Threw up a free antenna, don't know what it is or if its right

[prcguy]

Or use a low VSWR beer mug.

Drink the beer first and be 1:1 with the couch as the storm blows thru....

 

[AxelsHumanDad]

Be advised the matching coil is located in the base plastic and is a made on a circuit board, and will not take a lot power.

*cough. Can confirm. Smoked one with a Kilowatt...

 

[prcguy]

300w is about the level these circuit boards burn up and I know of quite a few that went bad in the early 70s. For the Radio Shack version you could claim a warranty problem and they would get a replacement board but after the second or third board they are on to you.

*cough. Can confirm. Smoked one with a Kilowatt...

 

[arudlang]

I hooked up my 980SSB over lunch and turned it on to discover that DX is rolling like crazy today. I heard the west coast, Florida, even the Hawaiian islands I think, but west coast was coming in the best. Also some staticky stuff in other languages, not sure if it was from across a pond or just someone in the US speaking another language. Pretty much every channel had conversation going, some of it crystal clear.

Some of the clearest people were the ones claiming to be running all stock with no amplification, even though they were drowning out dozens of other weaker signals... seems suspicious. I didn't key up much to find out if anyone could really hear me, had to get back to work.

I sure hope the storms mostly stay south of me tonight and the wind gusts spare my antenna, I'd hate to wake up and find it destroyed right when I actually get to start using it and hearing all sorts of cool stuff!

 

[slowmover]

Drink the beer first and be 1:1 with the couch as the storm blows thru....

An SWR reading alright: Sipping while Reclining

 

[trentbob]

[/QUOTE]

I hooked up my 980SSB over lunch and turned it on to discover that DX is rolling like crazy today. I heard the west coast, Florida, even the Hawaiian islands I think, but west coast was coming in the best. Also some staticky stuff in other languages, not sure if it was from across a pond or just someone in the US speaking another language. Pretty much every channel had conversation going, some of it crystal clear.

Some of the clearest people were the ones claiming to be running all stock with no amplification, even though they were drowning out dozens of other weaker signals... seems suspicious. I didn't key up much to find out if anyone could really hear me, had to get back to work.

I sure hope the storms mostly stay south of me tonight and the wind gusts spare my antenna, I'd hate to wake up and find it destroyed right when I actually get to start using it and hearing all sorts of cool stuff!

It's been on and off, hit or miss, from Southeastern Pennsylvania I normally get Alabama and Texas clear as a bell. You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, give it time oh, we are just starting the cycle with years to go.

 

[gary123]

If you lay the antenna flat on the ground you can make it as long as you like. It wont work very well but you can make it nice and long.

For those really worried about swr use a dummy load it will give you a nice flat swr of 1:1. It wont work worth sh*t as an antenna but the swr is perfect. Antenna math and configuration is a science all of its own. The whole objective is to radiate all the RF out to the universe in general. Anything not radiated gets turned to heat. Commercial installations use reflected power measurements rather than swr. The concept being your sending 4 watts to the antenna there should be nothing returning (reflected). Ideally if your 'good buddy' says your hitting him with s9+ with a swr of 1.8:1 and only s8 with a flat swr 1:1 go with the 1.8:1. Lastly do not over think your installs you can spend days messing around for an undetectable gain or loss.

 

[KC5AKB]

I hooked up my 980SSB over lunch and turned it on to discover that DX is rolling like crazy today. I heard the west coast, Florida, even the Hawaiian islands I think, but west coast was coming in the best. Also some staticky stuff in other languages, not sure if it was from across a pond or just someone in the US speaking another language. Pretty much every channel had conversation going, some of it crystal clear.

Some of the clearest people were the ones claiming to be running all stock with no amplification, even though they were drowning out dozens of other weaker signals... seems suspicious. I didn't key up much to find out if anyone could really hear me, had to get back to work.

I sure hope the storms mostly stay south of me tonight and the wind gusts spare my antenna, I'd hate to wake up and find it destroyed right when I actually get to start using it and hearing all sorts of cool stuff!

Key up and try see who you can talk to!!!!

 

[arudlang]

Key up and try see who you can talk to!!!!

DX died down by the time I got done with work, and now I have unhook the coax and stuffed it back into the base of the brick chimney since someway somehow we are having an actual thunderstorm here in Minnesota, in the middle of December I saw the first lightening flash outside through a window and the 980SSB, which had been in scan mode, stopped on the present channel as if it was receiving a transmission. I don't want it to receive a blast of lightning so unhooked for now until this storm passes, which will take all night by the sounds of it. We're at 60 MPH gusts expected last I heard... Guess I'll have to hook up one of my rubber duck antennas so I can still listen to the weather channels! Or use this lame ole internet...

 

[trentbob]

127.025 was banging in hard this afternoon in Southeastern Pennsylvania just above Philadelphia PA. It was like deja vu all over again from the south.

 

[KB4MSZ]

The legal 40 are hopping pretty good right now in Tampa

 

[8200uwineg]

This page has a pic, from a sales flyer/catalog. Does it match?

Hy-Gain CLR-2/ Radio Shack "Colinear"

The star duster antenna would live it in the dust!! Lol 73

 

[prcguy]

I've tested a Starduster over several antennas including a CLR2 and the CLR2 is better.

The star duster antenna would live it in the dust!! Lol 73

 

[arudlang]

I don't know anything about stardusters, but I successfully exchanged Christmas greetings with south Oregon today from Minnesota which seemed pretty great for a bone stock Bearcat 980 pushing 2 watts on AM. I couldn't believe the other guy could actually hear me!

 

[slowmover]

Latest?

 

[arudlang]

Not a lot to update I guess, I've just been using the setup as spare time allows. Filling notebook pages with contacts, mostly on 38 LSB, 2-6 contacts a day most days if I am really trying. Getting harder to do that as I am working from home a lot less. Might have to beef up my mobile setup, but the area I work in is not great for HF so I'd be needing to do picnic lunches on higher terrain with less local interference. The lunch hour and early afternoon are usually my best times, mornings hit or miss, dies off fast in the evenings most days.

Anyways the home base setup is decent. Simple. 980SSB into the KL 203 into a Daiwa CN-501H and then a 50 foot run of cheap RG58 up the chimney and out to the HyGain CLR-2 on the roof, base is roughly 35 feet off the ground, nice except there is one tall metal shed/building on one side of me and now another one going up on the other side. No trouble picking up west coast and southern stuff like Florida, get Jamaica regularly, Bermuda a couple times a month, east Canadian islands every twice in a while. Been able to make two-way contact with all of those so it definitely works pretty decently for what it is.

It's almost an issue of getting too much from too many directions when the skip is rolling, could probably use a directional antenna for busy days.

Have one regular local friend now too which is nice, someone to chat with when the skip isn't rolling.

I've been watching videos today about getting started with ham, starting to look at licensing prep stuff. Looks like a lot to bite off but I'll chip away at it. Pondering whether I could potentially squeeze enough bandwidth out of my trusty CLR-2 to run one of those combination 10 and 11 meter radios, like the Anytone AT-6666. Something like that would allow me to move the 980SSB into my car and then I could keep working sideband DX during breaks during the workday potentially. Otherwise I will only have an AM radio in my car and although I admit I don't try often I just seem to have way better luck on SSB. There is a heck of a lot of garbage on the lower and mid AM channels.

If I could get one magic radio that did 10, 11, and 12 meters for a reasonable price I'd like that. I'd find some way to make the single antenna work. So much to learn though.

Its finally warming up here so pretty soon I'll start reworking the installs in our cars. Planning a very clean and aesthetically-pleasing installation for our fancy car, it probably won't have crap for range but I'll try my best, have several antennas to try and a NanoVNA to try to get it as good as it can be. In my old beater car looking forward to a much different install, one where a stepper bit goes smack through the center of the roof and the radio maybe just gets screwed to the dash. Not much point in getting fancy with a 23 year old 300,000 mile car but might as well put a jaunty whip out the top and get all the range I can!

I need to start spreading it around too. See what we can get setup at my folks' house at some point, maybe take advantage of the 75 foot TV tower at Grandma's house about a mile away to try out a homemade dipole... It should be a fun summer.

 

[slowmover]

Not a lot to update I guess, I've just been using the setup as spare time allows. Filling notebook pages with contacts, mostly on 38 LSB, 2-6 contacts a day most days if I am really trying. Getting harder to do that as I am working from home a lot less. Might have to beef up my mobile setup, but the area I work in is not great for HF so I'd be needing to do picnic lunches on higher terrain with less local interference. The lunch hour and early afternoon are usually my best times, mornings hit or miss, dies off fast in the evenings most days.

Anyways the home base setup is decent. Simple. 980SSB into the KL 203 into a Daiwa CN-501H and then a 50 foot run of cheap RG58 up the chimney and out to the HyGain CLR-2 on the roof, base is roughly 35 feet off the ground, nice except there is one tall metal shed/building on one side of me and now another one going up on the other side. No trouble picking up west coast and southern stuff like Florida, get Jamaica regularly, Bermuda a couple times a month, east Canadian islands every twice in a while. Been able to make two-way contact with all of those so it definitely works pretty decently for what it is.

It's almost an issue of getting too much from too many directions when the skip is rolling, could probably use a directional antenna for busy days.

Have one regular local friend now too which is nice, someone to chat with when the skip isn't rolling.

I've been watching videos today about getting started with ham, starting to look at licensing prep stuff. Looks like a lot to bite off but I'll chip away at it. Pondering whether I could potentially squeeze enough bandwidth out of my trusty CLR-2 to run one of those combination 10 and 11 meter radios, like the Anytone AT-6666. Something like that would allow me to move the 980SSB into my car and then I could keep working sideband DX during breaks during the workday potentially. Otherwise I will only have an AM radio in my car and although I admit I don't try often I just seem to have way better luck on SSB. There is a heck of a lot of garbage on the lower and mid AM channels.

If I could get one magic radio that did 10, 11, and 12 meters for a reasonable price I'd like that. I'd find some way to make the single antenna work. So much to learn though.

Its finally warming up here so pretty soon I'll start reworking the installs in our cars. Planning a very clean and aesthetically-pleasing installation for our fancy car, it probably won't have crap for range but I'll try my best, have several antennas to try and a NanoVNA to try to get it as good as it can be. In my old beater car looking forward to a much different install, one where a stepper bit goes smack through the center of the roof and the radio maybe just gets screwed to the dash. Not much point in getting fancy with a 23 year old 300,000 mile car but might as well put a jaunty whip out the top and get all the range I can!

I need to start spreading it around too. See what we can get setup at my folks' house at some point, maybe take advantage of the 75 foot TV tower at Grandma's house about a mile away to try out a homemade dipole... It should be a fun summer.

I’d like that more of us got their feet planted as well as you have with that old, free, antenna.

Success can lead to success. (The willingness to try is the hardest part).

Thx for update.

.