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Interference problems in Hoyland!...

2012-02-02T15:47:00.001Z

Words have been spoken and e-mails have been sent to a certain group of amateurs in Hoyland South Yorkshire. The main problem was related to higher output power being used over and above that necessary to make the contact. Although the majority of contacts made were in a radius of 5 Mile or so as the crow fly's. further contacts are made to mobiles and such also on a daily basis and an increase in power would be justified for this purpose if power was reduced afterwards.

One of my amateur friends lives in this village and due to the problems stated above is unable to hear calls on 145.500 MHz which is the calling frequency for the 2 meter band. The frequency which was interfering was on 145.425 MHz and the operators like to be called " The Barnsley Bangers ". The problem is now known in the group and hopefully the power levels will be kept down to a minimum to make the contact.

Stupid comments are been made by individuals stating the fact that full licence holders can use 400 Watts legally and that he knows what he would say if he was approached, Well, wrong attitude for a amateur radio operator and a full licence holder to respond with and yes he can use 400 Watts but if he is knowingly causing interference that would be against the conditions of licence. Also my friend is allowed to use 400 Watts and nobody in the village would hear anything if he responded in kind, so dumb answer really!!!.

All the above said the issue is hopefully going to be rectified and steps have been taken by the group concerned to lower power and over driven audio. This is worthy of a Thank-You.

There is also another problem which is more specific to pager noise on 49.450 MHz. Which is breaking through on 2 meters in its own right where it will break through the squelch level. This noise also seems to piggyback on 2 meter signals generated by amateurs whilst talking. The problem is that Hoyland is a small village and is around 600 FT asl with an abundance of amateurs. I have sent a letter to Ofcom so that they may investigate! " Hopefully "

Below is a copy of the e-mail sent to ofcom.

To spectrum.licencing@ofcom.org.uk, Michael Hardy, Andy Burton, john

Dear sir/madam.

As per a telephone coversation with ofcom on the 31st January at approximatley 12:40PM, and after listening to the advises given. I submit an e-mail giving the necessary information for you to look into this matter.

A brief senario of Hoyland and the operators in general. Hoyland itself is a village location and is situated some 600 FT or so ASL. It is by far one of the highest points locally and as such has a good line of sight of its surrounding areas. There are in the village quite a number of amateur radio operators and as you would expect with everyone being close to each other bleed over can at times be a premium.

Apart from the aformentioned close proximity interference, there is also what sounds like a pager signiture breaking through. This is more noticable when two or more amateurs are operating locally on different frequencies within the 2 meter spectrum. I have even witnessed breakthrough of this interference without any local stations operating, where it was just breaking the squelch level. The frequency where this occured at the time was 145.525 MHz.

Using a close call scanner I found a frequency of 49.450 MHz. Whilst sitting in the local sports centre in Hoyland. This frequency kept displaying repeatedly and the noise was the same as the one present on 2 meters. I understand that this frequency is allocated to "hospital paging". The 3rd harmonic is 148.350 MHz which although is not in the 2 meter band, I would suspect due to closeness of the stations concerned could be the source.

I understand that there is a new doctors surgery in the lower part of the village and a new school has been built. at the top end of the Hoyland around West Street. presumably new technology might have been introduced at these locations. That said I could only find the aforementioned frequency of 49.450 MHz repeatedly showing up on the scanner.

When did this interference start ?. Hard to say as most amateurs operate on the same frequency and the interference avails its self most when two stations operate on different frequencies and the signal apears to piggyback 2 meter signals and come out as intermod between 2 groups or individuals. The duration is 24/7 on the pager frequency and should an amateur transmit it would also be 24/7.
There is no real increase in signal traffic as it seems to be quite stable. With maybe 45 seconds between paging

I hope you can help with the problem at hand and any advise would be welcome.

For and on behalf of (M0FCG) Micheal Hardy M1KEY@talktalk.net

Many Thanks
Shaun Dickinson,

Happy New Year and a windy one!

2012-01-07T16:38:00.002Z

Firstly a Happy New Year to all. Well I cannot believe how windy it has been and how long and persistent the weather really is with a wind speed reading of 93 MPH recorded within 15 miles or so from my QTH. Luckily my antennas are fine but my garden fence well, two panels blew down. I suffer from high winds shooting over the top of my garage and blowing out my fence. God knows how people in Scotland cope with wind speeds in excess of 145 MPH, it must drive them around the bend.

I had replaced my co linear antenna for a Diamond X-510 just before Christmas and to my surprise it has not suffered even though it s 40 ft ASL. I will give my honest opinion on this antenna after the winds have slowed down.

73 M3ULT

Winter Winds are here!...

2011-12-09T18:12:00.001Z

Winter has arrived this week with storms throughout England and gusts approaching 80 MPH in Yorkshire.
Scotland has taken the brunt of the bad weather and has endured very severe and damaging gusts of up to 150 MPH in higher lying areas. On a good note my antennas have survived without major problems. The only antenna that needs attention is my home brew W3DZZ which is up at 40ft at the apex in an inverted V configuration. I must be honest and say that the problem was caused in a way by myself and due to the wind should have been foreseen.

So what was the problem you ask!. Well, I had attached a "Ugly balum" which comprises of 19-21ft of coax rapped around a 50mm former made from poly pipe. Initially this was attached to test the antenna under normal conditions and moderate wind speeds later to be replaced by a ferrite balum. However, due to the weight of the "Ugly balum" and the ever increasing gusts of wind it had detached itself and made the antenna redundant until I can make an effective repair.

The antenna which I thought might suffer was my 10m vertical dipole which is up at a height of 45 ft and runs up the outside of a 5m fishing pole. I am surprised at how it has stood up to the weather and very happy for it is a very good antenna and I have nothing but praise for it.

If I do not get the chance to post again before Christmas, I would like to wish you all a very merry Xmas and a happy new year.

Cheers Shaun M3ULT

From Canada to England!... "How low can you go".

2011-11-10T19:10:00.001Z

While calling CQ on 10 meters I heard a call from a QRP station. The operator was called Justin and his call sign was VE3XTI. Now Justin was using 5W from a Helicraft K3 transceiver and I was using my home brew vertical dipole for TX/RX. OK, now I know I'm always praising the quietness of my antenna due to it having balanced properties and how well that I can pick-up signals, so this seemed an ideal opportunity to test the theory and try to put a smile not just on my face but also on Justins

I knew that the K3's output was adjustable way below 5W so I asked him if we could do a test and reduce the power on the K3. He agreed. Counting down 5-1W. He called me to check if I could still receive him. I said no problem Go lower. He went to 0.5W and asked again?. Go lower I said!. 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1W. Again he called me, and was amazed to hear me return to the call confirming 0.1W QRP.

It all goes to show that when conditions are good and a quiet antenna is used amazing contacts can be made on such low power. Well Done Justin a phenomenal result.

Cheers Shaun M3ULT

MY Vertical Dipole Design ....

2011-11-10T10:29:00.000Z

Operating 10 meters on the cheap!...

2011-11-07T14:36:00.001Z

With the opening of 10 meters looking like it's here to stay I decided to make an antenna for this band. After listening to various comments about which antenna might give best performance for little outlay I decided to make a vertical, but unlike most end-fed verticals which are really quite inefficient due to unbalancing effect and quite noisy, I went for a half wave vertical dipole which is very quiet, cheap and balanced.

I have been using this antenna now for quite a few weeks now and it has never let me down. I have had contacts from Japan, India, Barbados, australia and america to mention a few and most was in pile-ups. The signals averiged from S7-S9+ the latter been a good for any antenna. Basically the antenna wire runs on the outside of a 5 meter fishing pole.

Starting from the top of the pole. 2.4m of wire then a wire connector ( chocolate block) you must have a twin block as there are 2 wires in a dipole. Once you have connected the top dipole wire to the block you will need to attach the other 2.4m wire to the second terminal on the connector and run this leg down the fishing pole and tie off with a tie wrap or insulating tape

At the feed point you will need to place a 1 meter piece of bamboo or simular as a cross section. Hold in place with tie wraps. You need the bamboo to allow the coax to be pulled away from the wire by running the coax along it and then letting it drop. Again secure the coax to the bamboo with tape or tie wraps. Well nearly finished and then you can play!.

Your fishing pole is 5 meters and your total wire lenght is 4.8 meters leaving 0.2 meter left. This is where you pull the back and secure In my case with tie wraps. Now attach the coax center to the up leg and braid to the down leg and thats it!. Do not forget to wind a coax choke about 6-8 turns should suffice for about 10-20 meter bands That's it Enjoy and let me know if you get good result's like I did!..

Cheers Shaun M3ULT

Contesting my opinion!...

2011-10-31T00:06:00.000Z

Well it has been quite sometime since my last posting and after listening to CQ Worldwide this week-end on all but a few bands, I thought I would voice my opinion. I feel angry that a committee of presumably amateur operators had decided that everyone whom has a transceiver wants to go contesting at every available chance.

Well Guess what I don't. I do however, like to call CQ and have a conversation not just a 59 report and away. After speaking to other amateurs there are a lot with a same like opinion as myself. I do not see why everytime a contest comes on I and others should have to turn our radio's off for the duration. It is a punishment for operators who want to express a choice. To do something different.

So why can't contests be carried out on maybe less bands leaving maybe 40m or 80m free for night use. 17m is free but becomes un-useable as the night. I enjoy amateur radio but find it a anoyance that due to contests mine and others interests are ignored.

ROS Digital (New boy in town)

2011-05-18T20:11:00.000+01:00

Not had had much to report of late. I have been playing with ROS digital of late and so far it looks quite good. Although I am not yet fully familiar with it I had managed to PPT the radio and worked in to USA on 5 watts with ease so I must have done something right in the end. If I was to make a criticism it would be the lack of a comprehensive help file. That said it does seem quite self exploratory but never the less every scrap of information helps. Maybe I have been looking in the wrong place.

There is plenty of activity on this mode all way through the bands and no doubt making more contacts will help me grasp the program and it's workings. Until then I will keep playing and learning. If anyone wants to make a sked for further experimentation please contact me.

Operating Practices In Barnsley 145.425 MHz.

2011-04-01T19:28:00.000+01:00

After listening to stations local to myself. I feel somewhat annoyed that operating practices are been put to one side for personal gain and advertising of local businesses. I know that the individuals concerned would say that it is not harming anyone and that they are not doing anything wrong and that might be the case if it was one-off so to speak, but it is a nearly daily occurrence. Items of amateur radio equipment along with other items in the past have been near as damm it verbally sold over the radio. This along with mentioning a certain amateur radio shop in the vicinity, not being content with giving the name of the village alone. This surly is not the right way for any amateur to operate let alone full license holders. Now don't get me wrong I am no angel, but I do try my up most to operate in a manner which is acceptable to all amateurs, and as such I have had no complaint's.

My point being that if we fall beyond a certain standard and act as we like on amateur radio then we cannot complain when others do as they like too. Times are changing and amateur radio is changing too!. But does that mean that the license conditions that we all agree to abide by should be broken beyond means by a few individuals who think they know better?.

I wonder how these people would behave if they received a £60 fine and 3 points with a 12 month ban off amateur radio after 12 consecutive point accrued. Similar to what the police would give if you broke road traffic law.

Return of the 20m Moxon..

2011-02-17T21:56:00.001Z

I have decided to bring back the Moxon Rectangle for 20m. If there is one antenna I miss, this is the one!. I had great fun calling CQ with the moxon throughout the summer with contacts everywhere from japan to alaska and even managed 6 contacts to USA on 500MW and that was radio power before any losses from coax was applied to the equation.

I had taken the Moxon down due to high winds and gradually worsening winter weather. It also gave me chance to experiment with vertical antennas which to be honest were alright but due to the small size of my garden proved to be more problematic than effective due to insufficient radial systems in place. A good ground radial system requires about 120 radials in a circular pattern or 4-8 elevated radials. Still This is all experimenting and yields plenty of insight into exactly how much really goes into a top class system.

I am having to drop my 15 element 2 meter beam as a sacrifice to enable me to put the Moxon back up. Well, we all have to make hard decisions from time to time. I do enjoy 2 meter SSB but it will give me a chance to give the beam a good clean and replace the antenna socket as it looked a bit grubby on my last inspection. Well, that's all for now so 73 until next time.

Full wave Delta loop for 20m

2011-02-07T10:46:00.000Z

I have fashioned a full wave 20m delta loop in a triangular shape apex up and fed in the bottom corner with a 4-1 balum. The positive side to the up-leg and the negative side of the balum to the horizontal leg. Then fed back into the shack with 50ohm coax. I transmit on 20m with very good results but bear in mind with these loops they are directive antenna's and fire through the loop its self. Mine was fixed so some stations was nulled to me. Now the best thing about this antenna is how quiet it is. Not just on 20m but every frequency. The best frequency for received audio believe it or not is 160m. I can hear stations with this antenna that many of my friends with resonant antenna's for top-band cannot even hear. This is why if you speak to more knowledgeable amateurs on 160m they will utilize two antennas. One for TX and one for RX.

Now all that said. We have had some strong winds of late and I returned home on Friday the 4th of February around 12:30 to find my back fence blown down along with other neighbors fences in nearby properties. The Loop was down also. However, the fishing pole is fine quiet lucky I guess. The winds just built up so quick and I was filming so I could not do anything other than prey for minimum damage.

I will be putting up the loop but the winds are still st.rong, so it will have to wait a few days!... Goes to show we cannot be lucky all the time.. Hi-Hi.

Antenna modeling software...

2011-02-07T09:59:00.000Z

I have been learning to use antenna modeling software of late. The preferred software so far is EZNEC. I have never been one for software in the past, but I am slowly getting my head around the more basic aspects. I do from time to time pick the brains of the antenna guru Steve G3TXQ whom I phone once or twice a month on average. Steve's help is very much appreciated in my quest for knowledge of antenna's, how they work and more importantly any affects from nearby objects "mutual impedance" which could spoil performance.

Been a while! ...

2011-02-07T09:34:00.000Z

Sorry for not posting sooner but I have been busy doing other things, inc a spot of acting believe it or not. A friend of mine is on his last year of media studies at university and asked me to take on the role of a chief inspector. This short film lasting 25 mins but forms 60% of his marking if what I am to understand is correct. Everyone seemed happy with my performance. I feel privileged to be asked. This short film also has a premier showing at the local civic hall in Barnsley so I guess that my bow-tie will be coming out Hi-Hi.....

7MHz NVIS Antenna update!....

2011-01-18T11:30:00.000Z

Wow!. This one is a keeper. For an antenna so close to the ground it works really good. Obviously it works better in the UK than on signals received abroad, but that is the whole point of the antenna. Signals from this antenna are anywhere up to 6 S points higher on average than the other antennas at my QTH. Most received signals are S9 to S9+20db. When I drop on another NVIS antenna operator I would expect even better results due to the way in which the antenna works. But, for now very happy indeed...

NVIS Dipole for 7MHz...

2011-01-07T00:24:00.000Z

I have recently erected a NVIS Dipole antenna for 7 MHz. Although this is mainly for usage through the daytime as the critical frequencies will work upwards to 10 MHz on average throughout the day dropping to around 3-4 MHz during the evening. Obviously the idea is to bounce of the F layer and back down to earth in a near circular pattern to a maximum of around 300miles.This is where the polarization angle of the antenna really matters (The higher the angle the shorter the hop) This gives good HF communication between two relatively close stations where normally contact would not be possible. Increased signal and lower noise levels would be the given between stations utilizing the same system. My antenna is has an overall length of 67 feet (33.5 ft each leg) and is 11 feet above ground. The antenna models with a 90 Degree angle of polarization and a gain of just over dBi with an antenna of similar construction and polarization angle. I will gauge the success of this antenna. However, I had 4 contacts today from Kent to Scotland which would have been on the edge of the antennas expectancies.
All contacts with the exception of 1 gave me a 59-59+ signal. 2 stations dropped out very quickly which showed me that the antenna was working as expected and should the other stations have been operating NVIS antennas then the latter would not has probably happened.

Christmas period .....

2010-12-26T18:33:00.000Z

Just enjoying Christmas at the moment. We have had plenty of snow and plenty of minus temperatures, so it has not been ideal weather to be playing antenna's but it does seem to be warming up a bit now so I might be venturing out soon for a play...

I hope everyone had a happy Christmas. Hopefully the new year will be a good one for all. I will be on again in the new year or before if I get the chance to play radio.

Cheers.........Shaun.

NVIS operating

2010-12-13T18:54:00.000Z

I was introduced to NVIS ( Near Vertical Incidence Sky wave ) by an older amateur whom lives some 15 miles away in Leeds. We was talking as normal about antenna's and he mentioned that he was trying a NVIS antenna which prompted my curiosity. In a nutshell, it is a means of talking close quarters on HF regardless of propagation. As the name suggests the polarity of the antennas in question have a near vertical polarization around 90 Degrees.Which in turn means that all signals radiated hit the ionosphere and rather than carry several hundreds, or even thousands of miles before the reflected signal hits the ground As would be typical for an antenna with horizontal polarization. The NVIS antenna would realize a distance of around the 2 to 3 hundred miles on average.

The obvious antenna and the most readily available would be the Dipole. The easiest way to increase the vertical polarization of a dipole is to lower the antenna closer to ground. This also has the effect of lowering the VSWR at the same time making the antenna more easier to tune if needed. I have found the that the best height for this type of antenna is in between 0.15 - 0.4 of a wavelength of the frequency which you are going to operate. I am using an end-fed antenna 112 ft in length at 15 ft of the ground at the moment which is about 5ft short of 0.15 of a wavelength on the lowest frequency. Having said that it seems to work fine from 160m - 6m.

You can use various types of antennas and I am sure that you will have fun with other NVIS operators around your area where you would see increased gain in signals and a quieter noise level due to near vertical polarization. There is loads of information on the internet for this topic and by more informative people than myself so give it a go and leave a post to let me know how it went.

Conclusion of my tests with 5/8 wave 20m!..........

2010-11-25T18:10:00.001Z

Well I am a bit miffed with this antenna as it does not appear to perform as good as I had hoped on the frequencies for which it was built. I believe this to be partially due to the lack of a good radial system. I have some 30 radials of varying sizes on ground and I now this is in reality nowhere near enough for a vertical antenna unless I employ elevated radials. Where 6 or 8 sloping radials would suffice for the task at hand.Unfortunately
my garden is not that forgiving and I fear that either the children or Sasha my German Shepard might get entangled in wire. One thing I have noticed is how quiet the antenna listens on 160m and in general has very little noise compared to other non-verticals and verticals alike.

I had experimented with earthing the antenna wire to ground and taking the feed slightly higher up the wire. This I'm thinking might have made the antenna less vulnerable to the bangs whistles and pops which are present and acted as some kind of isolator. One thing for certain is the ATU in the radio will match all bands up to and inc 160m. Once i remove the antenna from earth Top-Band will not tune with the radio.

Antenna update!....

2010-11-23T21:58:00.000Z

Well the vertical seems to be working OK. Maybe not as good as I would have hoped on 20m. However, due to its size it does tune every band including 160m, which was a surprise. The antenna is utilizing a L network tuner at the base and it seems to work very well. I have experimented with grounding and found if I earth the antenna itself and take the feed at a slightly higher point this makes the antenna really quiet even on 160m S0-S1 noise max. I am still learning about verticals but it is fun and frustrating at the same time.
Ill keep you all posted of my endeavors.

Vertical playground. 5/8 wave for 20m !....

2010-11-17T22:39:00.000Z

Hi all, I decided to try my hand at a 5/8 wave vertical for 20 meters. Looking at the effects of the radiation patterns of various verticals from 1/4 wave upwards, I have decided that the 5/8 wave was the right one to go for. This is due in part because this antenna exhibits a good low angle of radiation for on average some 11-16 degrees. This has I might add been calculated by EZNEC. I would class my ground as being very good due to my location which is mostly fields, also I live in a valley so a good water table also exists.

Besides having a good low angle take off, once you get to a certain length say 44-45 ft the antenna also exhibits both high and low angles of radiation at the same time. Obviously the impedance along with other factors are constantly changing with each varied length of wire or tubing that you may use. I am learning a hell of a lot about verticals and I am amazed at the differences that can be made by simple adjustments. The 5/8 wave is certainly a hard antenna to work with unlike the 1/4 or 1/2 wave antenna's where the impedance is quite close to 50 Ohm and easily tunable.

The preferred method of matching base impedance is by a coil and tap method which does work very well when correctly tapped. This is where I am open to suggestions on the matching system and if anyone has experience in this area then please post. Knowledge is great!..

Playing with vertical antenna's...........!

2010-11-15T19:10:00.000Z

I have taken down the moxon for 20m and I am now playing with a couple of vertical antenna's. One is 43 ft true 5/8 wave for 20m band and the other is half the size. and to be honest I am not noticing a terrific amount of difference at the moment between either one. I will however, monitor the antenna's performance for a few days to see if their is a clear winner.

Antennas's in the wind!....Part 2

2010-11-11T22:12:00.000Z

Well just been out and struggled to drop the moxon antenna down due to high winds. It must have looked funny for an onlooker seeing my backside blowing about on a pair of ladders. Dangerous game though the winds have been peaking 55MPH and shows no sign of slowing for a while, so at least I know it wont blow off now which is a mercy in itself.

Antennas's in the wind!....

2010-11-11T19:48:00.000Z

Well the wind has certainly been blowing a gale and every chance that I get I find myself looking up and hoping my antenna's will still be there. So far so good but I cannot wait for the wind to dissipate upon where I will most certainly take a very good look to ensure no damage has occurred. My mono-band Moxon for 20m which although only at a height of 20ft is free standing and not close to any structures. It is however, guyed but it is human nature to worry about things such as the wind to which we have no control over.

Only local contacts on 20m today using my end-fed antenna. I have however, been trying to teach myself EZNEC the antenna modeling program which is to say the least harder than I had thought mostly due to the fact that as far as antenna's and myself are concerned I am somewhat of a suck and see kinda person so the learning curve is going to take some time.