Radio update for June 07
Well what a funny old month - some quite interesting contacts on HF, have actually come across some people who want to have a chat rather than just saying 5/9 (!!) so all good stuff. I have been lucky enough too to have come upon some secondhand and surplus radio equipment for 'the right price' so the shack is now looking even better - latest acquisitions include:
Yaesu FT101ZD mk1 - hefty old HF transceiver, sold as seen, filthy dirty, been in a loft for in excess of 10 years and not in a box! Good receive, has cleaned up nice, no transmit - shame! Don't know if it'll be tempted back into life, it may take a better tinkerer than me!! First trial as receive only was listening late one night to USA and Kuwait on 20m with only a patch lead for an aerial!!
Yaesu FT290R mk1 - the original portable SOTA rig - excellent condition, cheap as chips on ebay and should work a treat on 2m SSB with the home made 'back pack' 6ele Yagi.
MFJ259 - SWR analyser - just brilliant for fixing building and checking antennas and 'stuff' and has already allowed the resurrection of the formerly partially destroyed Watson 7/8 mobile whip for 2m using a length of s/s weld rod.
Realistic HTX-100 - 10metre SSB mobile transceiver - cheap as chips again and in good nick, ideal for the car especially as 2m FM mobile in Jersey is desperately under used so a bit of mobile HF Es sounds promising, will be connecting it to a...,
DV27 - as new, cheaper than chips!!!! Bought on ebay (ostensibly for the 5/8" threaded mount and co-ax) for under a fiver which spookily is what the original cost new 25 years ago when your truly was in to CB!!! SWR comes down nicely in the 10m SSB portion of the band, rated to 50W which is fine as the HTX is 25W out, yet to be tried in anger!
3 band trapped wire dipole - free!!!! Thanks Terry!!!!! Was to all intents and purposes redundant in his garage and is the perfect size for the back of L'Abri du Cotil as a slightly sloping 'V' beaming E.N.E. toward France, Eastern Europe and the UK. Perfect on 20m (no ATU) but dicey unmatched for 15m, 10m iffy unless QRP but does at least allow the proper use of the 10m 5/8 wave for its intended purpose.
Comprehensively knackered half size G5RV - been re-building that one but should be interesting if I ever get it up high enough!!
- Posted by Rob Luscombe on 25/06/2007.
- Rob Luscombe's site
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