Hi Harold,

I would recommend that you try to homebrew something from a pixie II schematic.  This assumes that you want to me extremely minimalistic.  It is a difficult rig to use, but it is extremely cheap.  You could wind coils on old pill bottles and such rather than buying toroid cores.

You will probably need to buy a crystal and maybe a cap or two.  If you have an amplified set of speakers from a computer you can use that instead of the LM386.

I definitely don't recommend this as a first rig, but if its all you can afford its better than nothing.  Plus you can enhance it and see how good you can make it work.

My 2 cents.

73, JP, K8AG

"Whats wrong with the tuner in your ts2000 specs say 16.5 to 250 ohms should tune the dipole very well or you know the tuner doesnt work ??"

Attic antennas are rarely anywhere near textbook.  Near to ductwork, electrical conduit, wiring, shingles and metal flashing can make a substantial difference.  That is why you want to be sure to start long with the wires and trim shorted until things work well.

73, JP, K8AG

I have seen sputtering kinds of equipment on Ebay periodically being sold as an "easy" convert to a ham amplifier.  I doubt the conversion is all that easy.  But then finding 10KW or so without blowing the house breakers would be a trick.

73, JP, K8AG

An inverted L is really a quarter wave antenna which is simple bent over part way up.  If it is a 1/4 wave antenna on 80M it is close enough to 50 ohms impedance that the tuner can easily match it.  But that means that on 40M it is pretty close to a half wave radiator.  It will exhibit a very high impedance (perhaps a thousand or more ohms) to the tuner.  Even the best autotuners can have a very difficult time matching that.

There are tuners that can adapt very high impedance, but autotuners usually are not of that type.  You might try an N:1 transformer to drop the impedance down to a reasonable level so the tuner can handle it on 40.  But then the transformer would need to be removed for 80M operation.

If you have the space you might consider a G5RV or even a ZS6BKW.  These have specially designed sections of window line that provide transformations and allow better SWR on 80 and 40 M (as well as other bands).  You still will need a tuner, but you avoid the whole 1/4 wave on 80M is 1/2 wave on 40M problem.

Hope this helps.

73, JP, K8AG

Hiking and off grid power indicate that you might want to look into some of the smaller QRP kits.  Radios like the Small Wonder labs SW series, of even the Elecraft K1 or KX1 series.  These draw considerably less power than even the FT817.  I mean receive currents of a quarter amp VS 50mA or even less.  That is a BIG difference.  I found myself always figiting with the power on my FT-817.

73, JP, K8AG

Yes and Yes and ... You get the picture.

The really bad part is weather.  A tree will change its "conductivity" based on the weather/season etc.  This will definitely effect your tuning.

I spent the money for the best insulated wire I could fins (Wireman or Davis RF).  I suspend the top of my ZS6BKW across with an insulator at the feed point and 40 feet of window line dragging it down.  Its been up for 3 seasons with no repairs to the wire.  (The end supports are another matter.)

Just Monday the trees that it is attached to drooped with a heavy collection of ice.  The antenna was down about 10 feet from its normal position.  40M SWR was terrible so I stayed off the air.

Today the ice has shaken off of the branches, the antenna is back up to its normal height and my SWR is great again.

Some say you can use any type of wire that you want.  Indoors that may be true.  Outdoors, spend the bucks.  Its worth it.

My 2 cents.

73, JP, K8AG

The Pixie II is a direct conversion (DC) receiver.  Unless the system has a preamplifier (neither of these does) your local oscillator will leak out and you will pick it up on nearby receivers.  The key simply increases the signal output.

I like the pixie II.  Its a real basic basic basic radio.  Not the greatest performer.  But you can really putter with it.

73, JP, K8AG

Get an autotuner and try loading the foil.  I know this sounds weird, but RF travels in the outer layers of conductors anyway.  Connect all of the foils on each half  together and treat the halves like halves of a dipole.  I bet it works very well for an indoor antenna.

My 2 cents.

73, JP, K8AG

20W is only a little over 1 s-unit difference from 100W.  It won't make up for a lousy antenna.  While a decent antenna can make a 1 watt signal really carry.

My 2 cents.

73, JP, K8AG

Hi Matt,

Ham Radio is only an outlet for technical knowledge and experience.  IMHO, the ARRL handbook of old times was not a very good place to learn electronics.  It assumed that you kind of knew what was going on and had an elmer at your elbow.

Today it is different.  I would wholeheartedly recommend the ARRL Handbook, any of the last few years.  It seems to have a purpose and provide a very nice overview of a lot of electronics and other technical areas.

I would also recommend that you get a small DC power supply, VOM and a few resistors and other small parts.  Play with them and experiment.  Yes you will probably blow a few parts up in the process.  But you can see for yourself that what the books are saying actually works.  You also will check that how you understand the book is what was meant.

Get an Elmer if you can.  Find the graybeard at a club meeting and ask them for help.

Study for a commercial operators license exam.  They tend to be a little more technical and may clarify some concepts, while giving you a goal.

High school and community college enrichment classes can provide additional exposure.

I have been in some form of hardware/software technology for over 30 years.  I still really enjoy what I do.

My 2 cents.

73, JP, K8AG

Look up the ZS6BKW.  It is a computer optimized G5RV-like antenna.  I have been using one for years and would not trade it.  Matches using my internal tuner on all HF bands 80 through 10 (even 6) except 75 and 30 meters.  Performance currently is 6000 miles per watt, but that was just casual QRP.

Transformer section is a bit longer than the standard G5RV, but you get more bands.  My transformer isn't even straight, but the antenna still works well.

My 2 cents.

73, JP, K8AG

I found it difficult to write down letters at @ 19 - 20 wpm.  I now only write down the occasional word (like call,name etc). and copy the rest in my head for the most part.

A lot of ops are sloppy senders when their speed increases which makes it difficult to go beyond 20 wpm on the air.

I think that we can all send as fast as we receive, but we can't all send WELL as fast as we think we can.  I recommend taping recording yourself, using a tape recorder and a code oscillator, sending backward paragraphs from a newspaper or book.  Then try to copy what you send.  As you send faster you will have difficulty decoding your sloppy stuff.  You can then adjust your sending and that, in turn will provide you with solid recordings to bump up your speed.  This way you know if you are sloppy otherwise you can't copy your own fist.

Just a suggestion.

73, JP, K8AG

I know the military uses ELF (Extremely Low Frequencies) like down to 20kHz or so with buried antennas to communicate with submarines.  I think the ground at HF would attenuate signals pretty badly.

Might be fun to experiment, though.  I would.

73, JP, K8AG

Directionality will be nonexistent in 80 and 40M.  The transformer section radiates somewhat like a top loaded vertical.  20 and up will see some directionality broadside, along with gain.

I use a ZS6BKW modification which has a longer transformer section, but matches the WARC bands better.  Although it seems to require more height, mine is up lower and the transformer section is not straight but it still works well.

Check

http://www.anugency.bizhosting.com/rssl/news0100.htm

for a usable description of the ZS6BKW.

G5RV/ZS6BKW will require a tuner because it is only somewhere near a low SWR to prevent excessive loss in a coax feed.  This way you don't need a tuner at the antenna.

73, JP, K8AG

You can sometimes get by with a transformer, rectifier and filter, but you might want to add some regulation as well.  That's what the manufacturers do.  Simple circuits are everywhere for this.  If you don't regulate you may find that either your transmit power is too low, or your receive voltage goes too high.

Decades ago I used to build linear variable DC supplies for the plating industry.  Nothing like 10 - 15 volts DC at 250 or 500 amps.  Exciting when the filter caps explode!

Just a suggestion.

73, JP, K8AG