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Hello Ian,
Given that you are looking at HF bands, the trees will not affect the performance of your antenna unless the limbs are close (same with 20 ft). If you are going to put up a tower though, you should plan to clear the trees so that a falling tree cannot hit the tower or cross a guy wire. A tree falling on a tower or guy wire can collapse your tower if the tree is even of modest size.
The general rule of thumb is that you want to place your antenna at least 1/2 wavelength above ground. This would be about 35 ft or more on 20m, 70 ft or more on 40m, etc. You will get a takeoff angle improvement in the specific downhill direction only. A good spot (based upon your picture) would be on the peak of the hill if you can make that work. This would probably optimize your takeoff angles in multiple directions and yield the best DX performance at your location.
Just to clarify… The RS-50M is a 120VAC input supply. Astron also makes an RS-70M-220V (70A) version that can be had in 220VAC input.
There is some debate as to whether to use linear supplies (such as the RS-50 or RS-70) vs switching supplies. The switching supplies are more efficient but some can generate quite a bit of RF noise, birdies, etc. that end up in our receivers. These problems tend to become worse with supplies at higher current levels such as those that you are considering.
Hello Peter,
Thank you! You’re on the Transport team. Would you also be willing to help put up and take down the tower as part of the Tower Team?
Hello Ryan,
At this current level, a 240V supply will draw a more reasonable amount of current than a 120V one would. We use an Astron RS-50M here.
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/asr-rs-50m
Hi Aron,
6m is a lot of fun because of its unpredictability. There are several different propagation modes that are common on 6m include E-Skip (Es), Auroral Meteor Scatter, TEP, and sometimes even F-layer.
Also, as you mention, getting a directional antenna up for 6m is not that difficult. The antennas are smaller than HF and they do not need to be up as high to work well.
Digital modes like FT8, Q65, and MSK144 have opened the 6m band to lots of folks who were not on the band previously. As a result, there is more 6m activity than ever before.
Field Day is a good time for 6m as late June is a perfect time for some of the best Es propagation of the year. We made over 140 contacts on 6m during 2019 Field Day.
It should be fun and you’ll definitely have a chance to learn how to put a 6m station together.
Hello Paul,
Repeaters are used widely in commercial and public safety (ex. police) applications. A market leader here in the U.S. is Motorola and they offer training in their commercial equipment.. You can see what they offer here –
The course outline might give you some idea of what sort of things you need to learn about.
I hope that this helps.
Hi Peter,
You might check all of the transceiver interface settings in WSJT-X. Make sure you are using “fake-it” and that WSJT-X is configured for the IC-7300 and you are using the CAT interface for PTT. Also, make sure that the Mode setting is set for “Data/Pkt”. You should also be using 8 data bits, one stop bit, and no handshake. Finally, make sure that you are not forcing any of the control lines.
You should also check that you don’t have any other software (loggers, etc.) that is trying to interact with the radio at the same time. The best way to test for this is to stop all programs that might be using the radio EXCEPT for WSJT-X and see if the problem is still there. If it goes away, then you probably have another program trying to manipulate the radio at the same time as WSJT-X.
I hope that this helps.
Hello Luis,
I see that you’ve narrowed your choices to either a Rig Expert or a NanoVNA. I’d like to suggest that you consider how you will use your analyzer the most as you make your final choice. If you are mostly about building electronics on the beach, then the NanoVNA with its two-port capabilities will probably serve you best. It will work great on your bench and it can be used with a computer there to make some pretty advanced circuit measurements.
On the other hand, if you want to use your analyzer to put up, tune, and troubleshoot outdoor antennas, I think the Rig Expert will serve you much better. The Rig Expert is a much more rugged device and its built-in display makes it much more suited for tasks like tuning outdoor antennas, troubleshooting coax cables once they are installed, etc.
Good luck with your projects!
Hello Collin,
Congratulations on your General!
The antenna was a Buckmaster OCF Dipole. It comes in several different versions and power levels. The 80m and 40m versions are good choices. You can learn more about it here. You can order one at DXengineering as well as coax and other odds and ends to put it up. The high-power 80m version along with LMR-400uF coax would be a great combination for your HF station.
We did a Tech Night recently on Simple HF Wire Antennas. You can find it on our Tech Night Page (don’t forget to login first). The Tech Night will give you a little more information on the OCF Dipole as well as lots of good information about how to put up wire antennas.
Fred, AB1OC