Topband: directional receive and contests

[K1FZ-Bruce]

 
Early in 1925  Radio Corporation of America station 1XAO had one near 
10 mile long wave antenna.  In 1926 they had three spaced 6 miles each. 
Harold H. Beverage discovered diversity reception when switching 
between antennas. When the signal was fading on one, it could be 
peaking on another. 
 
AT Houlton, Maine used four for trans-Atlantic reception.  Above 
gain, better antenna patterns, QSB was minimized. 
 


http://www.state.me.us/newsletter/dec2003/radio_free_belfast_maine.htm
 
73
 
Bruce-k1fz
 
 
 

On Mon, 28 Dec 2015 09:30:17 -0800, Tree  wrote:

  Add me to the list of diversity operators. I typically have one beverage
in one ear and some other directional antenna in the other. For the Stew -
this was a 1200 foot beverage towards the East coast and a Hi-Z array (4
directions) in the other ear. I would typically have the 4 SQ also East to
help with those QRP stations - and then switch it towards the West when the
JAs are coming through. If a weak station calls - I check the 4 SQ to see
if they are coming in from the North or South. A lot of my W6 QSOs were
with stations using marginal antennas and they are pretty weak when things
are pointing East. 


At my previous QTH - I had five directions covered by beverages and I could
quickly switch directions using a control box with momentary pushbuttons:

http://www.kkn.net/n6tr/160/bev/BevBox2.jpg (shown before I got my K3). 


With the antennas both East - the signals float around inside my head as
QSB happens. I typically find that with one antenna - I often miss part of
a callsign with QSB - but with two - I can often get all of the call the
first time. This is very noticeable on 80 meters when working Japan. 


Tree N6TR


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Re: Topband: beverage resistors at Mouser.com

[Mike Waters]

Jeff,

Do you mean six of the Ohmite type OY resistors in parallel?! I can
understand paralleling CF resistors, but just one of those OYs will take
quite a hit.

73, Mike
www.w0btu.com

On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 1:15 PM, Jeff AC0C  wrote:

> If you are going to make the order, consider using several in parallel to
> improve the surge handling capability.  I use 6x 2700 ohms here.
>
> Those might work, although they might be inductive (but probably not
> enough to matter at 160m) and might not have the surge rating that the
> Ohmite OY resistors have. But I am not sure.
>
> The ones below are the ones everyone uses. However, the 2W 470 ohm type OY
> appear to be out of stock. The ones below should work fine.
>
>
> 588-OY-470-E <
> http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Ohmite/OY471KE/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvmQ%252bOLa8n%2fM0AL619UxluYs%252bchll6qvbU%3d
> >
>
> 588-OY-390-E <
> http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Ohmite/OY391KE/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvmQ%252bOLa8n%2fM9UfS4H1uSv96z622JnjmoY%3d
> >
>
> 588-OX-470-E <
> http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Ohmite/OX471KE/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvmQ%252bOLa8n%2fM0AL619UxluYHfapLNvkuuU%3d
> >
>
>
>
> On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 11:31 AM, Jorge Diez CX6VM 
> wrote:
>
> I am looking for beverage resistors, I think 470 ohms 2 watts will be OK,
> right?
>
> In mouser.com I found 660-MOS2CT52R471J  and 660-MOS2C471J
>
>
_
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Re: Topband: beverage resistors at Mouser.com

[Tom W8JI]

If you are going to make the order, consider using several in parallel to 
improve the surge handling capability.  I use 6x 2700 ohms here.


73/jeff/ac0c


Be real careful with the resistor choice.

A metal oxide or film resistor handles many times less surge than an OX or 
OY resistor. OX and OY resistors are 14kV and 20 kV pulse rated respectively 
without damage, and handle (OX) 40 and (OY) 70 watt-seconds for 100 pulses 
of 1 second at 50% duty.


A standard metal oxide is not remotely close, and paralleling 10 will not 
get them close. Even better MOX are only 10 watt-seconds, and not remotely 
close to the peak pulse voltage (which will not increase when they are 
parallel).


I've never actually had a single OY resistor used in a termination burn out 
from lightning, despite some pretty hard hits.  MOX are a different story 
entirely.


Either type works fine so far as reactance goes, unless the application is 
reactance critical. For a Beverage, reactance of either is not an issue. 


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Topband: Beverage Crow's Foot Ground Wire Pattern

[artw4aa]

What is the recommended pattern for the crow’s foot ground wires at each end of 
a two-wire reversible Beverage?  Should ALL the ground wires be in the 180 
degree plane behind the Beverage wire, or does it make any difference?  I don’t 
imagine it’s a very good idea to put a ground wire under, or very close to, the 
Beverage wire itself. 
73, Art/W4AA 
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Re: Topband: Beverage Crow's Foot Ground Wire Pattern

[Tom W8JI]

What is the recommended pattern for the crow’s foot ground wires at each 
end of a two-wire reversible Beverage?  Should ALL the ground wires be in 
the 180 degree plane behind the Beverage wire, or does it make any 
difference?  I don’t imagine it’s a very good idea to put a ground wire 
under, or very close to, the Beverage wire itself.

73, Art/W4AA
_


The antenna common mode impedance is 400-600 ohms.  What you do with a 
ground is not going to matter much, as long as the ground is less than 50 
ohms resistance or so.


Unless you are on permafrost, dry sand, or some other terrible soil just a 
couple ground rods are more than enough.  A few short radials are just extra 
insurance if the soil is questionable.




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Re: Topband: Beverage Crow's Foot Ground Wire Pattern

[Mike Waters]

Or frozen soil. :-)

When I first installed my NE-SW 2-wire Beverage, signals off the SW
(reverse/feed) end were weak. The quick fix was to pour a hot concentrated
solution of Epsom salts around the rod.

I think part of the problem was that the ground rod was not making good
contact with the soil near the surface. (That's often typical of a
freshly-driven-in rod.) The experience is described at
www.w0btu.com/Beverage_antennas.html#Beverage_antenna_grounds

The radials I had there are probably gone now; there's just the two
copper-clad ground rods, and I still hear VKs and ZLs off the reverse end.

73, Mike
www.w0btu.com

On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 7:53 PM, Tom W8JI  wrote:

> Unless you are on permafrost, dry sand, or some other terrible soil just a
> couple ground rods are more than enough.  A few short radials are just
> extra insurance if the soil is questionable.
>
_
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Re: Topband: beverage resistors at Mouser.com

[Jeff AC0C]

I have OY from Mouser.

Someone said the interested value was out of stock.  If you are going to 
ship to Spain, then get the right type (OY) and just pick a higher value 
where the parallel combo will give you the value you want.  Easy solution 
for the incremental cost over what would be a high shipping bill is 
essentially zero.


73/jeff/ac0c
www.ac0c.com
alpha-charlie-zero-charlie

-Original Message- 
From: Tom W8JI

Sent: Monday, December 28, 2015 4:13 PM
To: Jeff AC0C ; Jorge Diez CX6VM
Cc: 'topband'
Subject: Re: Topband: beverage resistors at Mouser.com

If you are going to make the order, consider using several in parallel to 
improve the surge handling capability.  I use 6x 2700 ohms here.


73/jeff/ac0c


Be real careful with the resistor choice.

A metal oxide or film resistor handles many times less surge than an OX or
OY resistor. OX and OY resistors are 14kV and 20 kV pulse rated respectively
without damage, and handle (OX) 40 and (OY) 70 watt-seconds for 100 pulses
of 1 second at 50% duty.

A standard metal oxide is not remotely close, and paralleling 10 will not
get them close. Even better MOX are only 10 watt-seconds, and not remotely
close to the peak pulse voltage (which will not increase when they are
parallel).

I've never actually had a single OY resistor used in a termination burn out
from lightning, despite some pretty hard hits.  MOX are a different story
entirely.

Either type works fine so far as reactance goes, unless the application is
reactance critical. For a Beverage, reactance of either is not an issue. 


_
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Re: Topband: beverage resistors at Mouser.com

[Jeff AC0C]

Yes.  They are cheap and I had no idea of what the lightning risk would be 
here.


I've had to do work on the active antennas a few times so I know ground 
level lighting currents are around.  But never had a problem with the 
beverage.  Maybe I'm just lucky.


73/jeff/ac0c
www.ac0c.com
alpha-charlie-zero-charlie

-Original Message- 
From: Mike Waters

Sent: Monday, December 28, 2015 3:42 PM
To: Jeff AC0C
Cc: Jorge Diez CX6VM ; topband
Subject: Re: Topband: beverage resistors at Mouser.com

Jeff,

Do you mean six of the Ohmite type OY resistors in parallel?! I can
understand paralleling CF resistors, but just one of those OYs will take
quite a hit.

73, Mike
www.w0btu.com

On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 1:15 PM, Jeff AC0C  wrote:


If you are going to make the order, consider using several in parallel to
improve the surge handling capability.  I use 6x 2700 ohms here.

Those might work, although they might be inductive (but probably not
enough to matter at 160m) and might not have the surge rating that the
Ohmite OY resistors have. But I am not sure.

The ones below are the ones everyone uses. However, the 2W 470 ohm type OY
appear to be out of stock. The ones below should work fine.


588-OY-470-E <
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Ohmite/OY471KE/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvmQ%252bOLa8n%2fM0AL619UxluYs%252bchll6qvbU%3d
>

588-OY-390-E <
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Ohmite/OY391KE/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvmQ%252bOLa8n%2fM9UfS4H1uSv96z622JnjmoY%3d
>

588-OX-470-E <
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Ohmite/OX471KE/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvmQ%252bOLa8n%2fM0AL619UxluYHfapLNvkuuU%3d
>



On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 11:31 AM, Jorge Diez CX6VM 
wrote:

I am looking for beverage resistors, I think 470 ohms 2 watts will be OK,
right?

In mouser.com I found 660-MOS2CT52R471J  and 660-MOS2C471J



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Topband: HiZ 8 circle array 1st impression

[Bob Kupps via Topband]

Hi we finally got our HiZ 80 and 160m arrays up and running and the performance 
appears to be as advertised. We used 6m guyed steel tubes mounted on PVC 
insulators for the 160m elements and 3m wires inside PVC for the concentric 80m 
array. Each element has a 1m copper clad ground rod in good soil. The base 
preamps are inside plastic pop bottles and the feed lines are inside PVC tubing 
for rodent protection. The rest of the hardware sits in a plastic storage bin 
at the center on top of the big rolls of delay cable. We used the wireless 
remotes for control and voltage injectors for power that required 22 VDC at the 
shack through 100m of RG6 feed line. We ended up not using the included feed 
line preamps due to our outrageous noise levels but did use a band or low pass 
filter at the antenna output and the supplied impedance transformers at the 
shack.
The closest element is about a half wave from the transmit vertical that we did 
not detune after hearing no change in noise levels with it open or grounded. 
HS0ZEE is a few dozen wavelengths away but in between two main directions; S9 
from the front 2 and S4 off the back 2 directions was the only objective test I 
could really make. Most DX signals in the Stew could not be heard past one 
direction either side of peak.

I haven't used the 80m array much yet but its performance appears to be roughly 
on a par with our 3 el yagi. I am hoping to see an improvement since the yagi 
is up 3/4 wave and so has a very strong high angle second lobe absent on the 
vertical array, and a wider beam width. We will see...it's sure easy to check 
the path compared against a 1/2 RPM beam anyway and it will be interesting to 
try them in diversity.
Listening on either of these arrays on a second K3 while transmitting on the 
160 vertical was impossible due to overload, even cross band although maybe 
because we only have a high pass filter for the 80m array. We also have issues 
with computer and monitor noise getting into the rx path on this system. 
HS0ZKX will be operating the station 4 weeks from now in the CQ 160 so we hope 
to see you in the log. 
73 and good DX in 2016 Bob HS0ZIA
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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[Jim Brown]

On Mon,12/28/2015 9:18 AM, Eric NO3M wrote:
What I have found to work well 


Pay attention to everything Eric says, and take a look at his web page 
showing his RX antenna farm.  Eric consistently has the best ears on the 
band! In the 4-5 years I've been working QRP on 160M, only once has Eric 
failed to hear me, and he usually hears me within the first 15-20 
seconds that I begin calling. And I'm nearly always in the direction 
opposite from the dominant opening to his QTH. He's the only guy that 
far east I can work mid-evening -- for everyone else, I must wait for 
late evening and sunrise openings.


73, Jim K9YC
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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[Merv Schweigert]

Agree with Jim,  Eric hears me when most others have their "ears" super 
glued

to EU and never change directions.

The best station I have ever worked was K9DX when he had up his arrays 
and remote
set ups,   he would hear me before my sunset and come back with the 
transmit array

my direction with S9 signals,
I dont know how he switched receive arrays but he could be working EU 
and with my one
call come back to my weak signal.   I could call an hour and others 
would never listen

this direction.
I have heard a thousand excuses as to why etc,  but it all comes down to 
operator
ability,  so kudos to these guys who have the hardware and know how to 
use it.


73 Merv K9FD/KH6


On Mon,12/28/2015 9:18 AM, Eric NO3M wrote:
What I have found to work well 


Pay attention to everything Eric says, and take a look at his web page 
showing his RX antenna farm.  Eric consistently has the best ears on 
the band! In the 4-5 years I've been working QRP on 160M, only once 
has Eric failed to hear me, and he usually hears me within the first 
15-20 seconds that I begin calling. And I'm nearly always in the 
direction opposite from the dominant opening to his QTH. He's the only 
guy that far east I can work mid-evening -- for everyone else, I must 
wait for late evening and sunrise openings.


73, Jim K9YC
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Re: Topband: SP conditions

[Tim Shoppa]

I felt results to EU were average to above average. I was very surprised
and pleased when two EU's were among the first replies to my CQ's.

I was very surprised in other direction, in initial hours how few
midwesterners were calling in. Usually I rack up several W9's with my first
CQ's although it is well before their sundown. Pretty soon I figured out it
must be thunderstorm activity in midwest.

In initial hours I was not hearing much thunderstorm noise myself, but for
a while around 0300-0400Z there were a couple times I ripped my headphones
off and threw them on the ground myself, the lightning noise was so bad,
even though I was far away from the bad weather. Other than that hour I did
not feel hindered by thunderstorm noise myself, but I'm sure a lot of folks
were scared to even plug in their antenna.

I worked a couple loud and easy W6's and W7's but not many at all. I think
this may have been a very rare year where I worked a lot more EU than W6's
and W7's.

I just looked at my reversebeacon reports and I feel I did very well to EU,
much better than expected given my few reversebeacon spots in EU.

Last night (night after Stew), SM5EDX had huge signal on 160M and I worked
him easy with 100W.

Tim N3QE

On Sun, Dec 27, 2015 at 2:24 PM, Art Snapper  wrote:

> I was a little disappointed with conditions here in Michigan last night.
> It seemed more like the Summer Stew with the lightning static from the
> storms in Texas and the Upper Mississippi Valley.
>
> I'll refrain from any comments on manmade climate change.
>
> 73
> Art NK8X
>
> ᐧ
> _
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Topband: RBN spotters on TopBand

[Barry N1EU]

Can anyone recommend some RBN nodes with good/decent 160M antennas in
western Europe and west coast USA?  I'd like to run some
comparison/analysis on signals from this weekend.

Thanks & 73/HNY,
Barry N1EU
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Topband: beverage resistors at Mouser.com

[Jorge Diez CX6VM]

Hello

 

I am looking for beverage resistors, I think 470 ohms 2 watts will be OK,
right?

 

In mouser.com I found 

 

660-MOS2CT52R471J  and 660-MOS2C471J

 

Wich one is better? Or maybe another part number that you know?

 

Thanks,

Jorge

CX6VM/CW5W



---
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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[Jim Brown]

On Mon,12/28/2015 8:47 AM, Art Snapper wrote:

Do any of you wish to share your methodology on using directional receive 
antennas during a run?


YES! Listen for more than 2 seconds after a CQ. It's really a bummer to 
call a station who has started CQing again before you've sent half of 
your callsign once! Switch directions often. Study propagation and try 
listening in different directions.


73, Jim K9YC
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Re: Topband: SP conditions

[Pat N8VW]

On 2015-12-27 14:24, Art Snapper wrote:
I was a little disappointed with conditions here in Michigan last 
night.

It seemed more like the Summer Stew with the lightning static from the
storms in Texas and the Upper Mississippi Valley.



Very noisy here also. Early it sounded like someone was crunching paper 
in my ears and with no receive antennas it was painful.  Later when the 
K dropped it sounded a bit better, but still local noise was evident. 
Led xmas lights maybe?


Had a computer problem, time would randomly reset so log is messed up on 
the times.  Used the station call (k8mk) instead of mine this year just 
for fun.  At 5w only dx worked was NP2X, but KV4FZ gave it a good try.  
FM5BH was in mud and didn't hear any EU.


..n8vw
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Topband: directional receive and contests

[Art Snapper]

Do any of you wish to share your methodology on using directional receive
antennas during a run?

The inverted-L was way too noisy with the lightning static, to hear weak
and distant stations.

On the other hand, I am sure I missed some stations, by being on the
wrong-direction receiving antenna at the time they called.

de Art NK8X

ᐧ
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Topband: Stew Perry Frustration.

[Robb Webb Proprietor of Robb Webb Photography]

Hello fellow Stew's
I had been looking forward to this years Stew for a few months and all my 
trialling new antennas was in vain. Mother Nature in the form of force 8 gales 
straight off the sea made my inv L a no hoper. I tried for the first hour but 
the antenna was too low, due to extreme bending !! And the noise level was way 
too high. The car was shaking so much in the wind that I felt a little quesy 
too. 
After an hour setting up and an hour struggling to operate I reverted to the 
dipole configuration, not wanting to give up on the overlooking the sea 
location. This was no better as the centre support was of course still at a 
high risk of snapping. 
So having given up on the sea location I packed everything up and headed in 
land. Finally, less wind and the dipole was up and the noise level was lower. 
A new problem had appeared on the laptop earlier which again caused me 
problems. The input to the laptop was refusing to work and only the onboard mic 
worked. So instead of my usual out of the data socket straight to the mic input 
on the laptop, I was forced to hang a small speaker in front of the onboard mic 
and turn up the volume. 
In the end I managed 18 contacts in 2 hours !! Only heard EU stations despite 
hearing lots of US last year. 
As usual with my portable in the car set up, I still have lots of work to do !! 
One day I will get it all right!! 
Until then Hey Ho, keep on trying 

Thanks to those that heard my 5W 

Robb 
G0URR/P

Robb Webb Photography
Bringing Photography to life
Mobile: 07891 575892

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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[Tim Shoppa]

At home I use a foot switches to cycle between three receive antennas after
each 160M CQ: NE and SW on a K9AY loop, and WNW on a west-facing pennant.
Each antenna is fairly broad in the forward direction although they have
deep deep nulls in the backwards direction. Oftentimes 8's will come in
best on the NE direction of the K9AY, but W0's and especially W6's/W7's
come in best on the west-facing pennant.

Cycling through on the foot switches is really very nice. I could not
imagine doing it any other way in a contest that has domestic callers, it
lets me type and use super check partial very effectively. For a more
DX-oriented contest pushbutton (finger) selection works OK but I don't
think that works well for a domestic contest.

Very occasionally I will also switch to listening to the transmit antenna
(do not have a footswitch for that). Usually the carribean comes in fine on
my SW receive antenna, but there have been a few occasions for Africa,
south atlantic, etc.,, when I could only copy on the transmit antenna.

Tim N3QE

On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 11:47 AM, Art Snapper  wrote:

> Do any of you wish to share your methodology on using directional receive
> antennas during a run?
>
> The inverted-L was way too noisy with the lightning static, to hear weak
> and distant stations.
>
> On the other hand, I am sure I missed some stations, by being on the
> wrong-direction receiving antenna at the time they called.
>
> de Art NK8X
>
> ᐧ
> _
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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[Eric NO3M]

What I have found to work well is taking advantage of a radio with dual 
receivers, not necessarily "locked", ie. diversity as in the K3, but at 
least on the same frequency.  The main RX is fixed on the "hot" 
direction at the moment, whether that be "NE" during EU peak hours or 
"W" after EU sunrise.  The sub-RX is connected to either my beverage 
"group" or the circular array (8-el BSEF).  In either case, the 
switching controller I use (homebrew) scans through directions 
(selectable, usually skip "N" and the direction already on the main RX), 
with about a 1/2 - 3/4 sec delay between switching, pausing during 
transmit.  I have seen comments in the past on here that scanning was 
never found to be effective, but I gather much of this probably had to 
do with the lack of flexibility in the switching / controlling system 
used (ie. scan delays not adjustable, antennas added/removed from scan 
sequence on the fly, etc).


Having a diversity capable rig is helpful if the station is weak, a 
single button press on my switching controller ("Track" button) will 
switch the opposite receiver selection to an available RX antenna in the 
same direction as the one being requested to be tracked, work him, then 
click the "Track" button again on my controller and the original 
opposite receive antenna selection is restored.


73 Eric NO3M


On 12/28/2015 11:47 AM, Art Snapper wrote:

Do any of you wish to share your methodology on using directional receive
antennas during a run?

The inverted-L was way too noisy with the lightning static, to hear weak
and distant stations.

On the other hand, I am sure I missed some stations, by being on the
wrong-direction receiving antenna at the time they called.

de Art NK8X

ᐧ
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Re: Topband: SP conditions

[Joe Giacobello, K2XX via Topband]

I was only doing S so I was continuously tuning the band.  Conditions 
here in SW VA were pretty poor.  I only worked five EU stations, all in 
Eastern EU.  They generally were good copy despite the QRN and showed up 
here around 0400Z.  KV4FZ and NP2X were weak at first, but their sigs 
picked up as the night progressed and they became quite strong.  While I 
was trying to work N7DD in AZ, he threw in the towel and went QRT 
because the QRN was so bad at his QTH.  I did work him later though.  
California and  the west coast did not exist for me.  The furthest west 
station that I worked was in Las Vegas.  The local QRN here seemed to 
let up around 0430Z (local) Saturday.


Conditions Sunday morning were very poor.  There was no sign of Asian DX 
or even the west coast.  Furthest west signal worked was Colorado.


Tim, I was copying SM5EDX Sunday night too.  While he was easy copy, he 
wasn't as strong here, but you're about 250 miles NE of me.


At this QTH, I have found conditions on 160M for this year and last year 
unusually poor.  80M has generally been poor this season also.


73, Joe
K2XX


Tim Shoppa 
Monday, December 28, 2015 11:22 AM
I felt results to EU were average to above average. I was very surprised
and pleased when two EU's were among the first replies to my CQ's.

I was very surprised in other direction, in initial hours how few
midwesterners were calling in. Usually I rack up several W9's with my 
first
CQ's although it is well before their sundown. Pretty soon I figured 
out it

must be thunderstorm activity in midwest.

In initial hours I was not hearing much thunderstorm noise myself, but for
a while around 0300-0400Z there were a couple times I ripped my headphones
off and threw them on the ground myself, the lightning noise was so bad,
even though I was far away from the bad weather. Other than that hour 
I did
not feel hindered by thunderstorm noise myself, but I'm sure a lot of 
folks

were scared to even plug in their antenna.

I worked a couple loud and easy W6's and W7's but not many at all. I think
this may have been a very rare year where I worked a lot more EU than W6's
and W7's.

I just looked at my reversebeacon reports and I feel I did very well 
to EU,

much better than expected given my few reversebeacon spots in EU.

Last night (night after Stew), SM5EDX had huge signal on 160M and I worked
him easy with 100W.

Tim N3QE

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Art Snapper 
Sunday, December 27, 2015 2:24 PM
I was a little disappointed with conditions here in Michigan last night.
It seemed more like the Summer Stew with the lightning static from the
storms in Texas and the Upper Mississippi Valley.

I'll refrain from any comments on manmade climate change.

73
Art NK8X

ᐧ
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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[George Dubovsky]

Hi Art,

I have 2 classes of rx antennas for 160/80, an active rx 4-square with
short 108" verticals (a copy of the first-generation DXE array) and 3
pretty long bi-directional beverages. In general, the 4-sq is not as "razor
sharp" as the beverages, so I generally put the 4-sq on the main rx of the
K3 and put one of the beverages on the sub-rx in diversity mode. A common
scenario is to have the EU beverage in my right ear and the 4-sq selected
as NW or SW in the left ear. The less-than-stellar F/B and F/S of the 4-sq
usually allows me to work most of the stronger callers, even those in the
"disadvantaged" directions, without switching, plus it gives me a hint if
someone is calling and I should switch one of the other beverages in to dig
out a weak one. HTH.

73,

geo - n4ua

On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 11:47 AM, Art Snapper  wrote:

> Do any of you wish to share your methodology on using directional receive
> antennas during a run?
>
> The inverted-L was way too noisy with the lightning static, to hear weak
> and distant stations.
>
> On the other hand, I am sure I missed some stations, by being on the
> wrong-direction receiving antenna at the time they called.
>
> de Art NK8X
>
> ᐧ
> _
> Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[Tree]

Add me to the list of diversity operators.  I typically have one beverage
in one ear and some other directional antenna in the other. For the Stew -
this was a 1200 foot beverage towards the East coast and a Hi-Z array (4
directions) in the other ear.  I would typically have the 4 SQ also East to
help with those QRP stations - and then switch it towards the West when the
JAs are coming through.  If a weak station calls - I check the 4 SQ to see
if they are coming in from the North or South.  A lot of my W6 QSOs were
with stations using marginal antennas and they are pretty weak when things
are pointing East.

At my previous QTH - I had five directions covered by beverages and I could
quickly switch directions using a control box with momentary pushbuttons:

http://www.kkn.net/n6tr/160/bev/BevBox2.jpg  (shown before I got my K3).

With the antennas both East - the signals float around inside my head as
QSB happens.  I typically find that with one antenna - I often miss part of
a callsign with QSB - but with two - I can often get all of the call the
first time.  This is very noticeable on 80 meters when working Japan.

Tree N6TR

On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 9:18 AM, Eric NO3M  wrote:

> What I have found to work well is taking advantage of a radio with dual
> receivers, not necessarily "locked", ie. diversity as in the K3, but at
> least on the same frequency.  The main RX is fixed on the "hot" direction
> at the moment, whether that be "NE" during EU peak hours or "W" after EU
> sunrise.  The sub-RX is connected to either my beverage "group" or the
> circular array (8-el BSEF).  In either case, the switching controller I use
> (homebrew) scans through directions (selectable, usually skip "N" and the
> direction already on the main RX), with about a 1/2 - 3/4 sec delay between
> switching, pausing during transmit.  I have seen comments in the past on
> here that scanning was never found to be effective, but I gather much of
> this probably had to do with the lack of flexibility in the switching /
> controlling system used (ie. scan delays not adjustable, antennas
> added/removed from scan sequence on the fly, etc).
>
> Having a diversity capable rig is helpful if the station is weak, a single
> button press on my switching controller ("Track" button) will switch the
> opposite receiver selection to an available RX antenna in the same
> direction as the one being requested to be tracked, work him, then click
> the "Track" button again on my controller and the original opposite receive
> antenna selection is restored.
>
> 73 Eric NO3M
>
>
>
> On 12/28/2015 11:47 AM, Art Snapper wrote:
>
>> Do any of you wish to share your methodology on using directional receive
>> antennas during a run?
>>
>> The inverted-L was way too noisy with the lightning static, to hear weak
>> and distant stations.
>>
>> On the other hand, I am sure I missed some stations, by being on the
>> wrong-direction receiving antenna at the time they called.
>>
>> de Art NK8X
>>
>> ᐧ
>> _
>> Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
>>
>
> _
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>
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Re: Topband: beverage resistors at Mouser.com

[Mike Waters]

Jorge,

Those might work, although they *might* be inductive (but probably not
enough to matter at 160m) and *might* not have the surge rating that the
Ohmite OY resistors have. But I am not sure.

The ones below are the ones everyone uses. However, the 2W 470 ohm type OY
appear to be out of stock. The ones below should work fine.

588-OY-470-E


588-OY-390-E


588-OX-470-E


73, Mike
www.w0btu.com

On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 11:31 AM, Jorge Diez CX6VM 
wrote:

> I am looking for beverage resistors, I think 470 ohms 2 watts will be OK,
> right?
>
> In mouser.com I found 660-MOS2CT52R471J  and 660-MOS2C471J
>
> Which one is better? Or maybe another part number that you know?
>
_
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Topband: My project during Christmas 2015

[Rune Øye]

Hi all and Merry Christmas.
Before Christmas I received my NCC-1 from Dx Engineering, noise canceler and 
phase  box.
I have made two antennas, none resonant antenna approx. 7.3 meter long. I 
measure the impedance to around 200 ohm on 160. Thereafter I made  a 2.67 ratio 
transformer 200 to 75 ohm using 4 turn primary and 7 turn on secondary on a 
73-mix FairRite Products 2873000202 core.After I was done I try to see if I 
have enough signal this means: one antenna was approx. 30 meters (100 feet) 
from my house and antenna two approx. 60 meters (200)feet from my house.
At around 1300 local time that is "middle" of the daylight ours and supposing 
the most quite time of day, I did my test. I could see the signal increase on 
my receiver (none NCC/1 connected yet) with approx. 5 to 6 db when I connect 
antenna that was closest to my house and about 4db increase on noise floor on 
antenna that is most further from my house. The different I guess is due to 
local noise from my house and garage.According to ON4UN book, this is a good 
method to use. If you see increase of signal that would normally be enough.
When my Radio is on (SUNSDR pro2) and connected to dummy load I see my noise 
floor at approx. -140dbm. When I connect the NCC-1, my receiver  (no antenna 
connected yet) noise floor increase to approx. -135dbm.
I connected the two antennas on port A and B and using 10 dB preamp on my 
receiver, I then see the same noise floor approx. -135dbm or just a touch of 
signal increase on the noise floor. (internal loss in NCC-1 is around 6 or 7 dB 
I have heard, not tested yet.)Should I make my two receive antenna somewhat 
bigger to get a bit more signal, or is this sufficient. I use one ground rood 
and use two radials that has the same length as the antenna itself. I mad the 
system "portable" so I easy can move the element when I test. My  antenna is 
made with 1.5mm wire and the support is made of 6 meter (20 feet) fiberglass 
fishing rood and 2x2 inch wooden post. Both antenna is feed with approx. 300 
feet of RG6 coax.
When I test the antenna on 80 and 40 meter band it all seems ok but, on 160 I 
haven't got a signal that is weak enough yet :-) The noise floor now in the 
evening is approx. -124dbm   
  
Anyone that have suggestion or comments.
"antennas mounted in bad wheatear do always perform best :-)"
(off course it start to snow that day :-)

73 Rune LA7THA
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Topband: rest wire from beverages still on the cabel reel......

[dl8yhrfrank--- via Topband]

 

 Hi all...
Wondering if annyone ever had same problem and knows if it works ore not
I have several Fileds from differend farmers in use...ometimes i can set 300m 
beverage..sometimes i must short them for few weeks to 200 ore less..
Will it work if i keep the rest wire...maybe 50 to 100mon the cabel reel 
and set the resistor on the end in the time when farmers needs the fields ore 
will this not work?
Annyone may tryed?Wire is isolated wire,,,
Anny Info vy welcome
Vy 73
Frank
DL8YHR

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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[Art Snapper]

Thanks for all the input on this. I am pretty well set up to do non-sync'd
diversity. I need to improve antenna switching though.

My 2.5 acre suburban lot seems to be getting smaller and smaller, while the
neighbors are increasingly convinced that I am nuts.

Art NK8X
ᐧ

On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 11:47 AM, Art Snapper  wrote:

> Do any of you wish to share your methodology on using directional receive
> antennas during a run?
>
> The inverted-L was way too noisy with the lightning static, to hear weak
> and distant stations.
>
> On the other hand, I am sure I missed some stations, by being on the
> wrong-direction receiving antenna at the time they called.
>
> de Art NK8X
>
> ᐧ
> _
> Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
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Re: Topband: rest wire from beverages still on the cabel reel......

[Greg Zenger]

Frank,
he coil of wire on the end will add an inductance...  and terminating to a
resistor at the other end probably wont make a difference.  Basically you
now have an unterminated beverage. It will be bi-directional and the
receiving angle will be higher.

Maybe instead you can strip some insulation off of the wire and ground
(with resistor) before the coil?  I think I would short the coil just to be
safe so leave the end exposed on the reel as you wind up.  Or just cut the
antenna short and splice repair later.

Greg N2GZ



On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 4:15 PM, dl8yhrfrank--- via Topband <
topband@contesting.com> wrote:

>
>
>  Hi all...
> Wondering if annyone ever had same problem and knows if it works ore not
> I have several Fileds from differend farmers in use...ometimes i can set
> 300m beverage..sometimes i must short them for few weeks to 200 ore less..
> Will it work if i keep the rest wire...maybe 50 to 100mon the cabel
> reel and set the resistor on the end in the time when farmers needs the
> fields ore will this not work?
> Annyone may tryed?Wire is isolated wire,,,
> Anny Info vy welcome
> Vy 73
> Frank
> DL8YHR
>
> _
> Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
>
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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[Barry N1EU]

I can't imagine doing a 160M contest WITHOUT dual receive.  With 580ft
two-wire Beverages at right angles, and a foot switch to reverse both of
them, I can easily hear in a 360 degree arc: listen 1-2 sec NW and SW, step
on switch, 1-2 sec NE and SE, call CQ, repeat.  When it's pre-dawn, I
generally only listen NW, SW.

580ft Beverages might give up a bit of ultimate S/N over longer Beverages
but I find them the perfect length to cover 360 degrees like this and also
hear just enough in the reverse direction for me to know there's a caller.

73,
Barry N1EU
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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[Dennis]

Art

I operated the entire Stew with a 160m 4-square antenna, with no 
listening antennas.  One hand on the keyboard,
one hand on the 4-square directional switch.  After every CQ, if a 
signal was not heard using the xmit
direction, the switch was rotated through the other positions to make 
sure I didn't miss anything.  There
were numerous times where a signal would be inaudible in the starting 
direction, but would pop up

to Q5 when the switch was rotated.

The only way I've found not to miss anything is to constantly be 
changing the direction on any

listening antennas that I am using.

Dennis W1UE


On 12/28/2015 11:47 AM, Art Snapper wrote:

Do any of you wish to share your methodology on using directional receive
antennas during a run?

The inverted-L was way too noisy with the lightning static, to hear weak
and distant stations.

On the other hand, I am sure I missed some stations, by being on the
wrong-direction receiving antenna at the time they called.

de Art NK8X

ᐧ
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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[nn4t]

Good morning Art. I have used the AY Technologies 8 position switch. I can 
instantly switch between any of the 8 beverages and can also select any two 
simultaneously. I use this more for DXing than contesting but it seems to work 
well for me. Best, Steve NN4T 

- Original Message -

From: "Merv Schweigert"  
To: topband@contesting.com 
Sent: Monday, December 28, 2015 12:06:13 PM 
Subject: Re: Topband: directional receive and contests 

Agree with Jim, Eric hears me when most others have their "ears" super 
glued 
to EU and never change directions. 

The best station I have ever worked was K9DX when he had up his arrays 
and remote 
set ups, he would hear me before my sunset and come back with the 
transmit array 
my direction with S9 signals, 
I dont know how he switched receive arrays but he could be working EU 
and with my one 
call come back to my weak signal. I could call an hour and others 
would never listen 
this direction. 
I have heard a thousand excuses as to why etc, but it all comes down to 
operator 
ability, so kudos to these guys who have the hardware and know how to 
use it. 

73 Merv K9FD/KH6 

> On Mon,12/28/2015 9:18 AM, Eric NO3M wrote: 
>> What I have found to work well 
> 
> Pay attention to everything Eric says, and take a look at his web page 
> showing his RX antenna farm. Eric consistently has the best ears on 
> the band! In the 4-5 years I've been working QRP on 160M, only once 
> has Eric failed to hear me, and he usually hears me within the first 
> 15-20 seconds that I begin calling. And I'm nearly always in the 
> direction opposite from the dominant opening to his QTH. He's the only 
> guy that far east I can work mid-evening -- for everyone else, I must 
> wait for late evening and sunrise openings. 
> 
> 73, Jim K9YC 
> _ 
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> 

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Re: Topband: beverage resistors at Mouser.com

[Jorge Diez CX6VM]

Thanks all for the help, very useful information

 

Happy New Year!

 

73,

Jorge

CX6VM/CW5W

 

De: Mike Waters [mailto:mikew...@gmail.com] 
Enviado el: lunes, 28 de diciembre de 2015 03:15 p.m.
Para: Jorge Diez CX6VM
CC: topband
Asunto: Re: Topband: beverage resistors at Mouser.com

 

Jorge,

Those might work, although they might be inductive (but probably not enough to 
matter at 160m) and might not have the surge rating that the Ohmite OY 
resistors have. But I am not sure.

The ones below are the ones everyone uses. However, the 2W 470 ohm type OY 
appear to be out of stock. The ones below should work fine. 


588-OY-470-E 

 

588-OY-390-E 

 

588-OX-470-E 

 

73, Mike

www.w0btu.com

 

On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 11:31 AM, Jorge Diez CX6VM  
wrote:

I am looking for beverage resistors, I think 470 ohms 2 watts will be OK, right?

In mouser.com I found 660-MOS2CT52R471J  and 660-MOS2C471J

Which one is better? Or maybe another part number that you know?

 



---
El software de antivirus Avast ha analizado este correo electrónico en busca de 
virus.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[Mike Waters]

Hello Art,

No matter what we do, there will always be people that just don't
understand us. People who think that "that ham over there" is the cause of
all their problems, real or imagined.

If we worry about what our neighbors might think, it'll simply detract from
the perfectly legal right --and fun-- we have of enjoying ourselves on 160.

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer had some unparalleled advice for us
'what-will-people-think' worriers in his best-selling books *Pulling Your
Own Strings* and *Your Erroneous Zones*. To say that those two books had a
very positive influence in my life is a gross understatement. And anyone
who frets and worries about what others might think of them should get them
PRONTO at their local public library.
This is all I could find just now:
www.habitsforwellbeing.com/what-will-other-people-think-of-me/ but those
books are far better.

73, Mike
www.w0btu.com


On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 3:58 PM, Art Snapper  wrote:

> ... I need to improve antenna switching though.
> My 2.5 acre suburban lot seems to be getting smaller and smaller, while
> the neighbors are increasingly convinced that I am nuts.
>
_
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Re: Topband: directional receive and contests

[Richard (Rick) Karlquist]

On 12/28/2015 9:37 AM, Jim Brown wrote:


YES! Listen for more than 2 seconds after a CQ. It's really a bummer to
call a station who has started CQing again before you've sent half of
your callsign once! Switch directions often. Study propagation and try
listening in different directions.

73, Jim K9YC


Very annoying, even for guys with short calls like Jim and me.
I don't know what the guys with 2x3 calls do.  A 2 second
interval doesn't make sense in the SP where you don't have
to worry as much about losing your run frequency as in perhaps
a major contest.  (SP is the BEST contest, but not the BIGGEST
contest:-).

To expand on what Jim said:

I set my auto CQ at 5 or 6 seconds, not 2 seconds.  Nevertheless,
a significant number of times per contest, I get a caller who
waits 5 seconds before calling.  I get 1 or 2 letters then the
auto CQ starts up and covers him up.  I get the impression that
these guys are waiting to make sure no one else is calling me
to make their move.  If not that, they are just clueless.  The
only legitimate reason for doing this is that you just tuned
me in and are typing my call into your dupe checker and you
are a VERY slow typist.  (4 characters in 5 seconds?).  Even
then, better to wait for the next CQ or just send "?" so I
know you are there.  When rates are low, like 10 per hour,
it is too fatiguing to keep 1 finger on the escape key at
all times.

OTOH, I run VOX (aka KOX) as opposed to break in or a foot switch.
(I am still running a very antique rig, an FT1000 (no suffix).
The break in CW has weight errors at contest speeds.)  There is
a slight (very slight) time delay before I hear.  It is a
big time waster when some eager beaver can't wait 100 milliseconds
to start calling and I don't copy the first letter of his call.
Half the time when I ask for a fill, he does it again and I
still don't get the first letter.  I've had to deal with these
guys by sending whatever remnant of their call I can copy
and then they will correct me.  More time wasted.
I never respond to a station instantly like that, but instead
wait just a tenth of a second or two.

Rick N6RK
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