Hi folks,
I am really sorry to have to miss 222 night, but the choice is down to
attending the XYLs B' Day party, or having black and blue lumps all over
my head and unprotected body parts. I did go up to the shack early this
AM and finish the cable prep I managed to get an 1 5/8" connector on the
big hose inside the shack. I looked at the antenna VSWR and it is great,
being 1.2:1 from 222 up to 223.5 or so. There are no ripple effects
visible. The bandpass in the shack looks the same as what i see up on
the tower right at the power divider. I had a some trouble measuring TDR
effects, as when the antenna was connected at the far end, it introduced
some crazy artifacts that I did not believe. Not sure why that happened,
but upon further testing, my 1 5/8" connector return loss is down around
40 dB which is great. The cable is flat over the entire 180 ft run. I
weatherproofed all the outdoor cut ends on the remaining 275 ft of left
over 1 5/8" cable, and the old plenum rated stuff too (just in case it
rains)
I only have one antenna (the 4 X 22 el) hooked up as my motor driven
Type N switch has been taken out and will be re located inside the
shack, as I get time to pretty up the installation. Working with big
Heliax is a lot tougher (and slower) than running LMR-400. The plan is
to have indoor jumpers as short as possible, and made with 1/2" LDF.
Once I get the motor driven switch mounted, I can finish the job.
I am very relieved to finally get the coax cable sorted out and working.
73
Dave K1WHS
On 7/11/2022 9:02 PM, David Olean wrote:
Hi 222 addicts,
Well, i have just been informed that I am required to be away from the
shack for 222 Night. It is the XYL's birthday and our daughter has
planned a party in her honor, so you all know what my choices are: A.
operate on 222 MHz, or B. attend the XYL's birthday party. Guess what
I'll be doing?
I might be home around 0100 UT, but I doubt it. And I wanted to see
how the new coax was working too!!! Sorry to miss the actiion
Dave K1WHS
On 7/11/2022 6:48 PM, David Olean wrote:
I have it on good authority (from WA1T), that there will be tropo in
New England on Tuesday evening. If the good condx do not materialize,
don't blame me, but direct your bad vibes toward Al, WA1T!! heh
heh. Al and I swapped out some long runs of 1 5/8" heliax for 222,
on Monday morning. I rigged up the tower with a winch & pulleys and
we dropped a semi sick piece of 1 5/8 inch stuff that had a plenum
jacket and was deteriorating in the sunlight, with a new run of fresh
cable with the proper outdoor jacket. This is my new feedline for 222
MHz. The hardest part was pulling the old stuff out of the building.
We ended up hack sawing the connector off so it would go through the
wall. I tested the cable after the old stuff was on the ground and
it was 28 dB return loss at 220-230 MHz, but I did not check over a
wider bandwidth. It might be worse. I do know that there was
significant "ripple" on the antenna response curves. I hope the new
cable improves all that.
I now have a new run of big coax going up the 100 ft tower, but
still need to "apply" a big connector on the end that extends into
the shack. Hopefully when I get that all done I will be ready for
another Tuesday evening activity time on 222 MHz.
So don't forget about activity night. Tell all your friends. Make
some noise! take up some space on one of our best VHF bands for an
evening! Try a long haul ske or maybe two skeds. Activity starts at
about 2300 UT and can go on until after 0130 UT or so. CW, SSB, digi
modes, even RTTY or hellschreiber is allowed if you have it. CU there!!
Dave K1WHS
(The new and improved K1WHS with a new run of coax!)
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