NASHUA AREA RADIO CLUBTECH NIGHT – GETTING ON

THE AIRAPRIL 12TH,2016

TopicsforTonight

• 2m/70cmFMandRepeaters

• BuildingyourfirstHFStation

• Manywaystoaccomplishthese

• Pleaseaskquestionslotsofquestions

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StationBuilding– Howtostart?Beginbyaskingyourselfthesequestions

1. WhatdoIwanttodowithmystationnowand1-2yearsfromnow?Whataresomeofmylongertermgoals?

2. DoIplantoupgradetothenextlicenselevelinthenearfuture?HowwilltheupgradechangewhatIwanttodo?

3. Whatismybudget?HowdoIwanttospreadmyinvestmentinastationoutovertime?

4. WhatspacedoIhaveformystation?– Shack– yourQTHandyourvehicle ifapplicable– Spaceforantennas– outdoors,yourvehicle, indoors– Willyoubeoperating ina“portable format”?Whatwillthatlook

like?

5. Howmuchofthesetupofantennasandashackcan/doIwanttodomyself?

6. DoIhaveanyneighbor,spouseorfamilyconsiderations?3

VHFStationBuilding– Howtostart?Howitallgoestogether

• HTwilltravel

• OK,let’sgettheQTHorganized

• Hookingitalltogether

• Theantennaisoutside;thecoaxisinside,uhhh?

• Electricalsafety:groundingandlighteningprotection

• First6meterandVHFantennas;eveninWinter

• Sometestgear&toolsthatcanhelp4

HTwillTravelFindingRepeaters&RadioProgramming

RFinder isthepartnerDirectorysiteoftheARRL.ItalsopartnerswithRTSystems,CHIRPandGarmin,TomTom,etc providingPOIdatabases. ThereareappsforbothAndroidandAppledevices.

UsingRTSystems,CHIRP,Commander, youcanprogramrepeater listing dataintoyourHTusingtheRFinderdatabase.

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HTwillTravelFindingRepeaters&RadioProgramming

PROGRAMMINGYOURHTMANUALLYISAGOODSKILLTOHAVE.

WHATHAPPENSIFTHEIPHONEDROPSCALLS,THEIPADCRASHESLOADINGIOS9ANDYOURCOMPUTERBATTERYJUSTCAUGHTFIRE……..OMG

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HTwillTravelFindingRepeaters&RadioProgramming

Eachradiomanufacturerhastheirownseriesofstepstoprograminrepeaterdataandcustomsettings.

Therearemanyresourcestolearntheprocessforyourradio.

Manufacturers’UserManual

NiftyQuickReferenceGuides

YahooGroupshttps://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FT-60/info

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HTwillTravelFindingRepeaters&RadioProgramming

ProgramtheFT60RfortheHollis2mRepeater

1. Press V/MuntilinVFOMode2. Press 146730(hearbeep)3. Press F/W+1RotateDialKnobto“TONE”Press F/W4. Press F/W+2RotateDialKnobto88.5Press F/W5. Press&holdF/Wfor2seconds (hearbeep)6. RotateDialKnobtodesiredMemoryChannel Press F/Wfor2

seconds (hearbeep)7. {YoucanstoredataasFrequencyorName….Selected inSettings

Menu}8

N1RF:AQTHcanbesimplewithaLittleOrganization

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HookingItAllTogether

GroundBusEachdevice groundedhere

Left--HFSwitch:RoutestoAntennasorDummyLoad

Right: VHFSwitch:Routes Icom orYaesu toAntenna

Switch:Selects Icom orKenwoodtoMultibandWireAntenna

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Theantennaisoutside;thecoaxisinside,uhhh?

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ElectricalSafetyGrounding&LighteningProtection

JunctionBox:IntegrateQTHcoaxtoAntennasIntegrateGrounding&AddLighteningArrestors

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FirstVHFAntennas2m5/8Whipanda6mDipole

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UsefulSpecialTools&TestGear

AndersonPowerpolecrimptool VHF/UHFConnectorcrimptool

Multmeter V/I/Ω/C/L/temp

Power&SWRMeter(peak/hold/avg)

Antennaanalyzer1-150MHz

Oscilloscope (100MHz)14

BuildingaFirstHFStationThemostImportantPart– TheAntennaSystem• BestbandsforafirstHFstation– 20mand40m• Somegoodantennachoices

– Singlebanddipole– Off-CenterFed(OCF)Dipole– HighPerformanceMono-bandWire– ex.DeltaLoop

• Canmakeorbuythese (recommend purchasing therequiredBalun)• Tuneyouantennaproperly – operatingamistunedantennacanhavea

significantnegative impactontransmit(andreceive) performance• Performasafeinstallation andensure safeoperation• Feedlineselection isimportant– consider loss,powerhandling,durability• Sizematters– bewareof“short”antennas, thewilllikelyhavelimited

bandwidthandhigher losses• Bewareof“snakeoil”– examples:bargaincoax,no-radialsverticals,

miraclemultibandantennas, cheapbaluns,cheapconnectors,…– Yourtendtogetwhatyoupayfor

• FindanElmer tohelpyou 15

HFAntennasSingleBandDipoles

• MountVertical,Horizontal, asaSloper, orasanInverted-V– Trytogetfeedpoint½wavelengthabovegroundifhorizontal,sloperorinverted-V– ~35fton20m,~70fton40m;V-Dipoleshouldhaveend4+ft.offtheground

• AllbalancedantennasrequireaBalun iffedwithcoax– Considerpowerhandling,bandwidth,andmechanicalconstruction– Optimumratiowilldependuponhowtheantennaisinstalled– 1:1isagoodchoicefor20mandhigher

• Willwantsomething tokeepamoderateamountoftensiononthewire– Lotsofwaystodothis,don’tovertighten

• Sealthefeedlineandotherconnectionsproperly ifcorrosion isapossibility16

VerticalDipole

Balun

HFAntennasOffCenterFedDipole

• Goodchoiceifyouwantamulti-bandwireantenna– 7band(<135ft):75/80m,40m,20m,17m,12m,10mand6m– 4band(<70ft):40m,20m,10mand6m

• Usuallybestmountedasaninverted-V, ends~10ft.andangle>120o

• Balunhasasignificantimpactonperformance– Don’tskimphere,consider long-termpowerrequirements

• Moreforgivingintermsoftuning/SWR/BWthanothermulti-banddesigns– Alternative ex.:G5RV,trappeddipoles

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HFAntennasDeltaLoop

• High-performance,mono-bandwireantenna• Veryquietonreceive;makesanexcellentlocalandDXantenna• Requiresasinglesupport(ex.40mDeltaLoop– 40ft)• Canbevertically(iffed¼WLdownfromtop),orhorizontally(iffedbottom-

center)polarized– Recommend horizontalhereinNewEngland

• Balunhasasignificantimpactonperformance– Don’tskimphere,consider long-termpowerrequirements– Suggestbuilding/measuring first.Thenselect acustombalun tomaximizeBW.

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HFAntennasAntennaSystemConstruction

• Ifyourantennaisdirectional,wanttoaimatEurope(45o – 65o)bearing• Dacronorotherweatherresistantcordisrecommendedforsupports

– Softrubbertarpstretchersareagoodchoicefortensioningwireantennas• Coaxchoices

– RG-8Xisgoodforrunslessthat100ftonHFbandsat100w– LMR-400UForequiv. if1)runsexceed100ftor2)youwanttorun500w+power– Ifyouaregoingtoburryyourcoax,you’llneedacablethatisratedfordirectburyuse

• You’llneedanantennaanalyzertosetupyourantenna– anElmercanhelphere• Usegoodqualityconnectorsandsealthemproperly• BuildalightningandRFground,outside asclosetoshackaspossible 19

HFAntennasSafety

• Becarefulonladders,workwithahelper• Eyeprotection,hardhatsareessential

– Toolbeltisagoodidea– Makesureyourhelperslookup

• Bewareofpowerlinesclosetoyourantennas• Doalltheworkyoucanontheground• Disconnectcoaxoutside yourhousetoprevent

lightningfromgettingin• Usepropersafetyharnessandequipmentwhenworkingontowers

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FirstHFStationYourShack

• Feedlineandgroundentry/disconnects• Humanengineering isimportant

– Temperature,humidity,lighting– Comfortabledesk/tableandchair– Importantitemswithineasyreach– Enoughroomtocomfortablyoperateequipment

• Acousticsand“noise”– Quitenvironmentwhereyouwon’tdisturbothers– Acoustically“dead”environment– Headphonesoraheadsetisagoodidea

• Computer– nearlyamusttoday– Logging,Digitalmodes,QSL’ing– InternetAccessisimportant– Considerdualmonitorsifyouhavethespace

• Powersupplies– 30Aquietswitchingsupplytoprovide13.8V

• Storageforaccessories – trytokeepitneat• Placeforconstructionandtestisagoodidea

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FirstHFStationYourRadioandAccessories• Twobasicpaths(recommenda100wradio)

– HFplus6m(ex.IC-7300)– HF,6m,2mand70cm(ex.IC-7100,IC-7000)

• Usability isimportant– Displayshouldbeeasytoreadandunderstand– Touchscreen interfacesareagoodidea– Radioshouldbeeasytoconfigure;commonoperational

scenarios shouldbeintuitivelyobvious

• Considercostofaccessories vs.built-in toradio– Antennatuner– Soundcardfordigital– Interfacetoyourcomputer

• Anoutboardwattmeter isagoodidea– Connectontheantennasideoftuner

• Headset, headphone,microphones– HeilSoundisagoodchoice forthese

• Otherusefulaccessories– 13.8VPowerdistribution– Dummyloadandasimpleantennaswitch– CWpaddlesorstraightkey 22

FirstHFStationSoftware• Windowsisgoingtobethebestplatform

– MaximizesselectionandcompatibilitywithAmateurRadiosoftware

– USBinterfaces,internetaccessanddecentscreenresolution

– AnyreasonablycurrentPCwillworkfine– MaccanworkwithWindows+VMwareorParallels

• LoggingSuite– PopularchoicesareDXLabandHamRadioDeluxe– InterfacetoradioviaCAT– Loggingofcontacts– Digitalmodes– Spottingclusteraccess– AwardtrackingandQSL’ing– …

• Someusefuladd-onprograms– WSJT-X(JT65andJT9digitalmodes)– FLdigi– alternativedigitalmodeprogram– CWSkimmer(CWdecoding)

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Dual-UseStationHFandVHF/UHF• Twoantennasystems

– HF– ex.OCFdipole– VHF/UHF– ex.2m/70cmgroundplane

• Willwanttwofeedlines– RG8XorLMR-400forHF– LMR-400for2m/70cm

• AradiowhichsupportsHFandVHF/UHF– ExamplesIC-7000,IC-7100,others– PerhapsincludeDSTARforworldwidenets,etc.

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FirstHFStationHOAorOtherwiseLimited

• StealthAntennas– AtticDipoles– Flagpoleverticals

• “Portable”Antennas– Buddipole– TransworldAntennasV-Dipole– WireantennaandsomeDacroncord

• MobileHF• There isalwaysaway!Besafe. 25

SomeThoughtsonUsedEquipment

• Buyfromareputablesource– Canyoutestonthespot?– Canyoureturntheequipment ifitdoesn’twork?

• EnlistthehelpofanElmer• Ifit’sa“fixerupper”,canyousecuretheneededparts?Canyouhandletherepairandre-alignment?• The“bargain”isoftentimesnotreallyone…oryoumaygetmorethanyou“bargained”for… 26

UsefulLinks• BuckmasterOCFDipole– http://hamcall.net/7bandocf.html

• Buddipole– http://www.buddipole.com

• ClubElmerForum– http://www.n1fd.org

• CWSkimmer- http://www.dxatlas.com/cwskimmer

• DXLabSuite- http://www.dxlabsuite.com

• FLdigi- http://www.w1hkj.com

• StationProjectBlog– http://stationproject.wordpress.com

• WSJT-X- http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html

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