432 Yagi test

I finished running coax to the tower and attaching the ends. Added a long jumper you can see in the picture- its the "loop" seen at the end of the Yagi. With the added length it will work when I add the permanent mast and rotor.The picture shows My old/new 7 element yagi for 432mhz and My Comet GP-15 Vertical for 6m,2m and 70cm. The comet vertical is a great antenna and I highly recommend it!
  The Yagi is one I've had in the rafters for many years and decided to try and put it to use again. I managed to contact a local Ham who lives about 14 miles as the crow flies NW of Me. We talked vertical to vertical on the comet on 446 mhz FM and even though My Yagi is presently fixed at an easterly direction, We still managed a QSO. When its on a rotatable mast it should work just fine.
  I also has some success with several other Hams on both 70cm and 432mhz with the Comet antenna  and Horizontally polarized Yagi even though they are over the hill and down by the flatlands of Lake Superior! I'm definately pleased with this installation. A MFJ Antenna analyzer shows a coax loss of 2.5db at 432mhz for this long 100 foot run. It does mean My 20w from the radio will be more like 12w at the antenna but that appears to be enough!
 73--Tim

Used Heliax connectors

I bought these L44PW-P1 connectors from RF Parts. The top picture shows 3 of the 4 connectors as delivered with the coax stub still attached. The bottom picture shows after disassembly and cleaning. I've reused many styles of connectors over the years and have had good luck . I reinstalled this connector on a old piece of heliax and have since brought it into the shack and also attached to My mini-tower. After temporarily attaching a small 7 element 432/70cm Yagi on a fixed mast and connecting a coax jumper to the heliax run I was ready to test. Using a MFJ-269 showed acceptable SWR at 432.1 and also at 446 for FM simplex use. I still need to arrange testing with another Ham. Next I'll  be installing a heavy duty permanent mast and Rotor.
  73---Tim
 

60m listening

  Many evenings I find Myself in the Ham shack listening to various bands-- I usually try to find a net or happen on a good QSO, and have it in the background while reading emails, blogging and browsing. Tonight  like many nights the bands aren't real busy and I just happened to switch to 60m. I found my inverted "L" works well on 60m and tonight is no exception. Nice signals from around the USA and the noise level is low. A little "chicken band" type chatter but also some real nice QSO's. Don't forget about this little gem of the Ham bands. You might be pleasantly surprised.
  Recently received an order from DX Engineering for some stainless steel mounting clamps for My antenna project and today ordered 4 used Heliax connectors from RF Parts which i should have next week. I'm putting up a Yagi for 432 but not sure how well it'll play considering it resonates at 456! I tried to add to the driven element to bring it lower but so far haven't had much luck. Not done experimenting yet!
    In addition to 432 ,I will also try to add My tri-bander to this mast although I am wondering about the size-- its huge!! Would be real nice to have the aluminum in the air for HF !
  Have a blessed Good Friday and a Happy Easter.
  73---Tim

Faster DSL

 We recently checked into the availability of faster DSL at our house. We felt very lucky to have 1.5 meg at our country location. It was fast enough to stream netflix and have no stutter! Always looking for faster and with the recent switch from Qwest to Centurylink, My wife called and sure enough We could now have up to 7 meg. Up to is the key here! After some keystrokes at the Centurylink CO, We were now lots faster but not 7 meg-- more like 3 meg which is still a good improvement.
   With all the wireless, I decided to change the location of My DSL router from the basement to the 1st floor hoping for a signal improvement for the second story bedrooms. Too many times they switched to 3G without realizing it because the signal was too low-- about -84 and at times lower. After changing the router location they now typically are seeing -60 which is great! I also disconnected some phones and  connections not in use and rechecked the DSL speed. Now its a good solid 4 meg. Nice and noticeable improvement. If I had no other devices except the DSL router hooked up, I could envision a speed reaching toward 5-6 meg but We do need several phones . Still a nice improvement!
  73---Tim