endure
GCM
SDRPlay - with the right antenna you can listen to anything and everything from 10kHz to 2Ghz.
HAM radio
- Thread starter supermatelot
- Start date
GCM
And it's made in England too.
Notachance
LE
Plenty of online SDR radios to play around with.
This should give you a good start.
websdr.org
websdr.org
This should give you a good start.
Loading...
hackgreensdr.org
Notachance
LE
I personally use the SDR Play with a long wire.
Roadster280
LE
Bought some rope, pulleys, snap rings etc today and had a play with my antenna. Now have a proper dipole over the septic field. I thought I could use the highest point of the eave over my covered deck, but unfortunately it’s a hollow/decorative beam at the top, so couldn’t use that. So I’m about 20ft off the ground at that end. My extension ladder wasn’t as tall as I thought, so again, only about 20ft at the other end.
But the rope’s stretched, so I’m only about 12ft off the ground in the middle. I can re-tension it in the morning, and perhaps get another 3 feet. But still a bit disappointed with that. Somewhere, I have a “skyhook”, a device used by R SIGNALS lineys to string line from trees etc. I might have a play with that and a 15 ft pole I have to see if I cant get 30ft or so on the tree end. If I can find the skyhook.
Crap photo, but it’s there.
Anyhoo, the full dipole is much better on RX, I’m receiving a wide range of Europe now; Turkey, Balearic Islands, Croatia, Germany, France, Italy, Bosnia, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Jersey (!), Gib, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Italy all heard on the new antenna. Azores and Honduras too. I only had confirmed QSOs with Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Austria and Italy though, so that tells me I’m probably getting out with too high a takeoff angle. More antenna elevation required.
But the rope’s stretched, so I’m only about 12ft off the ground in the middle. I can re-tension it in the morning, and perhaps get another 3 feet. But still a bit disappointed with that. Somewhere, I have a “skyhook”, a device used by R SIGNALS lineys to string line from trees etc. I might have a play with that and a 15 ft pole I have to see if I cant get 30ft or so on the tree end. If I can find the skyhook.
Crap photo, but it’s there.
Anyhoo, the full dipole is much better on RX, I’m receiving a wide range of Europe now; Turkey, Balearic Islands, Croatia, Germany, France, Italy, Bosnia, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Jersey (!), Gib, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Italy all heard on the new antenna. Azores and Honduras too. I only had confirmed QSOs with Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Austria and Italy though, so that tells me I’m probably getting out with too high a takeoff angle. More antenna elevation required.
Could you maybe find a roach pole or two to use as supports? Use one for your vertical, with radials and the other to support part of a long wire for your low band.
One way to alter the radiation angle is with a counterpoise in the direction you want your signal to go to.
Last edited:
Roadster280
LE
Yes, could possibly do that, but will try elevating the dipole first. Previously I had a 30ft coax on the droopy, but now have a 150 ft coax for the elevated dipole. That was $75, so for a vertical as well, it’ll be the same again to put it in the same place. And because I’m me, I’ll want a coax switch so I don’t keep fvcking about changing feeders. I’ll wait a month or two before going that route. The shack computer’s on its last legs too, that is probably a higher priority than more antennas for the next month or two.
One more thing. I’d forgotten how much of an absolute CVNT it is to un-birds-nest a 30m coax. Whatever ******** wrapped the thing in two reverse-wrapped coils wants flogging
Roadster280
LE
@Electromagnetic @itchy300 @hoofie - 3.5MHz. Worth bothering with or not? As part of the calculations for my 40m band dipole, I figured out I could also fit a dipole for 20m on same securing hardware. I have enough antenna wire, and would repurpose the same feeder. But from memory, the lower freqs, although they naturally propagate further, were very noisy. Is it worth a couple hours fvcking about with it? The rope would only be about 3-5 ft at either end, depending on sag, but I think that’s fine. I just don’t know if it’s worth the effort. Antenna height vs wavelength would be terrible. At best 30ft above ground, but nearly 130ft long. Any thoughts?
Yes! Definitely. Atmospheric noise is more of a problem on 160 m (1.8 - 2.0 MHz). If you want NVIS mode for getting out of a valley, 80 m ( 3.5 - 3.8 ) and 40 (7.0 - 7.2 MHz) are most useful. 60 m too if you have an allocation and your licence covers it. Our 60 m allocations were more or less spot frequencies but now sub-bandlets. (I know your allocations differ a bit eg 75 m and extended 40m)
Although you will mostly be using these bands for short distance with LSB you will get longer range with data some modes and fairly inefficient skip as so much less of the radiation is going outwards. It's also worth it just to receive and get familiar with propagation on these bands and how the nets work.
You can experiment with full size loops, phased end fire arrays, etc later.
Last edited:
supermatelot
LE
Im thinking of forking out for one of these:
RTL-SDR Blog V3 RTL2832 1PPM TCXO HF BiasT SMA Software Defined Radio + Antennas 642419993834 | eBay
A 1 PPM temperature compensated oscillator (TCXO). This is an RTL-SDR software defined radio receiver with RTL2832U ADC chip, R820T2 tuner, 1PPM TCXO, SMA F connector and aluminium case with passive cooling.
www.ebay.com
These USB sticks used to be essentially VHF and up. If you wanted HF for example, it needed a converter. Some came with a down converter but most didn't. The "buy cheap, buy twice" rule applied. Be careful and make sure you know what you are getting. There are some strange "reviews" out there speaking of digital antennas and nonsense like that. There are some better sources of reviews. Here is one.Im thinking of forking out for one of these:
RTL-SDR Blog V3 RTL2832 1PPM TCXO HF BiasT SMA Software Defined Radio + Antennas 642419993834 | eBay
A 1 PPM temperature compensated oscillator (TCXO). This is an RTL-SDR software defined radio receiver with RTL2832U ADC chip, R820T2 tuner, 1PPM TCXO, SMA F connector and aluminium case with passive cooling.www.ebay.com
Best Budget SDRs – The SWLing Post
itchy300
Old-Salt
No idea mate I'm unlicenced, I scan about on VHF/UHF and a bit on WebSDRs but radio is about 4th on my list of hobbies
Not that I'm in a position to advise but I would focus on getting your core bands up and working and have this in your back pocket for an easy project when you're bored on a weekend. In the meantime listen to the 20m on a WebSDR and see if there is enough activity to justify the time/kit/money investment
itchy300
Old-Salt
What's the source for this please? Do you find it reliable/accurate?
endure
GCM
You're much better off saving up a little and getting an SDRPlay. The USB sticks are re-purposed TV tuners whereas the SDRPlay is built from the ground up to do what it does. A bit more expensive but worth the extra.Im thinking of forking out for one of these:
RTL-SDR Blog V3 RTL2832 1PPM TCXO HF BiasT SMA Software Defined Radio + Antennas 642419993834 | eBay
A 1 PPM temperature compensated oscillator (TCXO). This is an RTL-SDR software defined radio receiver with RTL2832U ADC chip, R820T2 tuner, 1PPM TCXO, SMA F connector and aluminium case with passive cooling.www.ebay.com
It has its own software which I must admit I find a bit confusing but there are others available from the website too.
The RSP1A will cost ~£110 shipped but it's much more capable than the USB sticks.
SDRplay
www.sdrplay.com
Lots of youtube guides too.
Loading...
www.youtube.com
Well worth the extra that it will cost.
fv1620
Old-Salt
Yes it seems helpful. Although most good conditions always seem to be mainly over the sea, especially the Mediterranean.
Europe | Tropospheric Propagation Forecast
tropo.f5len.org
Roadster280
LE
Yay! Holy grail. Australia.
Specifically Vermont, Victoria.
Specifically Vermont, Victoria.
That's outstanding progress in such little time! Well done! None of us are jealous or anything...Yay! Holy grail. Australia.
Specifically Vermont, Victoria.
trademarklondon
War Hero
73s de GJØNSG
Ex-Ten
War Hero
1: I'm a bit late to this thread
2: More than a few and we're not all former scaleys!
3: 28Mhz aka 10M FM is the closest in frequency & performance BUT there's so much more to enjoy, almost from DC to Daylight!
Similar threads
- Locked
New Posts
-
-
-
-
-
Russian Troop Movements Reported Near Ukraine
- Latest: Bus Pass 01
-
Policing in Northern Ireland wobbling again.- Latest: CutLunchCommando
-
Latest Threads
-
Medical Appeal - Eyesight - Going to try
- Started by ninjabennett
- Replies: 1
-
-
-
-
