Why is an easy repair never quick and easy? (with pics!)

[bunyip]

Worst I saw was a house wired with CAT5, dual shield RG6 (not quad) and three runs of 3 phase, all bundled up together, TV reception and data was compromised, electrician could not work out why.
Another one I have seen in coax cable tied to timber frames with one of those tensioning tools that squashes the coax, no idea what the new impedance is but guarantee it won't be 75ohm.

 

[two_bit_score]

How many trips to the hardware store/ lumber yard does your average project take? Mine at least 3.

 

[dragoneggs]

How many trips to the hardware store/ lumber yard does your average project take? Mine at least 3.

Yep under 3, consider it a victory!

 

[k0ua]

How many trips to the hardware store/ lumber yard does your average project take? Mine at least 3.

Don't forget to count in thinking time and possible browsing the internet for either parts or ideas or both.

One project I am working on now is building a beverage antenna out in the woods for 160 meter low noise receiving. Now I know that 98 percent of you don't have a clue what I am talking about, but it is a low noise receiving only antenna for Amateur radio. You transmit on a different antenna and receive on this special low noise antenna. In fact I intend to make it a BOG (Beverage On the Ground). I have never done anything like this before, but I have heard so many good things about using them and this technique I was intrigued to try it. I have the parts to make the binocular cored toroidal transformers now and the RF choke cores. I still need the weatherproof boxes and the coax. I have the rest of the fittings coming. It has taken much research to find out how to build this thing and what parts to get. Lots of trips to friend Google.

I am not in a big hurry to go out into the woods during tick and chigger season. I figure accumulate parts, wind the chokes and transformers, and wait for the frost.

 

[two_bit_score]

Don't forget to count in thinking time and possible browsing the internet for either parts or ideas or both.

One project I am working on now is building a beverage antenna out in the woods for 160 meter low noise receiving. Now I know that 98 percent of you don't have a clue what I am talking about, but it is a low noise receiving only antenna for Amateur radio. You transmit on a different antenna and receive on this special low noise antenna. In fact I intend to make it a BOG (Beverage On the Ground). I have never done anything like this before, but I have heard so many good things about using them and this technique I was intrigued to try it. I have the parts to make the binocular cored toroidal transformers now and the RF choke cores. I still need the weatherproof boxes and the coax. I have the rest of the fittings coming. It has taken much research to find out how to build this thing and what parts to get. Lots of trips to friend Google.

I am not in a big hurry to go out into the woods during tick and chigger season. I figure accumulate parts, wind the chokes and transformers, and wait for the frost.

Now James, you think I read directions first before starting anything? That’s crazy talk! :laughing:

 

[k0ua]

Now James, you think I read directions first before starting anything? That’s crazy talk! :laughing:

Well... It can be beneficial to learn from others mistakes.

 

[dragoneggs]

Don't forget to count in thinking time and possible browsing the internet for either parts or ideas or both.

One project I am working on now is building a beverage antenna out in the woods for 160 meter low noise receiving. Now I know that 98 percent of you don't have a clue what I am talking about, but it is a low noise receiving only antenna for Amateur radio. You transmit on a different antenna and receive on this special low noise antenna. In fact I intend to make it a BOG (Beverage On the Ground). I have never done anything like this before, but I have heard so many good things about using them and this technique I was intrigued to try it. I have the parts to make the binocular cored toroidal transformers now and the RF choke cores. I still need the weatherproof boxes and the coax. I have the rest of the fittings coming. It has taken much research to find out how to build this thing and what parts to get. Lots of trips to friend Google.

I am not in a big hurry to go out into the woods during tick and chigger season. I figure accumulate parts, wind the chokes and transformers, and wait for the frost.

Okay I see why it is called Beverage after Harold the inventor. How long will yours be? How do you aim it?

 

[k0ua]

Okay I see why it is called Beverage after Harold the inventor. How long will yours be? How do you aim it?

I am planning on 350 foot as it will be a BOG not an elevated wire one. The BOG will be made with RG6 coax as both the feedline AND the receiving element. I will have a phase reversing transformer at the end instead of terminated with a resistor and it will have two feedlines back to the radio a forward direction and a reverse direction feedline. The firing direction is along the direction the coax is laid out on the ground and of course the reverse direction with the other feedline. I intend to lay out mine towards Europe one way and the southwest Pacific the other.

BOG's can be much short than standard elevated wire Beverage's.

Keep in mind all of this is "theory" and conjecture for me at this point as I have never even seen one of these things, let alone use one. One of the local guys has a BOG out in his woods, so he says and claims it is the cat's meow for 160 meters. I managed to "work" the expedition to St. Pierre and Miquelon the other day on a Digital mode (FT8) but he managed to work them on Single Sideband Voice. There was no way I could have possible worked then on voice, as the static level that night was 20 dB over S9. For those that don't know that is a LOT of thunderstorm static noise. There just was not way to pull a voice signal out of that no matter how much Digital Signal Processing your radio has inside. BUT with his BOG as a receive antenna he was able to hear them. Of course he transmitted on a more conventional Inverted L wire antenna up in the air. The expedition had BOG's on their end too.

Of course digital modes can go under the noise floor with FT8 being able to decode up to -24dB under the noise. Even experience humans cannot copy signals like CW (Morse code) much below -6 dB under the noise and most humans need voice signals of at least 3 to 4 dB ABOVE the noise floor to make much out. And we are talking about guys with years of experience and still have good hearing. Ordinary people off of the street no matter how good their hearing is (say a young person) cannot pull out voice signals that low because their DSP built into their brains is not developed due to experience doing this. Now you know more about copying weak signals than you ever wanted to know

 

[Industrial Toys]

I wish I had mastered CW! I can send it, but never got the knack of reading it like another language.

 

[k0ua]

I wish I had mastered CW! I can send it, but never got the knack of reading it like another language.

Well... you know how to fix that. It is the same way you get to play in Carnegie Hall......practice, practice, practice.