I have a question. I'm not disputing what you say, I'm just trying to learn.

Why does this only effect 440 and not 2 meters?

David, N1ZHE

I have a new Yaesu FT-8800R feeding a Diamond SG-7900R antenna mounted with a Diamond K600M trunk lip mount.

The radio is mounted remotely in the trunk of my 2007 Toyota Corolla. I am using the YSK-8900 separation kit.

My SWR is 1.4 or less on 2 meters as well as 440.

The radio plays very well on 2 meters, however it's an entirely different story on 440.

When I first transmit on 440 all is well, good carrier and audio. But if I say more than a few words, the audio becomes at best garbled and sometimes just a few syllables get through.

I've only briefly tried this on a few different 440 machines and always at the high power level, I always had the same results with my audio on 440.

Someone suggested today that RFI might be getting into my radio, probably via the separation cable which looks like a network cable for your computer, with the modular jacks and all.

Has anyone seen this or something similar? I know I need to do some more experimentation to be sure, I intend to try lower power levels and see if it reoccurs.

If lower power levels "solve" this problem, would you suggest some kiind of ferrite cores for the separation cable? At both ends? I know nothing about ferrite cores so if this is the solution, specifics about where to buy and what exactly what to buy would be appreciated.

David

Hi all.

I recently purchased a new Omni VII from Ten-Tec.

I wanted to try operating remote using their One Plug software for the Omni VII.

I have a Mac and of course this is Windows software. But I also have a Windows partition on my Intel Mac and I dual-boot into either the Mac OS or WinXP Home Edition.

One Plug is currently working perfectly using the WinXP partition with this setup. It runs each time I start it without problem.

However, I also installed it on my spanking new Vista laptop. It ran one time perfectly, but now it refuses to run at all. Each time I try to start the program I get an error box that says "Run-time error '6': Overflow". I believe this is a visual basic program.

It seems funny it ran great the first time and now I can't get it to run at all.

I also have a WinXP/Linux desktop that has the same problem with it's WinXP side. The program installed great and ran fine the first time but now it gives me the same error as the laptop.

I wouldn't think that I would need to add or update anything if the program ran fine the first time. Perhaps it's a permissions or registry problem??

David, N1ZHE

So right you are!

I bought a new computer some months ago and I wired it wrong tonight for my psk interface.

I got it straightened out before I sent my original email. I use Linux and there is an unbelievable number of ways you can configure (or in my case, mis-configure) your mixer.

After receiving your email, I finally got it right.

Lots of signals to hear, indeed!

Thanks!

David, N1ZHE

A friend told me that 80 meter psk has become "hot". Said lots or European's use this mode/band at night.

Anybody know a time or frequency? I'm tuned to 3.580.15 now and all is quiet at 0200Z.

David, N1ZHE

No doubt the ladder line was radiating as a part of the antenna.

Is there another way to cure the TVI, or will I have to find some way to add the ladder line back on without displeasing the XYL?

David, N1ZHE

The same thought crossed my mind.....

I've considered a vertical on the roof that would be further away from the TV's in the house, but the radials would be a pain.

David, N1ZHE

I have an Icom 706 MkIIG and a LDG AT-11MP Autotuner. It feeds a short run of coax (about 6 feet) that leads to a 4:1 balun, then 450 ohm ladder line to the dipole which is suspended just above the roof top.

I had a LOT of extra ladder line bunched up (not coiled) on the roof, but for some strange reason, the XYL didn't like the looks of the excess ladder line. Go figure.

When I finally tired of hearing her complaints, I trimmed the excess ladder line, which left about 40-50 feet from the balun to the antenna. Due to my really tiny in-town lot (my house nearly fills the lot), I have little option for antennas. It's either a vertical, or my shortened (via loading coils) dipole.

After cutting the ladder line, my LDG tuner would no longer load 160, 80, 40, nor 17 meters. It never would tune 15.

A ham buddy at work sold me a silver faced MFJ-949E Versa Tuner. It literally will tune everything from 160 to 6 meters with this present antenna setup.

My joy would be complete, except where I had no to very minimal TVI with the LDG tuner, both with the full ladder line run and the now shortened ladder line run, I now have LOTS of TVI with the MFJ tuner. I'm running cable TV with a high pass filter where it feeds into the back of the TV.

I'm on the 2nd floor, so station grounding is non-existant. If grounding is my possible answer, the only thing to ground to is an steam radiator in the next room. Even though I'm running a dipole with a balanced line, I wouldn't want to make my heating system a part of my antenna system.

Any suggestions?

David, N1ZHE

I'm running an Icom IC-706MkIIG into an LDG AT-11MP Autotuner into a short run of coax to a LDG 4:1 balun, feeding a little over 100 feet of 450 ohm ladder line, and that (finally!) feeds a Spi-ro AS-2 shortened
all-band dipole. This dipole has loading coils on each leg. This antenna is advertised as being able to work 160 meters with a good tuner.

This setup works beautifully on all bands EXCEPT 160 meters. I can tune to about a 1.8 to 1 SWR for transmitting.

However, my receive has a strange buzzing that sometimes is "just there" and sometimes it isn't. This noise usually tends to only be apparent when I am receiving a signal from another station.

The noise rises in intensity with the received voice peaks. Right now I'm on 1.988 and the nearest next QSO is on 1.940.

My antenna is only about 25-30 feet up, about level with the top of my roof on my two story wood frame house. Getting up higher is not much of an option at this time.

One leg of my antenna is about 15-20 feet from some neighborhood power lines.

Due to my really small lot, I can't arrange the antenna any differently.

Sometimes this noise completely goes away and the receive is beautiful.

Because I'm on the second floor, I have not grounded my equipment.

The buzzing does not sound electrical and I have all but eliminated any sources in my house.

Do you have any suggestions how I can eliminate this buzzing?

David, N1ZHE

My current dipole will tune 10 meters and 20-80 meters.

This is good, but I miss 17 meters! It's one of my favorite bands!

So I had enough junk around to build one for free. Though I prefer ladder line, this one will be coax fed. I can live with this for FREE.

I calculate each leg should be 12.9 feet long, or 12 feet and 11 inches or so.

Only problem is the SWR is 3:1 at 18.110 and between 2.5:1 and 3:1 at 18.168.

Gee, is this thing too short or too long??

David, N1ZHE

Icom and Bencher both don't give a whole lot of info here.

Icom provided a phono-style plug, but I assumed it was for RTTY.

Bencher only said to connect the dit to one side and the dot to the other.

So, do I use a stereo phono plug? And if so, do I connect the ground to the ground and the dit and dot side as it suits me?

Or if I use a non-stereo phono plug, how do I connect it??

David, N1ZHE

To clarify, I use my 706 strictly as a base station, not mobile.

Thanks!

David, N1ZHE

I have an Icom 706 MkIIG.

I can install up to two IF filters in this radio.

One filter slot holds a 500 Hz CW filter.

I would like to put a SSB filter in the other, but I have no experience with this.

Should I get the 2.8 kHz or the 1.9 kHz filter??

Sincerely,

David, N1ZHE

To KC8VWM: I meant my location was ham-unfriendly due to the lot location and size. I have no known zoning restrictions.

To K7VO: My dipole is a "Cobra" style. It is 73 feet long, made from 3 conductor rotor wire I purchased from Radio Shack. It is fed with 100 feet of 450 ohm ladder line. See this link for more on it's design: http://www.hamuniverse.com/cobraantenna.html

I could not fit 135 foot antenna in my yard.

Thanks to all that answered.

David, N1ZHE

I need some antenna suggestions.

I bought a house in 1995 before I became a ham. Selling the house is NOT an option at this time.

My lot is tiny. I currently have a dipole cut for 10-80 meters that can only be installed on my lot one way. Unfortunately, it points northwest/southeast, not so good for my southern Maine location.

Besides the tiny lot, I am located in the lowest point in town. I have my town's main street one block out my front door (with houses between me and Main Street, of course). Main Street is higher in elevation than the roof of my house, by quite a lot!

Out my back door, I have this incredible mountain. I am not in a ham-friendly location, antenna-wise.

I make an occasional contact with my dipole, some surprizingly strong, considering their location and my antenna configuration. But mostly I hear people too far down in signal strength for my to understand, let alone work.

A ham friend at work suggested I might want to invest in a good omni, like a Gap. I could mount it at roof level.

I really don't have any room or finances for towers, beams, etc. Plus, due to the layout of my property, I can only put any antennas on one side of my house, or on the roof. And that's the side where the power lines are, so I must choose my locations carefully.

So Elmers, any good suggestions?

David, N1ZHE