ITT We post pics and talk about our ham projects, big or small. (Page 16 of 19)
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Originally Posted By tyrex13: Working on a roll your own CHA8010 type antenna with some improvements. Considering offering it commercially if it works out. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/83116/IMG_4347_jpeg-3530639.JPG Is that a 64:1? Looks like 2 primary, and 16 secondary. |
World ain't what it seems, is it Gunny?
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Found a NOAA balloon radio. I think I am missing a part, says the bag to mail it in should be in the antenna tube, but I took it all apart and did not find one. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By WillieTangoFox: Found a NOAA balloon radio. I think I am missing a part, says the bag to mail it in should be in the antenna tube, but I took it all apart and did not find one. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/123862/1000000217_jpg-3547600.JPG Looks like it might of had a rough landing. Cool find! |
Middleofnowhere, Nebraska
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Most probably know this but a cheap bookend makes a great HT stand. Attached File Attached File Attached File |
I put foldable keyboard/laptop stands on my small radios and amplifiers. Something like these, they are just an example . 
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World ain't what it seems, is it Gunny?
If you want a decent packable solar panel that puts out decent power, this is a pretty good deal. About the size of a laptop folded up. I have used mine a couple dozen times, and I am happy with it's performance vs a much larger 60w folding panel I have. Less than a dollar a watt. 
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World ain't what it seems, is it Gunny?
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Working on getting up the new mast today. Attached File Attached File |
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Just built an Amazon Chinese 49er. The blue 3D printed box. Managed to make a contact with it then blew the finals (forgot to hook antenna up). Got it fixed up with some junk box parts and had to buy one other transistor on Amazon. The crystal is 7023 (really 7023.5) which is in the extra portion of the band but I have had good luck getting responses and it can be quieter down there which is helpful with a more open receiver. I have made probably half a dozen or more contacts with it. Farthest contact is about 500 miles or so, conditions have not been stellar. Although RBN had me almost 900 miles at one point. With 9volts in it puts out just a hair over one watt (if you run 12V you can get just under 2) into a home made EFHW. I borrowed the tuner from my home rig to see what the SWR and Power output were for this thing. Need to shorten the wire a touch although it is pretty close. I am powering it with a 10,000mah battery bank and a 9,12V boost cable works great. The silver box is a 30M Rockmite. Made a few contacts on that in the last few weeks but at maybe 300mW it is tough. A lot of CQs for a couple of contacts. Getting ready to build a QMX can't wait to see what 3-5 Watts can do. 
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Got it up. I’m impressed. Hopefully get to see if I have extended 2m range soon. Attached File Attached File |
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I've been working on a remote QRP station, mostly used for testing antennas for ground wave 10/11M propagation. Ended up settling on a real EFHW (real as in it's single band, and half wavelengths means what it says) vertical. It completes extremely well with the 43' DXE, beating it SNR wise for some stations, and I discovered that if I tilt the antenna I can move the low-angle nulls around and greatly increase the SNR of very close in stations (10-60 miles) in the direction opposite the tilt (which makes me think I've moving nulls.) I did a homemade choke/transformer (dual wound FT140-43 for the choke, and a 49:1 transformer) and attached that to a DXE fiberglass mast (these things only weigh like 3 lbs and have to be guyed, but they're very easy to set up, so that mast and some 550 cord and I have a 23' 10M verticl EFHW. The radio side is a Xeigu G106 sitting in an ammo box with battery and a small SBC computer phoning home via wifi, the station is about 100 meters or so from the house and far from sources of interference. The G106 gets really hot in operation which surprised me. All powered with a 100W panel which is enough to run the whole mess 24/7 as long as they're sunny days. Attached File Attached File Attached File |
Joined:
Jul 2024
Posts:
370
EE: 0% (0)
NC, USA
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The G106's internally generated heat way surpasses what the sun was doing. I did have to switch out the computer from a Evo III chromebook to a SBC, the Evo was working OK but I could tell the heat was going to kill it as it made crunching noises if I just touched it. The box doesn't have much ventilation, safe to say this is a stress test on the G106, it's holding up OK so far. It draws about 4-5 watts on RX, and since it's in such a small space that heat really adds up -- and there's no vents on the thing. I suspect we'll be hearing about heat-related failures at some point. I plan to swap in a QDX-M for 10M once I get one built. That'll be way less power and will eliminate the digirig as well. It's interesting running this and my main antenna in parallel listening on WSPR, you can see the benefit of diversity RX as how the patterns favor stations -- and also the impact local noise has, it's pretty clear the tiny bit of powerline noise my 43' picks up is impacting overall sensitivity. It's also clear for more distant stations how much impact basic height gain has (the 43' is basically twice the height of the 10M vertical EFHW) -- it's about 5dB averaged over a couple days of reception data from WSPR. |
| Today has been antenna day. I got the efhw back up in another part of the tree, I got tired of waiting on the guy to cut out the giant limb that came down. I also got a 20m hamstick tuned for 20m and tuned a 40m antenna that uses a wolf river coil and a 5' whip. I have a mirror mount attached to the roof rack so I can use these portable. I don't hear well enough to run mobile hf. |
World ain't what it seems, is it Gunny?
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Originally Posted By lorazepam: Today has been antenna day. I got the efhw back up in another part of the tree, I got tired of waiting on the guy to cut out the giant limb that came down. I also got a 20m hamstick tuned for 20m and tuned a 40m antenna that uses a wolf river coil and a 5' whip. I have a mirror mount attached to the roof rack so I can use these portable. I don't hear well enough to run mobile hf. It's antenna day for me, too! I built a 2m ground plane antenna and got it up on a lowly 10' piece of conduit. Works great, but I need to get a decent mast for the house. This gets me 2m in the basement shack so I can get local while waiting on you guys to report on all your medications and doc appts during the nets. Haha, JK. 
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Originally Posted By lorazepam: Today has been antenna day. I got the efhw back up in another part of the tree, I got tired of waiting on the guy to cut out the giant limb that came down. I also got a 20m hamstick tuned for 20m and tuned a 40m antenna that uses a wolf river coil and a 5' whip. I have a mirror mount attached to the roof rack so I can use these portable. I don't hear well enough to run mobile hf. |
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Backpack portable, empty arborist weight. Store your bank-line/cordage inside, add rocks when you want a weight to throw an antenna up in a tree. Attached File Attached File |
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When you see this on a table for $2…… with threaded ground plane sections……. It has to come home with you……. Now…… to see what the antenna analyzer says, lol Attached File ETA: I dont think the extra whip was supposed to come with it……… and I figured out why they thought it was “broken”. Took bubba’s extra bits out of it…….. a perfect score for a need I have for business band VHF antenna. Centered on 154Mhz |
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Working on an Arca Swiss tripod antenna mount. I already had this tripod from Amazon for my range spotting scope Amazon $33 currently Had some 1.5” wide, 1/8” thick aluminum stock from a prior project, I think I got it at tractor supply. I am sure lowes/home depot have it. You will need to bevel the edges, to go under the Arca clamp. Call it 45*. I used a bench grinder with built in angle guide i use for my lawn mower blades. It doesnt have to be perfect or pretty. Drill 1/2” hole for the plastic insulator found in the 3/8 to UHF found at any truck stop. Just need to add a bolt on the plate for my radials. We will see how she does. Attached File |
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Finally found a pouch I like for my POTA toolkit. Attached File Attached File Attached File |
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Originally Posted By tyrex13: Finally found a pouch I like for my POTA toolkit. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/83116/IMG_4761_jpeg-3616107.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/83116/IMG_4760_jpeg-3616108.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/83116/IMG_4762_jpeg-3616112.JPG Nice bag. Looks like a fancier copy of IFAK pouches the way the elastic is organized. |
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I’ve had this project on the back burner for a while but decided to have the boards fabbed last week. Attached File This first one is a mostly faithful reproduction of the Freescale/NXP MRF101 4-up linear amp reference circuit. Supposed to output ~400W from 1.8 - 250 MHz. I’m hoping to adapt it get closer to full output with 5-7W from my SDRs. |
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@lorazepam Model 2.0 Attached File Attached File Ace is out of wing nuts for my radial bolt. Get more later. |
It's been forever since I've had any projects but I found this jewel in Goodwill a couple weeks ago.    1946 Philco 46-350 made in 1946 so it's almost 80 years old. It needs new leather for the handle though, but the local saddle shop should be able to make one. Surprisingly, all the tubes were in it and it looked un-molested. Time to re-cap it and see how well it plays. |
...behind every blade of grass...
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Brings back memories of cannibalizing old TV chassis in the 60's. Never did much with the salvaged parts - they were talismans or fetishes for an 8 year old who dreamed of being a radio man some day. I can just picture the soldering iron making the wax run out of those paper capacitors (condensers, back then)... Sweet nostalgia! |
Not amateur radio, but radio nonetheless  I just completed the build on an aviation radio ground station for use at fly-in's, ride concession events, and so on. The mechanicals consist of a 20mm ammo can, 4U high rack rails, and a number of 10" mini-rack accessories. The new 10" mini-rack form factor is really cool and begs to be used for all sorts of things! The bottom panel contains sufficient connectors for literally any kind of aviation headset or microphone. I got that vintage Cessna mic/ptt off eBay, and it cleaned up really well. There's a PTT button for use with regular headsets, and a power inlet. The next panel up contains an old Terra 760D and it's instrument panel rack that I bought for short money off of FB. The top panel is a vented blank into which I installed a cheap, Chinesium audio amp from Amazon and a Pyle speaker I had. The volume on the right is left open for mic's, headsets, cables and, most importantly, power sources. I did not want to be tied into a specific, built-in, source of power. Initially I'm planning to use a 10AH LiFePO4 battery, which you can see in the photo. But I can just as easily change that to any other battery type, or carry multiple batteries, or a tiny PowerWerx 12V supply, etc., etc. The one thing I have left to do is to is install one or two of those rigid Molle panel systems in that area to have something to secure batteries and gear to in a way that remains totally flexible and reconfigurable. The output power of the radio is spec'd at 5W. I measured 8. I can simply throw a rubber duckie on it, but the close proximity of the antenna causes the Amazon-sourced ammeter to freak out. This is not a problem when I use it with my mast-mounted, folding, 1/4 wave vertical. eta: And I also need to design some legs for it so it can tilt up at a jaunty angle . I've got a really simple design in mind. I'll try to remember to post another photo when I get that done.Attached File Attached File Attached File |
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum."
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More adventures into amateur sewing for amateur radio. For my camping trip next week. Attached File Attached File |
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New to me truck. Basic mobile. Attached File Attached File Attached File |
Aimless - The police academy ain't med school
Aimless - Crying on a Dwi arrest because there is a kid in the car is a sign of some underlying mental health issues.
CallSign : Armbar
Aimless - Crying on a Dwi arrest because there is a kid in the car is a sign of some underlying mental health issues.
CallSign : Armbar
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I assembled a 4 way splitter for power poles, and a couple 6 foot extension cords for pp also. Attached File Edit: The splitter box was graciously printed by a fellow arfcom ham operator with a 3d printer. |
World ain't what it seems, is it Gunny?
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Originally Posted By Prolix: I just pitched a box of knock-off PowerPoles from China (Amazon) because they were junk. Good source for reputable stuff?? I'd like to save a few nickels but I want reliability. Thx. I usually just buy from one of the vendors selling genuine on ebay. If they aren't real, they work the same, and all the markings are identical. I got tired of the shitty chinese ones, none are consistent. If I had it to do over again, I would have used XT60 connectors for everything. |
World ain't what it seems, is it Gunny?
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Originally Posted By Prolix: I just pitched a box of knock-off PowerPoles from China (Amazon) because they were junk. Good source for reputable stuff?? I'd like to save a few nickels but I want reliability. Thx. Powerwerx is GTG. Mouser is a distributor as well, search on "anderson powerpole PP15" for the shells, they run about 40 cents per. Contacts are about 25 cents, so a complete two pole connector setup is about $1.30. Powerwerx pricing is typically pretty close to Mouser's -- within a few cents. |
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Originally Posted By Prolix: PP need a tool (besides a soldering iron)? I may have just found at least part of my problem. Anyone widely adopting the XT60 for power distribution blocks like the 3D printed Power Pole stuff I'm seeing here? Yeah, there is a special crimp tool that makes them square and fit better in the plastic piece. Still have to force them in somewhat. |
World ain't what it seems, is it Gunny?
A new 46' mast for me. It is @tyrex13 fault, he showed this mast, and I ended up ordering one. Off the top is a temporary 40M EFHW, strung to a 20' pole. About 15' lower down is a small, sandwich bag OCFD that @lorazepam donated to the Appalachian Apocalypse 2025 giveaway. He sent it to me and I got it up to "test" it. Of course I had to test it, we don't want to give away defective equipment!  It worked fine, checked into the Tuesday phone net with it tonight. I'll refine it and probably revise the guys, but it is working fine, highly recommended! It is a little scary putting it up without any guys on it - it moves a some even without wind! Unlike @tyrex13, I don't need to put my 2M antenna on it, as it is currently about 25' above grade on my silo and works fine there. My next chore is to get the full wave loop that @tyrex13 has encourage me to get up, and @Jupiter7200 sent me a balun for. I hope to start on that in a couple of weeks. And for the observant, yes, that is my granddaughter and my 100+ lb Pyrenees/Cane Corso puppy. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By TVille: A new 46' mast for me. It is @tyrex13 fault, he showed this mast, and I ended up ordering one. Off the top is a temporary 40M EFHW, strung to a 20' pole. About 15' lower down is a small, sandwich bag OCFD that @lorazepam donated to the Appalachian Apocalypse 2025 giveaway. He sent it to me and I got it up to "test" it. Of course I had to test it, we don't want to give away defective equipment! It worked fine, checked into the Tuesday phone net with it tonight. I'll refine it and probably revise the guys, but it is working fine, highly recommended! It is a little scary putting it up without any guys on it - it moves a some even without wind! Unlike @tyrex13, I don't need to put my 2M antenna on it, as it is currently about 25' above grade on my silo and works fine there. My next chore is to get the full wave loop that @tyrex13 has encourage me to get up, and @Jupiter7200 sent me a balun for. I hope to start on that in a couple of weeks. And for the observant, yes, that is my granddaughter and my 100+ lb Pyrenees/Cane Corso puppy. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/284686/Mast20250909_jpg-3621775.JPG Nice! Yeah it's amazing how bendy it can be for how thick and heavy it is. It's a sick mast though. Gotta be the cheapest way to get that much height. |
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Originally Posted By tyrex13: Nice! Yeah it's amazing how bendy it can be for how thick and heavy it is. It's a sick mast though. Gotta be the cheapest way to get that much height. ETA: @tyrex13 I like your bridle guy approach. Any issues with that? I thinking of doing that to connect all the guy rings. Yes, I will use a slip ring, chain link, something to equalize pressure on the two guy rings. |
I have had a DX commander 10m pole up for 3 years this week. It stays up summer and winter, and is getting pretty faded. It has held up to sub zero temps and 95 plus. It is a great 40-6m antenna. Downside is all the radials. 
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World ain't what it seems, is it Gunny?
ITT We post pics and talk about our ham projects, big or small. (Page 16 of 19)
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