--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 188 HAM TECH Ref: EEJ00000 Date: 10/14/97 From: ROB DENNIS Time: 02:23pm \/To: JEFF EDMONSON (Read 0 times) Subj: TVI/RFI.... >> JE> well worth it to, for their attitude. A slander suit comes to >> Too much of a problem to even bother. JE> Not only for yourself, but check with some other HAM's up there, and JE> possibly a class-action suit against Rogers Cable could be benifitial to JE> everyone involved! None are interested in pursuing it,nor in trying to help me resolve it. I am going to let it sit as it is and use the large beams for TV. >> Now if I TVI they can blow it out their ears. JE> But, what does it prove? When the IOC comes a knocking I'm ready for it. They can test my gear,it'll pass inspection and I have all the needed filters inline all the time. I no longer TVI'ing our own TV upstairs,and it is getting its signal off-air from the TV beams now instead of cable. I'll take them on a little `tour' of several of the local CATV junction boxes in my area and show them how much signal is radiating out from distances of as little as 50 feet and as far away as 2 blocks away from the boxes. I'll take them over to the house across the street who has such crappy CATV he gets 2 channels on the same spot on the dial on his new 1997 home theatre TV. Their system is garbage and they deny it,blaming me and my `modified' gear for the problem when it is their own garbage installation that is at fault. When an inspector shows up and sees the signal levels splattering out across a wide variety of both the amateur and commercial frequencies around here then something will happen. (preferably CATV getting told where to go!) >> The station is `squeeky clean' from an RF standpoint JE> If the "powers that be" don't know about the installers and their JE> attitudes, who's going to know? (Besides us, and what can -we- do about Talked to a `big cheese' in the head office. He said they would `investigate ' and find out exactly why their installation inspector behaved as he did and let me know. 2 weeks later and all I get is a voice-mail instead of a human at his umber, and still no response from them about their findings. Guess he's busy taking care of it... JE> Went to a swapfest in Belton, TX (near Temple, between Austin and Waco) and JE> picked up not only another Johnson Viking II, but also got a Kenwood JE> TR-9000, multi-mode VHF 10w transciever. Now, to get busy and build me JE> pair of 13-element yagis, and shove 'em up at 40'! I used to have one of those! It was my first 2m all-mode rig for the house. A `blistering' 11w on ssb/cw and 1w to 8w on FM. Looked like the big HF rigs of the time (late 1980) and had some of the same features too. (RIT,dual VFO's for odd-splits,memories) I sold mine to get something newer (TM-255A) as the 9000 did not have a CTCSS encode/decode option for it. (several rptrs went to CTCSS on inputs) Nice little rig for a field-day or rover set-up,just add an outboard amplifier to get you up to 100w or so into a beam and you're all set. --- GoldED 2.42.G1219 * Origin: VE3SJN....Moderator....HAM_TECH (1:163/506.4) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 188 HAM TECH Ref: EEJ00001 Date: 10/14/97 From: ROB DENNIS Time: 02:45pm \/To: ROY WITT (Read 0 times) Subj: your Ts 520 RD>> Roy the Ts-520 and 530 had -two- external VFO units as options. RD>> The digital unit had a digital display and 5 or 6 memory RD>> positions for your favourite frequencies and splits. RW> Wish I'd known it existed, I would have bought one way back then. I wish I could find one that hasn't been butchered to hell and a and-basket. I can't see why someone spends thousands of hard-earned dollars on a radio or options for it then goes finger-poking into a perfectly working piece of gear. If it ain't broke DON'T F!@# WITH IT! RD>> bird and most I have seen have been either scrap from RD>> `finger-poking' attempts to gain illegal freqs,or plain RD>> overpriced for the poor condition they are in. RW> I can imagine. I bought my 520 before I had a ham license and two RW> of the 10mtr positions had an 11mtr high-band crystal in it for years. Sounds like a few FT-101 series rigs that were floating around the hamfests a few years back. All the radios were for sale from the same guy and all of them had 11m crystals in the 10m slots. One poor foll paid $300 for a `mint' condition FT-101-E only to find that the 10 and 12m bands had crystals in them allowing coverage form 26.0 up thru 10m and from 25.0 to 26.0 in the 12m slot. Not nice. RD>> All I need to complete mine is the monitor scope SM-220,the RD>> digital VFO unit and the non-amplified MC-50 or MC-60 desk RD>> microphone. RW> How many TV-502's have you found? I've been looking for one of those or RW> years. Not that I'll ever get on 2mtr SSB... None. Rare as the transverters for the Yaesu FT-101 series for 2m and 6m. Those that have them won't let them go and the ones that are for sale are in sad shape and many need expensive repairs. I chose to go with mono-band,all-mode rigs here for my VHF/UHF station rather than a multi-band type rig. At the time I decided any radio for a VHF/UHF band I was going to be active on from the home had to be an all-mode one rather than FM only. I may yet get a transverter for 220MHz and feed it with a 28MHz If from one of my 10m rigs as the 220 all-mode gear is dear and -very- pricey here. RD>> I was lucky enough to find the external filtered speaker and RW> I bought the Speaker and the external analog VFO way back then too. pted RW> for a D-104 mic though...with the built-in speech amp of the 520, it's a RW> killer.. Have you tried any of the old Turner desk mics? Turner `Super Side-kick' and a Turner +2 desk pre-amp kick but on the 530. Astatics I'm not too fond of as they have a tendancy to pick up every little noise in the house if you set them up to high on their pre-amp gain. I usually set them to 1/8 of a turn on the amplifier pot on the mic,then use the radio's controls to amp it form there. The battery lasts about a year longer than normal and you get less of that hollow room sound. RD>> TS-530-S options I can for it. Guess I'll keep hunting through RD>> hamfests and hope to find what I need. RW> Let me know what your willing to pay and I'll keep my eyes open. I may go as much as $50 CDN for the non-amplified MC-50 or -60 desk mic as long as it is in good condition. (no dents or deep scratches) The VFO is tricky as I have no idea what they would go for used,in excellent to good condition. (no fingers been poking inside it) The SM-220 station monitor scope has gone for as low as $275 CDN (missed hat one by a lousy 5 minutes..) to as much as $375 CDN and some even $500. I guess it is how bad you want something and how much you're willing to pay to get it that makes the selling price. --- GoldED 2.42.G1219 * Origin: VE3SJN....Moderator....HAM_TECH (1:163/506.4) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 188 HAM TECH Ref: EEJ00002 Date: 10/14/97 From: ROB DENNIS Time: 03:06pm \/To: GLENN SCHULTZ (Read 0 times) Subj: Cb to 6m mods GS> Thanks for the reply. I appreciate you posting the mod. A couple of us GS> want to play with the mod and get on 6 the cheap way. 300 hours for the GS> mod, $50 in new parts and 54 more grey hairs, yeah cheap ;-) You're wwelcome Glenn. I think I re-post that mod at least twice or more a year. Have fun with it. --- GoldED 2.42.G1219 * Origin: VE3SJN....Moderator....HAM_TECH (1:163/506.4) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 188 HAM TECH Ref: EEJ00003 Date: 10/14/97 From: ROB DENNIS Time: 03:11pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: towers part 1 Original article from: Wayne Sarosi Reposted by Rob Dennis,Moderator HAM_TECH,for use of the FIDO HAM_TECH echo. THIS POST/SERIES NOT TO BE USED IN ANY CDROM COMPILATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL SALE WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF ORIGINAL AUTHOR(S) OF THIS POST. ALL AND ANY COPYRIGHTS RETAINED BY AUTHOR(S). SUBJECT: Tower modifications for redistributing antenna windloads. Many Amateur Radio Operators are restricted to a maximum size antenna ecause of the limitations their towers have. The windload rating can cut a dream antenna in half because the tower is rated for something about the size of a ten meter beam. But,that's all you an afford so you take your lumps and settle for something less than you wanted. I had that problem and decided to do something about it. o I could purchase a larger tower. (BTW I finally had one given to me. It's still in the back yard). o Find a way to get the weight off the tower and on the ground. (Put the dynimite away!). Looking at the lastest ads,then looking in my wallet,then at my wife and ids then again at my 9-in triangular crank up and 22-ft beam,then back at my ife, I decided to to the latter of the two (gulp). How in the world was I going to relieve the weight from the tower and still keep my beam up at the same height? That 9-in trangular crank-up wasn't going to cut it in heavy winds. It was an accident waiting to happen. At that point I was working on my "I need a better tower" speech to my wife and remembered some of my statics and dynamics from college. I checked on a couple of examples in the book and found that my idea would work. The solution? A drive shaft/bearing modification. With the rotor moved to base of the tower and a vertical bearing set situated just above the otor. The rotor would have no downward thrust upon it. All it would have to do is turn the shaft. The bearings turned out to be easier then planned. Edmond Scientific Catalog had Lazy-Susan bearing sets for sale. I purchased the 1000-lb table type for about $6.50 each. After packing them in grease,I was ready to install them. The drive shaft can be a pair of push-up masts for crank-up towers or water pipe for fixed towers. The shaft is guyed within the tower by PVC tubing. Each tube is about 2-3 feet in length and I used three per forty feet. The shaft pokes out the top for antenna mounting. In my case,two sections of the push-up mast poked out the top allowing me to work and mount a few HF/UHF antennas. Here's the basic set-up: =================== 2m beam || || ====================================== HF beam || || |||| - PVC tubing over shaft inside tower |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |BB| - Bearing |||| |RR| - Rotor location -------|--|-------- o The rotor only turns the shaft - no weight on the rotor. o The vertical weight is transformed to the bearing near the bottom. o The weight of the antennas are on the shaft instead of the tower. o The towers sole purpose is to guy the shaft and the forces directed to the tower are distributed along the tower's length. This system has been working here for over two years. -WS --- GoldED 2.42.G1219 * Origin: VE3SJN....Moderator....HAM_TECH (1:163/506.4) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 188 HAM TECH Ref: EEJ00004 Date: 10/14/97 From: ROB DENNIS Time: 03:12pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Towers Part 2 Original article from: Wayne Sarosi Reposted by Rob Dennis,Moderator HAM_TECH,for use of the FIDO HAM_TECH echo. THIS POST/SERIES NOT TO BE USED IN ANY CDROM COMPILATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL SALE WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF ORIGINAL AUTHOR(S) OF THIS POST. ALL AND ANY COPYRIGHTS RETAINED BY AUTHOR(S). SUBJECT: Towers,part two Towers are an interesting subject where antennas are concerned. We have the commercial types which can cost you a bundle. Then there are the cheap-o second (fifth) hand towers older than most hams, that we buy which,at best,offer a shakey support if not reworked properly. Antenna supports come in various flavors from trees,to push-up masts,to full blown,motorized,telescoping,hundred footers capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound. All are good depending on what you use them for. A tower rated for 10 sq.ft windload should be adhered to order to save your equipment. An antenna and rotor system mounted on top of a a tower can put a heavy torque (twisting action) on the tower. Some towers and masts can't ake that torque and they crumble. There are ways to by-pass that problem and they will be discussed later. Guy lines can be a pain in the butt also. Metal guys can play havoc with various bands and ropes stretch. These will be looked into also. I reposted my first tower article based on some problems I have had here. I won't be able to cover everything but I have a few friends that have some interesting towers that I will share with you. AREAS TO BE COVERED: o Trees o Wooden towers o Push-up masts o Tubular towers o Small Steel Crank-ups (7 & 9-in tri-angulars) o Rohns o Commercial Grade o Monster Crank-ups o Roof mounts o Tilt-overs o Trouble spots -WS --- GoldED 2.42.G1219 * Origin: VE3SJN....Moderator....HAM_TECH (1:163/506.4) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 188 HAM TECH Ref: EEJ00005 Date: 10/14/97 From: ROB DENNIS Time: 03:12pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Towers Part 3 Original article from: Wayne Sarosi Reposted by Rob Dennis,Moderator HAM_TECH,for use of the FIDO HAM_TECH echo. THIS POST/SERIES NOT TO BE USED IN ANY CDROM COMPILATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL SALE WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF ORIGINAL AUTHOR(S) OF THIS POST. ALL AND ANY COPYRIGHTS RETAINED BY AUTHOR(S). SUBJECT: Tower Series,part 3 TREES: Trees have been used as antenna supports for years. There are some problems though. Trees grow,they have leaves or needles,they sway and are probably the greatest target for lightning than any man made device. I have used trees for an antenna support many times. In my CB days,I cut the top off an oak tree in Connecticut,35 feet up,and used chimney straps to hold a mast for a 'Starduster' quarter wave antenna. Here in Florida, I use a palm and a sycamore for a DX-A (40,80,& 160) and he same sycamore and a small maple for my 40 IVee. Both are fed from my tower. I have a pulley system to raise the antenna I need for specific operations. * sycamore ----------------------------------------- | | | | | | | |X tower | | |--------------------| | | | |------------------| * palm * maple <--------North Trees must be cared for when attaching support lines. Too tight and you can strangle the branch or worse, the tree. Never use a dead tree. They're an accident in the making. Beams in trees are not a good idea. Getting them up there is a pain in the butt to say the least save a crane. Constant upward growth interferes with he pattern and the ability to turn them thus requiring pruning. Pray you don't have a problem like bad SWR,bent elements,or a water soaked trap. I would suggest keeping trees for verticals or tie off points. ------------------------------------------------------------------ WOODEN TOWERS: These can be interesting. They are heavy,can rot,and don't stand much for he weather. Wooden towers are subject to many enemies such as bugs,birds,and rain. The sun can dry on out in two seasons. A wooden tower creaking in a 50 mph storm can give an amateur nightmares. They are expensive to build with todays pricing on wood. Simple fold-over wooden towers such as a flagpole design,can be done if the materials are availble at a resonable price. || || || || || || || || ||||||<--- pivot point |||||| |||||| ||||||<--- Locking pin (bolt) || || || || This set up can be done in a day with the right materials. The main pole can be pulled up with a pick-up or car. A stop bar is recommended so you don't pull the main section over with the vehicle. Place the stop bar just above he locking pin and bolt it into the main section but not the supports. It also can be cranked up with a boat winch from the bottom. -WS --- GoldED 2.42.G1219 * Origin: VE3SJN....Moderator....HAM_TECH (1:163/506.4)