KH6JRM;s Amateur Radio Blog
'Just about time to wrap up the news cycle for today
in the KKBG-FM/KHLO-AM newsroom. Then,
it's home to the shack for some casual operting before
calling it a day. I'm still working on the under the
house NVIS loop. The wire has sagged a bit since
I attached it to the undercarriage of the qth. With
142' of 18-gauge wire, the antenna can work any-
thing from 40 to 10 meters. Admitedly, the arrange-
ment works best on 40 meters (mostly local contacts
out to about 300 miles). But, with the 450-ohm feed
line, I can get some service on the higher bands. The
backyard vertical is still a work in progress. It works
alright, but a few more counterpoise wires will help
deliver a better signal. Like the NVIS loop, the 33'
foot vertical is fed with homebrew twin lead and seems
to keep the Drake MN-4 ATU and the old Swan 100-
MX happy. Currently, I'm using a single tuned counter-
poise wire. I've garnered many contacts with this im-
provised skyhook...Of course, better performance can
be gained once I install a better ground system. That
seems to be the limiting factor in verticals erected over
limited real estate. So, once I get the household chores
done, the lawn mowed, and the trash dumped, I can
focus on making the antenna more efficient. Even with
10 to 20 watts of power, the antenna does a fairly good
job. I usually don't go much higher, since I'm running off
a solar-powered deep-cycle marine battery. Nothing
fancy, but it works. Enough pontificating for now. 'Til
next time. Aloha es 73 de KH6JRM.
in the KKBG-FM/KHLO-AM newsroom. Then,
it's home to the shack for some casual operting before
calling it a day. I'm still working on the under the
house NVIS loop. The wire has sagged a bit since
I attached it to the undercarriage of the qth. With
142' of 18-gauge wire, the antenna can work any-
thing from 40 to 10 meters. Admitedly, the arrange-
ment works best on 40 meters (mostly local contacts
out to about 300 miles). But, with the 450-ohm feed
line, I can get some service on the higher bands. The
backyard vertical is still a work in progress. It works
alright, but a few more counterpoise wires will help
deliver a better signal. Like the NVIS loop, the 33'
foot vertical is fed with homebrew twin lead and seems
to keep the Drake MN-4 ATU and the old Swan 100-
MX happy. Currently, I'm using a single tuned counter-
poise wire. I've garnered many contacts with this im-
provised skyhook...Of course, better performance can
be gained once I install a better ground system. That
seems to be the limiting factor in verticals erected over
limited real estate. So, once I get the household chores
done, the lawn mowed, and the trash dumped, I can
focus on making the antenna more efficient. Even with
10 to 20 watts of power, the antenna does a fairly good
job. I usually don't go much higher, since I'm running off
a solar-powered deep-cycle marine battery. Nothing
fancy, but it works. Enough pontificating for now. 'Til
next time. Aloha es 73 de KH6JRM.
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Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).