Well the new antenna is NOT a dummy load but with only one groundwave contact made I’m not sure how good it is. I did hear some distant stations in the backqround … not strong enough to get any callsigns but they were there and I managed the one groundwave contact…
Well at least I know it works….
Thanks to VE3EMB for giving me the rare FN25 Square and hopefully I’ll have better luck next time…
73bob
GO!!!!
Just a reminder that later today (Saturday August 11th) comes the Southeastern VHF Society 6m Sprint and it starts at 2000utc and runs for 4 hours.
This is an excellent way to test out some of your equipment in advance of the September ARRL VHF contst which will be with us in a few short weeks… (September 8th)
In my case I will just be happy if the new 6m Delta Loop I built the other day will prove itself NOT to be a dummy load.
My creation looks a lot like this one except mine hangs from a tree branch at 25 feet agl rather than being supported by a mast. Its hopefully directionional east-west. The SWR is good but it has not made a contact yet. Its also built much more stongly than the last one which had a flimsy bamboo boom. Version 1.0 did not survive field testing… Version 2.0 is built much stronger…
Listen for me from FN25 later today
73bob
Every now and again we all say something we regret… Sometimes not in a nasty way… or in a funny way… but it seems like the right way at the time but afterwards it seems rather Ironic…
Heres an example…
On Saturday July 21st before I left for Dale Park for the CQ WW VHF Contest I said the following:
In addition to the portable radio gear I had to find a way to get the 3 element 2m beam and the 6m delta loop (with its 6 foot boom) safely attached to the Vespa for the trip.
Note to self: Re engineer the delta loop boom to break down to a more workable length for travelling!!!
However a short couple of hours later when my Push up masting decided to collapse bringing the 6m delta loop down quickly and when the masting finished collasping the downward momentum suddenly stopping caused the bamboo boom to snap in two places (either side of where the boom was attached to the mast…
I wanted to re work the style of the boom and gravity takes care of that for me… Hows that for Ironic????
I tried for a quick fix on Saturday night and Sunday AM so I could get back into the contest but had no luck…. The contest was over for me….
I’m thinking of using my hamstick dipole mount that I use on 80m at times and just adding a pair of 6m hamsticks and be done with it… For the few times I need to make 6m contacts I think that will work just fine and if I can’t work them with a dipole than I guess I just can’t work them…
Now I should ask… Has anyone got anything good or bad to say about the idea of a 6m hamstick dipole… I could just make a dipole out of two 54 inch lengths of copper pipe (which I have in stock) but I’m just thinking out loud at this time so… if you have any experience or ideas… lets hear it…
73bob
VA3QV will be active for the CQ WW VHF contest from FN25ej operating in the Mountian Topper Catagory starting at 1800 utc for the maximum allowed time of 6 hrs or till the batteries die,,, Whatever comes first.
I will be using my Yaesu FT817 (5w maximum) and the antennas will be my 3 element arrow 2m beam on a camera tripod and my home brewed 6m delta loop
Hope to hear you in the contest so I can give out the RARE FN25 Grid Square
73bob
Just to remind you guys + and gals…
Now on Saturday the Weather in Ottawa will be “hot and sunny” if we can trust the predictions of the Weather Network. So far they have been fairly accurate so I’ll trust them…
The plans so far are to take some basic gear… FT 817, 10ah battery pack, Camera Tripod with 2m beam, and 17 foot shakespere wonder pole along with the 6m delta loop and set up somewhere…. and operate from the start of the contest for the first 6 hours as VA3QV in the hilltopper catagory.
The beam will be horozontal for this contest
The “Electric Vespa will be providing the transportation so we will be staying in FN25 and to narrow it down even more… Ottawa South East.
With any luck I can find a picnic table in the shade…
I figure that if the temps stay at 29 dec C as they are saying then if I can manage 6 hours outside I think I’ll be doing fairly good. This is one portable trip where I think the water will weigh more than the radio gear but 6m has been fairly good recently so the hope is that someone will hear my QRP signal on 2m or 6m and I will have something to brag blog about after…
There is a reason that they call 6m the “Magic Band”…
73bob
First of all if your looking for Scientific Testing…. sorry keep on looking…
Today would be more operational testing using my Yaesu FT 897 with the home made 6m delta loop and comparing it with my FT450 and the S9 43 foot vertical. Both Antennas are using the same tree in my back yard for support so its about as close as I can make it for this unscientific test…
The above picture is not my actual setup. I just found a picture that best shows what my loop looks like. I am using a bamboo boom and the loop is top center fed. I normally support it with a 17 foot crappie pole. The pole used to be 20 feet but at one time the antenna I was trying to raise was a bit heavier than I though so….
The above is more of what my loop looks like… just imagine it suspended off the bamboo boom in a fashion alike the upper picture and you have it… Its not pretty but its lightweight and it works… I am using it at home this weekend for my VHF Station in the RAC Canada Day Contest but other than that the next time it sees RF will be when I take it to the great outdoors with some altitude and attitude. This would mean a SOTA style activation with my FT 817…
Right now I am hear KZ4RR call CQ DX Europe on 50.170 (1308 utc) and he has a booming S2 signal but a fantastic clear crisp audio. I am hearing him on the Delta Loop which is aimed west and he is south of me…
I can’t hear him on the Vertical but I can hear bursts of static on the 450 when I hear him talking on the FT 897…
So IMHO the home brewed Delta loop is working better than the vertical… I have made some local contacts on 6m but yet have to make a contact outside of FN25 with it… Perhaps if I am lucky this weekend in the RAC Canada Day Contest could be the time but I know its more than a dummy load and how much more is yet to be determined.
73bob
Well it works…
After checking the SWR using the built in meter with the FT897 I can happily say that the antenna seems to like 6m (100w), 2m (50w) and 70cm (20w) and in all three cases with a fairly low SWR.
Tonite I checked into a local VHF SSB net here in Ottawa and managed groundwave contacts on all three bands so I know the antenna is not a dummy load.
Now until we get a busier net or I find a 6m opening I can’t tell you honestly how well it works because everyone I talked to tonight was local to me. I am hoping to get enough of a signal out there on Field day and the RAC Canada Day contest that some of the big gun stations will be out there to hear my popgun signal
.
But it was fun building something that actually worked and also did not break the bank for the parts..
73bob
Yesterday I was mentioning that I was thinking of building a lightweight 6m Delta Loop that I could use for those few times I need 6m from the field…
Well after doing some scrounging I am pleased to announce that its a partial success… The reason I call it a “Partial Success” is because I found no one on 6m to test it out with and I don’t think the band was open. If the band was open then the antenna did not work as expected…
Using an old Plumbing “T” and 6m of automotive wire and a few small pieces of Bamboo I managed to make a Rotatable 6m delta loop. Its supported by a 17 foot Shakespere Wonder Pole that used to be 20 feet before I over loaded it. Its very lightweight and should be perfect for those portable operations where you might need 6m (and its also resonates on) and 2m for contest multipliers…
The above pictures is not of my antenna but it does give you a general idea what it looks like.
I purposely made it a bit longer than needed so I could Prune it down to what would be an acceptable SWR for 6m but it seems there will be not that much to prune as it was really close already. Over the next couple of days I will try and use someones Antenna analyzer and try and get it closer. Like I said its also close on 2m as well so that could be a real bonus in the Hilltopper Catagory in the next VHF Contest…
So in actuality my costs on this one are next to nothing… I’m feeding it with a 25 foot chunk of RG58[ya the good stuff 
] and all the rest of the parts came from my junk box or existing stock… I don’t think the line loss will be a killer only using 25 feet…
Tomorrow (tonight actually) The West Carleton Amateur Radio Club run a VHF SSB Net at 2100 local time and I am looking to taking the FT817 out and test out the new loop and see how well it actually works… More on this later…
But if your keeping score the hombrewed W3EDP testing today worked and the homebrewed Delta Loop for 6m worked so today I am 2 for 2.
73bob
It goes without saying but… “Happy Fathers Day” to any of you are Fathers and I hope you had a great day yesterday… Given the average age of our hobby its safe to say that most of us were being honoured on Fathers Day than were visiting with our own dads.. This unfortunately is reality…. Our hobby is getting older and so are we…
Well although the weekend was a “little dissapointing” on the Radio Side of things I did have fun anyway… I managed to get a new W3EDP built but so far have not been able to test it due to what I would call “Poor” band conditions. The cluster says no one is out there I can hear and the FT450 is confirming it… I can’t really complain as I look at my Logbook for the last 10 months…
If I can make contacts in 134 DXCC entities in 10 months then I guess we can’t really call the band condition poor now can we…
However I do look forward to taking the FT817 our for some fresh air in the next couple of days and test out the W3EDP as I need it for Field Day… If I want to make a few contacts on 80m and 160m as the Par will look after 10m to 40m and next on my build list is a 6m delta loop that I found the plans for on the WWW.
The Delta Loop is in effect 1 full wave lenght of wire in a equlateral triangle (all 3 sides equal lenght). Nothing fancy about it but it does work. I had very good luck using a 20m loop in the field before and am going to use the same support system with just a shorter length of wire… It should do fine…
Its easy to build and I have all the parts needed in stock so… Its easy… Its looking like I will be operating QRP on 2m to 160m in the 1b catagory but I have not figured out from where yet so… stay tuned…
Like I mentioned earlier it was a GREAT weekend anyway or despite the Solar CRAP messing up the bands… Managed to get 3 BBQs done and on Sunday my daughter (Erika) joined us for the Fathers Day Feast… Two of my Three daughters made it this year so I was really pleased… Daughter #1 has a large family (it was her daughter that made me a Great Grandfather this year) so I know she had her hands full at her place…
So whats on the go in the next little while???
First off I have to build and test the 6m delta loop and test the newly built W3EDP. This one was made with 17 feet of 300 ohm Twin Lead and 67 feet of automotive wire… I’m feeding it with a LDG 4:1 balun
I’ll let you know how things progress as we get closer to Field Day and the RAC Canada Day Contest…
On the Amateur Social side of things… NR4CB Connie is slowly making her way north and we hope to have a group meeting with her just a day or so after Field Day… The most convient place to meet up with her for us would be on Iroquois Island at the Seaway Lock Station… The above link will take you to her blog and you can see her plans for a very ambition trip… If you follow her on Twitter you can join in on the trip.
Like I mentioned earlier in this post… A few of the boys from the 3730/VE3ORF Group are planning to meet up with Connie after field day in Iroquois Ontario at the Lock station. Its only about an hours drive from Ottawa and it won’t take her off her planned route by much… Set up a Portable HF Station and an Portable BBQ and Eyeball QSO will take place…
Check either Connie’s Blog or check back here closer to the date as we try and coordinate the visit…
And lets hope the bands getter better…
73bob
