Keyboard Shortcuts
Likes
Search
Mounting the QLG1 inside the case.
|
I know it won't work without modifications, but I am considering cutting a square hole in my case and mounting the GPS just below the top cover.? About the only thing holding me back is my poor metal working skills.?? I have a house with a metal roof and this GPS works so well that it receives 7 to 10 satellites anywhere I put it.?? I don't think there is a need to have it on a long cable mounted where it can see the sky.
Has anyone tried something like this?? And did it work ok?? I suppose the extra metal above the ground plane could de-tune the antenna.? Ron? K1URC |
|
I mounted mine in the case behind the U3s, and used an sma bulkhead cable assembly to have the antenna connection exit the case.? I use a magnet mount active GPS antenna and it works great.? Pictures on the VFO page of Han's site. (the pics reference the VFO mounting, but there is a peek inside my U3S) 73 Larry KB3CUF On Thu, Jun 8, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ron Carr <rcarr@...> wrote: I know it won't work without modifications, but I am considering cutting a square hole in my case and mounting the GPS just below the top cover.? About the only thing holding me back is my poor metal working skills.?? I have a house with a metal roof and this GPS works so well that it receives 7 to 10 satellites anywhere I put it.?? I don't think there is a need to have it on a long cable mounted where it can see the sky. |
|
Epignathus
开云体育I have mine in a 40’ ISO shipping container with the doors sealed shut, and to my amazement, the very sensitive receiver is always locked on multiple sats. I think it would be rather difficult to stop it from receiving under any circumstances… ? -Doug W6DSR ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ron Carr ? I know it won't work without modifications, but I am considering cutting a square hole in my case and mounting the GPS just below the top cover.? About the only thing holding me back is my poor metal working skills.?? I have a house with a metal roof and this GPS works so well that it receives 7 to 10 satellites anywhere I put it.?? I don't think there is a need to have it on a long cable mounted where it can see the sky. |
|
Hi Doug That's quite interesting. Faraday will be turning in his grave. Why did you install it inside a shipping container? I assume it is a retired shipping container?? 73 Hans G0UPL On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 1:26 AM, Epignathus <doug@...> wrote:
|
|
Well that flies in the face of the laws of physics...
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
How are you powering your setup ? On 08/06/17 23:26, Epignathus wrote:
I have mine in a 40’ ISO shipping container with the doors sealed shut, and to my amazement, the very sensitive receiver is always locked on multiple sats. I think it would be rather difficult to stop it from receiving under any circumstances… |
|
Epignathus
开云体育I am in the process of setting up a QTH out in the country where I can control the man made noise. I have the requisite antenna installed, and pulled in an inexpensive surplused, refurbished, 40 foot container for my shack. On my last visit, I completed an underground cable for power to the shack from my solar plant about 400 feet distant, and an underground heliax cable to the antenna. I thought I would just try the U3S from my new shack to give the idle antenna something to do. I have the amazing QLG1 GPS receiver on a 20 foot shielded cable, and hung it out the side door, where obviously it was working just fine. ? As I packed up to come back to Sunnyvale, I pulled in the QLG1, and closed all the doors with me inside to watch it lose the GPS satellites. It didn’t – stayed locked with plenty of sats in view. The U3S is powered 24/7 from a simple 5 VDC supply, and with no power amp. All the containers are locked up for security reasons. Because I get some pretty severe winds on this mountain location, I stow the antenna with its butt into the prevailing winds which unfortunately leaves it pointing almost south into the Pacific. Even so, there are more than a hundred independent spots every day from the WSPR.net site using W6DSR as the call. ? I conclude that at 1500+ MHz where the GPS signals reside, an ISO container is far from a Faraday cage. Also, my Garmin hand-held GPS receiver does not find any sats inside the container, so the newer GPS receivers must be much more sensitive. ? I attached an image of the site, but I don’t know if it will survive on this reflector… ? 73, Doug W6DSR ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Hans Summers ? Hi Doug ? That's quite interesting. Faraday will be turning in his grave. Why did you install it inside a shipping container? I assume it is a retired shipping container?? ? 73 Hans G0UPL ? On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 1:26 AM, Epignathus <doug@...> wrote: I have mine in a 40’ ISO shipping container with the doors sealed shut, and to my amazement, the very sensitive receiver is always locked on multiple sats. I think it would be rather difficult to stop it from receiving under any circumstances… ? -Doug W6DSR ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ron Carr ? I know it won't work without modifications, but I am considering cutting a square hole in my case and mounting the GPS just below the top cover.? About the only thing holding me back is my poor metal working skills.?? I have a house with a metal roof and this GPS works so well that it receives 7 to 10 satellites anywhere I put it.?? I don't think there is a need to have it on a long cable mounted where it can see the sky. ? |
|
Thanks all for the replies public and private.? There are some nice setups in the photos.?? I think I will drill some holes and mount it on top of the case for a while and collect some random samples of the signal strength.? And then proceed to mount it under the cover and see if the signal is any worse.? This will not be a very scientific test.? I used to know how to do ANOVA but not anymore.
Ron? K1URC |
|
Hi Doug Thanks for the info and the amazing photo. Great location!? The wavelength of GPS is something around 18cm. I guess is sneaks in through the cracks along the door of your container. Still amazing. Hard to imagine. I've been in one of these shipping containers and it's hard to imagine that any radio signal would get through that when it's closed up. I bet a cellphone wouldn't work inside. So I'm amazed! 73 Hans G0UPL On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 9:23 PM, Epignathus <doug@...> wrote:
|
|
Epignathus
开云体育Hi Hans, ? Yes, my mobile phone says, “Loss of Service” when I go inside way in the back with the doors open, but here is something most people don’t realize about these containers, and I found out the hard way when I wanted to enclose all the switching noise from my solar plant in another one of these ISO containers; that the floor is marine plywood with steel struts to support it, but otherwise the floor is completely open! In my solar plant, I had to lay sheets of aluminum diamond plate to complete the 6th side in order to form a Faraday shield. I suspect the GPS signals are simply getting in through the floor… ? 73, Doug W6DSR ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Hans Summers ? Hi Doug ? Thanks for the info and the amazing photo. Great location!? ? The wavelength of GPS is something around 18cm. I guess is sneaks in through the cracks along the door of your container. Still amazing. Hard to imagine. I've been in one of these shipping containers and it's hard to imagine that any radio signal would get through that when it's closed up. I bet a cellphone wouldn't work inside. So I'm amazed! ? 73 Hans G0UPL ? On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 9:23 PM, Epignathus <doug@...> wrote: I am in the process of setting up a QTH out in the country where I can control the man made noise. I have the requisite antenna installed, and pulled in an inexpensive surplused, refurbished, 40 foot container for my shack. On my last visit, I completed an underground cable for power to the shack from my solar plant about 400 feet distant, and an underground heliax cable to the antenna. I thought I would just try the U3S from my new shack to give the idle antenna something to do. I have the amazing QLG1 GPS receiver on a 20 foot shielded cable, and hung it out the side door, where obviously it was working just fine. ? As I packed up to come back to Sunnyvale, I pulled in the QLG1, and closed all the doors with me inside to watch it lose the GPS satellites. It didn’t – stayed locked with plenty of sats in view. The U3S is powered 24/7 from a simple 5 VDC supply, and with no power amp. All the containers are locked up for security reasons. Because I get some pretty severe winds on this mountain location, I stow the antenna with its butt into the prevailing winds which unfortunately leaves it pointing almost south into the Pacific. Even so, there are more than a hundred independent spots every day from the WSPR.net site using W6DSR as the call. ? I conclude that at 1500+ MHz where the GPS signals reside, an ISO container is far from a Faraday cage. Also, my Garmin hand-held GPS receiver does not find any sats inside the container, so the newer GPS receivers must be much more sensitive. ? I attached an image of the site, but I don’t know if it will survive on this reflector… ? 73, Doug W6DSR ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Hans Summers ? Hi Doug ? That's quite interesting. Faraday will be turning in his grave. Why did you install it inside a shipping container? I assume it is a retired shipping container?? ? 73 Hans G0UPL ? On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 1:26 AM, Epignathus <doug@...> wrote: I have mine in a 40’ ISO shipping container with the doors sealed shut, and to my amazement, the very sensitive receiver is always locked on multiple sats. I think it would be rather difficult to stop it from receiving under any circumstances… ? -Doug W6DSR ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ron Carr ? I know it won't work without modifications, but I am considering cutting a square hole in my case and mounting the GPS just below the top cover.? About the only thing holding me back is my poor metal working skills.?? I have a house with a metal roof and this GPS works so well that it receives 7 to 10 satellites anywhere I put it.?? I don't think there is a need to have it on a long cable mounted where it can see the sky. ? ? |
|
Doug, Our town uses shipping containers in the recycling center. The floors are steel. Maybe they modified your container for land use by installing plywood floors so that flooring can be applied. You have a nice installation by the way. Mike N2MS ? On June 12, 2017 at 8:50 PM Epignathus <doug@...> wrote:
|
|
I have finally tried mounting my QLG1 inside the case with a square hole to allow the antenna to see the sky.? I am reporting that it does not seem to work very well at all.? Perhaps the metal close to the antenna detunes it or something, but it has trouble getting a lock.?? Once removed and setting on top of the case, it finds 8 to 10 satellites in about 1 minute.
Ron?? K1URC |
|
After reporting my QLG1 did not work well inside the case, I have since found that the small battery that backs up the GPS information is not holding a charge for very long.? So my test was a cold start.? It does cold start better when outside the case, but it is usable when mounted inside.??? I have my unit indoors under a metal roof.
|
Roger Reeves M0ROJ
Daniel Ekman SA2KNG