BLOG | Page 3

HAM SIGNAL

Thoughts,observations,experiments, and ramblings in Amateur Radio by N1DAY and KC4SIT.

LIGHTBULB QSO PARTY - CLICK HERE

The shack

05/04/2018

A recent video tour of my 630M-6M antenna system and shack. https://www.facebook.com/SheepdogDave/videos/10210565617727728/
Update on the Icom 7610 after three serious days of operation

04/29/2018

I know this is going to drive the social workers crazy, but I've cut my ties to the IC-7200, and immediately found myself in love with the IC-7610. IC-7200......She's history! IC-7610 - the tuner is connected to antenna 1 that goes out to a 5 selection switch for my 80-6M delta loop array. Antenna 2 goes to the Marconi Tee tuned by a remote LDG tuner for 2200-6M coverage, and the Receive antenna is connected to a Wellbrook loop. All are selectable through the 7610's antenna menu.
First Date - ICOM 7610

04/26/2018

ICOM 7610 My new ICOM 7610 transceiver arrived 2 days ago, and after having an opportunity to test drive it, I thought I'd stop operating the radio for a while and write down my first impressions. Unlike other reviewers of the radio, I am not going to spend a lot of time talking about specifications, internal design, RMDR numbers, etc. That is being covered by every reviewer out there. I am going to focus on using the radio....things I immediately liked and disliked. When I first powered
An update on getting around the HOA rules

04/19/2018

Since writing about hiding an antenna in an HOA, a few additional observations have been made that can help those who are in a situation where an antenna out in the open is not possible. The original article can be viewed here: http://hamsignal.com/blog/home-owner-associations. The first is the attic antenna. Apparently there are a number of people who are installing long wire antennas and dipole-type antennas in attics. I have never been a fan of such antennas due to the potential for
Inducted Deltaloop Revisited

02/23/2018

With all the recent changes to my 630M antenna which used to share TX responsibilities with several HF bands, I lost access to 80M. Well, I actually didn't lose 80M access as I was still able to marginally tune 80M on my 160M inverted L. But even though I was able to make my Icom 7200 happy after my indoor tuner, the resulting SWR on the feedline was 6:1. That was not acceptable. So, I decided to take down a 40M delta loop, and resurrect a compressed 80M loop that I experimented with
A lesson in basics

02/18/2018

Over the past few weeks of low band activity, I have noticed a gradual drop-off in performance at station N1DAY. I kept attributing all of this to the mountain behind me, weather, solar conditions etc. But the fact was that I was no longer receiving or hearing west coast and other distant stations to the extent that I was before I got into all of the recent 'improvements' to the station that were primarily aimed at my comfort. So I sat back and looked at my station's evolution and suddenly
Coil Size and Antenna Efficiency on Low Bands

02/05/2018

Up until a few days ago, I was of the opinion that an efficient induction coil for the low bands was one that had a form factor somewhere around 1:1. Another way to put it is that the length and diameter of the coil were approximately equal. In an attempt to get away with a single coil for both 2200M and 630M, I constructed a coil that was 17" in diameter. It worked great on 2200M, but when I transmitted at 630M, I began to notice a profound drop off in stations that were reporting receipt of
Roger Roger Roger

01/22/2018

For those who insist on Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger Roger
Are you &!#$ing me?...,or the case of GWDS

01/20/2018

Title seems appropriate. I spent over a week trying to figure out why my Hafler P1500 only delivered half of its rated mono power mode. Channel A - 70 watts, Channel B - 70 watts...Bridged Mono - 70 watts. How could it be that each channel was working perfectly and that bridged mode wasn't giving me any power boost? Theories abound.... My fellow Cellar Dwellers had some good theories in attempting to fix this. 1. We are transmitting into something other than 12.5 ohms... hence the voltage