Good question and I wondered the same thing. Firstly not "implying" that at all. It comes down to mass and surface area. The problem with steel, iron, etc. is when you have a lot of RF current over
This got me reading (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferromagnetism) and I must state that I was mistaken about nickel, which of course is part of AlNiCo speaker magnets for one thing. I apologize and
Are you sure you want to homebrew a vacuum tube _transceiver?_ How about starting with a separate transmitter and receiver? A tube CW transmitter for 160 is certainly feasible. A transceiver is too i
I've never understood what is gained by using a balun at the feedpoint in this application. The feedline is unbalanced as is the load. What's the point of a balun. The wild variations in R and X over
The only thing about this I advise in the way of a change is something W1BB recommended, which was that the radials on the ground going out underneath the horizontal L wire should be as long as the
I don't think anyone believes you are lying, but perhaps instead, that you seem to imply that your experience can be generalized and that you are therefore, misguided. This is because your results r
I've used a PVC pipe around 1.5 or 2" o.d. and ~ 3 feet long, for the past 11 years. No problems so far but it is braced with dacron from the insulator end, back up to the mast a few feet above where
The problem with cages isn't electrical; the thing to consider is physical. If you are in an area where you can have ice you have to consider if your cage and its supports are strong enough to hold i
I estimate that my receiving loops are 20 or 30 dB down from a full sized antenna such as a 1/2 wave dipole at 50 or 60 feet, an antenna that a lot of casual operators use (often to their detriment)
How much is "affordable?" I mean, if you pay junk money, you'll probably get ... disappointment either right away or after a few months. A possible exception is some place warm all year with no broad
Bi-directional loops lose their directivity for the most part, when being applied to skywave signals. Is this mini-flag still unidirectional on skywave? I would think not, but must ask. 73 Rob K5UJ _
A flat curve is to be expected and it's a sign something is wrong. And that something is that you do not have nearly enough radials in your ground system. Your radials are on the ground. Such a grou
To clarify: I should have written: X should hit zero over a few kc at some point in the band, depending on the length of the driven element. Sorry for the confusion. 73 Rob K5UJ _________________ Sea
Inspect your feedline you plan to use (sounds like it is Heliax) and make sure the jacket is undamaged. If it is okay, you can bury it or just lay it on the ground and it won't matter if water covers
It depends. If you have two or more verticals for a phased antenna, and full length radials, the points where the ground systems intersect is where the radials should be terminated and bonded to copp
I advise ordering a roll of number 14 bare, 7 strand hard drawn copper wire. Put up a continuous length of it. It will be less likely to break. On-ground radials can be solid soft wire. Not the vert
A ham can certainly try a voltage fed 180 degree vertical, but the physical conditions at the feedpoint change dramatically because it's quite possible a few KV of RF v. will be there, unlike what we
If you are having a problem it would be faster if you wrote what your problem is. Rob K5UJ _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
No personal experience but I've heard repeatedly over the years that the inverted L kit works way better than the loading coil. This makes sense. I think the inverted L kit consists of a trap you han
Tower base concrete should not be in series between the tower and ground. There should not be a voltage gradient across the concrete base. All ground paths should be strapped around the concrete base