Fwd: K4

[NJ8M]

BS + MS + $2.98 = COFFEE
Real Life Experience = Priceless, says the man who set his back yard on
fire with a bread board tuner loading a 160 meter inverted L with 1000
watts. LOL


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Morgan Bailey <[hidden email]>
Date: Wed, Jul 29, 2020 at 3:55 PM
Subject: K4
To: K8TE <[hidden email]>, <[hidden email]>


I have a few dollars short of $10,000 on deposit to Elecraft for 2, K4
radios. I am in the first group. I am looking forward to getting them going
here in my shack. I am building an SO2R station and fully realize the
challenge in doing so. VA6AM triplexers for 160/80/40 and 20/15/10 and the
associated band pass filters and a 2x8 hamation switch to control all
antennas to either radio.  Are already in place. Triplexers and Bandpass
filters don't work with high SWR, or atleast, they don't work very long. My
antennas are simple. Now that I have retired. I put up a 38 foot tower
(Rohn 45G bracket to the house)  with a Navassa 5+6mtr beam and for
160/80/40 I use a vertical for 40 with a 160/80 inverted L all fed with the
same coax. The 160/80 L is actually a full sized inverted L 33 feet up and
33 feet out then at the end is a 174 microhenry coil that stops 80meters
but inductively loads 160. It gives me 2:1 for 30khz on 160. On a city lot,
that is pretty good. It has to be, because that is all I can do
without wonky interaction between the antennas. All of my antennas are cut
for the CW portions of the band. I don't work much SSB. The beam, JK
Navassa5 gives full band coverage under 1.5:1 on all bands, warc included.
Is this a great contest station in the middle of a city, not by a long
shot. I am getting too old to be a tower monkey to manage guy wires and
correct tensioning that is needed in Kansas with the huge temp variation.
My tower is simple and is good enough. I do well enough. It keeps me happy.
Much of the time I only compete against myself.

 I have read your QRZ page and all the self accolades, in a word,
Impressive. Providing for my family and helping them grow into good
citizens has been a rewarding life for me and my wife of 43 years. One of
my sons is a ham, NS0R. Both of us enjoy CW.  I will never be able to do
such as you have as my work career did not permit it. I traveled for the
last 20+ years providing relief anesthesia in major trauma centers from
Alaska to Maine and down to North Carolina and almost everything in
between. I have joined many ham clubs over the years and mostly Elmered new
hams setting up antennas, station building to include safety, grounding and
ergonomics. Having lived in a hotel room for nearly 3 decades, I
transformed them into a combination Makers Den vs Mad Bomber decoration
with all the wire, coils, EMT boxes, Aluminum, Fiberglass Spider beam
poles, etc. Making EFHW, Fan Dipoles and Parallel wire dipoles in the long
halls of a hotel at 3 AM provided me with a way to help others get on the
air. I still do it. How many antennas that I have built, given away and
installed at various QTHs, I have no idea.I regularly get calls from hams
who have questions from NY to KS to Maine. How many hours I have spent on
other peoples towers either building them or installing beams and other
antennas, I have no idea.

Having run curves with all my antennas on a RigExpert 230, and saving them
for comparison has enabled me to problem solve regarding antenna
interaction. Knowing what I know from empirical testing over the years and
having seen many great Ozone Generators AKA: antenna tuners, I always seek
to optimise antennas for the band segment that I have chosen to work. I
have seen people use tuners and flash over the lightning surge protector
and burn out a gas discharge tube all because of high SWR. Knowing that one
can get away with terrible antennas at low power and SWR of 15:1 matched to
1:1 is a workable solution for operation with low power, because QRP works.
The problem that I address in my posts is make the best of your station. No
antenna does everything. No antenna is 100% efficient. I stress making the
best antenna possible for operating. Because most new hams and some
financially taxed hams dont have the money to spend on the hobby, I have
always tried to provide an antenna that will work without a tuner as much
as possible, thus saving money for the new op. In doing so, baluns
don't blow up, RFI is kept to a minimum. Enjoyment is experienced because
of simple functionality and not having to deal with RFI problems such as
those experienced when the RF gets into the shack computer during a contest
will be realized.

My point being, if anyone who is going to drop $5K on a K4 station, they
should spend another $200 on fabrication to make the radio a performer to
its optimum. If you have deep pockets buy a Tashian 70 foot positive up
positive down, tilt over that will hold 50 sq ft wind load and enjoy. If
$20,000 to $30,000 is not in your budget then at least build a decent
antenna system, be it a vertical, EFHW, Fan dipole, parallel wire dipole,
or put up fiberglass masts to hoist up wires or dipoles to radiate as best
possible. Just buying a 6BTV and installing it over 60 25 foot radials,
will work miracles.

73,
Morgan Bailey NJ8M
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[NK7Z]

Before you put up that 6BTV see:

https://www.nk7z.net/notes-on-tuning-a-6btv/

for tune up notes...

I am now short 5 countries, for a 5BDXCC using just a 6BTV, and 40
radials.  In under 3 years.

73, and thanks,
Dave (NK7Z)
https://www.nk7z.net
ARRL Volunteer Examiner
ARRL Technical Specialist, RFI
ARRL Asst. Director, NW Division, Technical Resources

On 1/5/21 8:36 AM, Morgan Bailey thus spakeAfte:
> Just buying a 6BTV and installing it over 60 25 foot radials,
> will work miracles.
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