I realized I haven’t posted anything since early this year when I struggling with equipment located upstairs and all of the RFI and other issues that caused. Since that time I’ve made a good deal of progress.
All of the radio equipment is now in the basement. It’s not idea as far as I’m concerned, but it is what it is. From a practical standpoint it makes sense. I can get coax straight out the back of the house, which makes grounding and antenna installation so much easier. It’s unfortunate that everything is crammed into a very small space. It’s a little built-in “nook” probably intended for study or something. A 51″ wide countertop, 24″ deep (if that); wall cabinets mounted above so it’s a little constrained both horizontally and vertically. A couple of duplex outlets, a phone jack – no Ethernet, and no way to get it there either. Doing any kind of wiring would require major demolition and construction. Just getting RG-8/U and a flat cable for the remote tuner control into that space took a lot, and I do mean a lot.
The antenna is now a 135′ (give or take a little) loop in a triangular shape around the back yard. The feed end is at about 16′; the two legs go out to two maple trees where the wire is up between 25 and 30 feet. Again, not ideal, but it’s what I could manage to get up in the air. A 1:1 balun at the feed point connects the antenna to 50′ of LMR-400, which connects to an LDG RT-11 remote tuner, and from there to the shack via about 35′ of RG-8/U.
I’ve successfully run 100W+ on SSB and CW with no interference with anything else, no RFI in the house, no issues with breakers. The RT-11 doesn’t match the antenna in all cases; on most bands I need to also use the TS-850’s internal tuner. Surprisingly enough, I’ve worked a couple dozen countries using 25 to 50 W on FT8, and one night worked a couple of Russians (grids LO02 and LO33) on 20 meter SSB. Log entries show that 40 meters is almost all US and a smattering of Canadians, with a few surprising exceptions – Japan, Spain, and France. I attribute those to guys in those countries with good beam antennas! Not surprisingly, the higher in frequency I go, the better the DX results are. I’ve even worked a few US stations on 80, but of course that’s pretty clearly NVIS so I don’t even try much.
I have the TS-850, SP-31, FT-817nd, the keyer, and a couple of Astron DC power supplies on the desk. I built a shelf for the SB-101 and SB-600/HP-23. On the other side of the desk is an SB-610 monitor scope I picked up, an HM-102 power/SWR meter, the control for the RT-11, and a coax switch to switch between the antenna and a dummy load.
I am planning a new shack, though. I’m slowly cleaning out my basement workshop and storage area. My plan is to revamp the storage area with nicer cabinets, and build a 6′ long operating desk about 30-32″ deep in one corner. A 4′ workbench will go next to that. I’ll have room for everything, and more room for a straight key and paddle in a more comfortable operating position. Right now things are a little cramped.
I’ve worked a lot more FT8 than I would like to admit, but I’ve also worked some SSB, one SSTV QSO, and even a PSK and an RTTY contact. RTTY and SSTV were firsts for me. None of those are confirmed; the RTTY and PSK contacts got lost in QSB but the SSTV was solid. I just wish I’d saved the darned image, I’m really bummed that I lost that. I blame the software.
Anyway… onward.