I've been thinking hard about the new SteppIR 4 element yagi for my station in Boonville. I did a bit of quick analysis of the antenna, and wrote it up on my website. If you have any interest, go to
Joe, I designed and built a rotatable dipole for 40 meters that was about what you want. I used ~35' elements (about full size 20 meter length), with 6' diameter 8 spoke capacity hats with a perimete
I'm planning to install a Channel Master pushup mast (with stinger on top) as a vertical antenna for 160 meters. The mast is steel, and about 2.5" in diameter at the base. It will be guyed. I have tw
This isn't strictly speaking a tower question, because it deals with the inside of my shack. But I think that the folks with the answers are likely to hang out here :-) My shack consists, literally,
Does anyone know if the MFJ-259B analyzer can charge nickel metal hydride batteries with its internal charger, or if I have to use Nickel cadmium ones? The manual is ambiguous. Thanks! **dan, K6IF Re
There have been a few requests over the years for information on designing and building a rotatable dipole for forty meters. I built such an antenna a few years back and was very happy with it, so I
Interesting thread - a couple of thoughts to add. 1) Keep in mind that even if you are trying to maximize stacking again, you can be out of phase by 20-30 degrees and still get acceptable results. Yo
While we are on the topic to tower safety, let me make my regularly scheduled plug for a permanent safety system on your tower. This can be as simple as a 3/8" galvanized steel cable that is well anc
I did a fairly detailed computer model study of these two antennae, looking at gain in particular. You can read it at http://www.k6if.com/ . My summary was that even with fixed element spacing, the 4
A rational discussion about interesting antenna issues is the point of this reflector, isn't it? A bit of honest disagreement is a feature, not a bug. I think the answer basically boils down to this:
Jim Lux had a number of theoretically interesting comments on the Array Solutions app note that suggests checking the phase of two antennae using an oscilloscope. Since I actually used this technique
In the past, I have used aluminum "welds" (actually brazes, using a propane torch system) to attach capacity hat rods to aluminum tubing for my 40 meter yagi. The brazes are cracking, resulting in lo
The "obvious way", assuming that you want it aligned with a face of the tower: - Buy an aluminum plate ~6" wide by 24" long. At each end, drill two holes (one above the other) to mount a u-bolt suit
I would characterize climbing Trylon Titan towers (with L shaped members and open U shaped legs) as somewhat less easy and comfortable than climbing Rohn type towers with tubular members, but not una
I'm planning to install a vertical for 160, and want the bandwidth to be as wide as possible. The easiest way to make bandwidth go up is to make conductor "thickness" go up - i.e. to use bigger wire
I am in the process of moving my tower, which requires me to re-cable the feedlines. The new runs will be roughly 400', and I think I am going to use LDF5-50A Heliax. The question is how to run the c
I am in the process of moving my tower, and re-cabling the feedlines. I am going to use surplus 3/4" CATV hardline for the two feedlines, each about 350' long. I will need to splice one line (I only
Yes, before anyone says it, I do know the LXC prime directive. Now that we have that out of the way, does anyone have any experience or (PE informed) advice on the topic of using some kind of fiber a