Ron KP2N and Tom NY4I added a Top Ten Devices Band Decoder to the W4GAC station. This switch ties into the existing Six Pack antenna switch. The idea is that rather than the operator having to select the right antenna, the Band Decoder follows a signal sent from the radio that tells the decoder what band the radio is on at the time. The corresponding position is then switched on the antenna switch. So when the radio is on bands 10m – 20m, the Log Periodic is selected. When … Click for more
Posts published in “Station Building”
On Saturday, February 25, several members of SPARC made the trip to Sarasota for the 3rd annual WCF section TECHCON. This is a free technical conference put on by the WCF ARRL section technical staff. The location changes to various places around the section to allow the most section members to attend.
This year, there were two conference tracks. One focused on more introductory topics such as station design, antenna building, APRS and programable microcontrollers such as the PICAXE and the Arduino. … Click for more
The Log Periodic antenna was transferred from its old location atop the shipping containers to the new tower by John, KI4UIP; Donn, N4KII; Dave, KR4U; Bob, N2ESP; and Hal, W1EES. Ron, KP2N replaced the logging computer power supply. With luck, W4TA will be ready for the sweepstakes. Click on title for photos.
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The program for Friday, Nov 4, will be antenna modeling, building simple models and then comparing them to more complex antennas. Ed, NZ1Q will demonstrate EZNEC software, which offers a free demo program that can be easily downloaded. Ed will go through how to build an antenna model and read the resulting charts and graphs for a simple dipole, a two element beam and then as time permits, an Off Center Fed Dipole and other antennas., Radiation patterns, SWR, impedance matching and effects of grounds will be demonstrated.
Be sure … Click for more