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Re: Elecraft Digest, Vol 147, Issue 19

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John Kountz

Re: Elecraft Digest, Vol 147, Issue 19

Terry,
I'm over 80 and a couple of years ago:
In 1987 I bought and installed a US Tower TMM541SS with electric winch and
put a Cushcraft A4 and a Tailtwister rotator on it.
13 years later, 2010, I was overwhelmed by SteppIR antennas So, at the
Northern/Southern California DXers shindig Visalia, I bought a 3 Element (40
M trombone) powder coated special.
Down came the Tailtwister/Mosley/Cushcraft combo and up went the SteppIR and
a Yaesu 800 series Rotator.
The tower was re-cabled 8 years ago. The STeppIR and Yaesu rotator once
tweeked have performed flawlessly since.
My transceiver, K3 of course...with P3.
And that's about the size of it.
73 and have fun,
John Kountz, WO1S/6, T6EE

Message: 18
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2016 18:21:51 -0700
From: "Terry Brown" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Subject: [Elecraft] Need advice on Small Tower
Message-ID: <016301d1dbdb$c5669450$5033bcf0$@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hello all,

I am the owner if a K2, KX3, PX3, and KXPA100. I have been a ham since
1982, and love my Elecraft gear. I have a question for the group. I am
moving from my current QTH in Corvallis, OR after 30 years. Currently I
have a Rohn 25 based tower that is about 35 feet above my flat roof. On the
tower is a tri-band Cushcraft ATB-34 and 2m/440 comet antennas. The beam
and tower date from the time I became a ham.

I am building a new home in an established neighborhood in West Salem,
Oregon. The CCRs have expired, so I am not restricted from a tower setup.
My new QTH is high in the west hills of Salem. The view to the east is
amazing as the ground slopes away. To the west, the terrain has a slight
rise. I am 68 yrs. old. I don't want to have to climb a tower again. My
home will be two stories with the garage level under it. The peak of my
roof will be about 34 ft. above grade. My new tower location will be about
32 feet from grade to the peak of the roof. The roofline will run N-S with
the tower on the west side of the house.

I have decided to purchase a new smaller lightweight crankup tower and a
smaller tribander such as the Mosley TA-33 JR-N or NW. I have seen the US
Towers MA-40, a 20-41ft. crankup as one type. It comes with a tilt over
base add-on which would allow me to service the antenna from the ground.
This particular two section tower can crank down to 20 ft., thus not being
visible from the street east of the house. It's max height is 41 ft. which
would put the antenna only 9-10 ft. above the roofline when transmitting to
the East. I want to put a winch on the tower so I don't have to physically
crank it up by hand as I get older. With this background I have two
questions:

1. Will the yagi attached to the tower with only 9-10 ft. height above
the roofline (41 ft. tower) be an effective radiator and receive antenna on
20-15-10 meter bands to the East? Being on the West Coast, this will be the
direction of most of my mainland US contacts. To the N-W-S, the antenna
will be 41 ft. above the ground, so no problem.

2. I am not committed to any particular crankup tower. The US Tower is
just the one I have seen on the internet. I would be interested in any
lighterweight fold over crank up tower up to 50 ft. I think a tubular
constructed type tower would be my preference due to weight of installation.
A triangular designed crankup may be ok, too.

I know I can have a larger tower and antenna, but I want my setup to be
neighbor friendly. I am not a contester, and will never operate over 100
watts. It is nice to be able to work a station if I can hear it. I also
want the advantage of a horizontally polarized antenna with gain. I have
been spoiled with that setup over the years.

Just as an aside, my other antenna is a horizontal loop about 250 ft. in
length that I use for all the other bands. It is up about 30 ft. suspended
from the trees in my current QTH. I feed it with 450 ohm ladder into a 4:1
balun to coax. At my new QTH, we will plant two contained planters with 20
or 30 ft. bamboo on the SW and NW corners of my property where I can put a
vertical pipe for two supports, then use the peak of my roof on the N and S
side at 34 Ft. for my NE and SE contact points for my other two corners for
my horizontal loop. I will feed it with the same 450 ohm ladder from the NE
corner. I really like my horizontal loop because it is so quiet being
horizontally polarized. My current one works great so I want the same thing
for my new QTH.

I look forward to getting some great input from this group. I have been
amazed at the level of quality information I have seen on this group.

Thanks in advance to you all.

73's,

Terry Brown, N7TB

------------------------------

Message: 19
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2016 19:55:53 -0600
From: <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Subject: [Elecraft] FW: Pyle PHA40 Headphone Amp
Message-ID: <013601d1dbe0$861d00e0$925702a0$@ka7ftp.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I bought a pyle PHA40 headphone amp. It appears to be close in size and
specs to the Behringer HA400. It powers off the same type of cable used by
the KX2/KX3, same voltage and polarity. I paid 16.60 for mine on Amazon.

I connected it to my KX3 and the audio quality sounds good. I didn't detect
any extra noise introduced by the amp.

73

Len

------------------------------

Message: 20
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2016 23:19:08 -0400
From: "Jim - N4ST" <[hidden email]>
To: "'John Stengrevics'" <[hidden email]>, "'Mike K8CN'"
<[hidden email]>
Cc: <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Uninterruptible Power Supply for K3S (power
line arc noise)
Message-ID: <04cc01d1dbec$2cf6c670$86e45350$@N4ST.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I live in a rural area and the last mile of power lines were put in just for
my house.
I had a dead tree limb fall and hook across the power lines and when it got
wet, it would arc and create horrendous electrical noise.
I called the power company several times to come out and remove the limb but
they didn't respond.
I finally sent them an email saying that I would take care of it myself,
because if I stood on the cab of my pickup I might be able to knock the limb
off with a long stick.
If that didn't work, I would shoot it off.
They came the next morning and removed the limb.

_________________
73,
Jim - N4ST

-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of John
Stengrevics
Sent: Monday, July 11, 2016 17:44
To: Mike K8CN <[hidden email]>
Cc: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Uninterruptible Power Supply for K3S (power line arc
noise)

Thanks to all for your very helpful comments & suggestions.

John
WA1EAZ

------------------------------

Message: 21
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2016 03:29:07 +0000
From: Dave Fugleberg <[hidden email]>
To: Terry Brown <[hidden email]>, [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on Small Tower
Message-ID:
<CAF==[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Terry - My tower is a MA-40, bracketed to the end of my garage, with a
rotor and TA-33Jr on top.
I've worked 200 DXCC entities with it at 100 watts from here in the RF
black hole of Minnesota, so it seems like an effective setup for me.
It's not a 'super station' but I have plenty of fun with it (and my K3/P3!).
73 de W0ZF
On Mon, Jul 11, 2016 at 8:22 PM Terry Brown <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
>
>
> I am the owner if a K2, KX3, PX3, and KXPA100. I have been a ham since
> 1982, and love my Elecraft gear. I have a question for the group. I am
> moving from my current QTH in Corvallis, OR after 30 years. Currently I
> have a Rohn 25 based tower that is about 35 feet above my flat roof. On
> the
> tower is a tri-band Cushcraft ATB-34 and 2m/440 comet antennas. The beam
> and tower date from the time I became a ham.
>
>
>
> I am building a new home in an established neighborhood in West Salem,
> Oregon. The CCRs have expired, so I am not restricted from a tower setup.
> My new QTH is high in the west hills of Salem. The view to the east is
> amazing as the ground slopes away. To the west, the terrain has a slight
> rise. I am 68 yrs. old. I don't want to have to climb a tower again.

My
> home will be two stories with the garage level under it. The peak of my
> roof will be about 34 ft. above grade. My new tower location will be
about
> 32 feet from grade to the peak of the roof. The roofline will run N-S
with
> the tower on the west side of the house.
>
>
>
> I have decided to purchase a new smaller lightweight crankup tower and a
> smaller tribander such as the Mosley TA-33 JR-N or NW. I have seen the
US
> Towers MA-40, a 20-41ft. crankup as one type. It comes with a tilt over
> base add-on which would allow me to service the antenna from the ground.
> This particular two section tower can crank down to 20 ft., thus not being
> visible from the street east of the house. It's max height is 41 ft.
which
> would put the antenna only 9-10 ft. above the roofline when transmitting
to
> the East. I want to put a winch on the tower so I don't have to
physically

> crank it up by hand as I get older. With this background I have two
> questions:
>
>
>
> 1. Will the yagi attached to the tower with only 9-10 ft. height above
> the roofline (41 ft. tower) be an effective radiator and receive antenna
> on
> 20-15-10 meter bands to the East? Being on the West Coast, this will be
> the
> direction of most of my mainland US contacts. To the N-W-S, the antenna
> will be 41 ft. above the ground, so no problem.
>
>
>
> 2. I am not committed to any particular crankup tower. The US Tower is
> just the one I have seen on the internet. I would be interested in any
> lighterweight fold over crank up tower up to 50 ft. I think a tubular
> constructed type tower would be my preference due to weight of
> installation.
> A triangular designed crankup may be ok, too.
>
>
>
> I know I can have a larger tower and antenna, but I want my setup to be
> neighbor friendly. I am not a contester, and will never operate over 100
> watts. It is nice to be able to work a station if I can hear it. I also
> want the advantage of a horizontally polarized antenna with gain. I have
> been spoiled with that setup over the years.
>
>
>
> Just as an aside, my other antenna is a horizontal loop about 250 ft. in
> length that I use for all the other bands. It is up about 30 ft.

> my horizontal loop. I will feed it with the same 450 ohm ladder from the
> NE
> corner. I really like my horizontal loop because it is so quiet being
> horizontally polarized. My current one works great so I want the same
> thing
> for my new QTH.
>
>
>
> I look forward to getting some great input from this group. I have been
> amazed at the level of quality information I have seen on this group.
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance to you all.
>
>
>
> 73's,
>
>
>
> Terry Brown, N7TB
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> 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]
>

------------------------------

Message: 22
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2016 05:15:03 -0700 (MST)
From: pkhjr <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on Small Tower
Message-ID: <[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

I also moved and down sized my antenna/tower. I put up 40' of my 70' Rohn
25. I added a hazer and can bring the antenna down to the ground, no
climbing. I added a worm gear to the hazer and am able to run the hazer
with a battery operated drill. I thought about having the tower attached to
the side of the house but that would mean climbing on the roof (high pitch)
to get to the antenna. My 3el steppir is below the trees and works just
fine.

73 Tex
ka5y

--
View this message in context:
http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/Need-advice-on-Small-Tower-tp7619982p76
19986.html
Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

------------------------------

Message: 23
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2016 12:59:05 +0000
From: Alan Price <[hidden email]>
To: elecraft <[hidden email]>
Subject: [Elecraft] Let me build a K2 for you
Message-ID:

<[hidden email]>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Let me build your K2, or any other Elecraft kit. My prices are reasonable,
and you will have a new radio with the options you want.

73

Alan

W1HYV

------------------------------

Message: 24
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2016 16:12:36 +0300
From: Vic Rosenthal 4X6GP <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email], Terry Brown <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on Small Tower
Message-ID: <[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed

Hello Terry,

In my opinion, there will be no problem. I can imagine that if the tower
is right at the house and if there is a strip of metal flashing along
the peak of the roof it might detune the director slightly when the
antenna is pointed east. Maybe. But I can't believe it will cause you
any trouble. Anyway, with the tilt base you will have to install it some
distance from the house.

Remember the tilt base and the rotor plus mast will add to the height of
the tower. US Towers also makes a 55-footer. It's a lot more expensive,
though.

I don't recommend the TA33-JR. Because of the short boom length it will
have a narrow bandwidth on 20m. If you operate both CW and SSB you may
find that you need to use a tuner. Your old ATB-34 is slightly bigger,
but has a wider bandwidth.

There are newer designs for small beams that are better than the
venerable TA-33.

Also if you can find one that works on 18 MHz too, that will be a plus.
In the next few years, 10 and 15m will be dead much of the time.

73,
Vic, 4X6GP
Rehovot, Israel
Formerly K2VCO
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/

On 12 Jul 2016 04:21, Terry Brown wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I am the owner if a K2, KX3, PX3, and KXPA100. I have been a ham since
> 1982, and love my Elecraft gear. I have a question for the group. I am
> moving from my current QTH in Corvallis, OR after 30 years. Currently I
> have a Rohn 25 based tower that is about 35 feet above my flat roof. On
the
> tower is a tri-band Cushcraft ATB-34 and 2m/440 comet antennas. The beam
> and tower date from the time I became a ham.
>
> I am building a new home in an established neighborhood in West Salem,
> Oregon. The CCRs have expired, so I am not restricted from a tower setup.
> My new QTH is high in the west hills of Salem. The view to the east is
> amazing as the ground slopes away. To the west, the terrain has a slight
> rise. I am 68 yrs. old. I don't want to have to climb a tower again.
My
> home will be two stories with the garage level under it. The peak of my
> roof will be about 34 ft. above grade. My new tower location will be
about
> 32 feet from grade to the peak of the roof. The roofline will run N-S
with
> the tower on the west side of the house. \
>
> I have decided to purchase a new smaller lightweight crankup tower and a
> smaller tribander such as the Mosley TA-33 JR-N or NW. I have seen the
US
> Towers MA-40, a 20-41ft. crankup as one type. It comes with a tilt over
> base add-on which would allow me to service the antenna from the ground.
> This particular two section tower can crank down to 20 ft., thus not being
> visible from the street east of the house. It's max height is 41 ft.
which
> would put the antenna only 9-10 ft. above the roofline when transmitting
to
> the East. I want to put a winch on the tower so I don't have to
physically
> crank it up by hand as I get older. With this background I have two
> questions:
>
> 1. Will the yagi attached to the tower with only 9-10 ft. height above
> the roofline (41 ft. tower) be an effective radiator and receive antenna
on
> 20-15-10 meter bands to the East? Being on the West Coast, this will be
the
> direction of most of my mainland US contacts. To the N-W-S, the antenna
> will be 41 ft. above the ground, so no problem.
>
> 2. I am not committed to any particular crankup tower. The US Tower is
> just the one I have seen on the internet. I would be interested in any
> lighterweight fold over crank up tower up to 50 ft. I think a tubular
> constructed type tower would be my preference due to weight of
installation.

> A triangular designed crankup may be ok, too.
>
> I know I can have a larger tower and antenna, but I want my setup to be
> neighbor friendly. I am not a contester, and will never operate over 100
> watts. It is nice to be able to work a station if I can hear it. I also
> want the advantage of a horizontally polarized antenna with gain. I have
> been spoiled with that setup over the years.
>
> Just as an aside, my other antenna is a horizontal loop about 250 ft. in
> length that I use for all the other bands. It is up about 30 ft.

suspended
> from the trees in my current QTH. I feed it with 450 ohm ladder into a
4:1
> balun to coax. At my new QTH, we will plant two contained planters with
20
> or 30 ft. bamboo on the SW and NW corners of my property where I can put a
> vertical pipe for two supports, then use the peak of my roof on the N and
S
> side at 34 Ft. for my NE and SE contact points for my other two corners
for
> my horizontal loop. I will feed it with the same 450 ohm ladder from the
NE
> corner. I really like my horizontal loop because it is so quiet being
> horizontally polarized. My current one works great so I want the same
thing
> for my new QTH.
>
> I look forward to getting some great input from this group. I have been
> amazed at the level of quality information I have seen on this group.
>
> Thanks in advance to you all.
> 73's,
> Terry Brown, N7TB

------------------------------

Message: 25
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2016 13:28:13 +0000 (UTC)
From: Mel Farrer <[hidden email]>
To: Vic Rosenthal 4X6GP <[hidden email]>,
"[hidden email]" <[hidden email]>, Terry Brown
<[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on Small Tower
Message-ID:
<[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Don't discount the Hex Beam concept.
Mel, K6KBE

From: Vic Rosenthal 4X6GP <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]; Terry Brown <[hidden email]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 6:12 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Need advice on Small Tower

Hello Terry,

In my opinion, there will be no problem. I can imagine that if the tower
is right at the house and if there is a strip of metal flashing along
the peak of the roof it might detune the director slightly when the
antenna is pointed east. Maybe. But I can't believe it will cause you
any trouble. Anyway, with the tilt base you will have to install it some
distance from the house.

Remember the tilt base and the rotor plus mast will add to the height of
the tower. US Towers also makes a 55-footer. It's a lot more expensive,
though.

I don't recommend the TA33-JR. Because of the short boom length it will
have a narrow bandwidth on 20m. If you operate both CW and SSB you may
find that you need to use a tuner. Your old ATB-34 is slightly bigger,
but has a wider bandwidth.

There are newer designs for small beams that are better than the
venerable TA-33.

Also if you can find one that works on 18 MHz too, that will be a plus.
In the next few years, 10 and 15m will be dead much of the time.

73,
Vic, 4X6GP
Rehovot, Israel
Formerly K2VCO
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco/

On 12 Jul 2016 04:21, Terry Brown wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I am the owner if a K2, KX3, PX3, and KXPA100.? I have been a ham since
> 1982, and love my Elecraft gear.? I have a question for the group.? I am
> moving from my current QTH in Corvallis, OR? after 30 years.? Currently I
> have a Rohn 25 based tower that is about 35 feet above my flat roof.? On
the

> tower is a tri-band Cushcraft ATB-34 and 2m/440 comet antennas.? The beam
> and tower? date from the time I became a ham.
>
> I am building a new home in an established neighborhood in West Salem,
> Oregon.? The CCRs have expired, so I am not restricted from a tower setup.
> My new QTH is high in the west hills of Salem.? The view to the east is
> amazing as the ground slopes away.? To the west, the terrain has a slight
> rise.? I am 68 yrs. old.? I don't want to have to climb a tower again.? My
> home will be two stories with the garage level under it.? The peak of my
> roof will be about 34 ft. above grade.? My new tower location will be

about
> 32 feet from grade to the peak of the roof.? The roofline will run N-S
with
> the tower on the west side of the house.? \
>
> I have decided to purchase a new smaller lightweight crankup tower and a
> smaller? tribander such as the Mosley TA-33 JR-N or NW.? I have seen the
US
> Towers MA-40,? a 20-41ft. crankup as one type.? It comes with a tilt over
> base add-on which would allow me to service the antenna from the ground.
> This particular two section tower can crank down to 20 ft., thus not being
> visible from the street east of the house.? It's max height is 41 ft.
which
> would put the antenna only 9-10 ft. above the roofline when transmitting
to
> the East.? I want to put a winch on the tower so I don't have to
physically
> crank it up by hand as I get older.? With this background I have two
> questions:
>
> 1.? ? Will the yagi attached to the tower with only 9-10 ft. height above
> the roofline (41 ft. tower)? be an effective radiator and receive antenna
on
> 20-15-10 meter bands to the East?? Being on the West Coast, this will be
the
> direction of most of my mainland US contacts.? To the N-W-S, the antenna
> will be 41 ft. above the ground, so no problem.
>
> 2.? ? I am not committed to any particular crankup tower.? The US Tower is
> just the one I have seen on the internet.? I would be interested in any
> lighterweight fold over crank up tower up to 50 ft.? I think a tubular
> constructed type tower would be my preference due to weight of
installation.

> A triangular designed crankup may be ok, too.
>
> I know I can have a larger tower and antenna, but I want my setup to be
> neighbor friendly.? I am not a contester, and will never operate over 100
> watts.? It is nice to be able to work a station if I can hear it.? I also
> want the advantage of a horizontally polarized antenna with gain.? I have
> been spoiled with that setup over the years.
>
> Just as an aside, my other antenna is a horizontal loop about 250 ft. in
> length that I use for all the other bands.? It is up about 30 ft.

suspended
> from the trees in my current QTH.? I feed it with 450 ohm ladder into a
4:1
> balun to coax.? At my new QTH, we will plant two contained planters with
20
> or 30 ft. bamboo on the SW and NW corners of my property where I can put a
> vertical pipe for two supports, then use the peak of my roof on the N and
S
> side at 34 Ft. for my NE and SE contact points for my other two corners
for
> my horizontal loop.? I will feed it with the same 450 ohm ladder from the
NE
> corner.? I really like my horizontal loop because it is so quiet being
> horizontally polarized.? My current one works great so I want the same
thing
> for my new QTH.
>
> I look forward to getting some great input from this group.? I have been
> amazed at the level of quality information I have seen on this group.
>
> Thanks in advance to you all.
> 73's,
> Terry Brown, N7TB
______________________________________________________________
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]

------------------------------

Message: 26
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2016 09:31:24 -0400
From: David Robertson <[hidden email]>
To: Elecraft <[hidden email]>
Subject: [Elecraft] KX2
Message-ID:
<[hidden email]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Last week at the Lobstercon hamfest in Brunswick Maine. I had an
opportunity to pit my KX3 against a new KX2. As far as performance they
seem to be identical. We were using a 250 foot end fed random wire and
running and running the rigs off of both internal and external batteries.
The performance of both the KX2 and KX3 were identical as much as we could
determine. I had no problem operating the KX2's front panel controls other
then a small learning curve when first using the rig.

The KX2 seems to perform very well and it's internal battery really runs
the rig well. I don't think I will get the KX2 anytime soon but it is a
great rig.

--
Dave Robertson KD1NA

------------------------------

Subject: Digest Footer

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------------------------------

End of Elecraft Digest, Vol 147, Issue 19
*****************************************

______________________________________________________________
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]