Re: Topband: B7P

Having lived in the developing world for over a decade, I can testify to the likelihood of lots of line noise, resulting from sub-standard, badly-maintained power infrastructure.  The predominance of switching power supplies in both the developing and developed world just adds another layer.. 

Re: Topband: DX Conditions

No, they are not, but there's no reason I know of that would prevent RBN spots from being carried on any other network - they are distributed to the "wholesale market" (not end users please) on Telnet. 73, Pete N4ZR On 1/26/2024 6:06 PM, Don Kirk wrote: Hi Mike, As far as I know the RBN rece

Re: Topband: Inverted L Question

FWIW, for 160 I used my old 97-foot Rohn 25 tower, with 2 tribanders and a 40M 2-el on it, shunt fed at about 50 feet.  I had a pair of 300 uf variable caps at the bottom, one in series with the feed and the other in parallel.  It proved to be easy to tune to low SWR once I discovered that the

Re: Topband: NCC-2 antenna pattern?

If you can get that close I suggest a small explosive charge 73, Pete N4ZR On 12/17/2023 10:31 AM, John Kaufmann via Topband wrote: If you are going to use the NCC-2 to null a nearby in-band transmitter, I think it's very likely that the NCC-2 will get overloaded by the extremely strong RF an

Topband: 2-element receiving arrays

Thinking ahead to next winter on 160, I'm interested in replacing my K9AY Loop with a 2-vertical phased array.  I'd like to homebrew the antennas and just buy or build the remote control unit for the shack.  I'm looking for sources of components (antenna-located preamps and an in-shack controll

Re: Topband: 160M Conditions

I am unassisted (for the first time in forever) so can’t look at reversebeacon till it’s over :-) Tim Get Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef> *From:* Topband on behalf of Pete Smith N4ZR *Sent:* Saturday, Janua

Topband: 160M Conditions

This snapshot of RBN spots over the last 36 hours is a little disappointing. Is there really an international contest on? -- 73, Pete N4ZR _ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector

Topband: Shape and height of K9AY loops

I don't think I've ever read anything about this.  Just rechecked the Array Solutions manual and found nothing.  Reason for asking is that I have to replace my fiberglass mast, and while the old one was about 25 feet tall, the new one is 31.  That raises the possibility that I can put the botto

Re: Topband: Comparing antennas was: Re: 160m loaded tower

This is really cool. Somehow I had managed to miss the emergence of the Kiwi WEBSDR network.  Clearly, that *is* a better way 73, Pete N4ZR On 1/18/2023 4:52 PM, VE6WZ_Steve wrote: Further to Don and Steve’s comment about using an on-line KIWI WEBSDR to check your signal, I just uploaded a vi

Re: Topband: Comparing antennas was: Re: 160m loaded tower

I agree entirely - the challenge is to model a tower and two multiband yagis with sufficient fidelity. 73, Pete N4ZR On 1/18/2023 2:19 PM, James Wolf wrote: It's quite possible that the addition of a beam at 60 ft. could cause capacity hat effect changing the current flow in the tower. It mi

Topband: Comparing antennas was: Re: 160m loaded tower

This would have been more helpful to Ignacy before the second antenna went up, but taking off from Stan's question ... if you want to get a quick quantitative comparison between two transmitting antennas, you can use the Reverse Beacon Network.  Go to https://reversebeacon.net/main.php.  Transm

Re: Topband: RFI tripping GFI breaker on 160m

Darrell, I suspect you would find better response on r...@contesting.com, where all the mavens hang out. 73, Pete N4ZR On 12/29/2022 9:20 PM, AB2E Darrell wrote: I trip a GFI breaker sometimes on 160m, usually in a contest 1500W. Never had a problem when GFI outlets were the norm, but I had so

Topband: Sanity Check on K9AY Loop Sensitivity

I just deployed my K9AY loop (yes, I know I'm late).  Anyhow, while it shows substantial directivity on broadcast stations, I was surprise by how much the K9AY loop's sensitivity suffers compared to my inverted L. Listening to a broadcast station with the K9AY on 1500 KHz, the station is S6-7 i

Re: Topband: ARRL 160

From 13 years experience rather than detailed analysis or any knowledge of VE3NEA's decoding methods, I don't think that an additional half-space is a big problem - certainly not as compared to running things together - for example making TEST N4ZR into TESTN4ZR.  The latter makes for many bum

Topband: Correction

73, Pete N4ZR,one of the RBN team Check out our web server at . For spots, please use your favorite "retail" DX cluster. Earlier today, someone who shall remain nameless accused me of claiming sole credit for the RBN, based on my long-employed e-mail signature

Re: Topband: ARRL 160

I had 598 QSOs in CQWW CW (10M) and 420 in the ARRL 160 CW, about 85 percent S&P (assisted), and don't recall a single instance where an incorrect spot led me even to think about calling a station who wasn't really there.  N1MM's Spectrum Display shows previously-worked stations, so it would be

Re: Topband: How good is good enough

dials of varying lengths (Most were either 50 or 100' long.). Much would depend on length, configuration, terrain and ground conductivity. Jim - WS6X -Original Message- From: Topband On Behalf Of Pete Smith N4ZR Sent: Monday, November 7, 2022 4:27 PM To: topband reflector Subject: T

Topband: How good is good enough

Now that the lawn mowing is done for the season, I resuscitated my 160M inverted L.  With 13 on the ground radials, each roughly 70 feet long, measured R of 34 ohms seems OK to me.  Is it worth laying down more radials, or am I approaching diminishing returns? -- 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the ne

Re: Topband: QRM Eliminator

Funny (I guess) - we have Chinese manufacturers cloning a Russian design. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network web server at. For spots, please use your favorite "retail" DX cluster. On 10/9/2022 12:35 PM, K4SAV wrote: This link shows a schematic of t

Re: Topband: QRM Eliminator

That's amazing - there are at least 10 different listings on Amazon, ranging from $54 to $70.  They all appear to be the same box,. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network web server at. For spots, please use your favorite "retail" DX cluster. On 10/9/2

Topband: ARRL DX 160 Phone - worth a try?

I'm sitting at about 95 confirmed or pending at LOTW for my 160 DXCC, and was toying with the idea of spending some time in the ARRL Phone DX Contest this weekend on single-band 160.  Looking down my LOTW listing, plus the few cards I have in hand and the list of ones I don't have, I'm wonderin

Re: Topband: Personal decision

same thing. > > If Vladimir Putin were a ham, I could understand you deciding not to work > him - but let's not pretend our friends who we have been working over the > years are responsible. > > I will not tolerate anything less from the mem

Re: Topband: Personal decision

Yup.  Me too. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network web server at. For spots, please use your favorite "retail" DX cluster. On 2/24/2022 8:03 AM, MU 4CX250B wrote: Good move, Mark. We all know the current assault on Ukraine is not the fault of our

Re: Topband: PLease!

Amen, Mel.  My favorites (ha) are the people who don't include *any* context in their replies. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network web server at. For spots, please use your favorite "retail" DX cluster. On 2/1/2022 2:05 PM, Mike Waters wrote: T

Topband: K9AY RX antenna

My K9AY loop (the commercial version from Array Solutions) seems to be kind of an indifferent performer.  I believe it is set up properly. and I've laid down a radial under each side of the loops, but while it shows some directivity on high-end broadcast stations, 160M directivity is limited to

Re: Topband: Poor Propagation or Noise?

Hi Roger - unfortunately, we have no way of telling, because too many factors influence SNR at each individual node.  If you noted that the same RBN nodes were giving lower SNR reports than they had on previous occasions, then I'd guess propagation must have been poor. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out

Topband: RBN callsign pattern file revision

In order to have the RBN's revised callsign pattern file ready before the CQ 160 contest, We're moving the target date up to January 25, so if you know of new callsign patterns that need to be incorporated, now's the time to let me know. For those who don't know, the pattern file lets CW Skimm

Topband: Radials on ground

For the moment at least, I'm using on-the-ground radials for my 160M inverted L. Discussion on the reflector triggered a thought - is the size of wire used for on-the-ground radials - or elevated radials for that matter - significant?  I ask this because I have a huge spool of military-surplus,

Re: Topband: Wednesday CW DX Activity Night

http://beta.reversebeacon.net/main.php 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network web server at. For spots, please use your favorite "retail" DX cluster. On 1/4/2022 1:58 PM, Artek Manuals wrote: Roger I am not exactly sure which BETA RBN sight you ar

Re: Topband: K9AY Loop Questions

easily copy the station on?  I would hope the loop. W0MU On 1/2/2022 12:24 PM, Jim Brown wrote: On 1/2/2022 7:29 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote: The antenna is directional, as demonstrated by tuning in broadcast stations at the high end of the AM band and separating stations on the same frequency so

Re: Topband: K9AY Loop Questions

ns up when using the RX antenna. Can’t duplicate that at home. Have no room for the HI-Z at home either. I’m on a 150’ x 450’ lot with a 60’ tower. Hope you find the magic fix. Cecil K5DL Sent from my iPad On Jan 2, 2022, at 9:29 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote: I recently installed a K9AY loop

Topband: K9AY Loop Questions

I recently installed a K9AY loop (with the Array Solutions controller), and have a couple of questions.  Installation is pretty standard, with a fiberglass pole at the center, ground rod at its base, and on the ground radials under each direction of the loop. The antenna is directional, as dem

Re: Topband: Balloon Supported Vertical

Here's an interesting source - https://balloonmarket.co.uk/lift-ability.  Looks like one of the last couple in the table should be big enough - say 5 feet in diameter for starters. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network web server at. For spots, p

Re: Topband: Inverted L's etc

FWIW, the only thing that would concern me about that sort of solution is the projectile, and its potential for damage if it should hit someone (or something).  I personally prefer the tennis-ball cannon (antennalauncher.com) for that reason. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the new Reverse Beacon Netw

Re: Topband: NA activity + Inv-L corner insulator

I had to laugh - I'm sure that the couple of box wrenches I lost in the trees behind my townhouse in Reston, VA are still there - or if not, do you suppose people thought they grew there somehow? Re the Flexweave, I didn't recognize the name so I googled it, and who knew...?  It sounds like it

Re: Topband: Corner insulator of Inverted L

Thanks everyone who replied - I think I have a handle on it now 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network web server at <http://beta.reversebeacon.net>. For spots, please use your favorite "retail" DX cluster. On 9/25/2021 9:32 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote: I

Topband: Corner insulator of Inverted L

I'm in the process of putting my inverted L back up, and have a construction question - how do you position and attach the corner insulator?  My support for the vertical section is an old maple, plenty tall but only really reachable with a pull-up rope by firing a tennis-ball gun over it.  The

Re: Topband: strange propagation

By all means, please don't leave, Tom. Until recently, this sort of junk stayed on CQ-Contest. Perhaps we can give it the cold shoulder and it'll wither away. This is still the place I look to for serious discussion of, among other topics, low-band verticals and receiving antennas. 73, Pet

Re: Topband: Using shielded CAT5 data cable as feedline for active antenna; benefits of multi-turn K9AY loop/SAL/etc?

I should have been clearer - all his work is with small loops, typically 1 meter diameter. My interest was in the possibility of improving the performance of my omnidirectional active Skimmer antenna, currently a Clifton Labs 8-ft vertical. Since some of his antennas favor horizontal polarizat

Topband: Using shielded CAT5 data cable as feedline for active antenna; benefits of multi-turn K9AY loop/SAL/etc?

I was recently reading a web page by LZ1AQ . It is full of fascinating data and design equations for the use of small magnetic loop antennas. There were two points, in particular, that caught my layman's attention: 1. He recommends using shielded CAT5 data ca

Re: Topband: Reversebeacon S/N interpretation

Thanks for the info, Tim. ON5KQ is one of our long-time RBN contributors, with something like the reference configuration (QS1R receiver, Skimmer Server 1.40.0.138, Aggregator 4.1). I wonder if maybe he has a very close station on 160M or AM broadcast whose signal drives his RX into clipping.

Topband: Which 4 directions?

I'm planning to build and deploy 4 receiving antennasfor 160M this summer - some mix of BOGs, K9AYs, etc.Question is, where would you aim them, from a QTH 60 miles NW of Washington DC. My main objective is to finish my 160M DXCC, now hovering at 72 worked. The quantitative constraint is due to

Re: Topband: BCB Inv L

Sure is - Randall Mullinax, AD5RM. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For spots, please go to your favorite ARC V6 or VE7CC DX cluster node. On 3/27/2015 11:12 PM, Art Snapper wrote: The radio station engineer in M

Re: Topband: Quality of RBN data

Just to add a bit to understanding of how CQ Skimmer and Skimmer Server work to measure SNR. The SNR for a given spot is measured over a 50 Hz bandwidth in the moment when Skimmer decides that the spot should be posted to Telnet. It is true that this value could, conceivably, reflect a strong s

Topband: isolation transformer(s) in RX antenna feedlines (?)

I ran across a sketchy reference to this idea, described as a way to block common mode signals from making it into the shack by cutting off the paths from the coax shield to the RX input. Is there anything to the idea? -- 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebe

Re: Topband: Shunt feeding tower

Reading about 3-wire cages and the like, I feel a serious case of shunt envy. Mine is a single wire about 18 inches from one corner of my Rohn 25, connected to the tower at about 50 feet. I used an omega match with a couple of 3 KV transmitting variables, because my tower is quite tall for 16

Re: Topband: Skimmer calibration

It's also worth mentioning that you can evade the Skimmer's "wait 10 minutes before re-spotting" limitation simply by QSYing 500 Hz or sobefore re-sending - that way you can get a lot of data points in a relatively short period. So long as you use TEST as your keyword rather than CQ, and stay

Topband: DC bias tee question

I've been looking at the Shared Apex Loop, and one thing I am puzzled by (among many) is that the bias tee/DC coupler circuit has both sides of the 75-ohm feed coming in from the antenna and the DC supplied to the coupler totally isolated from ground, while the ground side of the coax going to

Re: Topband: Crossed Field Antenna

From Wikip[edia - "A *crossed field antenna*, or CFA, is a controversial type of radio antenna for long and mediumwave broadcasting

Re: Topband: Passive Receive Antenna Splitter

Typically the CATV splitters are marked 5-1000 MHz or similar. I've often wondered how much rolloff there was beyond the basic 3-4 dB down at topband. I have a Clifton that I built myself, but have not been able to achieve the insertion loss and isolation specs - which may well be my fault.

Topband: Remote RX antenna switch - the end of the story

I'm getting aHeathkit 1480 - this homebrew thing simply isn't worth the tens of hours I've put in, all to no avail. Thanks to everyone for trying to help. -- 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For spots, please go

Re: Topband: In search of resonance

On 160, that is. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For spots, please go to your favorite ARC V6 or VE7CC DX cluster node. On 1/31/2014 6:27 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote: To my amazement, a 5000-watt AM station on

Re: Topband: In search of resonance

To my amazement, a 5000-watt AM station on 1550 KHz 5 miles away is enough to clobber my MFJ-259's usefulness during the day. Fortunately they drop to 6 watts at local sundown (what do you suppose that is, a single 6L6?) 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeac

Re: Topband: Speking of Hardline

I don't know about anyone else's cable company, but when the prices of scrap metal went up a few years ago Comcast emptied out their local scrap yard. Actually, I'm just supposing that's the reason. I got a lot of good stuff there while they were willing to let it go. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out

Topband: oil-submerged variables

Thanks, everyone. I had not thought about the possible difference between 600M and 160 in terms of heating. Jon's suggestion of using big old micas sure seems like a good one if I can find what I need. As a refugee from the BC-610 era I'm amazed that any are still around! -- 73, Pete N4ZR Ch

Topband: Submerging variable caps in oil as substitute for vacuum variables

The omega match for my shunt fed tower uses two 300 uF roughly 3000-volt variables I bought from Henry radio a few years ago. I think occasionally about running more than 100 watts on 160, but the cost of the vacuum variables is a real issue. February QST has an article on using mineral oil i

Topband: End of a bias tee adventure?

After making all of the recommended changes, I hooked up my MFJ and got >650 readings regardless. When connected to a 75 ohm dummy load, it reads completely normally, as does shorting the input (R=0_ If I had managed to damage the MFJ with DC voltage on the input, would you expect no readings

Re: Topband: Buffaloed by a bias tee

her change. But this is secondary to the fact you are connecting a bias T without an input shunt choke to the 259. - Original Message ----- From: "Pete Smith N4ZR" To: "Richard (Rick) Karlquist" ; "topband reflector" Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2014

Re: Topband: Buffaloed by a bias tee

og at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For spots, please go to your favorite ARC V6 or VE7CC DX cluster node. On 1/22/2014 6:52 PM, Richard (Rick) Karlquist wrote: On 1/22/2014 12:32 PM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote: . However, as soon as I connect a 12V regulated supply to the bias tee - one of the little radio

Topband: Buffaloed by a bias tee

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions - consensus seems to be that the homebrew chokes are not enough reactance at 1.8 MHz, so I'll get some store bought ones at 220 uH or more. I tried battery power for the whole system, but no difference. I'm going to try battery power for the remote box

Topband: Buffaloed by a bias tee

I'm still wrestling with the bias tee for my 1-of-8 remote beverage switch. If I use a cliplead to connect a 270-ohm dummy load, bypassing the relay, and connect an MFJ-259B to the receiver port on the controller, the impedance looks completely reasonable - with a 3:1 binocular transformer, 89

Re: Topband: Easy-to-learn 160 contest logging program?

It would make sense to raise this on n1mmlog...@yahoogroups.com. For that matter, a quick search will find a number of recent threads on exactly this topic. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For spots, please go

Topband: Spam apparently from me

I am starting to get bounce notices for mail I didn't send, some of it with a bogus name associated with my address, so it looks like one of the creeps out there has my address. If you see anything atypical from my address, please delete it. -- 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Netwo

Re: Topband: Replacing F Connectors with BNCs

also. 73, geo - n4ua On Thu, Nov 14, 2013 at 7:38 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR <mailto:n...@contesting.com>> wrote: That is certainly possible, Frank - I've been using Ideal compression connectors from Home Depot. I have not had any reliability problems with them at all - t

Topband: bias tee

I am using my coax to feed 12 VDC to my remote RX antenna locations, using a traditional bias tee, but am having some trouble with performance. I'm using 100 uH Radio Shack chokes in my bias tee, and am wondering if perhaps that is insufficient inductance for 160 meter operation. If so, what

Re: Topband: Replacing F Connectors with BNCs

wonder why you've decided to switch to BNCs? They have their own issues and they've completely unsuitable for outdoor use. I wonder if perhaps you've been using poor quality F connectors? 73 Frank W3LPL - Original Message - From: Pete Smith N4ZR <n...@contesting.com>

Topband: Replacing F Connectors with BNCs

I have finally decided to go through my RX antenna systems and replace all the F connectors with BNCs. My coax is all RG-6 Quad shield. I would like to find an all-crimp BNC male solution, or failing that, one that only requires soldering the center conductor. Any advice on which connectors

Re: Topband: Hi-Z RX antennas

What I find more interesting was this line in the press release - "Tim Duffy K3LR, Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager of DX Engineering." Say what? 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For spots, please go

Re: Topband: W8ji ATR-10 design 160M?

And for more info, send him $3. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For spots, please go to your favorite ARC V6 or VE7CC DX cluster node. On 10/16/2013 11:01 AM, N4XM Paul D. Schrader wrote: Jim, I did not make th

Re: Topband: Dual band shunt-feeding tower on 160/80

I have a 97-foot Rohn 25 tower with 2 X C-3Es and an EF-240S on top. I tried initially to find a 50-ohm point on the tower, without success, so I then went to an Omega match, using a pair of 300 pF transmitting variable capacitors bought from Henry Radio. It proved very easy to tune, with reas

Re: Topband: 160 meter activity

Well, sorta, Tim. My Skimmer routinely reports signal-to-noise ratios of 3-4 dB at band opening. The real problem is that the majority of RBN nodes use non-directive antennas of one sort or another, and that many European QTHs have severe noise issues. I have an 8-foot active vertical and an

Re: Topband: 160 and 80 meter QRN prediction

Shouldn't you also look at lightning activity on the path between you and your area of interest? I've found quite often that the day after a big eastward-moving storm, there is a lot of noise on my path to Europe. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net,

Re: Topband: Problem with compression F connectors on Quad RG-6

Back on the subject of RG-6, Ideal specifies folding back the top layer of braid, cutting off the first foil layer, then folding back the second layer of braid. The trouble is that on my cable, the second foil layer is mylar, aluminized on the outside. On the one hand this means good contact

Re: Topband: Problem with compression F connectors on Quad RG-6

Very interesting, Jim - I have been using Ideal connectors from Home Depot, and they have no color band at all (nor do they have decent instructions for installing). I will try to find some of the black-banded ones (I have red-banded ones for RG-59). 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon

Topband: Problem with compression F connectors on Quad RG-6

I'm having a repeated weird problem with compression F connectors on quad-shield RG6. When I connect a short length (say 4 feet) of cable to my MFJ-259B, I would expect R>650. Instead, when I wiggle the coax, occasionally I see the display change to R=0 and X= several hundred ohms at 1.8 MHz.

Re: Topband: binocular matching transformers - Solved

Thanks to everyone who helped me straighten this out. Changing from 2:4 to 4:8 turns made all the difference, probably, as a couple of people suggested, because only two turns ion the primary is inadequate. Anyhow, everything now behaves as expected, so it's time (as soon as the snow melts) t

Topband: binocular matching transformers

Please have mercy on a history major... I'm trying to wind a binoocular core matching transformer for 75-ohm coax to a BOG with (for a start) 270 ohms of terminating resistance. I figure that is a 4:1 stepdown, which should require a turns ratio of 2:1. Initially I wound a #73 core with iden

Re: Topband: Elevated Radials

The other rule that seems to apply, based on a number of pretty serious articles, including K3LC's NCJ series in the mid-2000s,is "they that has, gets." By which I mean, if you have good ground conductivity, a relatively sparse radial field can work better than a really extensive radial field

Re: Topband: Broadband dipoles

And this part: ? Antenna Efficiency Frequency (MHz) Efficiency (dB) 2 -12.7 3 -8.8 5 -6.4 7.5 -4.8 10 -4.2 20 -2.8 30 -2.1 I'm not sure what a negative antenna efficiency means. Compared to an isotropic source? It is large, and must spend a lot of power heating those resistors. 73, Pete N4

Re: Topband: VE3DO Loop

For whatever it is worth, afew years ago I put up an endfire array of two K9AYs spaced 135 feet, phased 180 degrees. It worked probably the best of any receiving antenna I have had here on 160M. Modeling with NEC2 showed an excellent RDF - whether that was achieved in real life only God knows

Re: Topband: [CQ-Contest] Wireless Remote Control Relays

Hi Milt - do you get NCJ? A few issues ago (May June 2012) I had an article in there about this. I'm sending you a copy. I am using these for an 8-way receiving antenna hub. There are some minor operational issues, but the port-to-port isolation appears to be ~30 dB, which is adequate for m

Re: Topband: alternative to vacuum variables

Thanks, Tom. I thought I recalled this advice from an earlier reflector post, but couldn't find it. Thanks also to everyone elsewho replied, and the many interesting ideas My single 97-foot tower has two tri-band yagis and a 2-element shortened 40m yagi at the top, as well as an 80-meter laz

Topband: alternative to vacuum variables

One of the reasons I have mot gone to high power on 160 is the cost of capacitors for my omega match - at least $300. Anyone know of any workable alternative? I remember someone writing about using coiled-up RG-8, RG-213 or maybe Teflon coax. Where can I find more information? -- 73, Pete

Re: Topband: Help with RFI

I would seriously consider going wireless. A few years ago I had a direct strike on the top of my tower. Fortunately, everything was disconnected, so I sustained no damage in the shack. In fact, the only significant damage was to two computers on a cabled Ethernet network, both of which showe

Re: Topband: Another take on power line noise hunting

Or, since you don't really need a calibrated result, build a simple variable attenuator. Just about anything works so long as you can vary the sensitivity as you approach the power line. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogs

Re: Topband: ARRL LOTW and More

And while you're at it, why shouldn't SO Assisted be separated from Multi-single? That is a relic of the earliest days of packet, and hasn't made sense for at least 20 years. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For

Re: Topband: substandard quality F double females

Amphenol F connectors? Whoah! 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For spots, please go to your favorite ARC V6 or VE7CC DX cluster node. On 12/15/2012 12:35 PM, Jim Brown wrote: On 12/15/2012 6:52 AM, Charles Bibb

Re: Topband: PE coated RG6

Craig, what does "lateral" mean here - parallel to or perpendicular to the length of the cable? 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For spots, please go to your favorite ARC V6 or VE7CC DX cluster node. On 12/15/201

Re: Topband: PE coated RG6

I'm about to try replacing the feedlines to my receive antenna with direct burialRG-6 that has a polyethylene jacket. What is the problem? Jacket too thick? 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For spots, please go

Topband: buried radials vs radials on the ground

I had always understood that because of coupling, radials laid on the ground were functionally the same on top-band as those buried a few inches. Recently, some experimentation with Beverage on ground antennas has me doubting that. It's been suggested that elevated radials need to be resonated

Topband: Rules that should be changed was: Re: How does this make any sense?

other than the station operator) has been singled out for special treatment. 73, ... Joe, W4TV On 12/1/2012 9:10 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote: Respectfully, I don't think this is anywhere close to right. For example, the CAC did an exemplary job of developing a League position on where Ski

Re: Topband: How does this make any sense?

Respectfully, I don't think this is anywhere close to right. For example, the CAC did an exemplary job of developing a League position on where Skimmer techn0ology fit in its contests. A lot depends on the CAC chairman at any given time, and on getting the ARRL Board to give the CAC the right

Re: Topband: November 30-December 2 -- ARRL 160 Meter Contest

K1KI, W3TOM, N6AA, N6VI, W6RGG, and K9JF are the active contesters I noticed in a quick look at the ARRL Directors and Vice Directors. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For spots, please go to your favorite ARC V6

Re: Topband: Vertical Array Over Uneven Ground

CU on the 525 foot band, Carl? Seriously, I suspect that the reason why many of us work in meters when modeling is simply that some of the most useful software products default to that. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogsp

Re: Topband: [Topband] Antenna analysers in close proximity to BC station

I just lugged my TS-930 out to the tower base. It took all of 5 minutes to set the Omega match where it needed to be. I wonder what these BC stations run at night - my local one on 1550 runs a KW daytime and 6 watts at night. Single 6L6? 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at

Re: Topband: Band open, no one home

Awww, c'mon. Do you have to be so snarky? You evidently have power, Jack - why not just silently count your blessings? 73, Pete N4ZR The Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com, spots at telnet.reversebeacon.net, port 7000 and arcluster.reversebe

Topband: 1810 signal

For what it is worth, I am about 60 miles northwest of N3QE, who reports hearing the signal about the same strength day and night. I am hearing it S9 at night but right at my S5 noise level daytime, which suggests, to me at least, that it's a lot closer to him than me, and that I'm maybe right

Re: Topband: electrical wavelength

I thought we were talking about RF. 73, Pete N4ZR The World Contest Station Database, at www.conteststations.com The Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com, spots at telnet.reversebeacon.net, port 7000 and arcluster.reversebeacon.net, port 7000 On

Re: Topband: Radials through heavy brush

I heard about the same idea from Fred, K1VR, using an 8-f0oot ground rod, with a hole drilled in the blunt end and slightly bent to make it sneak through the undergrowth better. 73, Pete N4ZR The World Contest Station Database, at www.conteststations.com The Reverse Beacon Network at http://reve

Re: Topband: RX 4 SQ Phasing

I'm not sure I'd go too far with the FCC map. At my QTH, which is shown as average, actual ground/earth varies within a hundred feet from deep old riverbottom loam to limestone with a thin covering of topsoil (or sometimes none). While I don't know how this affects electrical ground condition

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