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Author Topic: Greetings  (Read 688 times)

G3EDM

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Re: Greetings
« Reply #30 on: June 13, 2021, 08:17:00 AM »

Forget wave meters, a spectrum analyser is far better and these days you can buy a new one for £50 to £60 (TinySA from eBay). Oddly enough the current edition of Sprat has an article on them. Don’t forget a high power attenuator, the W7ZOI 40 dB resistive tap, is an easy project to go with a spectrum analyser:

http://p1k.arrl.org/cgi-bin/topdf.cgi?id=101099&pub=qst


Hi Dave, that link comes up blank when I click it. I am no longer an ARRL member (have joined RSGB instead) so maybe that's why the link doesn't work? I will eventually consider re-joining ARRL if only because of the excellent QST archive, but not now, am concentrating just on getting on the air.

73 de Martin, KB1WSY (for now)
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N1IG

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Re: Greetings
« Reply #31 on: June 13, 2021, 03:24:55 PM »

Bit off topic, but your made me curious...

I think that you need to be a UK Citizen for Ofcom to issue you a license, but do you also have to have a real UK address/be a resident as well?

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G3EDM

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Re: Greetings
« Reply #32 on: June 13, 2021, 10:50:27 PM »

Bit off topic, but your made me curious...

I think that you need to be a UK Citizen for Ofcom to issue you a license, but do you also have to have a real UK address/be a resident as well?

I just trawled through various Ofcom documents and could not find the answer to your question. There must be a rule, but I could not find it.

I am a British citizen (with no other citizenships) and resident in England, so the issue did not come up. In America I was a resident with a Green Card, and obtained a U.S. call after passing the General exam.

73 de Martin, KB1WSY (for now)
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N1IG

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Re: Greetings
« Reply #33 on: June 14, 2021, 05:55:30 AM »

I'm a dual citizen, and was just curious.  If I could get licensed in the UK, I would take the exam just for fun and probably never use it.
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G4AON

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Re: Greetings
« Reply #34 on: June 14, 2021, 12:23:04 PM »


http://p1k.arrl.org/cgi-bin/topdf.cgi?id=101099&pub=qst


Hi Dave, that link comes up blank when I click it. I am no longer an ARRL member (have joined RSGB instead)

Hi Martin
I’ve checked the link and it works for me on an isolated “private” browser tab, I am both an RSGB and an ARRL member, but I think that article is available to non members.

73 Dave
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G3EDM

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Re: Greetings
« Reply #35 on: June 14, 2021, 12:31:19 PM »

I’ve checked the link and it works for me on an isolated “private” browser tab, I am both an RSGB and an ARRL member, but I think that article is available to non members.

Well that's interesting. I tried it again in my usual browser (Chrome) and got the blank screen again. But in a different browser (Microsoft Edge) it worked fine and I now have the article. Thanks!

73 de Martin, KB1WSY (for now)
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G3EDM

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Re: Greetings
« Reply #36 on: June 22, 2021, 07:30:20 AM »

Steady progress. Today I re-wired the transmitter, which I originally built in America. The two power transformer primaries are now in series for 240V. I also tuned up for a few seconds into a crude but fun dummy load (an incandescent bulb).



The original U.S. (117VAC) jumper settings (the two black wires):


The new setting for 240VAC:


Powering up. The neon indicator, which is 117V, is wired across only one of the primaries:


Key down and tune-up! The bulb is 117V, 15W incandescent:


73 de Martin, KB1WSY (for now)
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AC2EU

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Re: Greetings
« Reply #37 on: June 22, 2021, 08:03:08 AM »

Quote
An alternative would be to put a 270k ohm resistor in series with the existing bulb and dropping resistor to leave the bulb wired across the mains. A 1/8 watt or larger resistor will do the job.

Yes that would work. OTOH the advantage of leaving it across one of the primaries is that if I ever return to a 117VAC country, no alteration would be needed in the neon circuit. Mind you, I am planning to stay put here, in any case!

73 de Martin, KB1WSY

...but it's 60 second mod!

G3EDM

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Re: Greetings
« Reply #38 on: June 22, 2021, 02:16:25 PM »

...but it's 60 second mod!

Point taken. But with the current setup (neon wired across one of the 120V primaries) it is a zero-second mod. You can switch the jumper cables back and forth between US and European voltage while leaving the neon wiring unchanged.

Or perhaps I am misunderstanding your post? If you're just saying that documenting, here on eham, a tiny AC voltage modification is hardly worth noting, I take your point! I'm just very excited to be getting ever so closer to getting on the air!

73 de Martin, KB1WSY (for now)
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