I received the replacement box today. I was curious re. how much better it would be vs. the first box, so I opened it up before trying to use it. It is slightly better--its capacitor shorts only over 20% (vs. 30% on the first) of the tuning range. Interestingly, in the replacement box the stator plates of the same section are misaligned, but the opposite way.?
I confess I am befuddled. Strongly thinking of sending everything back for a refund. There is simply no excuse, especially for something so visually obvious, so easily tested and offered as a replacement.??
I thought about seeking a partial refund and fixing the cap(s) myself, but not sure Alpha would go for this, and there are alternatives, hopefully with better QC. Thoughts?
Best, --David KM6RI
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Santa Clara County Amateur Radio Association - SCCARA?W6UW will have FD atThe American Red Cross
Southwest corner of N. 1st. St. and Plumeria
2731 North 1st St.
San Jose, CA 95134
We will provide BBQ (hot dogs, polish sausages?etc) for all visitors?and guests. You are welcome to join us to?operate the radios and enjoy the?BBQ. 73 Ned AC6YY
Isn't anyone else going to operate field day??
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Howard, thanks for your astronomical observations and celebratory wishes! Best, --David KM6RI
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On Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 02:51:29 PM PDT, Cliff Sojourner K6CLS via groups.io <cls@...> wrote:
Howard, thanks for this note.? It's exciting.? Love these long daylight days.
I've read we're coming up on a "lunastice" soon.? Apparent motion of lunar declination stops and reverses?? 18.6 year cycle?? Can you explain a little better?
Cliff K6CLS
On June 20, 2024 1:51:02 PM PDT, HOWARD POMERANTZ <HOWPOM@...> wrote:
Today at 20:51 UTC (13:51 PDT) will be the June Solstice. The first day of summer. Day length here is ~14hrs 47min. which is the longest period between sunrise (05:45 PDT) and sunset (20:33 PDT) of the year.
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Agreed, everyone in the northern hemisphere would say it is now summer, but some would have said it has been summer for since June 1.?? Shakespeare would have said summer started around May 4th.
The Aussies would say June 1 is the first day of winter.
On Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 05:26:55 PM PDT, HOWARD POMERANTZ <howpom@...> wrote:
Yes, in the Northern Hemisphere this point in the annual solar cycle is referred as the summer solstice and the first day of summer. However, this is a northern-centric bias.?Apologies to Shakespeare or am I dreaming.?
Today is the first day of winter and the ¡°shortest day¡± of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. So depends on whether you live right-side up or upside down :>) Uh oh, I am showing a bias there too. So down (or up) South it is a cold day's journey into night. Apologies to Eugene O¡¯Neill also.
On Jun 20, 2024, at 3:36 PM, Paul AA6PZ < aa6pz@...> wrote:
In our present definition of seasons, this is the first day of summer.?
In a few hours, we will have the shortest night of the year.? Long time ago, it would have been called "Mid-Summer's Night".? Summer was once defined as beginning half-way between the equinox and the solstice. That would a better match to when the weather changes in CA.? It would also require someone to do a little arithmetic.
Some countries just say summer is June, July and August.?
Anyway, if Shakespeare was alive today, he might have used a different name for his play.
On Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 01:51:11 PM PDT, HOWARD POMERANTZ < howpom@...> wrote:
Today at 20:51 UTC (13:51 PDT) will be the June Solstice. The first day of summer. Day length here is ~14hrs 47min. which is the longest period between sunrise (05:45 PDT) and sunset (20:33 PDT) of the year.
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Re: Saturday.... Re: [QRPops] Friday
Hope to work you.? I enjoy fd and the kx2 is perfect.?
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Yes, in the Northern Hemisphere this point in the annual solar cycle is referred as the summer solstice and the first day of summer. However, this is a northern-centric bias.?Apologies to Shakespeare or am I dreaming.?
Today is the first day of winter and the ¡°shortest day¡± of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. So depends on whether you live right-side up or upside down :>) Uh oh, I am showing a bias there too. So down (or up) South it is a cold day's journey into night. Apologies to Eugene O¡¯Neill also.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Jun 20, 2024, at 3:36 PM, Paul AA6PZ < aa6pz@...> wrote:
In our present definition of seasons, this is the first day of summer.?
In a few hours, we will have the shortest night of the year.? Long time ago, it would have been called "Mid-Summer's Night".? Summer was once defined as beginning half-way between the equinox and the solstice. That would a better match to when the weather changes in CA.? It would also require someone to do a little arithmetic.
Some countries just say summer is June, July and August.?
Anyway, if Shakespeare was alive today, he might have used a different name for his play.
On Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 01:51:11 PM PDT, HOWARD POMERANTZ < howpom@...> wrote:
Today at 20:51 UTC (13:51 PDT) will be the June Solstice. The first day of summer. Day length here is ~14hrs 47min. which is the longest period between sunrise (05:45 PDT) and sunset (20:33 PDT) of the year.
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Here's some theme music?
the flutes rule the mischief?
On Thu, Jun 20, 2024 at 15:36, Paul AA6PZ < aa6pz@...> wrote:
In our present definition of seasons, this is the first day of summer.?
In a few hours, we will have the shortest night of the year.? Long time ago, it would have been called "Mid-Summer's Night".? Summer was once defined as beginning half-way between the equinox and the solstice. That would a better match to when the weather changes in CA.? It would also require someone to do a little arithmetic.
Some countries just say summer is June, July and August.?
Anyway, if Shakespeare was alive today, he might have used a different name for his play.
On Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 01:51:11 PM PDT, HOWARD POMERANTZ <howpom@...> wrote:
Today at 20:51 UTC (13:51 PDT) will be the June Solstice. The first day of summer. Day length here is ~14hrs 47min. which is the longest period between sunrise (05:45 PDT) and sunset (20:33 PDT) of the year.
--
Connie KN2EFI
|
In our present definition of seasons, this is the first day of summer.?
In a few hours, we will have the shortest night of the year.? Long time ago, it would have been called "Mid-Summer's Night".? Summer was once defined as beginning half-way between the equinox and the solstice. That would a better match to when the weather changes in CA.? It would also require someone to do a little arithmetic.
Some countries just say summer is June, July and August.?
Anyway, if Shakespeare was alive today, he might have used a different name for his play.
On Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 01:51:11 PM PDT, HOWARD POMERANTZ <howpom@...> wrote:
Today at 20:51 UTC (13:51 PDT) will be the June Solstice. The first day of summer. Day length here is ~14hrs 47min. which is the longest period between sunrise (05:45 PDT) and sunset (20:33 PDT) of the year.
|
Howard, thanks for this note.? It's exciting.? Love these long daylight days.
I've read we're coming up on a "lunastice" soon.? Apparent motion of lunar declination stops and reverses?? 18.6 year cycle?? Can you explain a little better?
Cliff K6CLS
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On June 20, 2024 1:51:02 PM PDT, HOWARD POMERANTZ <HOWPOM@...> wrote:
Today at 20:51 UTC (13:51 PDT) will be the June Solstice. The first day of summer. Day length here is ~14hrs 47min. which is the longest period between sunrise (05:45 PDT) and sunset (20:33 PDT) of the year.
|
Saturday.... Re: [QRPops] Friday
I'm hoping to go to a park at the top of a hill in San Ramon.? KX2 and Alexloop.? Should be ok weather.
Cliff K6CLS CM87
On June 20, 2024 1:51:28 PM PDT, Doug Hendricks <ki6ds1@...> wrote:
Isn't anyone else going to operate field day??
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Isn't anyone else going to operate field day??
|
Today at 20:51 UTC (13:51 PDT) will be the June Solstice. The first day of summer. Day length here is ~14hrs 47min. which is the longest period between sunrise (05:45 PDT) and sunset (20:33 PDT) of the year.
|
Re: I¡¯m doing a little survey of people that have rotatable antennas.
Ok, that narrows it somewhat.
I have 3 or 4 unpainted Ed Fong J poles.? I'll pick one and try it.
Can you send a picture of the spray cans you think you used?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On June 19, 2024 5:20:03 PM PDT, HOWARD POMERANTZ <HOWPOM@...> wrote:
It was about 4-5 yrs ago. I checked in my supply cabinet and I have both Krylon and Rust-Oleum. Best guess is Krylon gray primer.
I queried the antenna but go no response :>)
On Jun 19, 2024, at 4:48 PM, Cliff Sojourner K6CLS via < cls@...> wrote:
From:
Sent: June 19, 2024 4:43:01 PM PDT
To:
Subject: Re: [QRPops] I¡¯m doing a little survey of people that have rotatable antennas.
That's funny!? Exactly what paint was it?? They make so many. On June 19, 2024 4:01:19 PM PDT, HOWARD POMERANTZ < HOWPOM@...> wrote:
Hi Cliff,
As you say it depends on what you are using the paint on. I have an Ed Fong (TJB-1) contained inside a piece of PVC pipe. It was working great until I painted it with a Rust-Oleum spray to blend in and guess what? It stopped working. When I removed the paint it worked as advertised. The product I used had metal in the paint matrix.
Moral of the story: caveat emptor
?
On Jun 19, 2024, at 11:42 AM, Cliff Sojourner K6CLS via < cls@...> wrote:
I'm going to be a wet blanket here.? There's a lot of superstition and folklore but very few objective measurements about metal in paint being RF effective.
This matters a lot to hobby rocketry, using 434MHz and 915MHz trackers and telemetry, inside painted airframes.
My practical experience is: very little effect of paint.? Experiments include white paint (titanium dioxide), heavy build primer (lots of zinc), black (carbon for color), and lots of combinations in between.? Not much 70cm signal attenuation, nothing really measurable.
We've also done experiments with airframe materials, including cardboard, FR4 fiberglass (similar to the pultruded dowels for hex beams), epoxy and E glass layups, not colored and colored, and carbon fiber layups.? Of those, only real carbon fiber showed any attenuation.
None of the paints or airframe materials showed any DC conductivity (ohms) at all.
Some years ago, a ham 3D printed a small microwave (mm wave actually) dish, and used a special expensive high-metal paint.? That worked, to the limit of the 3D printed shape.? The paint layer was very thin and I'd expect because of surface effect it would not be effective at lower frequencies.
So yeah very special high metal paints can have some RF effect if you go to enough trouble.
Next step:? trying to organize some calibrated test equipment and both an anechoic chamber and outdoor range.
Cliff K6CLS CM87
|
Re: I¡¯m doing a little survey of people that have rotatable antennas.
It was about 4-5 yrs ago. I checked in my supply cabinet and I have both Krylon and Rust-Oleum. Best guess is Krylon gray primer.
I queried the antenna but go no response :>)
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Jun 19, 2024, at 4:48 PM, Cliff Sojourner K6CLS via < cls@...> wrote:
From:
Sent: June 19, 2024 4:43:01 PM PDT
To:
Subject: Re: [QRPops] I¡¯m doing a little survey of people that have rotatable antennas.
That's funny!? Exactly what paint was it?? They make so many. On June 19, 2024 4:01:19 PM PDT, HOWARD POMERANTZ < HOWPOM@...> wrote:
Hi Cliff,
As you say it depends on what you are using the paint on. I have an Ed Fong (TJB-1) contained inside a piece of PVC pipe. It was working great until I painted it with a Rust-Oleum spray to blend in and guess what? It stopped working. When I removed the paint it worked as advertised. The product I used had metal in the paint matrix.
Moral of the story: caveat emptor
?
On Jun 19, 2024, at 11:42 AM, Cliff Sojourner K6CLS via < cls@...> wrote:
I'm going to be a wet blanket here.? There's a lot of superstition and folklore but very few objective measurements about metal in paint being RF effective.
This matters a lot to hobby rocketry, using 434MHz and 915MHz trackers and telemetry, inside painted airframes.
My practical experience is: very little effect of paint.? Experiments include white paint (titanium dioxide), heavy build primer (lots of zinc), black (carbon for color), and lots of combinations in between.? Not much 70cm signal attenuation, nothing really measurable.
We've also done experiments with airframe materials, including cardboard, FR4 fiberglass (similar to the pultruded dowels for hex beams), epoxy and E glass layups, not colored and colored, and carbon fiber layups.? Of those, only real carbon fiber showed any attenuation.
None of the paints or airframe materials showed any DC conductivity (ohms) at all.
Some years ago, a ham 3D printed a small microwave (mm wave actually) dish, and used a special expensive high-metal paint.? That worked, to the limit of the 3D printed shape.? The paint layer was very thin and I'd expect because of surface effect it would not be effective at lower frequencies.
So yeah very special high metal paints can have some RF effect if you go to enough trouble.
Next step:? trying to organize some calibrated test equipment and both an anechoic chamber and outdoor range.
Cliff K6CLS CM87
|
Re: I¡¯m doing a little survey of people that have rotatable antennas.
From: Cliff Sojourner <cls@...>
Sent: June 19, 2024 4:43:01 PM PDT
To:
Subject: Re: [QRPops] I¡¯m doing a little survey of people that have rotatable antennas.
That's funny!? Exactly what paint was it?? They make so many. On June 19, 2024 4:01:19 PM PDT, HOWARD POMERANTZ <HOWPOM@...> wrote:
Hi Cliff,
As you say it depends on what you are using the paint on. I have an Ed Fong (TJB-1) contained inside a piece of PVC pipe. It was working great until I painted it with a Rust-Oleum spray to blend in and guess what? It stopped working. When I removed the paint it worked as advertised. The product I used had metal in the paint matrix.
Moral of the story: caveat emptor
?
On Jun 19, 2024, at 11:42 AM, Cliff Sojourner K6CLS via < cls@...> wrote:
I'm going to be a wet blanket here.? There's a lot of superstition and folklore but very few objective measurements about metal in paint being RF effective.
This matters a lot to hobby rocketry, using 434MHz and 915MHz trackers and telemetry, inside painted airframes.
My practical experience is: very little effect of paint.? Experiments include white paint (titanium dioxide), heavy build primer (lots of zinc), black (carbon for color), and lots of combinations in between.? Not much 70cm signal attenuation, nothing really measurable.
We've also done experiments with airframe materials, including cardboard, FR4 fiberglass (similar to the pultruded dowels for hex beams), epoxy and E glass layups, not colored and colored, and carbon fiber layups.? Of those, only real carbon fiber showed any attenuation.
None of the paints or airframe materials showed any DC conductivity (ohms) at all.
Some years ago, a ham 3D printed a small microwave (mm wave actually) dish, and used a special expensive high-metal paint.? That worked, to the limit of the 3D printed shape.? The paint layer was very thin and I'd expect because of surface effect it would not be effective at lower frequencies.
So yeah very special high metal paints can have some RF effect if you go to enough trouble.
Next step:? trying to organize some calibrated test equipment and both an anechoic chamber and outdoor range.
Cliff K6CLS CM87
|
Re: I¡¯m doing a little survey of people that have rotatable antennas.
Hi Cliff,
As you say it depends on what you are using the paint on. I have an Ed Fong (TJB-1) contained inside a piece of PVC pipe. It was working great until I painted it with a Rust-Oleum spray to blend in and guess what? It stopped working. When I removed the paint it worked as advertised. The product I used had metal in the paint matrix.
Moral of the story: caveat emptor
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Jun 19, 2024, at 11:42 AM, Cliff Sojourner K6CLS via < cls@...> wrote:
I'm going to be a wet blanket here.? There's a lot of superstition and folklore but very few objective measurements about metal in paint being RF effective.
This matters a lot to hobby rocketry, using 434MHz and 915MHz trackers and telemetry, inside painted airframes.
My practical experience is: very little effect of paint.? Experiments include white paint (titanium dioxide), heavy build primer (lots of zinc), black (carbon for color), and lots of combinations in between.? Not much 70cm signal attenuation, nothing really measurable.
We've also done experiments with airframe materials, including cardboard, FR4 fiberglass (similar to the pultruded dowels for hex beams), epoxy and E glass layups, not colored and colored, and carbon fiber layups.? Of those, only real carbon fiber showed any attenuation.
None of the paints or airframe materials showed any DC conductivity (ohms) at all.
Some years ago, a ham 3D printed a small microwave (mm wave actually) dish, and used a special expensive high-metal paint.? That worked, to the limit of the 3D printed shape.? The paint layer was very thin and I'd expect because of surface effect it would not be effective at lower frequencies.
So yeah very special high metal paints can have some RF effect if you go to enough trouble.
Next step:? trying to organize some calibrated test equipment and both an anechoic chamber and outdoor range.
Cliff K6CLS CM87
|
Re: I¡¯m doing a little survey of people that have rotatable antennas.
I'm going to be a wet blanket here.? There's a lot of superstition and folklore but very few objective measurements about metal in paint being RF effective.
This matters a lot to hobby rocketry, using 434MHz and 915MHz trackers and telemetry, inside painted airframes.
My practical experience is: very little effect of paint.? Experiments include white paint (titanium dioxide), heavy build primer (lots of zinc), black (carbon for color), and lots of combinations in between.? Not much 70cm signal attenuation, nothing really measurable.
We've also done experiments with airframe materials, including cardboard, FR4 fiberglass (similar to the pultruded dowels for hex beams), epoxy and E glass layups, not colored and colored, and carbon fiber layups.? Of those, only real carbon fiber showed any attenuation.
None of the paints or airframe materials showed any DC conductivity (ohms) at all.
Some years ago, a ham 3D printed a small microwave (mm wave actually) dish, and used a special expensive high-metal paint.? That worked, to the limit of the 3D printed shape.? The paint layer was very thin and I'd expect because of surface effect it would not be effective at lower frequencies.
So yeah very special high metal paints can have some RF effect if you go to enough trouble.
Next step:? trying to organize some calibrated test equipment and both an anechoic chamber and outdoor range.
Cliff K6CLS CM87
|
I will be operating FD from the back yard.? I will be QRP, single op, using KI6DS as my call.? Hope to work you.
Doug
|
The annual ARRL FD contest? exercise is this weekend.? I
will be operating from Maryknoll, near the pagoda roof line you have
seen from 280 a mile north of 85.? Grid CM87XI00GC
You're all welcome to some full size antennas put up.
With perfect planning, equipment will arrive around 11 on Friday, but being FD, if might be later.
On Wednesday, June 19, 2024 at 08:58:10 AM PDT, Hiroki Kato <hiroki@...> wrote:
I will be at the Baylands starting with lunch. Hope to see many of you.
Hiroki AH6CY
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David
Cliff Sojourner K6CLS