WV hifer heard
On 6/1 about 09:30 local, I copied WV 539 wid QSB on ~13.556 MHz. No other signals heard, just the usual hash and crud. 69 BY Beacon on 13555.6 KHz
later, Sal
Posted by EdWSlidell, LA on June 01, 2010 at 14:51:17.
Hearing the 69 BY beacon on 13555.6 KHz, at present time, 2140 UT, 1 June, 2010. Very strong, around 579, better than S3/S4 on the R-5000 S-meter. Same info sequence as noted in earlier post. Have never heard a beacon this strong before. Noted before to some extent, and more so now is a slight 'beat' when the signal characters are dashes,and the during long dash at the beginning. It is probably only 5 Hz or so, like two carriers are being keyed at the same time. Similar to the SAC beacons using two carriers to get the modulating tone for their beacon ID, but only noticeable as a slight beat here due to the close frequencies(?). Ed EM50cq
ARO Beacon NONOP
Posted by NU4G on June 03, 2010 at 02:36:16.
The ARO HiFer beacon that I operated in Manchester, TN has been down since 2007, when we started preparing for a move to Murfreesboro. I'll put something up here eventually. I was given the most wonderful HiFer beacon, hand-built by Mr Graham, "HI" himself. That will be what I will use. My current QTH is so RF noisy I probably couldn't hear my own beacon from the back of the lot to the top of the house, and have not monitored much radio at all since the move.
Lots of dedication was put into that piece of equipment. The galvanized chassis is cut and bent, by hand. All adjustments/knobs are marked with a brass plate with hand-stamped info. Every single thing that could be built by hand of recycled materials *was*
It consists of several individual hand-crafted sections the main transmitter, antenna matching unit, field-striength meter and a built-from-scratch pin-programmable IDer (driven by a clock motor, it looks like) It is, he said in his writings, an exact copy of the "HI" beacon. And yes, all have hand-stamped brass plates identifying everything.
It's quite a piece of equipment! Though I said "wonderful" above, it's not the prettiest thing to look at, but it is an example of electronic and mechanical craftsmanship that I had sadly though was "lost to the sands of time" long ago. The attention to detail is like nothing I have ever seen, the fabrication is superb if not outright astounding. It even taught me a thing or two about general metal fabrication...
Does anyone know of his status? Is he still with us? Since the move I've not had any sort of radio on to listen for "HI" If someone knows of his health status, please get in touch with me asap? I know he's out in the middle of nowhere, with no phone, etc. at least so I've heard...
73 all
Tom Norris NU4G
Re: ARO Beacon NONOP
Posted by Paul on June 03, 2010 at 12:04:33.
In reply to ARO Beacon NONOP posted by NU4G on June 03, 2010
Sounds awesome, Tom!
Pictures? Please???
Re: ARO Beacon NONOP
Posted by Sal, K1RGO on June 03, 2010 at 13:51:37.
In reply to ARO Beacon NONOP posted by NU4G on June 03, 2010
Hi Tom , Re: 69 BY Beacon on 13555.6 KHz
The last time I heard HI hifer was around Jan. this year, last year his medfer HI was last heard. He is local to me ~20 miles away. I gave him a visit in spring of 2008 also.
I haven't heard back from him the last time I sent him snail mail last summer either. He has no phone , I guess becuz he is hard of hearing, no computer for emailing,so he's quite isolated. The only way to check his status is to give him a visit.If I go hiking at Webb mountain I may pay him a visit, thats what I did last time.
later...Sal
Posted by DAVIDG on June 08, 2010 at 13:58:59.
In reply to 69 BY Beacon on 13555.6 KHz posted by EdWSlidell, LA on June 01, 2010
fair copy today. 2055z 8 june 2010.
antenna hytower rig ft920
locator is fm15mm Washington, NC.
also EH is fair.
NDB HiFer copied
Posted by Paul on June 09, 2010 at 10:44:02.
Have a 519 copy on NDB HiFer right now in California.
Receiver is R-390A Re: NDB HiFer copied
Antenna is 160 foot inverted L
Posted by Paul on June 09, 2010 at 11:02:11.
In reply to NDB HiFer copied posted by Paul on June 09, 2010
And, just like that, it was gone. It was as if someone just hit the 'OFF' switch. No fade out, just stopped.
Weird.
Paul Re: 69 BY Beacon on 13555.6 KHz
K6FRC
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on June 10, 2010 at 20:24:21.
In reply to Re: 69 BY Beacon on 13555.6 KHz posted by DAVIDG on June 08, 2010
An additional note to DAVIDG 's posting. I heard the 69 BY station again, this past weekend, around 00-0100 UT. However, it was a voice/USB transmission, on 13555.5 KHz, ID'ing as Six Nine Bravo Yankee 50179 ( not exactly sure about the last numbers). Language was English, and I'm almost certain the ID was preceeded by a CQ call. Other transmissions were also on the frequency, in Spanish or Portugese possibly, perhaps associated with the 69 BY. All weak, 3 x 3 at best. Maybe not a normal HiFer station. Other than this only WV and EH have been heard with very weak signals, and for only very short periods, as noted elsewhere by Paul. Ed EM50cg.
WV and GNK Beacons 12 June, 2010
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on June 11, 2010 at 18:43:22.
Hearing beacons WV about 2/3-3-9 and GNK about 3-4-9, with some atmospheric noise crashes, and minimal local noise. Just appeared around 0130 UT, 12 June, 2010. perhaps coincident with post sunset effects. Ed EM50cg
Hifer Nc Received in Southern WV/w4dex email?
Posted by Matt Burns on June 12, 2010 at 15:19:11.
At 6:00 pm local time here in Rock, Wv I am receiving hifer nc square wave fsk, I have many excellent screenshots but I am unable to get them to dex as neither the email listed on the operator list or qrz appear to be current. Does anybody know a current email address?
73's, Re: Hifer Nc Received in Southern WV/w4dex email?
Matt Burns
kc8com
Posted by Webmaster on June 12, 2010 at 21:28:17.
In reply to Hifer Nc Received in Southern WV/w4dex email? posted by Matt Burns on June 12, 2010
Don't want to put unencoded e-mail addresses within messages here. That's a guarantee they will be harvested by spammers.
According to Dex's Web site, the address we have listed for him in the Operator Contact List is still current. However, I'll keep checking.
Re: Hifer Nc Received in Southern WV/w4dex email?
Posted by Paul on June 13, 2010 at 18:15:13.
In reply to Re: Hifer Nc Received in Southern WV/w4dex email? posted by Webmaster on June 12, 2010
I noticed that the email address in that list for me is incorrect. I appreciate reception reports to the P.O. box much more anyway. No stamp or SASE necessary, I am glad to QSL anyone who copies any of my beacons and takes the time to send me a QSL via mail. It is a sincere PLEASURE to mail them a QSL card in return!
Re: Hifer Nc Received in Southern WV/w4dex email?
Posted by Webmaster on June 13, 2010 at 23:32:03.
In reply to Re: Hifer Nc Received in Southern WV/w4dex email? posted by Paul on June 13, 2010
"I noticed that the email address in that list for me is incorrect."
We can only go by what folks tell us or put in their messages; that's why we remind people to check their listings every so often and update their information. Consider the defective e-mail address gone.
John
Re: Hifer Nc Received in Southern WV/w4dex email?
Posted by Paul on June 14, 2010 at 07:34:52.
In reply to Re: Hifer Nc Received in Southern WV/w4dex email? posted by Webmaster on June 13, 2010
Most excellent advice. Thank you!
WMS Beacon
Posted by FWD: Paul k5wms on June 16, 2010 at 17:00:55.
WMS beacon was repaired today. Back on with full power.
185.3018khz. qrss30 24/7
Reports welcome.
Oklahoma Lowfers
Posted by Conrad Warren on June 18, 2010 at 12:59:23.
Ahoy Oklahoma Lowfers! I would appreciate any Oklahoma Lowfer operators/listeners sending me an e-mail, so we could arrange some transmission tests, if they are interested in spending a little time to do some listening and/or transmitting and maybe some QSO's if possible. I live near Slaughterville, Ok and am currently operating "T" at 1 watt, on 175 khz. Thanks! Conrad
FRC in Maine
Posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on June 19, 2010 at 18:21:32.
Had weak copy of Hifer FRC tonight at 0030Z on 13565.05 kHz from our summer place in Raymond, ME (FN43sv). I heard one ID completely clearly by ear, but others could be picked out of a highly-filtered recording. Good DX!
John Andrews, W1TAG
Re: FRC in Maine
Posted by Paul on June 19, 2010 at 22:15:29.
In reply to FRC in Maine posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on June 19, 2010
Very nice, John! Thank you for the report!
I will gladly QSL if you like. Re: FRC in Maine
Posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on June 20, 2010 at 06:51:04.
In reply to Re: FRC in Maine posted by Paul on June 19, 2010
Paul,
No need for a QSL. Am running out of push-pins on the bulletin board!
John, W1TAG
[Hifer] Heard in Maine
Posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on June 20, 2010 at 06:59:40.
Copied the following in Raymond, ME this weekend:
MP in QRSS3 on 13555.40.
NC in QRSS3 square wave on 13555.46.
WV in CW on 13555.80.
SZX in CW on 13562.95.
FRC in CW on 13565.05 (weak, but copied by ear)
EH in CW on 13557.08.
GNK in CW on 13563.99.
Conditions were the best thus far this year. The range from 13599 through 13561 was a mass of carriers - some strong. Probably represents the front door scanners of every Wal-Mart from coast to coast! Anyway, anyone running a beacon +/-1.5 kHz of 13560 would be at a disadvantage when conditions are good.
Anyway, of the "simple" modes, QRSS3 seems to do the best up here.
John, W1TAG
Beacon status
Posted by Andy - Beacon - XR on June 22, 2010 at 10:05:36.
Hi all: I thought it at the least, appropriate to post a message about Beacon " XR ". It is, and will be off the air on a T.F.N. basis, Due to some recent circumstances beyond my control. " IF !!! " and that's a mighty big IF; the circumstances permit; I do have the hope of trying to get it back on the air maybe this fall. Only time will tell. 73 to all, and I hope you have a good summer. Andy - Beacon " XR " Friendsville, TN. EM75xr
RIX HiFer Down
Posted by Rob Steiger on June 30, 2010 at 04:56:14.
RIX HiFer is down due to lightening strike at the TX site. A number of systems were disturbed there. I hope to have it back up soon. Rob
Re: RIX HiFer Down
Posted by Paul on June 30, 2010 at 09:35:46.
In reply to RIX HiFer Down posted by Rob Steiger on June 30, 2010
Good luck, Rob!
May I suggest installing a Polyphaser? I use them on all of my hilltop sites. Had plenty of lightning activity, and even direct strikes to the towers, and no equipment damage. Everything just stays on the air.
Re: RIX HiFer Down
Posted by Rob Steiger on July 01, 2010 at 15:04:49.
In reply to Re: RIX HiFer Down posted by Paul on June 30, 2010
Had one on it, I can see where the pic has a crack in it. We lost tower lights, the tx remote, and some ghz link stuff. Oh well... thanks for the thought Paul.
Rob
Re: RIX HiFer Down
Posted by Paul on July 01, 2010 at 22:55:01.
In reply to Re: RIX HiFer Down posted by Rob Steiger on July 01, 2010
Ouch!!!!
Texas making the trip
Posted by Lee on July 10, 2010 at 21:37:48.
WEB in Texas seems to be making it out. Don't forget to look for those other western beacons. SMV and JAM in CA. Thanks.
Construction of a new antenna at " XR "
Posted by Andy - Beacon - XR on July 19, 2010 at 07:51:52.
Hi All:
" XR " has been off the air for awhile now due to a number of reasons,
one being the antenna. I am in the process of replacing it, and I hope with another antenna that will at least be in the same state performance
wise as the old one. I spent more hours than I can count on that antenna,
and it was a performer, but extremely " High Maintenance " I was always
doing something to keep it up in the air. I used a lot of skyline to keep
the top hat up, and tight, and was constantly replacing a run that broke
and could be as long as 200 feet. I finally grew tired of the
" maintenance efforts " and when the going on 3 years old " temporary " antenna began to sway, and bend over from UV exposure; I knew it was time
to either quit,or put up another antenna, and this time try to make it
more permanent.
So, with some help, I finally got the old antenna took down. And I started
constructing another one. This antenna will have a " square " top hat
using 10 foot cross arms with a 3 foot vertical pipe for tensioning the
cross arms and keep them from drooping. Everything that will be up there
will be copper, except for the PVC cross arms. It has 24 horizontal wires,
each side being 5 foot in length, with a total from tip to tip of 10 feet.
and the tensioning is done by 10 foot sections of wire running up at a
45 degree angle, and thru a hole in the top of the vertical pipe, over to
the other cross arm. I have a total of 8 sloping wires in the tensioning
section of the top hat. So all together, there is 32 wires, at 5 foot
length, and a circumference wire around the cross arms in the form of a
square. This job I soldered, ( no twisting of wires together ) I want this
one to stay up for a long time. I know there will start to be some sag as
the copper wire stretches, but I can deal with that. The masting this time
will be 2 inch, schedule #80 UV resistant PVC ( grey ) and a repaired
" A " Frame wooden mast that I hope to add about 4 extra feet to. This
will get the top at 32 feet AGL.
I am still in the thinking process on how to feed the top hat. A single
wire drop lead, or maybe a 2 wire drop lead, spaced about 6 inches apart
with plastic spacers ( sorta look like a ladder ) and joined together for
a single wire feeder at the bottom, and going to the loading coil. A wild
thought has occured; I have pondered on covering the 2 inch PVC with
conductive aluminum tape such as the kind used in HVAC work. I don't know,
would this in essence then become a 2 inch aluminum mast ??? It may not
make one Iota of difference in performance, but other than the $ 8.00 for
the roll of tape; I don't see how it could hurt...Definitely a curious
thought on that one. Bonding of dissimmilar metals would be an issue there.
This antenna when finished, will be 35 feet from the end of the feedline
to the outer tip of the top hat, so it will be 13 feet shorter in wire
length than the previous antenna was at 48 feet. I had a mammouth top hat
on the old antenna with 13 wires at 18 foot in length. I hope the accepted
thought of many more short wires will out perform a few long wires.
This all remains to be seen if I eventually get the antenna up. Where I may
have a bust for an antenna will be; for the same height above ground, the
top hat will be less than 1/3rd the size of the old antenna, and I hate to
say it, but this will be the best I can do, and keep it to a one man job.
And as age continues to creep on, those jobs are getting smaller in size...
Well, here's to hoping that when finished, the thing will radiate a signal
past the end of the driveway..... I hope everyone is having a good summer,
73 to all for now :
Andy - KU4XR - EM75xr - Friendsville, TN. USA LFE website update
LOWfer Beacon " XR " @ 185.29875 KHz ( QRSS-60 ) - TEMPORARILY OFF
Coordinates: N: 35º 43' 54" - W: 84º 3' 16"
Posted by Sal, K1RGO on July 19, 2010 at 15:23:37.
FYI,LF Engineering has updated the website check it out at lfengineering.com, Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR "
a resource page has been added and should contain alot of info in the future.
later ...Sal
Posted by Douglas Williams on July 24, 2010 at 05:36:01.
In reply to Construction of a new antenna at " XR " posted by Andy - Beacon - XR on July 19, 2010
Hey Andy. Wow, that should be a great antenna when you are finished! The bug has bit me again and I have my receiving station all set up. Since we are approx 110 miles apart, I should be able to give you some useful signal reports. I remember being able to copy your old setup day or night on QRSS.
My coordinates: 36 22 17 N / 82 15 38 W
-Doug
Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR "
Posted by Andy - Beacon - XR on July 25, 2010 at 11:33:52.
In reply to Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR " posted by Douglas Williams on July 24, 2010
Hey Doug : Nice to hear from you, Yeah, I'm still piddlin around with this lowFER stuff. Projects go kinda slow at times, especially antenna projects. It's very hot everywhere, and so I do a little here, and a little there. I'll eventually get the new antenna up. I'm not really thrilled about it, but it was a " have to " case. I'm not convinced that the new antenna will perform as well as the old one, even though it will be 6 feet higher in the air at the top hat. The biggest reason I feel that it won't perform as well is that the top hat went from 18-1/2 feet, down to 5 feet, so I will have much less influence from the capacitance it adds to the antenna, and raising the top hat up another 6 feet will lower its capacitance to ground too. So it remains to be seen how well it will perform. I am going to try adding an elevated loading coil about 10 feet below the top hat to try to improve the antenna efficiency as much as I can. I'll be posting when I get it finished, and back on the air, and we'll see how it goes from there. 73 to you: Andy - Beacon " XR " - Friendsville, TN.- EM75xr
Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR "
Posted by Douglas Williams on July 25, 2010 at 18:16:13.
In reply to Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR " posted by Andy - Beacon - XR on July 25, 2010
Interesting. I have read various reports over the years on whether or not an elevated loading coil does any good on extremely short antennas like our lowfer transmitting antennas. It will be interesting to see/hear your experiences. Elevated coils certainly present practical construction difficulties. Heh, regarding your old antenna, you were basically feeding a giant capacitor! It worked great though. I think I still have some screenshots of my Argo copies of your beacon on Photobucket.
Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR "
Posted by John Davis on July 26, 2010 at 09:12:24.
In reply to Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR " posted by Andy - Beacon - XR on July 25, 2010
Good luck with the project, Andy.
Just a few thoughts, in case they may help. Increasing the vertical height of the antenna is generally a good thing, as that's where the current flow causes radiation; but I believe a six foot increase in height won't be enough to offset the reduced current resulting from the 13 foot decrease in top hat diameter.
Also, I'd be careful about about locating a loading coil too near the top hat. The higher you go with the coil, the less capacitance to ground exists above it, so the value of L has to be greater the higher you go. And, there is a certain point at which the portion of the antenna above the inductor will be "seeing" more capacitance to the part of the antenna just below the coil than it does to ground. It is possible to accidentally resonate L with that value of C, and effectively "pinch" the top hat out of the flow of antenna current.
For electrically VERY short antennas, the best results I have seen obtained with elevated loading coils were when they were placed between a third and a half of the way up the vertical run.
I will try to add a couple of drawings later to illustrate what I mean.
John MedFER temporarily down
Posted by Domenic on July 27, 2010 at 16:15:42.
Hello All, Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR "
I just wanted to let everyone know that my MedFER beacon on 1704.3 KHz is temporarily down. It seems to of picked up a bad chirp and I don't wish to transmit with this problem. The transmitter is a AM88 that I have had for some time. I will order a Epson oscillator for the same frequency and build a home brew MedFER beacon using a single p2n2222a transistor. I will let LWCA and all know as soon as it's built, tested and running.
73, Domenic KC9GNK (GNK)
Posted by Andy - XR on July 28, 2010 at 16:15:22.
In reply to Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR " posted by John Davis on July 26, 2010
Hi John: Thank you for your input, it is much needed. I don't like the fact of " having to " take down the old antenna, but that's what it was. The short top hat is as you mentioned, definitely a drawback. I hope to overcome it with the elevated loading coil. Unfortunately, there just ain't no books on many subjects for LF, so you kinda go it alone, and draw from others experiences. The closest modeling, and real world data is from mobile antenna on 160 meters. The general consensus there is to place the coil between 2/3rds, and 3/4ths the way up the radiator, and NOT directly below the top hat for the exact reasons you mentioned. On the coil size; For LF, most information seems to fall into the twice as round, as it is long. So for a 10 inch diameter paint bucket, the length of the coil winding should be around 5 inches. Using #14 awg wire, that won't give but around 400µH of Inductance, and that's not much, so will it actually make a difference in pulling the current up the radiator. No one seems to have an answer on; " how much Inductance does the elevated coil need to be effective ?? " One operator abroad said that at least 1/3rd of the total Inductance needed to resonate the antenna would need to be in the elevated coil for it to really affect the circuit. So far, no one has given me any other information to go on. That amount would probably fall around 1 to 1.3 MilliHenries, and I would need about 10 inches of coil length to get close to that. I looked at Lyles " LEK " Flat Top, and he had around 800 or so Microhenries in his coil, but with a " BIG " top hat. So my figures may be reasonably close. If I am able to get the thing up in the air. While I still have it on the ground, I can add 4 more feet to the height, and put the top hat at 40 feet AGL ( not counting the 3 foot vertical pipe for tensioning the crossarms ), and I can possibly add about 3 feet to each crossarm for an 8 foot top hat, and 40 feet of radiator. That will put me right at the limit, and I hope I can get it in the air. I don't like to say it, but I am afraid that after all this effort, time, and money, that I may be putting up a giant " Dummy Load "... Construction is going slow, due to my search for information that I can settle my mind on, and the stiffling heat. But I hope to have it up within the next few weeks.,,,, 73 to all: Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR "
Andy - XR
Posted by John Davis on July 28, 2010 at 23:02:15.
In reply to Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR " posted by Andy - XR on July 28, 2010
Wish I could get enough time to finish and post the drawings I mentioned, as they might help with your deliberations. Meanwhile, I'll have to try to describe what I'm talking about. The reasons for elevating the loading coil are a little different for super-short LF antennas than they are for only moderately-short MF antennas.
In the usual situation, one attempts to achieve resonance of the extremely short vertical with a loading coil at the base. The transmitter side of that coil is at a relatively low potential to ground, and very low impedance with respect to ground. The inductive reactance needs to equal the capacitive reactance of the antenna with respect to ground, in which case you achieve resonance. The antenna side of that coil (and indeed, the entire antenna itself) is at high potential and high impedance with respect to ground.
Because of that high potential, the lower parts of the antenna are free to couple to the ground and any nearby objects with impunity. That has two consequences: (1) the current flowing in the upper parts of the antenna is reduced by the amount coupled to ground, and (2) lossy vegetation, building materials, etc., will be intercepting more of that current, increasing earth losses.
If you elevate the loading coil, the part of the antenna below the coil is at a lower potential and there is less coupling to nearby objects, so more of the current makes it higher into the antenna where it will do you some good, radiationally. But where you can inductively load the upper portion of a moderately-short MF antenna for enhanced current distribution more than for resonance because the required inductive reactance is much lower for resonance in any case, at LF you're better off concentrating on resonance. That means having SOME loading up the antenna is not nearly as effective as having MOST of your inductor up there. But there's a big practical drawback in trying to do that.
While you can indeed achieve good results with a 160m whip loaded higher up, the required inductor sizes become totally impractical if you go very high at LF. Remember, as you insert the coil higher up the vertical run, there is less capacitance to ground on the "high" side of the coil, so the inductive reactance has to be correspondingly greater if you're going to achieve resonance. That becomes very hard to do at LF!
Consider: Depending on the extent of your top hat, a very good antenna may require 800 uH up to over 3 mH to resonate--from ground level!
Now, think about putting that coil halfway up your antenna. It now has well under half, up to maybe around half (again, very much depending on the extent of your top hat) of the original capacitance to ground to work with, requiring a MUCH bigger coil than if it were at the base!
OK, you may think, what if I put half of my coil at the base and half somewhere up the tower. Well, half won't quite do it, for the same reason the elevated loading coil has to be bigger to achieve resonance. Plus, if you distribute your tank coil in this way, you eliminate on of the advantages of elevating the loading coil. The part of the antenna that's right above the base is still going to be at a pretty high potential to ground. You will be putting in a lot of extra work on coils that can be mounted up the antenna, but for diminishing returns, since they will have to be physically and electrically large to have much effect way up there anyhow. You can improve the shape of the current distribution a little, but you will make it harder to achieve the same antenna current in the first place. What you will gain in cutting ground loss will more likely be offset by increased coil losses.
My own thinking for my own fall project is this. I plan to elevate the greater part of my tank/loading coil, but only to the 8 or 10 foot level. This puts the lowest, most critical part of my vertical run at low potential to ground; leaves the inductor within reasonable height to tune into the ballpark without great effort; and means it won't have to be more than about 25% larger than if it were at the base.
The physical size of a whip at 160 m makes it practical to go for the full benefits of current distribution with elevated loading, in other words; but at 1750 m, I think it's more sensible to go with reducing ground losses while keeping inductor losses low, and leaving the task of current redistribution for the top hat to handle.
(FWIW, I'm even considering ferrite cores to reduce the need for a deluxe mega-coil. I'm asking myself whether accepting a "mere" Q of 250-300, rather than holding out for 400+, is really going to be a problem. If I were in a position to put in a deluxe ground system this year too, maybe I'd try for one of the splendid helixes such as the hardcore builders construct so beautifully. But in my real-world installation this time around, coil losses probably won't be the biggest factor...especially not if I can put a good top hat up to keep the inductance down.)
73 Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR "
John
Posted by John Davis on July 28, 2010 at 23:04:48.
In reply to Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR " posted by John Davis on July 28, 2010
Wow, a lot of typos and run-on sentences in there. Sorry. That's what I get for trying to type at this hour. I'll try for more clarity later.
John
Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR "
Posted by Lee on July 28, 2010 at 23:46:17.
In reply to Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR " posted by John Davis on July 28, 2010
Don't worry about the run on sentences. This is about good info not english 101. That was a great expanation of the ground mounted versus elevated mounted loading coils. That has inspired me to work out how to mount my coil at roof line level about 8 feet up from the base for beacon JAM 188khz.
Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR "
Posted by Andy - XR on July 29, 2010 at 07:32:32.
In reply to Re: Construction of a new antenna at " XR " posted by Lee on July 28, 2010
I agree with Lee, that was really a very " Understandable " write up John. Antennas are the most difficult to deal with when you are trying for efficiency. And the Math - - OHHHH the math - - Well, it's gotta be there, but that is usually where it scares the Buh-Geeburs out of people. A good old down to earth, in plain english explanation, using understandable terms as you just did, makes it a whole lot easier to understand " WHY " without the confusion. It may not satisfy the purist, but it will sure help the newcomer. Thank for your sleepy eyed time, 73, and have a great day. Final design for new antenna at Beacon - XR
Andy - Beacon " XR " Friendsville, TN. EM75xr
Posted by Andy - XR on July 30, 2010 at 09:22:42.
Hello fellow LF'ers:
After quite a bit of deliberation, I have finally decided on the final design for the new antenna for Beacon " XR ". The new antenna is a necessity because it must be self supporting with the exception of the guy ropes. I started running into some problems with the utility Co. by using the power poles to tie my twine to , to be able to hold the top hat up. They told me I can't use their poles due to liability issues. Makes sense... and I had some of the twine running over pine branches, and so I was constantly having to put lines back up because of breaks. The sun wasn't very kind to the twine either. Using all the advice, and available info. I could get, I have finally decided to go with a 40 foot mast, made of wood, and schedule 40 PVC. Stuff that I either had on hand, or could be bought very inexpensively. The vertical part of the radiator will be 35 feet in length, with 5 feet turning horizontal, and coming into the window to the loading coil. The horizontal section will 5 feet above the ground. For the time being, I have opted to stay with the base mounted loading coil/variometer. The elevated coil, if done right, presents many constructional, and tuning difficulties. I won't rule out the possibility of an elevated coil at a later time though..... The top hat will be a 9 foot in length " semi - circle " similar to the old antenna I had, only half the size. The old top hat was 18 1/2 feet in length and had 13 wires in it. On the 9 foot top hat, I will be using most likely number 18 insulated wire from a bunch of rotator cable I have on hand, and will put as many wires in the perimeter as I possibly can to try and get the capacitance to ground as high as possible. I'm going to try for 32 wires. I will use a # 10 bare wire for the perimeter wire. It will be easy to solder the smaller wires to. I will use 3 - 10 foot lengths of 1/2 inch schedule 40 PVC to hold up the top hat, and a 3 foot vertical pipe with tensioning wires to help keep wire sag to a minimum. It will look like a big fan standing up there. That is, If I can get it stood up there to begin with. I plan to guy it at about 36 feet, that is where a pipe joint will be at, and I hope this will help to minimize shaking at the joint from wind. The wooden " A " frame will be secured to the side of my mobile home. So, in comparison, The old antenna was 30 feet AGL, the new one will be 40 feet AGL. The old top hat was 18 - 1/2 feet long, and the new one will be 9 feet long. So, I am gaining 10 feet in height, but loosing 9 - 1/2 feet in top hat. The overall antenna length will still be the same 49 feet, +/- an inch or two. The new antenna will be a little less obtrusive to the surroundings, and thus hopefully draw less attention. I have all the materials on hand, and now comes the slow process of working in the heat, and putting it together in small portions. I will not be able to attach the top hat, and the radiator wire until I am ready to raise the antenna into position. I hope to put this antenna together in such a manner that it will be able to stay up for a few years, but that may be wishful thinking though. Wind, and weather do take their toll.
I hope everyone has a great day; 73 to all :
Andy - KU4XR - EM75xr - Friendsville, TN. USA
LOWfer Beacon " XR " @ 185.29875 KHz ( QRSS-60 )
*** Temporarily OFF, while constructing a new antenna ***
Coordinates: N: 35º 43' 54" - W: 84º 3' 16" Re: Final design for new antenna at Beacon - XR
Posted by Douglas Williams on July 30, 2010 at 13:50:29.
In reply to Final design for new antenna at Beacon - XR posted by Andy - XR on July 30, 2010
Andy, if you need a "strong back and a weak mind" I can probably spare a Saturday to make the drive and help you get this project up in the air sometime in the next couple of months. Just let me know....
potrzebie