[Elecraft] F12 Sigma Vertical
I have two of the Sigma 5s here in CX land. They are extremely easy to put together...just a few bolts and wing nuts and I use a cement umbrella base with a sleeve of pvc about 2ft long and just slide the base of the vertical into the pvc. No radials as these are vertical dipoles; 50ft of control wire come with the antenna as it uses factory tuned coils to change freq. Both Sigma 5s were below 20m cw when I got them so it was a simple task of sliding off the PVC cover and spreading the coils on each end. The other coils were set at the factory and no adjustment required. My 20m 2:1 points are 14000 and 14270; all other bands are below 2 to 1; havent checked above 28.600 so dont know about that. So, how does it play? CX is a long way from major ham populations, US and EU. The antenna exhibits low angle radiation, as it should and I believe F12's claim of 90% efficiency as being pretty accurate. Granted, I have nice call sign that attracts the dx but I also work almost everything I hear. VQ9JC 4S7NE on 17m cw are recent examples. Another vertical that I used when I first got here was the DK9SQ fiberglass 33ft pole and his single element loop. It also worked very well on 40-10m but is more of a weekend antenna. My pole finally snapped in about 40-50kt gusting winds last January; this was after continually flexing for about 4 months as I had it permanently mounted via bungee cords to the patio support post. Finally, I recommend going to www.contesting.com and see the reviews of all the vertical antennas posted on eham by our colleagues.. GL 73 Tom K6CT/CX7TT ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] WA3WSJ's EPA Skunk Works Site - Check it out!
Ed, Just call it Area 51 after the supersecret site in the NV desert 73 GL Tom K6CT aka CX7TT ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] Single Lever paddle
Interesting thread about SKN, different keys, preferences, etc. I have always been a single lever paddle guyjust couldn't get the hang of the squeeze thingy...and now, due to arthritis, right thumb decides to do it's own thing at times. So, I have been looking for a replacement paddle and finally found it from Bengali. He makes a single lever paddle, called the Simplex mono and it's a beaut! Bengali has, up until recently, quoted his prices in Euros; so multiply by 1.18 up to recent exchange rate of 1.30 +. Imagine my delight when I ordered the key to see a quote of 165 Euro OR USDollarsWith the Euro trading at 1.18 or so, this is a real bargin compared to previous purchases...so, if interested in a super quality key, now may be the time to order, before the USD dives and Bengali goes back to only charging in Euros... Merry Christmas y Felix Nuevo Anos. Tom K6CT aka CX7TT ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] Low angle radiation antennas?
Hello everyone, I recently moved to Uruguay and am CX/K6CT, at least for now; may get CX callsign in next 6mo or so. I am using a DK9SQ fiberglass pole with a delta loop. The mast is secured (sorta) to the patio support with bungee cords. I do not have access to a modeling program (not sure I could intrepret it anyway), but wonder what kind of take off angle this lashup (pardon the pun) has. CX is a looo way from everywhere. USA is over 4000mi and EU is 7-8000. Therefore, I need a very low angle of radiation to get out of S.America. 100ft or higher towers are out of the question and so are multi-element beams. I know that verticals have the lowest angle of radiation but high visibility to neighborhood preclude laying out 4 sq with 240 radials (not to mention what that would do to the mowing of the yard). I am thinking that a 2 ele vertical array on top of the house (1 story) so it would be up 18ft or so would maybe work out ok. Using elevated radials and a endfire/broadside pattern to US/EU may work ok. This would probably be for 20m only. I would appreciate any thoughts from the reflector about how to improve such a system. Unfortunately, there are no trees above 15ft on or near the property (located on golf course) so long wire or high dipoles are out of the question. Propagation has been fairly poor recently with SF in the 70-80s and A and K indexes high. One of my best tools is the NCDXF worldwide beacon system. I use it often to see which paths are open...ZS6DN and CS6B are regular beacons on 15/12m here. Thanks for any help 73 Tom K6CT K2 #3245 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] KPA100 voltage measurements?
Don, Yours has been the only reply though I did talk to Richard at Elecraft. The setup for the test is no antenna, no xmit, no other cables connected other than the 4 inch cable from K2 P4 to KPA 100 P1. I reheated the offending pins and double checked the components in that circuit for good soldering, no bridges and correct values on resistors and caps. I just rechecked and nothing has changed, i.e., U5 pin 1 @2.4v and U6 pin6 at 28v...I followed the schematic thru the VRFDET and found that J8 (aux I/O) pin 7 has 28v as does P1 (to Ctrl Board) pin 10 has 28v. Any suggestions? 73 Tom -Original Message- From: Don Wilhelm [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 3:02 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Elecraft Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA100 voltage measurements? Tom, I have not yet seen a reply on the reflector to your questions, so I will try to give you some information. The voltage at U5 pin 1 will depend on the reflected voltage sensed by D17 and the setting of R27 - if you are measuring the voltage under transmit conditions, do you have a good dummy load connected? Pickup on an antenna wire connected to the output MIGHT do strange things during receive periods too. You should have the same voltage on U5 pin 1 and pin 3 because U5A is a unity gain op amp. If the voltage on pin 1 is much different than the voltage on pin 3 the problem will be found after the op amp U5A, but if they are the same, the problem is in the SWR bridge or its adjustments. I am at a loss to explain 28 volts on U6 pin 6 - that is another op amp and it is powered from a 5 volt supply, so the pin 6 voltage will never be brought higher than 5 volts by anything in U6 itself. A regular RS232 computer cable plugged into the KPA100 and connected to a computer might cause that kind of voltage - DO NOT USE A REGULAR COMPUTER SERIAL CABLE - BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN. Check for something tied into the VRFDET line somewhere in the base K2 or on the KPA100 board's AUX IO umbilical cord and/or the DB-9 connector. Follow the PC board traces from U6 pin 6 to the connection with the cable and the DB-9 connector for a short to an adjacent trace or solder pad. That is all I can tell you with the info I have right now. 73, Don W3FPR - Original Message - Am on page 23; KPA100 test points and have two problems: U5 Pin 1 should be 0 to 0.1; I get 2.4 U6 Pin6 should be 0 to 0.5; I get 28v! Any ideas or where to look? All other measurements were either right on or within the +/- 10%. ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
