that my PSK signal was all over the place!  my only excuse is ignorance, not stupidity.  As a novice in the mode, I tried to follow suit and adjust my station like I saw others.  i'd reduced power to about 40 watts like a lot of other stations I listened to.  I was unaware of how much impact my audio would have...

its difficult to ascertain the signal strength/quality from my end of the antenna, but the reports i'd received had been excellent and even comments about how "clean" my signal was had been made, so I went happily on, warbling along.

then I guess, a frustrated station made a remark that left me wondering how to interpret it, being a worrier, it interpreted it to mean the worst and began investigations.

to my embarrassment, I found I was guilty of doing what i'd fussed about so many times, splattering all around me.  with the help of several very patient and kindly stations that took screen shots and videos, I believe I have contained my beastly audio and will be easier to listen to and not take so much space on the falls.  I've found that my 20/25 watts and abt half the audio i was using, amazingly to me, does as well.

From the comments i received, i assume the impact of my signal is relative to the distance the receiving station is from me.  the guys in the surrounding states were most bothered when asked while the guys on the coasts and the overseas stations didn't seem to see as much.

I am appreciative of the help I've received and the manner in which it was given.  there was no swearing or angry words, only diplomacy and tactfulness.  i believe if this technique was used on others who are probably unknowingly doing what as i was, it would help us all... i don't mean to advocate "policemen" on the falls, but don't assume that the person's overdriven audio is purposeful.  i think most of us are concerned with being good neighbors and would take kindly to some well meaning, tactful, constructive criticism.

Yet, i guarantee there are those that will take offense and "go off" on anyone that offers help...

i'd like to make my apologies to those who's PSK life's I've made miserable the past 6 weeks, and thank those that took time to educate me.  Please, if you hear me doing that again... kick me!  i get excited when i'm trying to nail a "new one" and in my enthusiasm get too loud, but a good boot in the rear will wake me up.  :-)

73

so, here's what I think I've learned from this discussion, my own research, and local discussions...

Since i'm using ladderline, use a tuner to match the 50 ohms the radio requires.

after the tuner, a balun either 1:1/4:1 is needed.  that seems to depend upon the opinion of the operator.  however, I've not seen a 1:1 for ladderline.  I guess i'm overlooking it.

keep the ladderline (depend on who's talking) from 2" to 2' from ANY metallic object and try to not run parallel with other feedlines or if I do, keep them separated - agn 2" to 2'  make sure the station is well grounded.  these two ingredients go a long way helping alleviate rf/tvi problems in the house.

in a decent installation, ladderline does not heat up until way past the ham radio legal limit wattage is applied, UNLESS it is TOO close to metal and/or there's a break in the line and arcing occurs.

keep the ladderline as still as possible, or if it has to hang freely, make a curl every few feet to give it more stability against wind.

most I've talked to advocate a direct connection to a tuner with a balanced antenna receptacle... my old dentron mt2000A has that, but because its inside and under a shelf, pulling it out to disconnect for storms is a hassle, so I have a small 4:1 200 watt balun outboard right now, and plan to find one that will accommodate my AL811H if/when I ever decide to use it.  I've had it a while and only used it once or twice just to try it out.  I find it unnecessary in PSK, or if I did try to use it, i'd be tarred, feathered, and quartered  :-) 

i'm still vague on the hardcore theory, but maybe i'll understand more later.  I just don't understand why more people aren't using this.  is it marketing?

if any of my thoughts are wrong or misguided, help me by making corrections...  thank you all...

the OP exists in a continuous state of confusion and anxiety.  i am a "what if" personality, or my wife calls me a "just in case" guy because i'm always worrying about what might happen if this goes wrong or that goes wrong and what to do when this happens.

my theory, or what i once knew, before my dozen years away from the hobby, is very slow to come back and i realize i don't know/remember things and it bothers me.  

i have received a good education from the replies in this thread, that's worth a bunch, to me.  i appreciate you all for taking time to discuss this.

the antenna is playing great!  embarrassingly, i receive an email last night that my PSK signal was so loud it was blanking the guy's receiver.  shamefacedly, i admit that had cranked up 10 watts more than i usually do in an exuberant attempt to nail a station I've only read/heard about, and have only witnessed someone talking to that callsign, once or twice in all my years.  but prior to this antenna, i doubt that comment would have been made, because i'd used that much power many times before and received good reports about the clarity of my signal...

so i'm both embarrassed that i was operating in a bad manner but happy that my antenna seems be working better.... i will take care to control my enthusiasm from now on... and have made apologies.   adjustments have been made. 

thank you all, and please, continue the discussion, i need all i can get.

I have absolutely fallen in love with this antenna.  not that I've had all that many antennas in my time, but no wire antenna I've ever had has compared to this one.  just about anyone I can hear, I can talk to... and the reports are amazing.

I've been biting my lip and gritting my teeth and ignoring the feeling of gloom and doom I have over my shoulder concerning the SWR, but you guys have given me the confidence to enable this...

now, the big question I have, is:  i'm not a power monger, but on occaision I do use an AL811H on 80 meters.  the dipole was cut for 3810 when I was using 9913 coax... it was flat right there... but with ladder and the little 4:1 balun, it still shows a 23 to >25 SWR.  using the advice in this thread, to ignore it and carry on, what happens when I apply the 800 watts? 

will I melt down?  I checked the LL after a long PSK session where I had been using 50 watts to reach a station overseas, and there was no sign of warming up at that power... but 800?  is my brain still in the 50ohm coax mode?

its difficult to break that habit.

thank you, that is more information than i've been able to dig out of the web... where can i find more abt using ladderline feed antennas?  i haven't been able to dig out a whole lot... i'd like to have a better understanding of what you're saying...

this antenna works better than anything i've had in the air, including a ********* folded dipole that i paid lots of $$$ for.  i realize how important propagation is, but for this junkbox antenna to enable me to have ragchew qso's into VK/ZL several nights in a row.  well, it's PSK, but still... amazes me...

i think i will try to add some length to the feedline and see if i can bring the two (antenna/feedline) closer ... thanks!

thank you, that is encouraging.  i can't seem to get myself to accept that high SWR, all the years i was active, i always worked to get rid of as much as i could, then apply the tuner.   i use the analyzer and find the resonance closest to 3.850 is 2.5XX  to bring this up, shortening the antenna perhaps?  or feedline?  how might this change the higher bands?  

do you use an amplifier?  i have an AL811H that i like to use sometimes.  the little balun i have is rated for 200 watts, i need a bit stronger one... i haven't located one that will handle that much power except for the ones that are used as dipole centers.  this one needs to be in/near the shack.

i've been inactive for many years and have forgotten a lot of theory, and i'm trying to recover... right now, i want a better antenna in the air.  for the time being i've chosen a ladderline fed dipole.   from the reading i've done, i was under the impression that a random length wire fed with a random length of ladderline, a balun, and a good tuner could be used on any band.

i put up abt 120' of wire, i didn't measure the ladderline, just used enough to get from the roof to the radio.  i have a 4:1 balun and a dentron 2000a tuner.

the swr on 10/15/20 is fairly decent, close enough that even the internal radio tuner will handle it, however, the lower the frequency, the higher the swr... my analyzer shows the 40/80 meters to be >25 SWR.  i can match that with the tuner, however, is there actually any power getting off the antenna?  is it worth while to use?

perhaps you can make some suggestions?

thank you for taking time for me...

i think we can lay the blame on a cable.  if i hold it in just the perfect position it works, otherwise, its a brick.  i have a 2nd cable for another rig... it works with that one.   i emailed this info to tigertronics and they are supposed to send another cable.

nothing seems to work when it goes crazy like this.  it worked all day yesterday, several hours last night, and all this morning... i came in while ago, worked a station, took the dogs out, came back in and it is crapped out again...

it will key the rig, but there's NO power out... i've adjusted all the parameters and knobs i can find to adjust...

ggggrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

for no apparent reason, to me... it flakes out with no warning... WHAT AM I MISSING!?!

thank you for taking time to reply to this.  i believe i have narrowed the problem to the cables, maybe.   the last time it happened, i pulled the cables from the back of the interface and reseated them.  it began to work and did so all afternoon.  20 meters was active and i made several solid contacts with good reports.

the next time it happens, i'll make sure to reseat only ONE cable at a time to find out which it is. 

could this be linked to a problem i had earlier?  the interface would only key the radio while the radio was in FSK mode. 

aaargghhhh!!!!!! driving me nuts!!!! did it again in the middle of a contact!!!!

i have the signalink and ts450s working great together.  i've made several contacts and have good reports.  BUT, once in a while, the signalink becomes obstinate and refuses to key the rig...

i can't pinpoint any particular reason that sets it off.  AND, i can't put my finger on exactly what i'm doing to bring it back.  i try turning the interface off for a bit and then on, i've tried turning the rig off for a bit and then on, i've tried turning them both off and on.  i've adjusted the levels all over the place... is it me? or a flaky interface?  i'm not the brightest bulb on the tree, and i don't think i'm all that dim, but maybe moreso than i realize.

oh, i'm using the digitalmaster 780 software... i have the cat interface ordered and in transit. but it works fine without it.

any thoughts?

many thanks

i've been inactive for quite a while and needed to upgrade my handhelds because all of the repeaters are toned, in my area...

i picked up a couple of the ADI AT-600 dual band radios and they do what i want them to do very well... since i live on the fringes of the repeater coverage, i use them to crossband... on low power. 

i've noticed that when i go to high power, the low battery error comes up... the only way i can operate on high power is with a fresh 12v mah battery, and then not for long.

is this just quirky for these radios or is there a problem?

i'm not going to junk them, cause they do what i want, but as they are, i can't depend upon them for more serious work if i need to.

i have 3 power supplies in my station, an Astron RS-50M, a Kenwood KPS-12, and an Astron RS-35A.

they do a great job with all my gear, with the exception of the 35A when i key my Ameritron 811H, the 35A shuts down.

perhaps RF is backing into it? but i'm wondering why the other power supplies aren't reacting the same way.

in my defense, i've been almost totally inactive for the past several years, i don't remember how many, but i find i've forgotten more than i think i ever knew... so this is puzzling to me...

suggestions?

i've been inactive for many years and have forgotten more than i think i knew... but you guys jogged my memory regarding the proximity of other feedlines... i have several there, so that won't work...

ok, that's what research is for...

on to something else.  i'm looking at what i think is called, or used to be called, a fan antenna...

thank you for your replies!

73