... the wish list

I missed the Jouvert Jam on 26th but have no regrets as my time was better spent on the computer doing what I enjoy. At this time of year most persons, hams included, indulge themselves, with making a new year wish list. Why this is done at this season is anyone's guess, because one should be continuously reevaluating priorities and updating wishes and needs. It may or may not be critical for persons living in recessional times and I cannot pronounce on this because I am still awaiting the recession, here. Some recessional attributes exist on the planet as a matter of course, but some people may find it convenient to disregard them. Anyway here it is about ham radio, not economics or politics.

I expect that the typical V4 ham will have everything on their wish list from a rig right down to solder. So many thing are that much more difficult to get these days. Living on an island in the Atlantic ocean adds another dimension to that, and provides the ultimate test for ones resourcefulness as we have to fabricate from and with materials that calls for creativity, ingenuity and skill that some of us never knew we had till now. Luckily for us our education system and local knowledge has enabled us to marshal our talents and skills to make these things work best for us.

Making do with what we have is rather a difficulty for some hams. I don't know if it is a lack of knowledge or lack of experience, or just a plain old unwillingness to try something different, especially since we live in an environment with certain minimal and non existent international standards to think about, for now. The biggest hindrance to most personal ham radio operations here seem to be the lack of coax cable. There is no shortage of coax cable on the island. There are miles of new coax cable in some warehouses here. Yards and yards of slightly used coax cable are annually dumped. The question is whether or not the coax cable can be used for ham radio, and it may boil down to personal preference.

I have enough coax cable for my needs, and when the puppy chews it up, like two weeks ago, I just splice and tape it up, rather than replace the 92-feet with a new length. My cable is RG-59 and I use it for everything. I mean everything, even 2-meters. Do I take on the 75 ohm impedance? nah. The velocity is more important because it matters for the correct lengths for matching, stubs, baluns, etc. But some of my ham associates will not touch the RG-59 because it is inferior to RG-213, but I am still on the air getting R5 and S9+ reports every day from the USA, and they are not. I am not knocking them because maybe they know something that I do not, but I do hope to find out shortly.

Also non existent here is antenna aluminum tubing. The closest thing to this is the aluminum tubing used for window curtain support. It is rather nice to have a free standing aluminum antenna, but it is difficult to import the tubing from the US because the company I dealt with was not ready to do business off the mainland, even though they only had to ship across state to my warehouse at 33147. Maybe in the new year we will find s supplier who can fill our need. For now I am safe with antenna tubing, with enough for my immediate need and I have a recycling and sustainability plan that is working great. However, I feel it for the other hams who wish to erect aluminum antennas but cannot because of the shortage of antenna tubing on the island.

I am yet to investigate using the galvanized fence post directly and indirectly deployed as an antenna. The fence posts are 20-foot long, costing about 2 EC dollar per foot. Lumber is readily available, 2x2, 2x3, 2x4, but usually cost more per foot than the fence post. Those slightly deformed lumber could represent a saving.

Electrical wire abound but that is too soft for use as antenna wire, but may be good enough for an open wire feed line if you are supporting it every 5 feet or so. I am fresh out of antenna wire myself, and have to order another 1000-foot roll of # 502 or #504 from my favored supplier, the wireman at http://www.thewireman.com This wire works great for me and is shipped by USPS. I also pick up my UHF connectors and adapters here. Silver and gold with foam are not my favorites either.

This is all that is really needed for building the antennas to get on the air to make plenty of noise from V4. I hope that in the new year we may be able to cooperate with the local hams and collaborate with hams on the mainland who could assist with the delivery of the hard to get and ship stuff needed to put the radio stations here on the air.

On my wish list is also a commercial marine radio with ham capability. I had a Harris 3200 in my sights once, and let it get away, but not again. I am a rather lucky dude, so maybe I will get one for real. In the mean time I am surfing eBay to see what gives.

The components and parts to upgrade the Drake L4B amplifier are not on this wish list because a 150 watts rig provides enough power to excite the vertical dipole antenna and will guarantee that I can be heard on the other side of the planet as long as the propagation path exist.

Have you make your wish list yet, remember be careful what you wish for, you may just get it.

... what's up with ham radio?

Tempus fugit. The T-shirt slogan, "time flies when you having a good time", may be seriously misleading, or maybe that was how it used to be in days gone by when "things" were very different. Anything behind the last word you just read is history. I am not getting into any discussion today on time, nor space, neither time travel nor space travel. It is boxing day here and since 2.00 AM I was awakened by the sound of music, actually, its was the thumping sounds from a rhythm box some 1/4 mile away in the West where a DJ and and his orchestra has set up on a flatbed for street jamming all day today. I will have to post some snaps here so that you can get a peep at the Caribbean lifestyle as it pertains to the Jouvert morning jam.

Everybody is familiar with rock concerts and the kind of audio power that is run from the amplifiers, so try to imagine that set-up on a flat bed being hauled through 20-foot and 30-foot wide streets by a tractor, and few hundred people street dancing, or jamming as we call it here, behind that music all day long. I am not mentioning the party [free beer and stuff] that is also taking place within the dancing band. It is something you have to experience, and I guaranteed you will not be the same again.

My ham buddy 4KAI and I had a plan to build the ultimate audio amplifier for these music lovers, using a couple 4-400A or 4-1000A, but we never got around to it, but maybe we can resurrect the idea again in time for Jouvert 2010. Last year noise pollution laws were legislated here, but that does not address the intensity of music for and at Carnival organised functions, only for private and domestic functions ... after dark. I am just imagining a pair of 4-1000A in AB1 or AB2, hahaha, being driven with some bob Marley or Sparrow. That could only be awesome. On the downside, these amps and power supplies will have chains, padlocks and Brinks security, because those audio guys like to tamper and 4Kv has no friends.

Quite a few hams have linear amplifiers and I hear talk of getting them on the air every week but nothing is happening. The intent is encouraging and I add my support. Of course I take the opportunity to inform them that my Drake L-4B is still making a door stop, and some hams have even staged surprise visits to my QTH to witness the truth for themselves. Now, if they are already complaining about my signal strength barefoot, what will happen when I crank up the L-4B to 1500 watts? And the TS-940SAT can drive the pant off the L-4B. There is no better antenna than the top and bottom loaded vertical dipole antenna for anyone who want to work the world.

Actually my last sentence was '... to work the world on a budget", but I deleted after "world" because 'budget' only apply to a few of us who prefer to build this antenna for pennies, or in some cases for next to nothing, while other hams can afford to purchase similar looking ready made configurations that bear a brand name, comes with everything in the box, including a warranty, etc. The bottom line is that I am glad that hams are able to bring a measure of improved success to their hobby with the correct accessories, whether home made or commercial.

I have not erected the 40-meter T-cap as yet. It is still on the ground next to the mast. Maybe later today, after surviving the Jouvert jam, I will get it on the mast. I have to get my landscaper to cut down the pawpaw tree from around the 80-meter vertical. Since my altercation with the machete I do not handle that tool anymore. This is my ham radio weekend so everything will get done and we go into 2010 on a high. One does not have to wait for old years or new years to make plans for anything in life. It should be ongoing and continuous, and waiting for tomorrow could be detrimental to one growth and development, because "tomorrow never comes".

My Flex 3000 radio never came, because I never ordered it. In Life one has to make the correct decisions and buying the Flex 3000 now would be a bad decision. So it is now on my wish list for 2010, having been displaced by a new Canon EOS camera body and a few Canon L series lenses. I am also re-looking at my ham radio needs, and think that I should include another component, since I have an interest in fishing. So I am now looking for a commercial marine radio with total ham radio transmit capability, and I am impressed with what I see so far.

So my ham radio is still on track going into 2010, and what about yours? Have you tried out the top and bottom loaded vertical dipole as yet? Maybe you are someone who prefers the multi band version antennas. That is not for me. I am not into any compromised performance on all bands. I want perfect performance on each band, and I am blessed [thank God] with space enough to erect single band vertical dipoles, that I can tune up to their max. Yes it calls for more coax cable, but when you can buy 1000-feet for less than 99 bucks off eBay, that is not a problem. Down here real antenna wire can be a problem. Electrical installation wire will stretch and construction binding wire will work but cannot take a kilowatt. Oh, I have been there so I know.

I am still trying to understand why hams here complain about not having any coax cable when so many miles of coax cable are dumped in the landfill by the local CableTv company maintenance section annually. I can't recall the last time that I used any of the brand names or cable designations that hams here seem to think are what we should only be using for our ham radio communications. Guess I need to conduct more research in this area. Coax cable seems to be the major holdup to hams coming on the air, but cooperative efforts to procure the coax cable do not seem to work here either, but I am not loosing any sleep over this one.

In my early days of ham radio coax cable cable was non existent and I resorted to TV twin lead, electrical flex wire and also telephone drop wire. These proved to be excellent performers, given the power used and the contacts made. Some hams still swear by the open and twin leads, but I do not have any antenna systems or components that would justify using that transmission feed line today. The telephone drop line and an MFJ tuner was one of the best setups I used back then. I am now opposed to the use of any tuner on any of my antennas.

Most hams use coax cable, but many of them may not use a balun at both ends to get the best performance from their antenna system. I find it to be most convenient to use an air core balun wound with a section of the coax feed line. I do not have the tuning difficulty with verticals anymore since incorporating the ugly balun into my antenna systems. According to the theory every vertical antenna needs to work into a balun, irrespectively, but some hams don't take the time nor make the effort to get tis right, the first time ... and then they say verticals don't work for them. I believe that the most used antenna in the world is a VERTICAL, but for some reason unknown to me, hams seem to go first for any other type of antenna.

[to be continued]

40/80 meter antenna, more

Where did the last two months go? It is not that I can't account for them, but somehow for some reason I just did not reach my ham radio blog. I guess it comes with aging, and we just have to take it in stride. Maybe we are moving slower and time overtakes us, but whatever it may be, it is no cause for concern. Fortunately, this time around I have an explanation, not an excuse, but I don't know if I can fix it to stop from happening again. It is Facebook and more Facebook.

Not to be outdone I have joined Facebook, not to run any race with the children and grandchildren, nor to keep an eye on them and their friends, but to keep myself 'active' and in the know. I have been encouraged to come out of photographic retirement by some kind and loving Facebook friends and I am liking the idea. At this age I find it is easy to fight what I believe to be the Facebook addiction, even though I have never experienced an addiction other than to ham radio and photography in the last 3 score plus years. You know you are a goner when you can't pass a rig and don't pause for a closer look and a touch. You will also drive miles just to take a peep.

Facebook, puts the book in your face 24/7, but if you are smart, and you would be as a senior citizen, you can use that to your greatest advantage. Ham radio is still a bit soft in my view as I have not found any FB groups to my fancy, primarily because those I saw seem to lack that practical activity associated with my ham radio. I don't think that a vertical antenna Facebook group would get the support like it does on other networks, but then you never know.

No further experimenting was done on my 40/80 meter vertical antenna with a single feed line. I have lost 220 square feet of yard space adjacent to the antenna to a container, so the test antenna will have to be relocated soon. However it is still working into the USA perfectly okay, oblivious of the container just inches away.

I am now at the crossroad of antenna relocation. My options seem to be [a] to reinstall the antenna as presently configured, [b] to install a 40 and 80 meter top and bottom loaded vertical antenna using two separate vertical aluminum tubings on the same 2x4 lumber mast, insulated and back to back with [b1] one common feed line or [b2] separate feed lines for each vertical antenna, [c] to install a single 40 meter top and bottom loaded vertical antenna, as before.

After much agonizing, like 5 minutes, I am going with option [c], so that before the holidays begin I should have the 40 meter top and bottom loaded vertical up and radiating again. I now have to decide on the length of the vertical section. The 1/8 wavelength is pretty cool but I rather like the better RS reports received from a 1/4 wavelength vertical section. The mast for this antenna is already in place and patiently awaiting deployment.

The 80 meter top and bottom vertical antenna which was abandoned during the 40/80 meter antenna experiments will be reclaimed from the overgrowing pawpaw tree. As much as I hate to remove the antenna obstruction, the pawpaw tree and nature has not found it necessary to provide me with any fruits for a couple seasons. We have not had a pawpaw tree in this yard for some time so this accidental growth was quite welcome, even though it was in a very bad spot.

So things are looking up for the holidays. Only a few hams here seem not to be taken in with the politics of the Nation. Maybe they do not recognize that politicians come, and politicians go, but ham radio is forever ... so I am sticking with my ham radio, and I would venture to suggest that they think about that too.

I expect to update this blog frequently from now, but just in case I get caught up again, and miss the time, Happy Holidays when it comes, and let us see what we can do, not just for our own personal ham radio, but for ham radio that positively impact our brothers and sisters nationally and internationally.

Have a great ham radio day.

73

Keeth, V44KF

40/80 vertical dipole antenna, lesson one

Tempus fugit. Sometimes it feels that someone is playing around with a time machine, but in the last two week we have seen a fair amount of excitement on and across the islands. The election drama continues with court cases, legal action brought against the Government who claim that the opposition party is trying to block the constitutional and electoral process.

Storms have passed through the Leewards, but well off our Southern coast, a bit of wind but not much rain at this QTH. September 19th is another Independence celebration and that is sometimes accompanied by stormy weather, the annual coincidence, and it seems to be already shaping up in the Atlantic. We hope that it will blow over quickly, pass us by as a depression, or just don't come at all. Nature is unpredictable but the weathermen are still trying to con us.

I am finally down to the last phase of antenna adjustment because I do not settle for any SWR less than 'one to one' at my operating frequency. This has taken me that long to get to this point because I did not follow the basic principle that any experimentation should always begin at lesson one, not at lesson 5 or 6. There are no exceptions or exemptions.

The antenna itself posed no problem for either 40 meters or 80 meters. The length and taps were okay. The solenoid balun at the feed point was also okay, but the feed line was the trouble. Not wishing to cut another length of coax cable I elected to use precut lengths. That is cool if I had measured them precisely, but I did not, and resorted to a rough hand span estimate. 191 feet, about 6 foot too long but close enough.

The self resonant frequency was in band but the best SWR on both 40 and 80 was only 1.5. That is workable if I am using an antenna tuner, but I am not, and need the SWR at 1.0. So I decided to start from lesson one. In the low band DX handbook ON4UN tells us to start with all known parameters, no unknowns, measure, calculate and compute everything, then you are good to go. When I was building the phased arrays, that is what we did, but that was then, this is now. The only unknown was the guesstimated coax feed line. So out came Lufkin.

The feed line required for this 40/80 dual band vertical antenna is one wavelength on 80 meters and two wavelength on 40 meters. If the antenna was on the closest mast the cable run would be 50% less. For 80 meters the feed line required is 173 feet and for 40 meters it is 185 feet. So my 190 feet feed line was way to long for both bands. So the precut cables were measured and joined to be as close to 173 as possible.

The Autek RF-1 was deployed but I had to put that back in the box because it did not show me what I thought it could. I needed to know what was the frequency length of the feed line plus solenoid balun, so I had to resort to the measurement method ON4UN recommends in the handbook, using the transmitter and dummy load. That method worked like a dream. I now have a switch system to add the additional twelve [12] feet of feed line for 40 meters. That will be update with a DPDT coax switch sometime in the future.

So we are at the final stage of tuning up. The SWR is now below 1.5 on both bands and tomorrow a freq run will be done, and if the wind is not high, the antenna droped for final adjustments. Contacts on the antenna as is are encouraging, but I notice a sort-of-BCI interference component on 80 meters, but inserting the attenuator eliminates that. We are less than two miles away from a 50KW am station on 820 KHZ, and about three miles away from a 20KW am station on 555 kHz. I think there is a BCI mod for the TS-940 somewhere.

I am keeping an eye on the Flex 3000, and I am awaiting the US reviews, and following up the discussion groups. The Flex 3000 lends itself nicely to my style of portable and mobile DX operation, and I am looking forward to that for this winter. By the looks of things I will have to make a decision in 8 weeks time. These are the days where one has to make decisions on facts and figures not on emotions. The fact is that I live in kilowatt alley and my next rig has to be able to handle that, from the base station or in the field.

Tomorrow I will compare the Flex 5000 and K3 to determine best value. So far the Flex is ahead because of its non disposability, which I rather like. One thing for sure I am not buying another rig made in Japan. It is rather sad that none of their rigs with affordable price tags can make it into the top 10, or should I say more precisely, can make the now acceptable minimum receiver spec DRNS 80dB@2kHz.

WOW!!! I just pulled up the Sherwood receiver test data table and see that the Flex 3000 is now there, and in the top 6. I will not rewrite this blog, but it seems that I can now make the space on the operating table for my next rig, the Flex 3000.

I am going to bed now and will dream about my Flex 3000.

40/80 meter single feed line vertical dipole antenna surprise

WOW!!!!! I made a contact into Maryland this morning with 5 watts on the experimental antenna. I was not even calling the station, I only came of 7.195 MHz and asked if anyone was around, looking for any of the usual local or Caribbean hams, and a W3 station responded.

He gave me a signal report but I don't think that I heard him correctly, so I am not repeating it, but the last time I got that quality report I was using a Drake TR4C, L4B and a two element phased array beaming to North America. Anyway, I made the trip to MD with 5 watts and did not have to repeat anything. I know the SWR on the 40 meter portion of the antenna is 1 to 1 at 7.150 MHz. So maybe I should not really be surprised. It could also be that Storm ANA that is 3 days away to our East could have affected the atmosphere to such a degree that it messed with the propagation, creating a super path between V4 and W3.

But that is not all, because today is the first time that I have received Guyana, 8R1WD to be exact, RS59+10, and the St Lucia stations were RS59+20 and heading for +25. Something seems to be happening with that antenna, that I did not expect, but as scientists, this one off occurrence is not the conclusive proof. It has to happen again, and again, almost "ad infinitum", for it to be considered as the real thing. I guess the antenna gurus with the fancy antenna analyzer software can explain what is going on. As a practical ham I am only concerned with the antenna performance, that is, its ability to deliver on DX contacts, both in transmit and receive.

The plan for today is to take down the antenna and readjust the vertical section taps. Shorten for 80 meters and lengthen for 40 meters. With the storm just 3 days out we may get some early showers, so we dare not procrastinate.

Today is also set for a reconnoitre of the SKNAARS HQ antenna site, and maybe with a cordless drill, bolts and some pieces of 2x4 lumber the antenna may be up in the air on a temporary mount, over the heads of frequent trespassers and wandering cows. Such could be the trials and tribulation in this part of the world. The good thing is that we have learned to take these things in stride, and not to make mountains out of these mole hills. Taking it slow and easy always seem to works best.

The sun is out in its typical Saturday morning glory so its time to make a move.

73

40/80 meter single feed line vertical dipole antenna update

WOW!!! It is hard to believe that 10 days have gone by so soon. It is like somebody push the fast forward button on us. Maybe it is just that as we get older it seems that everything is moving faster, but in reality everything is the same, but we old guys may be the ones that are moving slower. It could be critical if you have to punch someones time clock but when you are on your own, retired, and living one day at a time, it is a totally different story. Don't for a minute think that there is nothing to do, because XYL's always have something for you to do [at the wrong time], and if you don't do it right the first time, well you know ... these days it is not the rolling pin [ours are made from marble], they know where to find the switch for the surge protector.

Before I tell you about today, I have come up with the solution to a problem that some of us could have. The most portable HF rig in the world may be the Flex 1500. It is powered from the Laptop USB. I could see myself operating from under my sour sop tree in the side yard, or from some secluded spot, undisturbed, for hours. Now this is not meant to escape from the XYL or any "home" activity, because if it is perceived that the Flex1500 is coming between us, it might accidentally end up in the kitchen, on the table, and on the butcher block. BAM!!! I never saw a cleaver that made a joke. I could cause the cleavers to be misplaced. One [1], maybe two [2], but not all three [3]. So, I will be walking with my Flex1500 in my pocket wherever I go. Better safe ....

Today was going great until the rain came down around lunchtime. The day was hot so I started work on the antenna again. Then a ham radio buddy dropped by and we got to talking, everything but ham radio, in the breeze under the sour sop tree. After he left I made a few more frequency runs on the antenna, and then the rain came down. I have been watching the weather here for the last few days. Historically our stormiest time is mid-September around the Independence Celebration time. Independence Day is 19th September.

The 40/80 meter top and bottom loaded vertical dipole using a single feed line is made up of one [1] top load wire for 80 meters, connected to the top of a 31.5-foot vertical element, one [1] top load wire for 40 meters, connected at a point that is 17-feet up the vertical element, one [1] bottom load wire for 80 meters, and one [1] for 40 meters to which the coax cable braid is connected. The load wires are made from the wireman stock antenna wire #504 and it works for me, hose clamped to the vertical element, 31.5 feet of 1.25" OD /1.5" OD aluminum tubing.

So far we have a 1 to 1 swr ariund 7.15 mHz and a 1.4 to 1 swr around 3.618 mhz. My next trial run may be to shorten the 80 meter vertical element and to lengthen the 40 meter vertical element. My preferred operating frequencies are 7.100 mhz and 3.800 mhz.

Working on this antenna has been interesting. It is critical which of the load wires are pruned [top or bottom] to get an swr of 1 to 1. If an antenna tuner is used no further adjusting and tuneup may be required, but I do not use antenna tuners, so the antennas must be pruned and tuned until each one shows an swr of 1 to 1 at my preferred operating frequency.

The showers have passed but the grass is wet, so the antenna activity continues on another hot summer day. In the meantime I am spending some time on facebook, not in Farmville or any such game which wants to expose my innermost secrets, sex life, love live or whatever. I took a quick look at the facebook ham radio groups, and have to spend some more time there to see if I can gain any benefit from any group associations. I am on facebook as "Keeth France", spelt just like this, for any new ham radio friends. See you here or face book, whichever comes first.

73

40/80 meter vertical dipole update

The long holiday weekend is coming to an end, and the best laid plans were shot to bits not by the weather, but by the Caribbean holiday spirit. It is party time across the Caribbean. Some call it Carnival, and some call it by other local names, but the bottom line is that it is party time in some Caribbean islands, and some parts of North America too. The cell phone and Internet provide those who cannot be there in person with a front seat and center stage view to all the action, whether it is Carnival queen pageant, calypso king competition, calypso queen show, queen of the bands, jouvert, or whatever. On the local scene, the party will be held at the house[s] with the largest plasma screen, and space to accommodate the noisy gathering. Some of it also spills onto facebook too.

I too had my own little party [rum less] and was in no mood whatsoever to be in the hot sun dealing with antennas. Every day is an antenna day, but every day is not a party day, so you have to kill it when you catch it. Last Saturday afternoon nobody showed up at the Society HQ. I only passed by to make sure that no one else was there. So now we know that rain is not the only thing that determines the priority in this part of the world, and we missed out on the possibility of a 48 hour operation from our Club HQ. Well there will be other days, before and after the hurricane season.

Every now and then I browse the Flex-radio website to see what's up. I saw the Radcom review on the Flex-3000, and I am so sorry to say that it does not meet my requirements. It is a good radio, but when you live in "kilowatt alley", nothing less than the receiver hotties like Flex 5000, Elecraft K3, Ten-Tec Orions, Ten-Tec Omni 7, and even the Ten-Tec Omni 6+ will do. So now I have to save twice as many pennies, but the good thing is that I will still be buying something local, that is made in our back yard the USA, where spare parts and prompt reliable service are still available and the order of the day.

I still want an SDR radio and have decided to go with the Flex-1500, irrespective of the receiver quality. I can live with the QRP output, and when I feel the need for more than 5 watts I will pipe the Flex-1500 into the driver and power amplifier of my TS-940SAT to get up to 225 watts. If I need still more juice there are other options I can exercise. So there is no operating problem here, and I can save 899 towards the procurement of one of the top ten receivers, or maybe just acquire a second Flex-1500.

One of my ham buddies have just pulled up outside.

73

40/80 dual band vertical dipole antenna update

Let me first thank the Creator for another bright and sunny Saturday and I pray that it remains like this all day long.

This weather is great for antenna work and I think quite a bit may be planned for today at more than one [1] QTH in V4.

This morning I expect to do some more work on the dual band, single feed line 40/80 top and bottom load vertical dipole antenna. I now have the SWR down to around 1.5:1 on 40 and 80, but it is not at the frequency that I prefer. On 40 meters it is around 7.165 MHz and on 80 meters it is around 3.613 MHz. It looks like I am getting there, and I have not yet deployed the Autek RF1 analyzer.

This morning I checked into the 80 meter weather net on 3.815 MHz, and only when the net controller said I was a bit light did I realize that I was running only 5 watts, and I had not even adjusted the matching between the rig/coax feed line/antenna with the built in antenna tuner. Reception also seem to be better than usual for most of the participating stations.

I also worked into Maryland on 7.195 MHz an hour or so later. I did not solicit a signal report, because as long as I could be heard in the US that is good enough for me. Usually with the sun this high in the sky most horizontal dipoles have difficulty making the trip to the mainland. The US signals were coming in at the usual RS59+ just as they did on the previous 40 meter top and bottom load vertical dipole antenna, which had a 28-foot tall vertical element. In this dual band configuration the 40-meter vertical element is now only 17-ft tall.

So, today is for fine tuning the antenna[s], getting the SWR closer to 1.0:1 using a single feed line. The preliminary tests during tuneup are encouraging. This antenna is going to be a permanent installation, but it will still be engaged in a certain amount of experimentation. I now have two [2] spare fold over masts for a new set of vertical antenna experimentation, so maybe 160 meters will be next.

After lunch on Saturday, the action usually moves to the St Kitts Nevis Anguilla Amateur Radio Society HQ [SKNAARS] at Taylor's where we had planned to re-install the antenna over the last week. If that is completed today we may have some operating fun on Monday and Tuesday next week, the public holidays. The HQ antenna was an 80-meter top and bottom loaded dipole antenna that I temporarily knocked up using four [4] EMT pipes bolted together. The first contact into Europe [PA] using an Icom 735 created some excitement, and resulted in one of the hams present building an 80-meter T-cap the following weekend, and he is still using it up to today.

The SKNAARS HQ's T-cap antenna went through last year's bad weather and was only taken taken down last week because one nylon guy got compromised, and the antenna was threatening to fall down. I believe that we can take a google look at the SKNAARS HQ site.

On google maps search for v44kf then click on my saved places navigate to v44k and zoom in. I don't know if these links will work, they seem to be erratic at times, but you can get there manually too. Alternatively, you may use google earth and fly to v44k, stkitts ham radio. I would like to assume that almost everyone has FREE google earth.

If you want to get an appreciation of how close the V4 hams are, while still on google earth, fly to v4 ham radio and you should see my bookmarks for almost all the hams and then some. In google maps all these book marks show up on one screen. Enjoy your trek around V4, and if you are in real time you are fortunate like us, sorry, everyone else is dated.

73

40/80 dual band vertical dipole antenna update

Tempus fugit. I have not touched the antenna in the last week. I am still on vacation. The XYL is out visiting so I am enjoying being a bachelor again to the max. It feels good. No chores today. No housekeeping. Just me and my ham radio, my photography, my bicycle, my microwave, my wok and my TV. I get some exercise walking from the bedroom upstairs to the kitchen and shack downstairs. This is the good life.

However, I have touched the antenna project as I found some antenna wire and nylon guy ropes all balled up in a corner of the yard where my landscape engineer had secured it, so today I will add some more wire onto the antenna and see where we can go. The antenna analyzer is back home so that will be deployed too.

The antenna is tuned up just below 3.8 mhz with a 1:1 SWR, but the SWR on 40 is over 2 but under 3 at 7.135 mhz or so, totally unacceptable, since I never use antenna tuners. I have to remodel the antenna further to satisfy my requirements. The overall height of the vertical section has moved from 35 feet to 31.5 feet, and I now have some new dimensions for the 40 meter antenna. I have also replaced the small solenoid balun with the big one, and the feed line is as close to 185 feet as I can get without cutting any cable. I am out of PL-259s anyway. I have to check if the wireman is still open for business to restock.

I think I will get it on today, as long as there is no rain. I am still looking for Caribbean people who like rain, other than the Rastaman. I like it too, but not on the day I plan to work on my antennas, nor when they have an NCIS marathon on TV. The cable Tv here must be a dry-weather version. I don't think the new highway next to their high site has anything to do with it either.

I notice on eBay some 4-ft fiberglass masts that telescope to 44-ft, if they are still there by fall/winter I may just pick up a couple for my portable antenna project. The vertical section of the vertical dipole will then be made from wire and can hang off the mast. This will make the ideal light weight and ultimate portable antenna. So now I will have over 30-feet of aluminum tubing available for another antenna project.

I continue to research my flex radio and upgraded power sdr to 1.18.2 and I notice something that I have to enquire about, not complain. I also found some rather interesting flex radio info on YouTube. Talking about YouTube I have set up my channel there and still working on it, ham radio, fishing and photography are only the minor focus there.

I have also joined the young folks on FaceBook, and making sure that I do not get addicted. I contemplated starting a ham radio vertical antenna group there, but I feel that the facebook hams are somewhat different, I may be wrong, but it is just a gut feeling.

The sun is now up so I will check that the grass is dry, and after saying my "prayers" will see what joy today holds in store for me.

73

40/80 vertical dipole antenna feedback 2

The short 40/80 meter top and bottom loaded vertical dipole fed with one single feed line is finally up, but the bottom loading wire for 80 meters is to be replaced with real antenna wire which will be recycled from the existing single band 80 meter T-cap antenna. Nothing went according to the plan laid out for Saturday. First it rained, next it was windy, but the rain was the real show stopper. Negotiating wet grass and wet bamboo stalks across a dry river bed are not my idea of ham radio fun on a Saturday. So like the shuttle, take off was rescheduled for the next 24 hours.

The self resonant frequencies on 40 and 80 were in band for starters, so I was not far off with my assumptions. The feed line is not the real length but should be close by about 4%, pretty significant but workable. The local signal reports indicate that I am not as strong as before, and I expect that, since both the vertical and horizontal radiation pattern should now be different, and the antenna is not yet tuned and optimized. Receive on 40 and 80 after dark show US ham stations at RS 59 with short wave broadcast stations still in the red well over S9.

It will now be very convenient to change 40/80 bands without having to reach over and throw the B&W 550A coax switch. The most modern of antenna installations use one feed line from shack to an external switch box like this. I now expect to [a] save a bit of bread on high demand, short supply coax cable, [b] reclaim some yard space when the 80 meter T-cap is recycled, [c] improve relationship with the XYL for taking down some the aluminum tubing and wire from the sky over the fence, [d] consider an experimental 160 meter short vertical dipole antenna for the available space.

It is pretty windy today as a tropical wave is just east of the islands. Luckily this latest antenna installation boasts a third rope to guy the top of the vertical, just in case we have strong winds like now. My spring balance fish scale indicate a 9 to 10 lb pull on the antenna ropes with the wind gusts. The 3/8 sisal and nylon ropes are supposed to be more than adequate to handle this stress.

Over the next week or two I will consult with the ambidextrous hams to create a portable 40/80 meter version of this antenna. I already have 2 made up lengths of tubing 17.5-feet long for another antenna project, so when these are joined together we will be good to go on 40/80 with a single coax cable fed dual band loaded vertical dipole antenna. Sounds easy to me, and should not be that difficult to fabricate.

Recently I picked up on this link in a discussion group.

73

40/80 vertical dipole antenna feedback

All systems are go to install the 40/80 meter vertical dipole antenna today, if no rain. Rain is the one thing in the Caribbean that upsets everyone. Personally, I like the rain and it slows down, but does not stop my show. For some people it is the opposite, just the thought of rain totally stops their show. Rain to some people is like fire and brimstone. Of course for the Rastaman rain is quite something else.

After serious consideration and contemplation I have decided why and where I will place, as in orient, the top and bottom loading wires for both the 40 and 80 meter antennas. It is not really critical because as long as you are 'out of plane' it is good bye to the high angle suppression. In this experiment I want to see if the allowed 'high angles' will give my antenna 'more ears' for local contacts. In theory it should, while maintaining the original low angle.

I need to make up a new feed line, but I will use the old one which is good for 40 meters, but should be bad for 80 meters. The feed line should be 185-feet long with 50 to 60-ft of that would into a solenoid balun. The remaining 125-ft is more than enough to reach into the operating room. I have many precut cables to extend the original feed line, but maybe an insufficient supply of PL-258 connectors. In any even we are using what we have without incurring any additional costs. That is what this is also about. Getting the job done without even the shoestring.

I am also on vacation until next week, but you know how it is with us hams, there is nothing called vacation from our ham radio hobby. The XYL has gone to visit with relatives so, maybe I can have the guys over next weekend for a rum party before she gets back, or maybe we should just set up shop under a tent on the lawn and operate 40 and 80 meters all night long. That is a better idea, and sounds like what I will do, and hopefully, tell you all about it.

For today I have some chores and if the sun is not to hot and I can find another pair of hands [not that it is necessary] I will raise the new antenna and test it out. As long as we have resonance [without a tuner] by sunset, we can see what DX is lurking round and about.

Some time between today and next Saturday we are also installing a 40/80 vertical dipole at our Amateur Radio Society Headquarters site. That has a better low angle take off location than I have here at the QTH.

Today may be a packed one but we will touch the antenna installation in some way. Got to go.

Have a great ham radio day.

Old rigs never die - chapter 5

Most hams should be acquainted with the Sherwood Engineering Inc's Receiver Test Data Table found here, with an update stamp of 2 July 2009. This table can prove useful and helpful to most hams who are out shopping for a first, second or third rig. It could also set up some of us older hams for a little peer pressure. When we acquired that rig which is now down at number 45 in the Receiver Test Data table, we were unaware of the existence of this table, so we should not take it personal, nor should we let our ham buddies give us any unnecessary static.

In days gone by the average ham could strive to buy the 'the top of the line' rig of the day for 2K, 3k or 4k uncle sam, sometimes with a mild stretch. It is a whole different story in 2009, and some hams may not be in a position to stretch, even though some of the eBay rig prices may seem quite reasonable to some of us. The 'new' top of the line ham rigs may now be well above 10k, and I would expect all of them to be in the top 5 on the Sherwood Inc Receiver Test Data Table.

Some hams will be affected by the global economic situation, some hams will NOT, and some hams will NEVER. However, irrespective of the 'impact' most hams are not expected to quit the hobby, even if they are now only able to hang out on VHF, UHF and the Internet. Most hams may not part with their ham radio gear either, unless it is absolutely necessary, and of course for some of us it can sometimes come to that. As human beings we know that 'nothing last forever' and 'that too will pass', but these days it can call for a new strain of 'stamina', hitherto uncalled for. Ham radio is a hobby, a pastime, for relaxation, which could be critical to one's longevity, given the stress and pressures riding along with these 'alleged' global economic conditions.

I note that some old rigs are still selling rather well on eBay. That is, the old rigs that are in the top ten [10] of the Receiver Test Data Table. I am seriously resisting the temptation to chase down a Kenwood TS-830S. That transceiver is at position number seven [7] on the RTD table. I am only counting devices with integrated transmitter and receiver. In V4 land there are some four [4] or five [5] Kenwood TS-830S rigs, and nobody is willing to part with them. The rigs making the top twelve [12] on the RTD table at this time are, Elecraft K3, Flex 5000a, Ten-Tec Orion 2, Ten-Tec Orion, Icom IC-765, Atlas 350XL, Kenwood TS-830S, Ten-Tec Omni 7, Icom IC-7800, Elecraft K2, Ten-Tec Omni 6+, Yaesu 901-DM. All these rigs meet or exceed the Dynamic Range Narrow Spaced [DRNS] spec of 80dB at 2 kHz. This is the accepted minimum spec for a good ham radio communications receiver today.

It is great to see that the US rig manufacturers have listened to the hams and given them what they want, while keeping the price tag down, and without driving themselves out of business. Some of us have to tangle with 'currency exchange', but if a ham needs to be on the cutting edge of his ham radio operating and DXing, there is no option or alternative. Elecraft may be on the right track with the kits and affordable factory assembly. However, I am leaning towards the Flex Radio, maybe because it fills the need for my portable mobile operation, from a briefcase or satchel on the front seat of my car.

For hams who must get on the air, and are unable to stretch for the newest Elecraft, Flex Radio or Ten-Tec, all is not lost, if you can win a bid on eBay for a Kenwood TS-830S or an Icom IC-765. I personally prefer the TS-830s, because the Icom IC-765 have some quirks. A quick google search can put you in contact with some great hams who are the expert at putting the Kenwood TS-830s into the big league with those 10k plus rigs.

I have a very soft spot for certain Kenwood rigs, but being a realist, I would really drop my dough on any reasonably priced old Ten-Tec rig making it into the top 12. I do not believe that the Ten Tec rigs [and any US made rig for that matter] are built with any 'disposable concepts' in mind, and after my dialog with Icom JP some years ago over my 'disposable' IC-745, I vowed never to buy another rig assembled over there. Nothing personal, strictly ham radio business. I am thankful to have lived long enough to see the USA rig makers reclaim their glory.

Some old rigs will ultimately die, but some will NOT. For those of us who must put something else on the operating table there is only one clear option, given the 'economics' of the day. The RTD table should be our guide, and our choice should be from among the top 12 rigs that meet or exceed the minimum receiver spec. If you must go with a rig just below the 80db@2kHz spec, an INRAD filter may help to carry you over the 80db@2kHz hurdle.

At the end of the day I will say, just buy the rig if it is "Made in USA", whether it meets the 80dB@2kHz specs or not. It is time that we appreciate the value, BUY LOCAL.

new vertical dipole antenna experiment feedback

Getting Murphy out of the way was easier than I thought, but I am not taking any chances and have activated plan B, just in case. A week or two is much to far away to work on a simple antenna like this, so at lunch time today I am half way completed. I am converting my 28-foot 40-meter top and bottom loaded vertical dipole to this single feed line 40/80 vertical dipole.

I had a vision of an alternate layout of this 40/80 single feed line antenna, and this will be tested later down. I envisage this present antenna experiment to be more labour intensive than usual, and I have installed a tilt over base, so that I will not have the hassle of 'storming' the mast/antenna, and 'lashing' it onto the fence any more, nor solicit any XYL assistance when it is breezy. I now have three [3] tilt over masts installed, and they are all spaced 34 feet apart and in line. Coincidence? Maybe not.

In line the three [3] masts/antennas point to Japan and you can compute the broadside directions. I always wanted to play with phased verticals and have yet to experiment with short top and bottom loaded verticals used in a phased array.

To the top of the 35-foot aluminum tubing I have connected the antenna wires, 16-foot long for 40-meters and 46-foot long for 80 meters. These will droop down to the fence or an elevated support mast. I stopped using solid antenna insulators on wire antennas a long time ago to minimize loading and wind resistance. I am quite sure that this antenna will not get away from my fisherman's arbor knot and nylon braid.

The typical top and bottom loaded vertical is visualized as an "H" on the side. This 40/80, two band - one feed line, antenna experiment can take the same visualization, except that the horizontal section on one side of the vertical center section is short, and the horizontal section on the other side of the vertical center section is long. So that the 40-meter antenna is on one side of the center vertical and the 80-meter antenna is on the other. The top and bottom lengths can also be transposed. So, in my case the top and bottom horizontal antenna wire is 62-feet long, and the vertical connecting center section is offset 25% or 75% from one end of it.

An extension of this experiment may be to combine two typical full sized top and bottom loaded vertical dipoles diagonal to each other on the common vertical section. Pretty neat. of course this complicates things if we want to keep the antenna on the fence line and unobtrusive.

It is a killer sun out there so I am going to catch a snack and see if NCIS or James Bond is on USA again today. If I complete this antenna later and test it tonight I will have more to say tomorrow.

new vertical dipole antenna experiment

It pays to revisit supposedly old documentation. Stuff that we have once read and sometimes consciously think that we may never need again in this lifetime. Fortunately for us, our subconscious does not subscribe to that line of
thinking, and like the good computer it is, even though we may not appreciate it, continues to update and compile data on our behalf. When the time is right we get a flash of inspiration, a burst of knowledge, or whatever we want to call it, because all the pieces just fall neatly into place. It is not by accident, but many of us don't know that and maybe even more don't really care.

I just had that experience a few moments ago, and my next vertical antenna experiment is shaping up. Some time ago I viewed this website and did not give it a second thought because I could not handle the center feed point for the antenna, nor the 70-foot vertical section. Today, some months later, I am on the web page again, the data is still the same, but I now see it from a different perspective, and I believe that I have found the answer to a question posed by many hams in the forum. It is also a solution that I very truly welcome.

This is the answer to working the vertical dipole on two bands with one feed line. In my case that will be 40 and 80 meters. For my operating frequencies the antenna is re sized to half the given dimensions, and the feed point dropped from the center of the vertical section to the bottom. This layout will now look just like one half section of the conventional top and bottom loaded vertical dipole antenna. According to the theory the other half section is necessary to maintain symmetry and cancel the horizontal radiation component, but if we need to have contacts closer home, we may fore go that section, to get the high angle radiation.

My antennas sits above my chain link fence, below the 10-foot level, but it works for me. I do not use a scrabble wound balun, but a properly wound solenoid balun on 4.5-inch PVC. It is the real deal. More on the solenoid balun can be found here. If you are new to this vertical dipoles antenna stuff take a look at this web page and if you get serious and think that you can handle it give it a shot. You may also wish to contact hams who may be as crazy as I am about vertical antennas here.

I don't have any antenna modelling software as yet but that will not delay my antenna experiments. The SWR bridge and my pocket calculator are all that I really need to cut and prune this antenna to resonance. It is absolutely essential to use a proper balun in front of the SWR bridge or you may have to pull out what is left of your hair. I subscribe to feed lines that are half wave multiples at the operating frequency. The suggested arbitrary coax cable lengths just do not work for me.

I believe that every ham radio station and antenna installation is unique. In his Low Band DX Handbook, ON4UN shows how to set up the antenna from scratch, with measurements and calculations, and I find he is correct. If you don't have the tools you could get lucky and get away with arbitrary and guesstimated figures, but if you want to account for every milliwatt of RF you can seek to do it right. At the end of the day, what you put in is what you get out.

I am looking forward to this next experiment and I can't wait to hear what my ham neighbours will say. I have a plan toeep their s-meter on the stop, but they don't know it yet. I wish to have some feed back for you within the next week or two, so I will send Murphy on vacation.