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Messages - Antennae

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31
The RF Workbench / Re: Stretchyman 40w GaN TX is sick
« on: September 25, 2019, 1618 UTC »
Hold your horses dude!  Here's my response why I posted this here:  It was to see if anybody else had this problem.  And if a solution was given on this post it would help other viewers out in the future in case theirs popped.  Its already probably going to help people out because now they know how to plug in their power supply (and what can happen if they don't do it properly).  I'm grateful and fortunate that Stretchy is here to help.   

32
Equipment / Re: 80M home brew Mag Loop VS. inverted L comparison
« on: September 24, 2019, 0002 UTC »
Oh, cool, that makes sense to point the null toward the other one. 

I tested again this morning and the inverted L went into AU and NZ again while the loop wasn't even there.  BUT...there was a layer of dew on the loop. Perhaps its the culprit. 

33
Equipment / 80M home brew Mag Loop VS. inverted L comparison
« on: September 22, 2019, 1645 UTC »
I've had this big 9' magnetic loop in 2 pieces made out of plumbing copper pipe and I never had a good way to test it.  With my newly acquired ham ticket I was able to send out a carrier wave and listen to remote SDRs across the Pacific.  It was 630am for me and about 1130pm for Australia's East coast.  The propagation conditions were not changing for me yet.

I wanted to see how far this big magnetic loop would transmit compared to an inverted L . 

The inverted L is about 30' high and is terminated into a tuner and a ground rod. Its length is cut for the upper 80m band. 

The magnetic loop has an adjustable air capacitor and it sits on a brick above my lawn.  It has a length of coax used as a capacitor in parallel to bring my air capacitor into the range of 80m.  The small loop hooks into some coax which goes into the same  tuner on the same ground rod. 

1st test: 50w carrier.  I had them both up one morning and the inverted L was about 1 S-unit stronger than the magnetic loop into Freeman's Reach, AU and Marahau, NZ.  They were fadey and near the noise floor.  AKKY, in Fukushima, Japan did not pick up the mag loop, but it picked up the inverted L at the S-2 noise floor.  The signal was so low that I could hear it and hardly see it on the online remote SDR. 

I wondered if the inverted L was resonating with the loop. I didn't expect much from my magnetic loop.  It has clean connections, but I figure it has loss compared to those fancy vacuum variable loops on the internet.  And it doesn't have a ground wire system.  It goes to the tuner, then gets grounded at the rod there.  Anyway I had to do another test. 


2nd test the next morning.  30w carrier.  The mag loop was tuned a few kHz away from the test on the inverted L to prevent resonation.  (when testing the mag loop it might charge up the inverted L and that would transmit as well. That would throw off a nice scientific test because the antennas wouldn't be isolated.)  I tested the inverted L, then I took it down, and then tested the loop.  The signal was about the same into Freeman's Reach, AU. Near the noise floor, fadey carrier.  There was interference in NZ, and i didn't test Japan (I was still sleepy. maybe I did test it and didn't write it down? we will never know, unless I do another test tomorrow). 

I don't know which one is uglier for the neighbors. The tall pole? Or is it the large loop peaking over the fence with a big air variable capacitor on it?  I spray painted the loop camouflage and its now less noticeable until you do notice it, then your mind messes with you because you know its a circle but you can't place it easily because its broken up with camo colors.  If you don't know WTF it is, its more scary because I'm trying to hide it from you, neighbor.  And I'm up at 630am on a Sunday messing with it.  And talking sweet things to it. "Thaaaaats a gooooood girl." 

So, the loop is about 1 S-unit weaker than the inverted L and they both make it all the way across the Pacific.  But its hard to tell, they're pretty close.   Pretty dang cool, mang.  Its the not so little loop that could.


34
The RF Workbench / Stretchyman 40w GaN TX is sick
« on: September 22, 2019, 1532 UTC »
I have a Stretchyman 40W transmitter I use for communications on the ham AM band. Got good reports BTW.

So I hooked up my 24V powersupply into the  TX and it made a couple pop noises and then it quit working.  The PS is an AC to 24V DC converter.

I think I may have had the transmitter "on" and my PS was "on" when I plugged the PS into the TX. 

It made a pop noise in the past, so I've been plugging them together with them off.  Then I first turn on the PS, and then I turn on the TX.  But I didn't do that this time and now it doesn't work.  I checked the fuse and its good. 

Any ideas whats wrong? Maybe I can replace something? 

35
SDR - Software Defined Radio / Re: Used SDR pricing (Elad FDM-S2)
« on: September 13, 2019, 0226 UTC »
Thanks, RST111.  I sold it already on craigslist. Advertised for $300, sold for $250. 

36
SDR - Software Defined Radio / Used SDR pricing (Elad FDM-S2)
« on: September 10, 2019, 0252 UTC »
I've got my Elad FDM-S2 I'm about to sell.  Does anybody have an idea what its worth? It works great, looks great, comes with box.  It was around $600 new a few years ago. Thanks in advance!

37
General Radio Discussion / 7 Hz reciever
« on: February 07, 2019, 2354 UTC »
I found a video where some guys made a receiver to hear Schumann Resonance frequencies down around 7.8 Hz. There are audio samples in the video.They use a loop wrapped with 6000ft for the antenna:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuc37s9o1B4

38
Huh? / Re: Trackdown Trump
« on: January 29, 2019, 2148 UTC »
Honestly, I relate to the tree hugger people video.  If you harbor repressed emotions, they manifest in your physical body.  Some forms of manifestation are sickness or tense muscles and they'll stay there until you deal with them one way or another.  Acupuncture works pretty good as a remedy for this. It can bring stuff to the surface to deal with it. 

And old growth forests are a beautiful systems that have been here a long time letting all kinds of souls like Stalin and Mao reincarnate as bugs. 

39
Huh? / Re: Trackdown Trump
« on: January 29, 2019, 1610 UTC »
Mr. Poet, here's a 1min video for what its worth...  ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNJO7gWKeOw

40
Huh? / Re: Trackdown Trump
« on: January 23, 2019, 2347 UTC »
A conservative number...that sounds "right."  ;D
I think Pigmeat is right too. We should keep out the illegal Courtney Love type immigrants.

41
Huh? / Re: Trackdown Trump
« on: January 23, 2019, 1806 UTC »
I wonder if saving 100 billion a year would trickle down into the public education system.     

42
Huh? / Re: Trackdown Trump
« on: January 23, 2019, 0301 UTC »
Yeah! Let's not prevent people from illegally entering our country!

43
LOL, I like that SSTV

44
I hear stronger noise on 6885, in 30 min I bet I will have good copy. Thanks for the show, mang!

45
Equipment / Re: Source "tracability"
« on: September 15, 2018, 1604 UTC »
Hey Josh, when I sold craigslist stuff to some college kids, they wanted to use apps to trade money instead of cash. 
There's always swap meets and barter...and not bringing your cell phone.
I've been thinking that if there was some A.I. system where everything was transparent, it would prevent a lot of crime. Its like stone age villagers that live under the same roof. You can't hide anything from your kin so that encourages good behavior. 

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