91
HF Beacons / Re: Windy 4102.85 malfunction?
« on: June 28, 2021, 1412 UTC »
Windy is stuck on transmit (6/28 14:10 UTC)
Shortwave Pirate Radio In North America And Around The World, And Other Signals That Go Bump In The Night
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I'm not going to slog through the above, but I can tell you that I got excellent support after the sale in helping me complete my 40M AM transmitter kit.
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92
HF Beacons / Re: New whooper beacon on 4095.65
« on: June 28, 2021, 1310 UTC »
Have been listening on and off and have not heard it a-whooping away either.
Any updates from anyone?
Any updates from anyone?
93
Equipment / Re: BELKA DX
« on: June 27, 2021, 1259 UTC »
I got mine yesterday ..... without question, it's the best portable I've ever used. It's also capable of holding its own with a lot of the desktops I've used. Yes, there's the issue of it needing to be adjacent some metal (or body) to supply a ground plane, but that's always going to be an issue with portables.
40Meter CW during a contest at night, is perhaps the best test of dynamic range handling that there is , and the Belka did fine there. I could EASILY operate this as a ham receiver during a contest, it's that good. Oh, and this with just about 16" of the telescoping antenna extended.
I'm still learning how to use it as there's no manual with it, but it's pretty intuitive so far.
No BCB reception if that's important, but perhaps that contributes to its overall performance.
This thing is one of the performance bargains that's currently on the marketplace, and is the ideal portable SW rx. It's chargeable via the USB port too, so that solar panel you have can top it off in the field.
40Meter CW during a contest at night, is perhaps the best test of dynamic range handling that there is , and the Belka did fine there. I could EASILY operate this as a ham receiver during a contest, it's that good. Oh, and this with just about 16" of the telescoping antenna extended.
I'm still learning how to use it as there's no manual with it, but it's pretty intuitive so far.
No BCB reception if that's important, but perhaps that contributes to its overall performance.
This thing is one of the performance bargains that's currently on the marketplace, and is the ideal portable SW rx. It's chargeable via the USB port too, so that solar panel you have can top it off in the field.
94
The RF Workbench / Re: BCB Bandstop filter Chinese vs homebrew
« on: June 23, 2021, 1944 UTC »
Built the LC notch and added it to the filter . 1090 is still pounding in.
95
The RF Workbench / Re: Stretchyman “40W TX” Failure Investigation and Remediation
« on: June 23, 2021, 1941 UTC »I was going to purchase a Transmitter from Stretchyman, but I'm now going to bow out after seeing several posts including this thread.
Aftersales service plays a huge part in my purchase, & as what I've read here is pretty grim I'll be looking elsewhere.
I'm not going to slog through the above, but I can tell you that I got excellent support after the sale in helping me complete my 40M AM transmitter kit.
96
Equipment / Re: T2FD results (58 ft)
« on: June 19, 2021, 1357 UTC »
Going to add a series resonant LC filter for 1090 to the BC band stop board and see what that does.
97
SDR - Software Defined Radio / Re: KiwiSDRs wrong frequency decimals
« on: June 19, 2021, 1156 UTC »
I'm trying to wrap my head around worrying about such small frequency differences!
98
Equipment / Re: 13.56 MHz Antennas
« on: June 19, 2021, 1153 UTC »
Thanks! The power in re ground quality is quite interesting too!
99
Equipment / Re: T2FD results (58 ft)
« on: June 18, 2021, 2340 UTC »
Chris, it was your SkyLoop performance that got me interested in trying one. This is the first loop antenna I've ever used, and so far so good. It's not as high up as yours but the noise floor is SO low, that it's a pleasure to listen to.
Now I'm going to work at lowering the noise floor. This will involve moving a computer out to a shed, etc, but it should be an additional improvement.
Now I'm going to work at lowering the noise floor. This will involve moving a computer out to a shed, etc, but it should be an additional improvement.
100
Equipment / Re: BELKA DX
« on: June 18, 2021, 2337 UTC »
I'm really glad to hear your positive response . I hope Alex can keep his design out of the hands of the Chinese IP pirates for a while at least.
I've got a lot of radios, but this one I'm really looking forward to. 12 hours is fine with that battery pack. I'd much rather have a small radio with no UI "bling" than a big fancy brick with battery eating waterfalls, etc.
I've got a lot of radios, but this one I'm really looking forward to. 12 hours is fine with that battery pack. I'd much rather have a small radio with no UI "bling" than a big fancy brick with battery eating waterfalls, etc.
101
The RF Workbench / Re: BCB Bandstop filter Chinese vs homebrew
« on: June 18, 2021, 1738 UTC »
I have a LC notch. It's just a *wide* notch :-) Seriously, I don't think I've ever used the Kiwis for MW, so it's not a loss for me.
I'm pretty sure I have a tunable notch in one of the various "tuners" I have here. That's probably the easiest to try....
I'm pretty sure I have a tunable notch in one of the various "tuners" I have here. That's probably the easiest to try....
102
Equipment / Re: T2FD results (58 ft)
« on: June 18, 2021, 1230 UTC »
Yes, you're right, no question re: attic antenna improvement. Homes are full of RF noise generators.
The local 1090 is a real problem that may never be resolvable, as it's just too strong and too close. Being medium wave makes the geometry of solutions difficult (quarter wave stubs, etc). I had the T2 mostly vertical, which really exacerbated the coupling of the AM RF.
I'll try and get a look at the antenna with the VNA and see what it looks like, though life is pretty busy right now.
I have a 40M dipole (an element of a 4 element yagi) at 45' and I can see the dramatic difference in the BCB coupling when I select that antenna, but it's a pretty poor general purpose SWL antenna, which is what I hope to use the loop for. It's great for pirates at 39M though :-)
The local 1090 is a real problem that may never be resolvable, as it's just too strong and too close. Being medium wave makes the geometry of solutions difficult (quarter wave stubs, etc). I had the T2 mostly vertical, which really exacerbated the coupling of the AM RF.
I'll try and get a look at the antenna with the VNA and see what it looks like, though life is pretty busy right now.
I have a 40M dipole (an element of a 4 element yagi) at 45' and I can see the dramatic difference in the BCB coupling when I select that antenna, but it's a pretty poor general purpose SWL antenna, which is what I hope to use the loop for. It's great for pirates at 39M though :-)
103
Equipment / Re: T2FD results (58 ft)
« on: June 18, 2021, 0028 UTC »
I took the T2FD down and installed a 450 foot loop. So far, the loop is the clear winner, performance wise. I purchased screw in insulators and spent about 6 hours going up and down ladders installing the lag bolts into trees at the 20-30 foot level (and chopping branches, removing small trees, etc etc).
It's a remarkable improvement . Need to play with the balun to determine best taps for it. Any suggestions?
It's a remarkable improvement . Need to play with the balun to determine best taps for it. Any suggestions?
104
Equipment / Re: BELKA DX
« on: June 18, 2021, 0018 UTC »
Alex updated shipping and I'm looking forward to the end of the month!
105
The RF Workbench / Re: BCB Bandstop filter Chinese vs homebrew
« on: June 18, 2021, 0007 UTC »
Here's some answers on the filter.... I got it boxed up and at work for good in the Kiwi.
* I needed this filter (and I need more of it) as there is a commercial AM transmitter not far from me on 1090 kHz. Artifacts of this daytime overload (it's off the air at night) are all over the Kiwi spectrum. I don't do any AM listening, so I'm not concerned about over attenuating things. I might cascade another to see if I can knock down the 1090 signal some more.
* The software I used was VNASaver, which is really a great way to control the VNA from the PC UI, rather than donking around with the little rockers on the screen. I'd really recommend this as it transforms the VNA into a very easy machine to use. Installation was easy, as was the calibration via the GUI.
* I'm not sure which all the core materials were. I know -37 and there was one more. I have a large junkbox and I just tried values which ended up measuring closely on my impedance bridge. I tweaked turns and core size until I got close (very ) to the design values in both L and C. I use an old (and great!) AADE LC bridge for this. I suppose the VNA would work great too. UPDATE: I used type 43 and type 2 cores
* Getting Chinesium standard extruded enclosures and precut Pride Of China (thanks Chris!) copperclad made housing this a simple affair (it's now in a box with BNC's at either end)
I wish a 1/4 wave coaxial stub cut for 1090 kHz wasn't so darned big!
PS: https://toroids.info/ is really handy to get you close. You can also use this data + the empirical measurements to determine the core material. Great reference page !
* I needed this filter (and I need more of it) as there is a commercial AM transmitter not far from me on 1090 kHz. Artifacts of this daytime overload (it's off the air at night) are all over the Kiwi spectrum. I don't do any AM listening, so I'm not concerned about over attenuating things. I might cascade another to see if I can knock down the 1090 signal some more.
* The software I used was VNASaver, which is really a great way to control the VNA from the PC UI, rather than donking around with the little rockers on the screen. I'd really recommend this as it transforms the VNA into a very easy machine to use. Installation was easy, as was the calibration via the GUI.
* I'm not sure which all the core materials were. I know -37 and there was one more. I have a large junkbox and I just tried values which ended up measuring closely on my impedance bridge. I tweaked turns and core size until I got close (very ) to the design values in both L and C. I use an old (and great!) AADE LC bridge for this. I suppose the VNA would work great too. UPDATE: I used type 43 and type 2 cores
* Getting Chinesium standard extruded enclosures and precut Pride Of China (thanks Chris!) copperclad made housing this a simple affair (it's now in a box with BNC's at either end)
I wish a 1/4 wave coaxial stub cut for 1090 kHz wasn't so darned big!
PS: https://toroids.info/ is really handy to get you close. You can also use this data + the empirical measurements to determine the core material. Great reference page !