I have recently fitted a new PL259 to the home made groundplane antenna after finding one, though I do intend to replace it with a crimp-on type, testing has not gone smoothly though.
Initial tests in the shack showed high SWR, initially this was traced to the RG213 feeder I'd used to add a bit of distance, this needs new PL259s as there is a short in one end (unsure which), removing this the antenna still appeared to be out of tune despite the fact the radials and radiating element all have had no length removed, testing this afternoon in the living room the SWR dropped, final tests will be conducted in the open.
I did, despite following procedure, not realise that I was testing on a frequency in use, I was advised of this and checked other frequencies as matter of course.
Testing will continue in the next few days given time all being well.
73 de 2E0EIJ
Ban PLT
Showing posts with label homebrew. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homebrew. Show all posts
Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Sunday, 26 February 2017
Magnetic loop antennas–a follow up
As I have mentioned previously I have a desire to build a magnetic loop antenna for HF use, primarily with my CRT SS9900 on 10 metres, though something that could cover 12 through to 10 metres meaning will work on CB as well as I still have a keen interest in that side of things despite holding an amateur radio foundation licence and hoping to go for my intermediate exam very soon, as alluded to in my last post.
My antenna situation as you know is very poor right now, made worse due to the fact I live in a first-floor flat, though I have a CB antenna in the attic it functions very poorly with high SWR readings and the need of a tuner to prevent damage to rigs connected to it, though this antenna works on 10-meters as well the tuner does not and to get the SWR to safe levels requires it be tuned with both sides turned all the way up to 10 (the unit is a Euro-CB EM-110 and is really suited to 11 metres rather than 10 metres), 2 metres is currently done with an antenna on a biscuit tin, also poor but it does work.
This is where the magnetic loop comes in, and I saw a YouTube video showing a design made out of copper tubing, with a power meter on the larger loop itself, a variant of this design was also on YouTube by an English member of Charlie Tango (of which I am a member with the callsign 26CT730) for CB use, with the right capacitor and correct dimensions I should be able to build a loop to this design (without a power meter fitted to the loop itself as I intend to fit the loop with a remote tuning system utilising a stepper motor and gearbox) and be able to start using 10 metres, despite the poor conditions at this time on that band I am eager to give it a go, also as I have not played with 11 meters since I scrapped my old car this would be a good opportunity as I understand CB is alive and well and there are regular nets held now, even on the midblock using AM and SSB since those modes became available to UK CB operators in 2014, but naturally I am keen to give 10 metres a go, whether I get a working magloop before or after I get my intermediate remains to be seen however I intend to make sure I get on 10 metres regardless, I have invested in equipment for that band I may as well use it.
I know I can get copper and plastic tube locally but for a suitable tuning capacitor I may have to look to rallies to do so, the requirements are that the tuning capacitor will work happily up to 4kV (though I suspect 50 watts is far below this but I like the idea of a safety margin).
The antenna will be connected with a suitable SWR meter in line almost permanently, my Zetagi Mod. 203W is perfect for this as it covers a frequency range of 26-30MHz for TX power measurement and 3-200MHz for SWR measurement.
I will post more on this subject as it progresses
73 de M6RSQ
Tuesday, 24 November 2015
The previous Sunday local net on GB3IR
I don't often post about the regular local net on GB3IR unless there is something of note, and, although this is a couple of days late coming, there was something noteworthy the previous Sunday.
First off, the Sunday evening net on GB3IR is open to anyone who can access the repeater either direct on RF or over Echolink, it's not strictly local and it's nice to hear new voices on the air.
So, how is it noteworthy, by use of the Leixen VV-898 and my homebrew yet unfinished dipole of course, it was still hung up and I thought to save the batteries on my handhelds (of which I have reprogrammed to include all 2-meter analogue and System Fusion voice repeaters in the UK), performance wise the antenna was getting into the repeater fine (though I could just as easily use a very leaky dummy load or a piece of wet string though of course I'd not recommend that given that I am very close to the repeater).
This has been the first time the VV-898 has been used for a Sunday net on IR since removal from my previous car, it has not been fitted to the new car as it would be much easier for me to fit a radio with a detachable front, hence my interest in the Yaesu FTM-100DE (which I think is an after-Christmas purchase though I am seeing this rig in the flesh soon to see what it is like), though I am also interested in this rig for the benefit of System Fusion, the ability to turn up the TX power once I have my intermediate, and the APRS side of things as well as I'd like to get a bit more into that, all of these things are beyond the VV-898 (except the APRS with a little bit of extra hardware), hence why it has been now demoted to home radio, and it only puts out 10-watts anyway
The VV-898 seems to be performing well as a home rig on the homebrew dipole, the next thing to do is put the antenna outside and see what it can really do, but first there is waterproofing to do, as for the VV-898, it will be taking place in most Sunday nets on GB3IR and perhaps any simplex nets once I get the antenna outside the window, I just need to waterproof the coax join, I was initially going to use black Sugru but I may use blue Sugru instead as it matches the blue on the dipole elements..
As for the Sunday net itself, nothing of note to mention really apart from the antenna and rig I used, just leaves me to finish it off, roll on payday and a trip to somewhere I can get blue Sugru from
73 de M6RSQ
First off, the Sunday evening net on GB3IR is open to anyone who can access the repeater either direct on RF or over Echolink, it's not strictly local and it's nice to hear new voices on the air.
So, how is it noteworthy, by use of the Leixen VV-898 and my homebrew yet unfinished dipole of course, it was still hung up and I thought to save the batteries on my handhelds (of which I have reprogrammed to include all 2-meter analogue and System Fusion voice repeaters in the UK), performance wise the antenna was getting into the repeater fine (though I could just as easily use a very leaky dummy load or a piece of wet string though of course I'd not recommend that given that I am very close to the repeater).
This has been the first time the VV-898 has been used for a Sunday net on IR since removal from my previous car, it has not been fitted to the new car as it would be much easier for me to fit a radio with a detachable front, hence my interest in the Yaesu FTM-100DE (which I think is an after-Christmas purchase though I am seeing this rig in the flesh soon to see what it is like), though I am also interested in this rig for the benefit of System Fusion, the ability to turn up the TX power once I have my intermediate, and the APRS side of things as well as I'd like to get a bit more into that, all of these things are beyond the VV-898 (except the APRS with a little bit of extra hardware), hence why it has been now demoted to home radio, and it only puts out 10-watts anyway
The VV-898 seems to be performing well as a home rig on the homebrew dipole, the next thing to do is put the antenna outside and see what it can really do, but first there is waterproofing to do, as for the VV-898, it will be taking place in most Sunday nets on GB3IR and perhaps any simplex nets once I get the antenna outside the window, I just need to waterproof the coax join, I was initially going to use black Sugru but I may use blue Sugru instead as it matches the blue on the dipole elements..
As for the Sunday net itself, nothing of note to mention really apart from the antenna and rig I used, just leaves me to finish it off, roll on payday and a trip to somewhere I can get blue Sugru from
73 de M6RSQ
Sunday, 22 November 2015
How to get a Leixen VV-898 to transmit and recieve on APRS
Just exactly how do you get a Leixen VV-898 to transmit and receive on APRS? This is how it is done.
Firstly you need to find the pinout for the mic, a Google search will bring it up in no time, using my method you may also need to find an Ethernet pinout as well, but be aware that the pin numbering may be opposite to that of the VV-898 mic plug diagram, it remains for you to match and note the colours.
Next you need an interface, I already had one lying around but my shack computer has no physical COM port onboard so a USB to Serial adaptor had to be used, the one I have is a Prolific type, be aware that these may need older drivers as newer drivers reject some cheap programming cables that are allegedly based on a Prolific chip but it is in fact a non-genuine chip, and the Serial adaptors may have one of these rather than a genuine Prolific chip, my serial adaptor appears to have a genuine chip in it unlike my mass of programming cables and TTL lead, my interface is wired up to pin 7 on the serial plug (RTS) though you can wire it to pin 4 (DTR).
On your computer you need to install a sound card TNC, I use UZ7HO's Soundmodem, there is a high speed version as well but we do not want this for APRS, it needs no installation, just extract from the zip file to a convenient folder (desktop on my shack computer with the icon pinned to the taskbar), set up the modem as required (APRS is 1200 baud AFSK), then set it up for the PTT on your COM port, in my case this was COM 7 but yours may differ, unless you have a physical COM port which is always COM 1 (modern computers rarely have more than 1 onboard COM port)
Next you need to set up your APRS client, I use APRSIS32, this client can be used without a radio to connect to the Internet, and also as an iGate or digipeater, but we don't need that functionality and it would require the appropriate NoV and a full license from what I understand, it needs to be able to talk to sound card TNC, this is found on localhost (unless the machine you're running the client on is on your network separately from sound card TNC), if you have a second sound card in your computer (I do) then ensure that is set up in the sound card TNC first so your main sound card can be used for other things like Echolink for example, plug a lead into the back of the VV-898, I placed a ground-loop isolator on this line to eliminate unwanted noise, power it up, and tune to the APRS frequency (in the UK this is 144.800 MHz, in other European countries it should be the same, but check first before you transmit), ensure you have disabled the APRS-IS side of APRSIS32, and it is not set up as an iGate or digipeater (turn off options for RF to IS and IS to RF and if you wish disable Internet access entirely), if the soundmodem is working and APRSIS32 is talking to it you should see a list of callsigns and other items scrolling on the top left of the window.
Now you can test your interface, tune the rig to a clear frequency or connect it to a dummy load, and connect the circuit to the mic socket, the rig should do nothing, if the red light comes on and it has gone into transmit this indicates a problem with the interface wiring, if not you're good to go.
At this stage don't plug the audio feed into the computer, if you are doing this into a dummy load there should be no need to identify, you should still be able to listen on a handheld placed close to the dummy load and tuned to the same frequency, you will also need to get the volume set up correctly, you can use existing APRS transmissions as a reference, if your interface is built with a potentiometer, as mine is, you may need to adjust this, too quiet the iGate and other stations won't receive the transmissions properly, too loud is just as bad and may cause interference, once you have it right, connect your rig back to the antenna and send a packet to APRS, if it is heard by an iGate you should appear on aprs.fi, if not your packet was not received properly by the iGate if at all, in this case check all your settings carefully.
Once it all works give yourself a pat on the back, you've got a radio with no TNC port to transmit APRS packets successfully.
Though if you are in my situation and want to use the same rig for voice, just disconnect the leads and reconnect the mic, job done.
73 de M6RSQ
(note that this isn't an exact guide, the full ins and outs are a lot more detailed)
Firstly you need to find the pinout for the mic, a Google search will bring it up in no time, using my method you may also need to find an Ethernet pinout as well, but be aware that the pin numbering may be opposite to that of the VV-898 mic plug diagram, it remains for you to match and note the colours.
Next you need an interface, I already had one lying around but my shack computer has no physical COM port onboard so a USB to Serial adaptor had to be used, the one I have is a Prolific type, be aware that these may need older drivers as newer drivers reject some cheap programming cables that are allegedly based on a Prolific chip but it is in fact a non-genuine chip, and the Serial adaptors may have one of these rather than a genuine Prolific chip, my serial adaptor appears to have a genuine chip in it unlike my mass of programming cables and TTL lead, my interface is wired up to pin 7 on the serial plug (RTS) though you can wire it to pin 4 (DTR).
On your computer you need to install a sound card TNC, I use UZ7HO's Soundmodem, there is a high speed version as well but we do not want this for APRS, it needs no installation, just extract from the zip file to a convenient folder (desktop on my shack computer with the icon pinned to the taskbar), set up the modem as required (APRS is 1200 baud AFSK), then set it up for the PTT on your COM port, in my case this was COM 7 but yours may differ, unless you have a physical COM port which is always COM 1 (modern computers rarely have more than 1 onboard COM port)
Next you need to set up your APRS client, I use APRSIS32, this client can be used without a radio to connect to the Internet, and also as an iGate or digipeater, but we don't need that functionality and it would require the appropriate NoV and a full license from what I understand, it needs to be able to talk to sound card TNC, this is found on localhost (unless the machine you're running the client on is on your network separately from sound card TNC), if you have a second sound card in your computer (I do) then ensure that is set up in the sound card TNC first so your main sound card can be used for other things like Echolink for example, plug a lead into the back of the VV-898, I placed a ground-loop isolator on this line to eliminate unwanted noise, power it up, and tune to the APRS frequency (in the UK this is 144.800 MHz, in other European countries it should be the same, but check first before you transmit), ensure you have disabled the APRS-IS side of APRSIS32, and it is not set up as an iGate or digipeater (turn off options for RF to IS and IS to RF and if you wish disable Internet access entirely), if the soundmodem is working and APRSIS32 is talking to it you should see a list of callsigns and other items scrolling on the top left of the window.
Now you can test your interface, tune the rig to a clear frequency or connect it to a dummy load, and connect the circuit to the mic socket, the rig should do nothing, if the red light comes on and it has gone into transmit this indicates a problem with the interface wiring, if not you're good to go.
At this stage don't plug the audio feed into the computer, if you are doing this into a dummy load there should be no need to identify, you should still be able to listen on a handheld placed close to the dummy load and tuned to the same frequency, you will also need to get the volume set up correctly, you can use existing APRS transmissions as a reference, if your interface is built with a potentiometer, as mine is, you may need to adjust this, too quiet the iGate and other stations won't receive the transmissions properly, too loud is just as bad and may cause interference, once you have it right, connect your rig back to the antenna and send a packet to APRS, if it is heard by an iGate you should appear on aprs.fi, if not your packet was not received properly by the iGate if at all, in this case check all your settings carefully.
Once it all works give yourself a pat on the back, you've got a radio with no TNC port to transmit APRS packets successfully.
Though if you are in my situation and want to use the same rig for voice, just disconnect the leads and reconnect the mic, job done.
73 de M6RSQ
(note that this isn't an exact guide, the full ins and outs are a lot more detailed)
Saturday, 21 November 2015
Another APRS update
After soldering an offcut of Ethernet cable into the auto-key interface I originally built for the CB gateway (including removal of the relay as the Leixen VV-898 can RX without a mic connected), I managed, after some trial and error, to successfully transmit an APRS packet which was received by MB7USD, the antenna was still indoors and power was my max allowed 10 watts (though cable losses and SWR may have caused it to be reduced some at the antenna itself, before actually transmitting a packet I located a clear frequency to check the key circuit was working, it was working just fine.
After this test I removed the interface line from the mic socket, I then moved the rig so it is now located on top of my Grant II to make sure I had some desk space, this then amounted to a recheck of the SWR to make sure it was the same, it is, and all I need to do is finish the antenna (I was thinking Sugru for the centre) and hang it up outside, I may also cut the coax shorter as it is RG58 and on 2-meters it is a bit lossy for my liking.
So, I can now transmit on the APRS frequency from home, just need to do that for the car but as I mentioned in my previous post I can use my mobile phone as a stop-gap
Another day and another success in Amateur radio
73 de M6RSQ
A bit more time dedicated to radio
Firstly with my Leixen VV-898 on the bench rather than in the car (I had replaced the fuse holder for a mini-blade type after the regular one fell apart) and connected to the power supply I thought maybe it is a good idea to play with antennas so I dug out my 2-meter slim-Jim that I had built at the club some time ago, only to find it was not working as it should (the SWR was a bit high so I figured it was kaput as it had been on the floor in the hallway for some time), a T2LT cut to the right length was my next attempt, again this did not work, then finally I relented and assembled a dipole, this too, despite being cut to about the right length, was not working with a high VSWR, though it was lower on 70cm, what gave? Turns out the choke I had wound was too far from the feedpoint, so I cut the excess coax between the choke and antenna out (I did this so I did not have to redo the choke), after resoldering the antenna elements (two pieces of the neutral conductor from high-current twin and earth cable) to the coax at their new position and rehanging the antenna from my winter washing line in the living room and reconnecting it to the rig, the SWR had dropped though still read between 1.5 and 1.7 on the meter, better than it was but could still be better however it handles the 10 watts the radio gives it fine, all I now have to do is finish it off and hang it up outside the window.
I have also had a look into APRS, as there appears to be transmissions on the APRS frequency in the locality, which I believe is coming from MB7USD as aprs,fi isn't really showing a lot otherwise, I have been working to get the VV-898 to be able to TX on APRS but thus far have only got it to receive into my shack computer, and I don't yet have a passcode to do Internet-only operations as yet, as I have decided to decommission both my FRN gateways indefinitely some time ago as I want to focus a bit more on the Amateur side of things I plan to modify the auto-key circuit I built for the CB gateway to use it with the VV-898 for APRS as it sounds like something that might be worth playing with and the Yaesu FTM-100DE has this onboard as well and as I plan to get one of these for the car (as the box can live under the seat or in the boot out of the way) I may as well use the APRS feature on it, I'll hopefully be looking at one of these up close and personal at the next club meeting intermediate training pending.
I also have the APRS software installed on my laptop computer, of course not having a passcode as yet means I cannot transmit onto the APRS system but that should change soon, with a crude but working antenna up I should have no problems transmitting all being well, so let's see what APRS is all about
73 de M6RSQ
I have also had a look into APRS, as there appears to be transmissions on the APRS frequency in the locality, which I believe is coming from MB7USD as aprs,fi isn't really showing a lot otherwise, I have been working to get the VV-898 to be able to TX on APRS but thus far have only got it to receive into my shack computer, and I don't yet have a passcode to do Internet-only operations as yet, as I have decided to decommission both my FRN gateways indefinitely some time ago as I want to focus a bit more on the Amateur side of things I plan to modify the auto-key circuit I built for the CB gateway to use it with the VV-898 for APRS as it sounds like something that might be worth playing with and the Yaesu FTM-100DE has this onboard as well and as I plan to get one of these for the car (as the box can live under the seat or in the boot out of the way) I may as well use the APRS feature on it, I'll hopefully be looking at one of these up close and personal at the next club meeting intermediate training pending.
I also have the APRS software installed on my laptop computer, of course not having a passcode as yet means I cannot transmit onto the APRS system but that should change soon, with a crude but working antenna up I should have no problems transmitting all being well, so let's see what APRS is all about
73 de M6RSQ
Saturday, 15 November 2014
Bazooka antenna assembled
As per the instructions of Jason 26CTX965 on his YouTube video, I have assembled a PMR446 bazooka antenna using RG58 coaxial cable.
The choke was a little bit of a difficulty to find a former for to begin with but I simply cut the handle off a cheap toilet plunger (no great loss as I can replace it).
The antenna needs to be adjusted for SWR, I face two problems here, one of which is that I do not have an SWR meter that I can use on PMR446, my decent SWR meter only covers up to 200MHz, so I need to get a new SWR meter, secondly is that I need to be able to connect the antenna to a radio and a feedline, the feedline is not a major issue as I have an RG213 feedline for my portable CB work anyway, a radio is as the feedline is terminated with a PL259, fitting the antenna socket kit on my Intek MT-5050 will not work without an adaptor as this is an SMA type connector, the modded Binatone Action 950 as you know has a BNC socket so again needs an adaptor, and my Wouxun, though not strictly legal on PMR446 also has an SMA socket so again requires an adaptor, though I need an adaptor for the Wouxun to use the j-pole I made at the club the other night.
The ultimate idea of using this bazooka antenna is to improve range of the PMR446 gateway, the gateway radio is currently using the antenna fitted to it and is attached to the window with suction hooks to give it some height in the Catterick and Northallerton direction (it has NEVER reached Northallerton and been usable there, but as the A1 is in range, only just, then a better antenna is called for as the A1 is a major through route in the area and good coverage there would be a bonus, as the Intek DRS-5070 is not fitted with an antenna socket out of the box then this needs to be done, the BNC sockets are generally cheap to obtain (the same time I used for my SDR enclosure should suffice with the outer connected to a ground in the radio (negative side of battery box)
I'll update this when the antenna has gone on the pole and been checked out for SWR.
73 de 26CT730
The choke was a little bit of a difficulty to find a former for to begin with but I simply cut the handle off a cheap toilet plunger (no great loss as I can replace it).
The antenna needs to be adjusted for SWR, I face two problems here, one of which is that I do not have an SWR meter that I can use on PMR446, my decent SWR meter only covers up to 200MHz, so I need to get a new SWR meter, secondly is that I need to be able to connect the antenna to a radio and a feedline, the feedline is not a major issue as I have an RG213 feedline for my portable CB work anyway, a radio is as the feedline is terminated with a PL259, fitting the antenna socket kit on my Intek MT-5050 will not work without an adaptor as this is an SMA type connector, the modded Binatone Action 950 as you know has a BNC socket so again needs an adaptor, and my Wouxun, though not strictly legal on PMR446 also has an SMA socket so again requires an adaptor, though I need an adaptor for the Wouxun to use the j-pole I made at the club the other night.
The ultimate idea of using this bazooka antenna is to improve range of the PMR446 gateway, the gateway radio is currently using the antenna fitted to it and is attached to the window with suction hooks to give it some height in the Catterick and Northallerton direction (it has NEVER reached Northallerton and been usable there, but as the A1 is in range, only just, then a better antenna is called for as the A1 is a major through route in the area and good coverage there would be a bonus, as the Intek DRS-5070 is not fitted with an antenna socket out of the box then this needs to be done, the BNC sockets are generally cheap to obtain (the same time I used for my SDR enclosure should suffice with the outer connected to a ground in the radio (negative side of battery box)
I'll update this when the antenna has gone on the pole and been checked out for SWR.
73 de 26CT730
Tuesday, 16 September 2014
T2LT update
With the new pole having arrived I strapped it to my scooter, packed up my Grant 2, my most decent SWR meter, my multimeter should I need to investigate any shorts, the dummy load in case I needed to check for any issues with the radio, which I did not need.
The pole was not 100% straight (it was propped up), the T2LT was slightly adrift at the top but otherwise fine, a small loop was also provided for tuning. but no tuning was needed as the SWR was below 1.5 at all times, reception was good across both UK and midband, the tuning loop was positioned slightly above the top of the pole with the main part of the antenna running the length of the pole, the choke also worked perfectly.
Should the weather be good on Saturday I shall be heading back up to the car park where I did the tests and will be going on air properly for the first time in a long time.
73 de 26CT730
Thursday, 11 September 2014
Pole for T2LT ordered
I have put an order in for a suitable pole for the T2LT, though this pole was advertised as being a flag or windsock pole it would work fine for having a piece of wire attached to it, this will allow me to tune down the T2LT to a suitable degree, though the SWR may change on location but we will see.
The tuning will be done using my President Grant 2 off either the battery pack or the scooter battery, as I don't plan any proper QSOs, I will simply erect the pole and antenna, and either prop or fasten it to a fence post, I will find some velcro straps to allow a temporary fix to the pole, and a small cable tie to loop the top section for tuning, all I have to to is adjust this loop.
I intend to use the most reliable of my 3 SWR meters for this, the meter in the Grant 2 may not be accurate but will be on to see just how accurate the onboard meter of the Grant 2 actually is, also out in the open the antenna should receive across all channels, and also all modes now we have multimode CB, I look forward to finally seeing if my third antenna attempts (I made a dipole a few years ago out of a piece of coax (but forgot the choke), the coax being used later for the ill-fated inverted-V, the T2LT uses one component used in the ill-fated inverted-V, half of the choke core, it was integrated rather than detachable.
I have confidence this antenna will work well, but I have sufficient coax to make another should the need arise.
73 de 26CT730
The tuning will be done using my President Grant 2 off either the battery pack or the scooter battery, as I don't plan any proper QSOs, I will simply erect the pole and antenna, and either prop or fasten it to a fence post, I will find some velcro straps to allow a temporary fix to the pole, and a small cable tie to loop the top section for tuning, all I have to to is adjust this loop.
I intend to use the most reliable of my 3 SWR meters for this, the meter in the Grant 2 may not be accurate but will be on to see just how accurate the onboard meter of the Grant 2 actually is, also out in the open the antenna should receive across all channels, and also all modes now we have multimode CB, I look forward to finally seeing if my third antenna attempts (I made a dipole a few years ago out of a piece of coax (but forgot the choke), the coax being used later for the ill-fated inverted-V, the T2LT uses one component used in the ill-fated inverted-V, half of the choke core, it was integrated rather than detachable.
I have confidence this antenna will work well, but I have sufficient coax to make another should the need arise.
73 de 26CT730
Sunday, 7 September 2014
T2LT progress update
Today, as the weather was nice, I dug out the beginnings of my T2LT antenna and got to work measuring it up and finishing it off, though I have yet to tune it yet.
Tuning will take place as soon as a suitable pole can be acquired, the pole MUST be a fibreglass pole, a carbon or steel pole will upset the antenna and make it useless, given how busy I have been of late with other things it's been a bit difficult to find time to get the T2LT sorted, hopefully I can get it tuned down and it will work nicely, a temporary solution to a problem I shouldn't even have and perfect for hilltop DX, which I hope to do before the weather starts to turn bad, so I'll get on with it sooner rather than later.
Also it's a couple of weeks to go before the Amateur radio club supposedly starts, I will still be going to Colburn that evening but if it's a no-show there is not a lot I can do about it, but if not then it's progress for me.
So I most certainly will be on CB soon, and possibly the Amateur bands not long after.
73 de 26CT730
Sunday, 20 July 2014
T2LT progress
The choke is now wound, the PL259 plug is fitted, and the top of the plug where it meets the cable has had a small amount of Sugru applied to it.
On doing a Google search for "PL259 plugs and Sugru" it turns out that there is no record of anyone doing this which means either one of two things, I am the first person in the world to watertight the cable entry of a PL259 plug with Sugru or others have before me and not really made it public
The RG58 I used is reasonably good quality, it has good braid coverage and a good dielectric, I just now need to measure from the choke to the point in which I will be cutting off the braid, I then need to measure from that point to what will be the top of the antenna (so 8.5ft and another 9ft respectively as per 26CTX104's YouTube video, the 9ft top section allows for some tuning down, folded over and not cut as the VSWR may vary from location to location)
So I look forward to getting the next bit done, then perhaps this antenna will be up and I'll be on air soon :)
73 de 26CT730
On doing a Google search for "PL259 plugs and Sugru" it turns out that there is no record of anyone doing this which means either one of two things, I am the first person in the world to watertight the cable entry of a PL259 plug with Sugru or others have before me and not really made it public
The RG58 I used is reasonably good quality, it has good braid coverage and a good dielectric, I just now need to measure from the choke to the point in which I will be cutting off the braid, I then need to measure from that point to what will be the top of the antenna (so 8.5ft and another 9ft respectively as per 26CTX104's YouTube video, the 9ft top section allows for some tuning down, folded over and not cut as the VSWR may vary from location to location)
So I look forward to getting the next bit done, then perhaps this antenna will be up and I'll be on air soon :)
73 de 26CT730
T2LT choke dilemma
Now as you know, I am planning to build at least one T2LT antenna, using the design outlined in 26CTX104's video on his UKCBTV YouTube account, but I had a dilemma, what to use as the former for the choke, an important component that separates the antenna and coax as this antenna is not only a dipole for all intents and purposes, it is also made from the coax, I had a look at a few ideas, B & Q sold long lengths of soil pipe that had a slightly wide diameter and I could not transport on my scooter, Homebase were no good at all.
So I thought to myself "what do I already have that I could use?" after carefully measuring the diameter of various round objects (cocoa tin, golden syrup tin, fizzy drink bottle, cider bottle and empty marshmallow fluff tub) I then remembered that I still had the two pieces of tube I used for the choke on the ill-fated inverted-V dipole I was intending to use in the loft but for many reasons didn't, I measured this, bingo, 4" diamater, a quarter of an inch shy of 26CTX104's findings but should be fine if the turns are the same (around about 5, I've seen 5 turns on 4" former reported to work fine).
So, I intend to begin today by running out a short length of the coax I have, which is 100m of RG58 which I bought partly to do this, today, winding the choke, fitting a PL259 on the other end, sealing the plug up with some Sugru where the coax leaves it to stop water ingress (I have heatshrink but of the wrong diameter for the PL259), it will take around 24 hours for the Sugru to fully cure and I don't know if any operators have used it on their PL259s, perhaps this is a first, but perhaps not.
So, I'll let you know how I get on, also just need a fibreglass pole and some means to fasten the antenna to it, and I should be on the air very soon.
73 de 26CT730
So I thought to myself "what do I already have that I could use?" after carefully measuring the diameter of various round objects (cocoa tin, golden syrup tin, fizzy drink bottle, cider bottle and empty marshmallow fluff tub) I then remembered that I still had the two pieces of tube I used for the choke on the ill-fated inverted-V dipole I was intending to use in the loft but for many reasons didn't, I measured this, bingo, 4" diamater, a quarter of an inch shy of 26CTX104's findings but should be fine if the turns are the same (around about 5, I've seen 5 turns on 4" former reported to work fine).
So, I intend to begin today by running out a short length of the coax I have, which is 100m of RG58 which I bought partly to do this, today, winding the choke, fitting a PL259 on the other end, sealing the plug up with some Sugru where the coax leaves it to stop water ingress (I have heatshrink but of the wrong diameter for the PL259), it will take around 24 hours for the Sugru to fully cure and I don't know if any operators have used it on their PL259s, perhaps this is a first, but perhaps not.
So, I'll let you know how I get on, also just need a fibreglass pole and some means to fasten the antenna to it, and I should be on the air very soon.
73 de 26CT730
Monday, 26 May 2014
private listening issues and progress with the scooter CB
Now, as anyone in the radio communications hobby will know, pretty much every transceiver and scanner is set up as such to have a mono audio output, meaning plugging in a pair of headphones results in a dead left or right earphone, and for me this always causes a level of discomfort.
Today I purchased a pair of Sony MDR-V150 headphones, I have another pair of Sony headphones and have found them to work wonders, if you want good headphones, buy Sony headphones, of course plugging them into my radio resulted in there being one-side not working, not ideal if you want to use them with your radio, so here is what I did.
I used a piece of cable with a TS plug of the sort normally used to connect external speakers into rigs, the bare ends of the wire were soldered into a scrap of veroboard on which I fitted two resistors, originally at 10k Ohm but I reduced this to 1k Ohm as the 10k resistors made it such that I had to turn the volume on the rig and handhelds full up to hear anything when I tested it, I may use lower resistors but the 1k resistors are fine for the moment, the other side is a suitable socket for connecting any pair of headphones, even the earbud type, for this purpose it doesn't matter if the left and right are wired to either resistor the audio is mono from the rig and simply being split to both channels on the headphones, it's a fairly simple solution and cost me nothing as I had all the parts in stock already for at least one such adaptor, possibly two.
The scooter CB issue was approached today since the weather had dried up, QRM only appeared to be present when the starter motor was turning over, with the scooter's engine running QRM was not present, nor was it conducted through the cigarette lighter socket that I had fitted, and load on the scooter's generator was not an issue, even during transmit, this last issue was brought up with me some time ago when an idiot decided to tell me that I didn't know what I was doing and there was no way the generator would handle the load, as the Midland Alan 42 Multi is only a handheld it is designed to be quite energy efficient yet still work as well as a normal mobile rig, and the generator never once complained, even with the scooter's lights on, so an antenna and a motorcycle helmet headset are next on my list for that as of today.
So I am almost on air at home and mobile, and hopefully this week I can begin the journey to licensed amateur.
73 de 26CT730
Today I purchased a pair of Sony MDR-V150 headphones, I have another pair of Sony headphones and have found them to work wonders, if you want good headphones, buy Sony headphones, of course plugging them into my radio resulted in there being one-side not working, not ideal if you want to use them with your radio, so here is what I did.
I used a piece of cable with a TS plug of the sort normally used to connect external speakers into rigs, the bare ends of the wire were soldered into a scrap of veroboard on which I fitted two resistors, originally at 10k Ohm but I reduced this to 1k Ohm as the 10k resistors made it such that I had to turn the volume on the rig and handhelds full up to hear anything when I tested it, I may use lower resistors but the 1k resistors are fine for the moment, the other side is a suitable socket for connecting any pair of headphones, even the earbud type, for this purpose it doesn't matter if the left and right are wired to either resistor the audio is mono from the rig and simply being split to both channels on the headphones, it's a fairly simple solution and cost me nothing as I had all the parts in stock already for at least one such adaptor, possibly two.
The scooter CB issue was approached today since the weather had dried up, QRM only appeared to be present when the starter motor was turning over, with the scooter's engine running QRM was not present, nor was it conducted through the cigarette lighter socket that I had fitted, and load on the scooter's generator was not an issue, even during transmit, this last issue was brought up with me some time ago when an idiot decided to tell me that I didn't know what I was doing and there was no way the generator would handle the load, as the Midland Alan 42 Multi is only a handheld it is designed to be quite energy efficient yet still work as well as a normal mobile rig, and the generator never once complained, even with the scooter's lights on, so an antenna and a motorcycle helmet headset are next on my list for that as of today.
So I am almost on air at home and mobile, and hopefully this week I can begin the journey to licensed amateur.
73 de 26CT730
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