benbenrf
Member
Here's an idea - if there is sufficient interest amongst members I'll follow through.
As a single antenna for reception and scanning there is little (if anything) that beats the HE309.
The problem is of course that cost wise it's way beyond the scope of all but the most dedicated amatures (its around $7k - $9k from Rohde & Schwarz!!) - I have one because Rohde & Schwarz antenna's (amongst other Mil Spec/type antennas) were antennas I worked with on an almost daily basis throughout my professional working days.
How many folk would be interested if I were to strip down one fo may HE309's, photograph the guts & components in high res, make up some schematics, along with a component list - and post it on the forum? They grey composite tube the antenna is contained in contains a fair bunch of surface mount type components/coils/trannies and other bits 'n pieces.
Not withstanding what the real McCoy costs, my guess is that tech minded members could construct a replica for around a few hundred $'s - plus a good few hours of your hobby time.
By active antenna standards they are complicated pieces of gear, but they are by no means beyond the scope of DIY - get the PCB dimension cut, shaped & etched accurately and choose the surface mount components carefully, and you'll be able to construct a fairly good working example - in fact, I'd think there'd be more prob's replicating the low noise level of the power supply then the antenna element it's self.
Anyhow - just an idea - if theres sufficient interest I'll tear one down and post up details.
In the mean time, if anyone is interested in this antenna go take a look at the following web page - cut & paste the following link:
http://www2.rohde-schwarz.com/file/HE309_brief_e.pdf
As a single antenna for reception and scanning there is little (if anything) that beats the HE309.
The problem is of course that cost wise it's way beyond the scope of all but the most dedicated amatures (its around $7k - $9k from Rohde & Schwarz!!) - I have one because Rohde & Schwarz antenna's (amongst other Mil Spec/type antennas) were antennas I worked with on an almost daily basis throughout my professional working days.
How many folk would be interested if I were to strip down one fo may HE309's, photograph the guts & components in high res, make up some schematics, along with a component list - and post it on the forum? They grey composite tube the antenna is contained in contains a fair bunch of surface mount type components/coils/trannies and other bits 'n pieces.
Not withstanding what the real McCoy costs, my guess is that tech minded members could construct a replica for around a few hundred $'s - plus a good few hours of your hobby time.
By active antenna standards they are complicated pieces of gear, but they are by no means beyond the scope of DIY - get the PCB dimension cut, shaped & etched accurately and choose the surface mount components carefully, and you'll be able to construct a fairly good working example - in fact, I'd think there'd be more prob's replicating the low noise level of the power supply then the antenna element it's self.
Anyhow - just an idea - if theres sufficient interest I'll tear one down and post up details.
In the mean time, if anyone is interested in this antenna go take a look at the following web page - cut & paste the following link:
http://www2.rohde-schwarz.com/file/HE309_brief_e.pdf
