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Amateur Radio Audio

Heil RS-1 no-drill clamp mount

Heil makes an accessory for the Heil PL2T microphone arm: The Heil RS-1 riser (~$29 @ B&H). The RS-1 riser gives you more degrees of freedom. You can place the microphone arm’s base behind some of that equipment and extend the boom’s reach. And you can also use the additional Read more…

By Christian, 1 month1 month ago

Amateur Radio

Antenna Part 7: Got pole?

Now that the tilt over mount is in place, it’s time to attach the pole. I eyeballed the tube lining up with the bracket. The clamps attach to the support slightly offset to one side. Staring at the picture, you have to remember this misleads about where the tube is Read more…

By Christian, 5 months1 month ago

Amateur Radio

Antenna Part 6: Hinged

Now that hardware is all cleaned up, we’re ready to go. Well, not so fast, it has been unhealthy outside for some time now. On hold for several weeks. Finally, the awful western U.S. wildfire smoke of 2020 has cleared out, and it’s time to do work again outside. Dry Read more…

By Christian, 5 months1 month ago

Amateur Radio

NFARL Code Practice Oscillator (CPO)

A few weeks ago, I participated in a zoom call named ‘CW-CHAT.’ CW stands for continuous wave, by the way, which is another term for morse code transmissions. The zoom call is a sort of check-in and Q&A for anyone who wants to learn morse code and get feedback from Read more…

By Christian, 6 months4 months ago

Amateur Radio

Arrest that (key) slide!

UPDATE, 10/6/2020: I found a better option! For ~$10 USD, you can find this on Amazon: round, thin silicone mat (x2) This is a very thin silicone mat (two actually) that offers a lot more friction and is easier to live with. And as a bonus can be used with Read more…

By Christian, 6 months4 months ago

Amateur Radio

Antenna Part 5: Recovery

Time to recover from the galling incident. I bought new stainless hardware from ACE Hardware and replaced the fully threaded bolts with partially threaded. Perfect for 2″ OD tube. I don’t want to take the chance that these threaded bolts that come with the kit seize up again later. Dimensions Read more…

By Christian, 8 months1 month ago

Amateur Radio

Antenna Part 4: A galling shame

The picture above shows what it looks like when I screw up. It was time for me to relearn an old lesson about stainless, even though it was somewhat unexpected. It is different than what I had ever seen before. I went to put the new shiny black parts on Read more…

By Christian, 8 months1 month ago

Amateur Radio

Antenna Part 3: Omnibus tiltibus

The foundation finished, and now it is time to get ready for the mast. DX Engineering’s OMNI-TILT will allow me to bring the mast down and walk it back up again. Because of SWMBO blessing requirements, I will paint the stainless brackets of the tilt assembly black to make it Read more…

By Christian, 8 months1 month ago

Amateur Radio

Antenna Part 2: Of bungees and concrete

It was time to pour the footing for the base of the mast and embed the Chromoly tube in the bottomless hole. Ingredients: 1x tube of painted, galvanized Chromoly (5′ 4″ x 2″ OD x 1/4″ wall) 5x 80 lbs of fiber concrete mix 1x 60 lbs of gravel 4x Read more…

By Christian, 8 months1 month ago

Amateur Radio

Antenna Part 1: So, you want a directional antenna?

When we lived in Atlanta, I had a half acre-sized backyard with big, mature trees that were great for hanging a half-wave 80m loop. We have been in the pacific northwest for a while now. Unfortunately, while we do have lots of trees on our lot, they are not in Read more…

By Christian, 8 months1 month ago