Don’t be surprised if conditions on all HF frequencies get very strange or poor at times today, due to solar activity:
220 Mhz, 6-Element Beam Antenna
I built this handheld 220Mhz, 6-Element beam yesterday. It’s constructed of a 48″x1/2″x1-1/2″ strip of Poplar, six silicon bronze welding rods, and a piece of coax robbed from an old, broken mobile antenna mount. The PVC handle added to the end is simply to make it easier to hand-hold. Initial testing of the antenna brought […]
Worked Ecuador on 6-Meters, Slovakia on 10-Meters
There was apparently a sweet — albeit brief — opening on 6 Meters this afternoon. I worked HC5VF in Ecuador at 20:48 UTC. There was also a nice opening yesterday on 10-Meters, during which I worked EA6AZ in Spain and OM3TWM in Kosice, Slovakia. Here’s the eQSL card for the QSO to Slovakia:
Arcing Noise Problem Eliminated — Thank you Opelika Power Services
A crew from Opelika Power Services came out today to check out the arcing problem identified in my previous couple of posts. They found that the ground wire which is attached to the lightning arrestor/surge diverter was too close to the arm on which the diverter is attached, which is known to lead to arcing […]
Ultrasonic RFI Detector Pinpoints Possible Faulty Lightning Diverter
After devising a way to accurately sight the parabolic reflector I’m using in my ultrasonic RFI source locator, I went back out to the suspect pole today. From three different vantage points, the system zeroed in on the device highlighted in the photos seen below. The device appears to be a lightning arrester/surge diverter. I’m […]
Ultrasonic Detector for Locating RFI Sources on Power Poles Completed and Put To Work
First actual use of the ultrasonic system I just put together for hunting down RFI sources on utility poles. Narrowed it down to the top of this pole. Definitely some arcing going on in a connection, insulator, or other hardware at the top of this pole: Here is the Son-Tector Ultrosonic Probe Kit which […]
Update: 6-Meter, 3-Element Beam Project
Yesterday I decided to build another set of 3-element beams for 6-Meter sideband; however, this time I went full-sized, using 8-AWG stranded copper electrical wire for the elements. I finished building them around 19:00Z and was very pleased to discover that the 6-Meter band opened up in a big way around 00:30Z. With […]
6-Meter 3-Element Beam Project
Having recently acquired an Icom IC-7200, I’m looking forward to getting involved in 6-Meter sideband again, particularly the LaGrange Amateur Radio Club’s “Buzzard Net.” I happen to be “Buzzard #56.” When I was participating in the Buzzard Net before, my reception was very marginal, as I did not have an antenna at the shack which […]
Icom IC-7200 Being Installed In the Shack
I recently purchased a used Icom IC-7200 which the previous (original) owner stated quit modulating after a lightning storm did a great deal damage at his home and in homes throughout his neighborhood. On inspection, it was confirmed that this was the case, although the radio was fine otherwise and had full, excellent power output. […]
40 Meter Off-Center Fed Dipole
The 40 Meter off-center fed dipole is in the air and on the air! After some tweaking and tinkering on the antenna and the homemade 4:1 balun, the antenna was raised to around 40 feet between a couple of trees with the assistance of KD4BO and his “spud gun.” The antenna seems to be working […]