Elecraft

AX1 may add 40 meter coverage with "AXE1" extender

Classic

List

Threaded

11 messages Options

wayne burdick

AX1 may add 40 meter coverage with "AXE1" extender

Administrator

Hi all,

Sometimes the bands normally covered by the AX1 just aren't open (20/17/15 meters), yet 40 meters has all sorts of activity. Like tonight, at my QTH. 40 m is also a great local/emergency band, with many active regional nets.

For such times, we may offer an extender for the AX1 that moves the 20 meter resonance down to 40 meters.

A significant amount of additional inductance is required. The ATU built into the KX2 or KX3 provides any needed fine-tuning to efficiently cover the entire band, despite the unavoidably narrow-band nature of a short whip.

I whipped up a prototype of the hypothetical "AXE1" this afternoon and had excellent on-air results. Tests were done in my back yard, featuring hard-packed soil and brown unwatered grass...in keeping with our legendary drought. With one call each I bagged British Columbia and Colorado. Both stations were peaking S-9, and both gave me reports in the S-5 range.

This brings up an important caveat: a short whip is not the optimal antenna on 40 meters by any stretch, so calling strong stations is a good strategy. They could be strong due to propagation, good antennas, or high power, and two out of these three aid both ends of the QSO.

The extender would be about 6" long and 1/2" in diameter. (Even a small amount of added length helps on 40 meters.) It threads into place between the AX1's whip and base, and adds just 1.8 ounces of weight, still consistent with hand-held use of the KX2.

Equally important, for those of us who travel light, the extender -- plus a counterpoise wire for 40 m -- fits comfortably into our smallest bag, the CS40, along with the AX1 and an AXB1 whip bipod.

(In answer to the inevitable question: it *might* also work on 30 meters in a pinch, with an ATU, but efficiency would be lower.)

If you'd be interested in AX1 use on 40 meters, please email me directly. I won't necessarily be able to respond, but this will help us gauge interest. We'll keep a list for possible early announcement.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

tjdooley

Re: AX1 may add 40 meter coverage with "AXE1" extender

Hi Wayne. I would be in for this product for all of the above reasons.

Thanks for all you and Elecraft does for our hobby.

73

Tom
K4TJD

On November 16, 2018 8:58:33 PM EST, Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>Sometimes the bands normally covered by the AX1 just aren't open
>(20/17/15 meters), yet 40 meters has all sorts of activity. Like
>tonight, at my QTH. 40 m is also a great local/emergency band, with
>many active regional nets.
>
>For such times, we may offer an extender for the AX1 that moves the 20
>meter resonance down to 40 meters.
>
>A significant amount of additional inductance is required. The ATU
>built into the KX2 or KX3 provides any needed fine-tuning to
>efficiently cover the entire band, despite the unavoidably narrow-band
>nature of a short whip.
>
>I whipped up a prototype of the hypothetical "AXE1" this afternoon and
>had excellent on-air results. Tests were done in my back yard,
>featuring hard-packed soil and brown unwatered grass...in keeping with
>our legendary drought. With one call each I bagged British Columbia and
>Colorado. Both stations were peaking S-9, and both gave me reports in
>the S-5 range.
>
>This brings up an important caveat: a short whip is not the optimal
>antenna on 40 meters by any stretch, so calling strong stations is a
>good strategy. They could be strong due to propagation, good antennas,
>or high power, and two out of these three aid both ends of the QSO.
>
>The extender would be about 6" long and 1/2" in diameter. (Even a small
>amount of added length helps on 40 meters.) It threads into place
>between the AX1's whip and base, and adds just 1.8 ounces of weight,
>still consistent with hand-held use of the KX2.
>
>Equally important, for those of us who travel light, the extender --
>plus a counterpoise wire for 40 m -- fits comfortably into our smallest
>bag, the CS40, along with the AX1 and an AXB1 whip bipod.
>
>(In answer to the inevitable question: it *might* also work on 30
>meters in a pinch, with an ATU, but efficiency would be lower.)
>
>If you'd be interested in AX1 use on 40 meters, please email me
>directly. I won't necessarily be able to respond, but this will help us
>gauge interest. We'll keep a list for possible early announcement.
>
>73,
>Wayne
>N6KR
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>______________________________________________________________
>Elecraft mailing list
>Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
>This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>Message delivered to [hidden email]

--
Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

ke9uw

Re: AX1 may add 40 meter coverage with "AXE1" extender

Send this directly to Wayne

Chuck
KE9UW

Sent from my iPhone, cjack

> On Nov 16, 2018, at 8:04 PM, Tom Dooley <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Hi Wayne. I would be in for this product for all of the above reasons.
>
> Thanks for all you and Elecraft does for our hobby.
>
> 73
>
> Tom
> K4TJD
>
>> On November 16, 2018 8:58:33 PM EST, Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Sometimes the bands normally covered by the AX1 just aren't open
>> (20/17/15 meters), yet 40 meters has all sorts of activity. Like
>> tonight, at my QTH. 40 m is also a great local/emergency band, with
>> many active regional nets.
>>
>> For such times, we may offer an extender for the AX1 that moves the 20
>> meter resonance down to 40 meters.
>>
>> A significant amount of additional inductance is required. The ATU
>> built into the KX2 or KX3 provides any needed fine-tuning to
>> efficiently cover the entire band, despite the unavoidably narrow-band
>> nature of a short whip.
>>
>> I whipped up a prototype of the hypothetical "AXE1" this afternoon and
>> had excellent on-air results. Tests were done in my back yard,
>> featuring hard-packed soil and brown unwatered grass...in keeping with
>> our legendary drought. With one call each I bagged British Columbia and
>> Colorado. Both stations were peaking S-9, and both gave me reports in
>> the S-5 range.
>>
>> This brings up an important caveat: a short whip is not the optimal
>> antenna on 40 meters by any stretch, so calling strong stations is a
>> good strategy. They could be strong due to propagation, good antennas,
>> or high power, and two out of these three aid both ends of the QSO.
>>
>> The extender would be about 6" long and 1/2" in diameter. (Even a small
>> amount of added length helps on 40 meters.) It threads into place
>> between the AX1's whip and base, and adds just 1.8 ounces of weight,
>> still consistent with hand-held use of the KX2.
>>
>> Equally important, for those of us who travel light, the extender --
>> plus a counterpoise wire for 40 m -- fits comfortably into our smallest
>> bag, the CS40, along with the AX1 and an AXB1 whip bipod.
>>
>> (In answer to the inevitable question: it *might* also work on 30
>> meters in a pinch, with an ATU, but efficiency would be lower.)
>>
>> If you'd be interested in AX1 use on 40 meters, please email me
>> directly. I won't necessarily be able to respond, but this will help us
>> gauge interest. We'll keep a list for possible early announcement.
>>
>> 73,
>> Wayne
>> N6KR
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>
> --
> Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

Chuck, KE9UW

Peter Quick-2

Re: AX1 may add 40 meter coverage with "AXE1" extender

In reply to this post by wayne burdick

yes I would be very interested in this

73 peter ve3so
cw for ever
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

Peter Wollan-2

Re: AX1 may add 40 meter coverage with "AXE1" extender

In reply to this post by wayne burdick

Wayne,

Are you thinking the 40 m extender would be an add-on? I’m close to
ordering an AX1 — should I wait for 40, or is it safe to buy now and add 40
later?

Peter W0LLN

On Fri, Nov 16, 2018 at 7:59 PM Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Sometimes the bands normally covered by the AX1 just aren't open (20/17/15
> meters), yet 40 meters has all sorts of activity. Like tonight, at my QTH.
> 40 m is also a great local/emergency band, with many active regional nets.
>
> For such times, we may offer an extender for the AX1 that moves the 20
> meter resonance down to 40 meters.
>
> A significant amount of additional inductance is required. The ATU built
> into the KX2 or KX3 provides any needed fine-tuning to efficiently cover
> the entire band, despite the unavoidably narrow-band nature of a short whip.
>
> I whipped up a prototype of the hypothetical "AXE1" this afternoon and had
> excellent on-air results. Tests were done in my back yard, featuring
> hard-packed soil and brown unwatered grass...in keeping with our legendary
> drought. With one call each I bagged British Columbia and Colorado. Both
> stations were peaking S-9, and both gave me reports in the S-5 range.
>
> This brings up an important caveat: a short whip is not the optimal
> antenna on 40 meters by any stretch, so calling strong stations is a good
> strategy. They could be strong due to propagation, good antennas, or high
> power, and two out of these three aid both ends of the QSO.
>
> The extender would be about 6" long and 1/2" in diameter. (Even a small
> amount of added length helps on 40 meters.) It threads into place between
> the AX1's whip and base, and adds just 1.8 ounces of weight, still
> consistent with hand-held use of the KX2.
>
> Equally important, for those of us who travel light, the extender -- plus
> a counterpoise wire for 40 m -- fits comfortably into our smallest bag, the
> CS40, along with the AX1 and an AXB1 whip bipod.
>
> (In answer to the inevitable question: it *might* also work on 30 meters
> in a pinch, with an ATU, but efficiency would be lower.)
>
> If you'd be interested in AX1 use on 40 meters, please email me directly.
> I won't necessarily be able to respond, but this will help us gauge
> interest. We'll keep a list for possible early announcement.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]
>

John Glascock (N0IB)

Re: AX1 may add 40 meter coverage with "AXE1" extender

In reply to this post by wayne burdick

Thanks for Wayne, I would be differently interested. Take my KX3 stuff in my
RV and this would definitely be a great addition.

-----
73
John
N0IB

KX3 #7432
PX3 #1114

--
Sent from: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]

73,
John
N0IB

KX3 #7432
PX3 #1114

kd1ct

Re: AX1 may add 40 meter coverage with "AXE1" extender

In reply to this post by wayne burdick

I would be interested in the extender piece for the AX1 for 40 meters.
Very useful for SOTA work.
Thanks,
Bob (KD1CT)

--
Sent from: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/
______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

hbjr

Re: AX1 may add 40 meter coverage with "AXE1" extender

Absolutely interested!!

> On Mar 28, 2019, at 3:34 PM, kd1ct <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> I would be interested in the extender piece for the AX1 for 40 meters.
> Very useful for SOTA work.
> Thanks,
> Bob (KD1CT)
>
>
>
> --
> Sent from: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Elecraft mailing list

Re: AX1 may add 40 meter coverage with "AXE1" extender

In reply to this post by kd1ct

I really would like a quality antenna to go with my KX3. I use 20 and 40
meters as my main bands. The AXE1 antenna with a 40 meter "extender"
would be on the way to me as soon as it could be made available. I'm now
in a restricted area with regard to antennas and am doing a bit of
portable operations. Not so bad now winter is coming to an end. Steve kb1chu

On 3/28/2019 3:34 PM, kd1ct wrote:

> I would be interested in the extender piece for the AX1 for 40 meters.
> Very useful for SOTA work.
> Thanks,
> Bob (KD1CT)
>
>
>
> --
> Sent from:http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home:http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help:http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post:mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by:http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list:http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

wayne burdick

Re: AX1 may add 40 meter coverage with "AXE1" extender

Administrator

Hi all,

We're still exploring ways to add 40 meters to the AX1. There are various trade-offs (size, weight, efficiency, bandwidth, ease of tuning, etc.). Once we have something we know will satisfy our requirements, you'll hear about it here first. Meanwhile, I recommend a wire tossed in a tree, preferably one that follows you around as you hike :)

Thanks for your ongoing interest in our antenna products, and keep those ideas coming.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

> On Mar 28, 2019, at 7:04 PM, Steve via Elecraft <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> I really would like a quality antenna to go with my KX3. I use 20 and 40 meters as my main bands. The AXE1 antenna with a 40 meter "extender" would be on the way to me as soon as it could be made available. I'm now in a restricted area with regard to antennas and am doing a bit of portable operations. Not so bad now winter is coming to an end. Steve kb1chu
>
> On 3/28/2019 3:34 PM, kd1ct wrote:
>> I would be interested in the extender piece for the AX1 for 40 meters.
>> Very useful for SOTA work.
>> Thanks,
>> Bob (KD1CT)
>>

Elecraft mailing list

Re: AX1 may add 40 meter coverage with "AXE1" extender

How about another AX for 15, 10, 6 meters?
73,JohnNL7VE

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 6:42 PM, Wayne Burdick<[hidden email]> wrote: Hi all,

We're still exploring ways to add 40 meters to the AX1. There are various trade-offs (size, weight, efficiency, bandwidth, ease of tuning, etc.). Once we have something we know will satisfy our requirements, you'll hear about it here first. Meanwhile, I recommend a wire tossed in a tree, preferably one that follows you around as you hike :)

Thanks for your ongoing interest in our antenna products, and keep those ideas coming.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html