******** The Official amateur radio thread ********

Hey Chris!

I post over on HamRadioForum which isn't really busy but you may get some answers. It's UK based which is a bonus - The only other place I could suggest are the qrz.com forums although you seem to be getting a good response on the UK Vintage Radio and Restoration forum :)

Good luck with your Foundation course - I wonder where you're doing it, which club?
 
Hi, not sure why but despite subscribing to that forum i can't even post to introduce myself. All posting actions are turned OFF, which makes things kind of tricky ;) No wonder it's quite ;) Am I missing something? Thanks for the link. I have an antenna question i wanted to post there, but I'll ask here as well.

I have loads of outdoor space, but living in a bungalow getting a wire antenna up high is tricky. I don't want the place to look like something from GCHQ so was wondering if I could use the trees we have in abundance as anchor points for a G5RV type aerial? I was wondering if I could use ropes from two trees into open air space, then string the aerial on egg insulators off the ends of the ropes. One end would have either a bungee cord or pulley and weight arrangement to allow tree sway without over tensioning the aerial lead. By using trees I could get the height without masts. Would this be a viable method? Cheers.
 
You can't post there because your account is awaiting email verification so you need to click on the link you were emailed.

What you've suggested is perfect. I'd love to have an abundance of trees around my property as they really are ideal aerial anchors. It would mean that it would be really easy to chop and change around and try different HF wire aerials. I'm sorted for the higher bands (20m through 10m) with my beam and have a dipole up for 40m but I struggle with 80m and 160m. Considering one of my goals is a full five band DXCC, I'm going to need a decent aerial for 80m.
 
ringo747 said:
Just found this thread - hello from an MI3 callsign in NI. My problem is that I have no kit though!
Click to expand...

Hi MI3*** well you could always try QSO.net

@ http://www.qsonet.com/

or even as already suggested Echolink

@ http://www.echolink.org/

all you need to do is register of course and download the programme it's not real amateur radio of course but it's better than nothing i have used them both myself though admittedily not for a long time now but there was always more traffic on QSO.net and it's the better of the two in my opinion and much better than Echolink in my experience anyway.

hope that helps.
 
Ah nice! Never knew there was such a thing. If I had a few pennies saved up I'd consider getting an HF rig but I'm more interested in receive only I guess. Milair is the main interest here.
 
I replaced the coax tails on my beam yesterday and retuned the aerial. I'm happy with the bandwidth on 15m and 10m but it's quite narrow on 20m which is to be expected. I won't be able to have it covering the entire band so I've left it at a compromise. I can work data and part of the SSB section at the moment so if I need it centralised higher for a contest, it's a simple matter to lower the aerial and just shorten the elements slightly.

I bought a new meter, a Power Master II from Array Solutions so the VSWR readings should be good within +/- 3%.

Cushcraft-MA-5B-VSWR-on-20m-20120226-131953.png


Cushcraft-MA-5B-VSWR-on-15m-20120226-132023.png


Cushcraft-MA-5B-VSWR-on-10m-20120226-132045.png
 
Can you suggest a simple aerial for HF multi band usage so I can try out my newly acquired Yaesu FT-902DM on receive please?

I am also interested in microwave stuff, being low lying and not knowing any other microwavers in the region, is there any point in me getting excited about this? My postcode is SY13 2BT if you have the inclination to see my locale. I would want to operate from home, not mobile or from some hilltop, I spend enough time outside as it is ;) Thanks.
 
I'll have a look this evening and see if I can find any microwavers near you but if you're low lying then that's exactly the wrong sort of topography for the higher frequencies, especially if the ground raises around you.

Regarding a simple multiband HF receive aerial, that's easy. A long wire. If you don't have any wire then grab a 100m reel from somewhere like Rapid, string it up as high as you can get it and make it as long as possible. Job's a good 'un.
 
Hmm... This is all making me think of re-instating my licence. Was VHF only back in the late 80's but from the look of it I can do HF as well now.

Would you buy old 80's/90's kit or go for something new and shiny? decisions, decisions :)
 
Chris Wilson said:
I am also interested in microwave stuff, being low lying and not knowing any other microwavers in the region, is there any point in me getting excited about this? My postcode is SY13 2BT if you have the inclination to see my locale. I would want to operate from home, not mobile or from some hilltop, I spend enough time outside as it is ;) Thanks.
Click to expand...

Your locator is IO82qv and you've got around ten amateurs within a few miles of you. I don't think any of them are into microwaves though.

How did I find this? I looked up your postcode and then tied it into the map here. From this I could find your locator square and then I searched here to find the callsigns of stations near you. I then checked those callsigns by searching here.

Ian, if you have an old class B licence, that's now a full ticket giving you compete access to all the bands with no Morse requirements. I'm guessing you were a G1 or G7?
 
Indeed, I was a G1. Originally licenced in 1985 and active until probably 1991 when i needed to buy a house so deposit saving involved selling loads of things.

Old house was basically in the bottom of a hole so there was no point. New place (IO83VD) is almost at the top of a hill so much better from all angles i think.
 
So, where is best these days for gear? I presume auction sites have pretty much killed off the second hand cheapo market?

Used to have an FT290 with the Mutek front end but would be starting from nothing again now :(
 
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