper pipe that is 2 inches above the concrete pad 
surrounding my TX vertical. The solder joints were made 
with regular Tin/Led (60/40) solder and were covered by a 
thick layer of heavy, insulating varnish (paint). The 
installation is about 4 feet from the seawall and is 
exposed to salt water spray. After 6 years all the joints 
remain perfect due to the paint. (Any exposed joints would 
have long corroded away.) Regardless whether you are 
soldering or crimping the radial wires, the joints must be 
protected against the entry of water and salt. I do not 
think there is any difference in the quality of soldered 
or crimped joints as long as they are made well and are 
properly insulated. (Although I prefer soldered joints, 
when using crimped joints, in addition to the insulation, 
I add a small amount of copper-grease between the wires 
and the crimp terminals. I work a lot on boats, where the 
environment is very corrosive due to the salt water. 
Because of the vibration, crimped joints are preferred, 
and I have found that they do well when prepared as 
described above.)

GL es 73,

George, AA7JV
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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK