Messages

91

Equipment / Re: BELKA DX

« on: June 28, 2021, 1814 UTC »

Thanks very much for the info, I'll go snag a copy.  It's really a nice UI.... even with just 4 buttons and the encoder/button it's pretty natural to move around.

I keep loading strange frequencies into memory by accident however, instead of fetching them, but that's my mistake!

Now to try some mobile....

92

HF Beacons / Re: New whooper beacon on 4095.65

« on: June 28, 2021, 1543 UTC »

Got it just now on the SE kiwi at KFS.  Vy weak but steady but weak.

The slow dasher is in there above it too.

93

HF Beacons / Re: Windy 4102.85 malfunction?

« on: June 28, 2021, 1452 UTC »

Yep,, some sort of watchdog to save the batteries would be a good addition. It's back in service now :-)

102F...toasty!

94

HF Beacons / Re: Windy 4102.85 malfunction?

« on: June 28, 2021, 1412 UTC »

Windy is stuck on transmit (6/28 14:10 UTC)

95

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?

96

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.

97

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.

98

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.

99

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.

100

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!

101

Equipment / Re: 13.56 MHz Antennas

« on: June 19, 2021, 1153 UTC »

Thanks! The power in re ground quality is quite interesting too!

102

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.

103

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.

104

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....

105

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 :-)