Re: just joined, need assistance with a deaf Syncal 30

#4967
Edited

Hi Dave,

That is good news. Julian thinks that he might be able to help. All I can tell from the manual is that RLB on the transceiver board is Racal Part 920577. If you can post the manufacturer and their part number for this relay then I'm sure someone can help.

Peter
G4DJB

Edit - from the photos you posted earlier in the thread it looks like RLA and RLB are both SDS RS-12V type. Donberg Electronics seem to have them 'new' (but at a price!).

Re: just joined, need assistance with a deaf Syncal 30

#4966

开云体育

Hi Dave - I have a quantity of relays used on the TRA931 brand new and in stock.

Please let me know the part number of your relay (it is usually viewable on the coil, inside the clear plastic cover), and I will send you one if you give me your address.

Best regards,

Julian Barnard.

Repair Technology.

Show quoted text

On 23 Jul 2020, at 06:20, Dave via groups.io <kc3am@...> wrote:

?
Hello there Peter,

Yourself and John, G6LJU, have been the only offers of help.

Progress has been made on the TRA-931 !!!!!!

RLB on the transceiver board is not switching thus no drive to the PA board.

I do have the switched 12 vdc but very little signal makes it through the contacts.

Pressing the PTT and then jumpering across the contacts I get 15 watts on high power !!!!!!!!!!!

Do you have any idea of where an exact replacement relay may be found.

The few places I have found so far say it is discontinued, no surprise.

I am too excited to head off to sleep so I am going to continue searching.

Thanks much,

Dave KC3AM

On 07/19/2020 06:52, x_racal wrote:

Dave,

It sounds as if you are making some progress. Did you read the manual on how the 1.4 MHz signal is generated? If you are in AM Rx it seems that the 1.4 MHz signal is muted (see Part 3 page 2-9), so could be why you are not seeing that signal? Change to USB or LSB and see if the 1.4MHz signal returns,. If not, then you have a good place to start looking for faults.

73,

Peter
G4DJB

--
Hams should be seen as well as heard, 73, Dave KC3AM

Re: just joined, need assistance with a deaf Syncal 30

#4965

Hi Dave,

I am pleased to hear you have had some success with the TRA931.

Unfortunately I do not know a source of a replacement relay. I am

sure they will be obsolescent these days but someone must have some

as "new old stock" . Personally I would ask the question on this forum

if anyone knows of a source. You could try Farnell and RS components here in the UK

and see if they have any stock left.

By asking on this forum you may get a good lead as to where a relay can be sourced.

Good Luck

Best regards

John G6LJU

Show quoted text

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave via groups.io <kc3am@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thu, 23 Jul 2020 6:19
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] just joined, need assistance with a deaf Syncal 30

Hello there John,

Yourself and Peter, G4DJB, have been the only offers of help.

Progress has been made on the TRA-931 !!!!!!

RLB on the transceiver board is not switching thus no drive to the PA board.

I do have the switched 12 vdc but very little signal makes it through the contacts.

Pressing the PTT and then jumpering across the contacts I get 15 watts on high power !!!!!!!!!!!

Do you have any idea of where an exact replacement relay may be found.

The few places I have found so far say it is discontinued, no surprise.

I am too excited to head off to sleep so I am going to continue searching.

Thanks much,

Dave KC3AM

On 07/13/2020 08:48, John Whitehouse via groups.io wrote:

?

Hi Dave,

Its been a while since I worked on TRA931’s like well over 40 years ago now, but I do own several TRA931’s and have had to maintain them from time to time. The TRA931 was probably Racal’s best-selling radio ever, literally thousands were made and sold worldwide. They were designed as an export radio using quality components to meeting MIL spec but without all the paperwork and qualification that went will producing a radio for NATO use. The TRA931 has and still is used from the Artic/Antarctic to the jungles of South America/Africa to the deserts of the Middle east. It coped well win these environments and beat all its competition on price and performance. The TRA931 was produced from the early 1970’s until Racal was taken over in 2000 and was a great seller for all this time. Saying it was an export radio did not stop NATO governments purchasing quantities of TRA931’s for there own use so the radio proved to be a well liked and requested radio worldwide.

?

Firstly, the TRA931 operates from a nominal 24Vdc supply, typically you can go down to 18V and even lower on receive and up to about 30Vdc. If you go higher than 30V the 33v Zenner diode D3 mounted on the main chassis will cause the 7A fuse FS1 to blow thus protecting the radio from over voltage.

Secondly in the era when these sets were made Tantalum capacitors where a new technology and proved over the years not to be reliable. They will fail for what appears to be no reason and I would recommend you change them all in your radio if you can. I have done this with my own TRA931. Depending on the age of your TRA931 you may not have any tantalum capacitors at all as the earlier TRA931’s did not have any tantalum capacitors.

You need to find yourself a copy of the TRA931 handbook (if you don’t already have one) so you can access the schematic diagrams to make fault finding somewhat easier. The VMARS website in the UK () has many Racal handbooks available to download but I am not certain if you have to be a member to access the manual section of the website.

You do not say if the fault is just limited to Tx path or if you have problems on receive as well? If the radio is receiving correctly a lot of the common circuitry can be eliminated from your fault-finding analysis. If your fault is common to both Tx and Rx there are common areas like 1.4Mhz switching where one should start one’s investigations.

When you say L16 went up in smoke and C62 shorted I am assuming you are referring to the Synthesiser board MA925? This issue being for example C62 is not C62 for the radio but C62 just on the Synthesiser board. When specifying a component or test point, you also have to say what board it is from or even if it’s a chassis component as the boards where used in other products as well as the TRA931 so you can have multiple references say to a R12 or TP11 in a particular radio.

The only L16 I could find was on the synthesiser board and assume the C62 was also as if C62 shorted L16 would go up in smoke as you experienced. The Synthesiser board has three outputs one at 1.4Mhz (pins 61 & 62) one at 34Mhz (Pins 58 &59) and the Main variable output (Pins 41 & 42) so it is worth just checking they are all present before continuing your fault finding further.

The TP1 you refer to on what board is it? As the only TP1 I have found so far is on the transceiver board and this is on the antenna side of the channel mixer after the band pass filter?

Also what mode are you using when you measure the power output? If you are measuring it in “Tune” I would have expected to see 4 to 6W output.

The PA board transistors often did not have a connection to the ‘collector pin’ as the connection was made through the stud (also connected to the collector) maybe someone else out there has knowledge of this and will let you know.

Loosing the 1.4Mhz in the Tx path on the Transceiver board can give you some of the symptoms you are experiencing. There are multiple 1.4Mhz switching points and PTT switching using 1N4149 diodes which I have experienced problems with over the years. I have had these simply just fail or more commonly exhibit a high leakage current so you should exhibit some suspicion of these diodes if they are located anywhere near part of the circuit you are testing. You also need to check the PTT switching as a 12V rail may be missing and causing your issues there are multiple PSU regulator circuits on each board so they all have to be checked as functional before proceeding further with your fault-finding.

?

I am sorry I cannot be of more help in this email, I do hope you can find the fault as the TRA931 is a radio worth saving and using.

Please let me know how you get on with your investigations and I will be happy to help you further and have email discussions with you to help you fault find the radio.

?

Best regards

?

John G6LJU

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave via groups.io <kc3am@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sat, 11 Jul 2020 1:50
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] just joined, need assistance with a deaf Syncal 30

Hello John,
Dave here KC3AM and I am asking for some help. From your comments above maybe you can help me some with my TRA931 that I got from a friend who is now a SK.

Not knowing anything about this radio when I got it I found out that I needed 24 VDC for power. I originally powered it up from a 12 VDC supply and saw that it did come to life and seemed to RX OK. I then tried it at 18 VDC and had about 4 watts RF out. I brought it up to 23 VDC? and all seemed well. Then the smoke came out. In the power supply section. C 62 apparently shorted and L16 went up in smoke. These were easy to find since they were blackened. They have been exactly replaced. 5, 9, 15 VDC all seem to be fine now but I have very little RF out now, not my 4 watts. (This is where I found another problem. On the PA board TR2 is has the collector lead missing which is probably one reason for the low initial output.) I cannot get my initial 4 watts output now. Hooking the 3 - 30 BNC jack to a Motorola service monitor I do see an output signal exactly on frequency so the synth board is OK and at TP1 I have the 8 MHz signal that matches the front panel setting. I am using an old Motorola RF voltmeter to look for RF. AT TP1 I have about 1/10 VDC. At the output of the wideband amp at A21 I have about the same. Looking at the static voltage chart TR 33 & 32 look OK, TR31 I start with 24 VDC and only drops to 20VDC upon transmit on the collector. TR31 looks OK but I am planning on replacing it anyway. All voltages that I have looked at seem to be OK, 12TX ,24PA.

Can you offer any suggestions?

Thank you very much for your time.
Dave KC3AM

--
Hams should be seen as well as heard, 73, Dave KC3AM

Re: just joined, need assistance with a deaf Syncal 30

#4964

开云体育

Hello there Peter,

Yourself and John, G6LJU, have been the only offers of help.

Progress has been made on the TRA-931 !!!!!!

RLB on the transceiver board is not switching thus no drive to the PA board.

I do have the switched 12 vdc but very little signal makes it through the contacts.

Pressing the PTT and then jumpering across the contacts I get 15 watts on high power !!!!!!!!!!!

Do you have any idea of where an exact replacement relay may be found.

The few places I have found so far say it is discontinued, no surprise.

I am too excited to head off to sleep so I am going to continue searching.

Thanks much,

Dave KC3AM

On 07/19/2020 06:52, x_racal wrote:

Dave,

It sounds as if you are making some progress. Did you read the manual on how the 1.4 MHz signal is generated? If you are in AM Rx it seems that the 1.4 MHz signal is muted (see Part 3 page 2-9), so could be why you are not seeing that signal? Change to USB or LSB and see if the 1.4MHz signal returns,. If not, then you have a good place to start looking for faults.

73,

Peter
G4DJB

--
Hams should be seen as well as heard, 73, Dave KC3AM

Re: just joined, need assistance with a deaf Syncal 30

#4963

开云体育

Hello there John,

Yourself and Peter, G4DJB, have been the only offers of help.

Progress has been made on the TRA-931 !!!!!!

RLB on the transceiver board is not switching thus no drive to the PA board.

I do have the switched 12 vdc but very little signal makes it through the contacts.

Pressing the PTT and then jumpering across the contacts I get 15 watts on high power !!!!!!!!!!!

Do you have any idea of where an exact replacement relay may be found.

The few places I have found so far say it is discontinued, no surprise.

I am too excited to head off to sleep so I am going to continue searching.

Thanks much,

Dave KC3AM

On 07/13/2020 08:48, John Whitehouse via groups.io wrote:

?

Hi Dave,

Its been a while since I worked on TRA931’s like well over 40 years ago now, but I do own several TRA931’s and have had to maintain them from time to time. The TRA931 was probably Racal’s best-selling radio ever, literally thousands were made and sold worldwide. They were designed as an export radio using quality components to meeting MIL spec but without all the paperwork and qualification that went will producing a radio for NATO use. The TRA931 has and still is used from the Artic/Antarctic to the jungles of South America/Africa to the deserts of the Middle east. It coped well win these environments and beat all its competition on price and performance. The TRA931 was produced from the early 1970’s until Racal was taken over in 2000 and was a great seller for all this time. Saying it was an export radio did not stop NATO governments purchasing quantities of TRA931’s for there own use so the radio proved to be a well liked and requested radio worldwide.

?

Firstly, the TRA931 operates from a nominal 24Vdc supply, typically you can go down to 18V and even lower on receive and up to about 30Vdc. If you go higher than 30V the 33v Zenner diode D3 mounted on the main chassis will cause the 7A fuse FS1 to blow thus protecting the radio from over voltage.

Secondly in the era when these sets were made Tantalum capacitors where a new technology and proved over the years not to be reliable. They will fail for what appears to be no reason and I would recommend you change them all in your radio if you can. I have done this with my own TRA931. Depending on the age of your TRA931 you may not have any tantalum capacitors at all as the earlier TRA931’s did not have any tantalum capacitors.

You need to find yourself a copy of the TRA931 handbook (if you don’t already have one) so you can access the schematic diagrams to make fault finding somewhat easier. The VMARS website in the UK () has many Racal handbooks available to download but I am not certain if you have to be a member to access the manual section of the website.

You do not say if the fault is just limited to Tx path or if you have problems on receive as well? If the radio is receiving correctly a lot of the common circuitry can be eliminated from your fault-finding analysis. If your fault is common to both Tx and Rx there are common areas like 1.4Mhz switching where one should start one’s investigations.

When you say L16 went up in smoke and C62 shorted I am assuming you are referring to the Synthesiser board MA925? This issue being for example C62 is not C62 for the radio but C62 just on the Synthesiser board. When specifying a component or test point, you also have to say what board it is from or even if it’s a chassis component as the boards where used in other products as well as the TRA931 so you can have multiple references say to a R12 or TP11 in a particular radio.

The only L16 I could find was on the synthesiser board and assume the C62 was also as if C62 shorted L16 would go up in smoke as you experienced. The Synthesiser board has three outputs one at 1.4Mhz (pins 61 & 62) one at 34Mhz (Pins 58 &59) and the Main variable output (Pins 41 & 42) so it is worth just checking they are all present before continuing your fault finding further.

The TP1 you refer to on what board is it? As the only TP1 I have found so far is on the transceiver board and this is on the antenna side of the channel mixer after the band pass filter?

Also what mode are you using when you measure the power output? If you are measuring it in “Tune” I would have expected to see 4 to 6W output.

The PA board transistors often did not have a connection to the ‘collector pin’ as the connection was made through the stud (also connected to the collector) maybe someone else out there has knowledge of this and will let you know.

Loosing the 1.4Mhz in the Tx path on the Transceiver board can give you some of the symptoms you are experiencing. There are multiple 1.4Mhz switching points and PTT switching using 1N4149 diodes which I have experienced problems with over the years. I have had these simply just fail or more commonly exhibit a high leakage current so you should exhibit some suspicion of these diodes if they are located anywhere near part of the circuit you are testing. You also need to check the PTT switching as a 12V rail may be missing and causing your issues there are multiple PSU regulator circuits on each board so they all have to be checked as functional before proceeding further with your fault-finding.

?

I am sorry I cannot be of more help in this email, I do hope you can find the fault as the TRA931 is a radio worth saving and using.

Please let me know how you get on with your investigations and I will be happy to help you further and have email discussions with you to help you fault find the radio.

?

Best regards

?

John G6LJU

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave via groups.io <kc3am@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sat, 11 Jul 2020 1:50
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] just joined, need assistance with a deaf Syncal 30

Hello John,
Dave here KC3AM and I am asking for some help. From your comments above maybe you can help me some with my TRA931 that I got from a friend who is now a SK.

Not knowing anything about this radio when I got it I found out that I needed 24 VDC for power. I originally powered it up from a 12 VDC supply and saw that it did come to life and seemed to RX OK. I then tried it at 18 VDC and had about 4 watts RF out. I brought it up to 23 VDC? and all seemed well. Then the smoke came out. In the power supply section. C 62 apparently shorted and L16 went up in smoke. These were easy to find since they were blackened. They have been exactly replaced. 5, 9, 15 VDC all seem to be fine now but I have very little RF out now, not my 4 watts. (This is where I found another problem. On the PA board TR2 is has the collector lead missing which is probably one reason for the low initial output.) I cannot get my initial 4 watts output now. Hooking the 3 - 30 BNC jack to a Motorola service monitor I do see an output signal exactly on frequency so the synth board is OK and at TP1 I have the 8 MHz signal that matches the front panel setting. I am using an old Motorola RF voltmeter to look for RF. AT TP1 I have about 1/10 VDC. At the output of the wideband amp at A21 I have about the same. Looking at the static voltage chart TR 33 & 32 look OK, TR31 I start with 24 VDC and only drops to 20VDC upon transmit on the collector. TR31 looks OK but I am planning on replacing it anyway. All voltages that I have looked at seem to be OK, 12TX ,24PA.

Can you offer any suggestions?

Thank you very much for your time.
Dave KC3AM

--
Hams should be seen as well as heard, 73, Dave KC3AM

Re: Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

#4962

Hi Eugene,

For an HF whip there can be very high voltages on that wire when feeding an electrically short whip.

The plastic insulator cups/bowls are just that - to add insulation and to prevent the P11 wire coming into contact with any other items, especially metallic ones. Although the wire is insulated, allowing it to come into contact with metal surfaces would provide capacitative coupling to that metalwork reducing the effectiveness of the antenna. It is therefore normal practice to place those insulators along the length of the P11 wire. They are fitted to ensure that they allow rain to run off rather than being collected.

Peter
G4DJB

Re: Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

#4961

开云体育

Stuart et. Al.

?

Thanks for posting the pictures. I never would have figure that out.? Question, looking at this picture,

/g/RacalRadio/photo/250854/2?p=Created,,,20,2,0,0

?

I get the plastic nut and the wire coming through it. But what is the purpose of all those plastic cup thingies? I would have thought you needed maybe one of them for water protection, but there are a ton of them?

?

Eugene

?

Show quoted text

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Stuart Mckinnon via groups.io
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2020 4:32 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

?

Eugene and all

?

I have uploaded a few photo's of the cable we are talking about, apologies they are a bit grubby, they were in a box in my outside shed! you will see the rain protectors half way along(Rubber Bung) that stops the rain rolling down lead and into your vehicle, I used these through canvas on a S111 Land Rover, and I am sure they were used in other applications, you can see the spade termination on the far end that would be clamped behind the ATU to the Hot terminal, the plastic end that screws to aerial base as seen in the photo's is dull after 40 plus years of sitting idle, I have no doubt if you cut back the P11 cable an inch or so, it would be virginal Hi

?

I do have though somewhere a reel of New P11 cable Lucky me

?

Anyway hope that's of help

?

And Eugene let me know how I can help, ready and able..

?

Stuart

G0TBI

?

-----Original Message-----
From: W2HX <w2hx@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Tue, 21 Jul 2020 1:44
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

Gee, what a shock that I was sold an uncomplete base that was advertised as complete. Caveat Emptor on me.

?

Looking past all the Forester shenanigans, thank you for the explanation. I will google this P11, not a term I have come across on this side of the pond. I would love to see a picture/diagram of how this HF thing ?works. Seems that the HV wire gets stuck into some kind of plastic nut and then screwed in (or fit into) this base. And it seems one needs this special spanner/puller/thingy to do the installation. Seems complex.

?

As for the VHF base and the matching network, anyone have any information on this? Or a VSWR plot vs frequency or maybe a S11 smith chart for this antenna?

?

Thanks all.

Eugene

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of x_racal
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2020 5:18 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

?

Hi Eugene,

It looks as if you've not been sold a complete base. There should be a plastic nut to fit in the threaded hole in the middle. There is a hole through the plastic nut that the P11 wire feeds through. The strands of the wire are then splayed out over a metal washer and these are then fixed into the threaded hole with a spanner/wrench. I just wish I had a base to send you photographs.

The HF base has no built-in matching - that is taken care of by an external ATU that the P11 wire connects to. The Yeoman VHF base has an inbuilt matching unit and can be fed direct from a transceiver.

I hope that this helps,

Peter

G4DJB

RACAL CA531C Test set

#4960

开云体育

I have revived my interest in finishing off my RACAL 531C test set. I do not have a circuit diagram for this set, and I need to know how the dummy-load is constructed and wired into the circuit. If anyone has a circuit for this unit, or even the handbook, I would be most grateful for a copy. The test set is too good just to use as a power supply and simple modulation tester for my Syncals and other RACAL manpacks.

?

Yours sincerely Tony Helm, G4BCX.

?

Re: OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

#4959

开云体育

Except he has a reputation of ripping people off.... care to defend his history.?

? ?You’ve failed to read the entire thread. People have contacted Eugene off the reflector to tell him of their personal woes with this guy (several people actually) and how they succumbed to his antics. Without being disrespectful !! he does not “what appears to be” an exemplary reputation.?

? ?If he has become sick or worse then I feel for his family but people who conduct business in the right way don’t cop this kind of flack.?

De Spence M0STO

? ?

Sent whilst mobile

Show quoted text

On 21 Jul 2020, at 16:11, Richard Hankins <g7rvi@...> wrote:

And I note that Martin was QSL manager back in 2013 (or so) for RSGB - the G7 sub-group.??? Seems to me that someone who would take on a voluntary role like that is probably not someone who will also knowingly cheat someone out of money or bits owed.

Richard

G7RVI

On 21/07/2020 16:01, Richard Hankins wrote:

Eugene,

has it occurred to you that Martin Forrester may have died - and his son got in touch with you as possibly hundreds of separate things needing to be "sorted out" following such an event?

His son may be entirely genuine - and have zero knowledge of anything to do with radio - and thus be struggling to deal with such abstruse enquiries.?? Of course, he could be polite enough to tell you that.....

I only offer that as a possible explanation of what has happened.?? Equally he could have gone bankrupt, been divorced, gone down with life threatening illness, etc, etc.?? Any of these major life events can mean sorting out some deal like this one is rather low on the priority list.

I suggest you can only make posts like this one and see if anyone knows what has happened.? Or you could try the call book and see if you can get a postal adress - and appeal for someone local to that address to go and bang on the door.......

Richard

G7RVI

On 20/07/2020 19:24, W2HX wrote:

Sorry to rehash this. Last time I sent the email below, someone who is a friend of his was kind enough to contact him and let him know I was looking for him. Before the friend’s assistance, months went by without so much as an email or text. I sent him $650 nine months ago for some British mobile antenna bases and whips. After 7 months I finally received the mounts but no whips. So now I have $650 worth of useless antenna bases. The last communication was from his son (or so they said) where it seemed the son was going to take command of this situation and finally rectify it. That was a month ago and again, no more communication. Now it seems all hope is lost.

?

I am hoping someone can contact him and persuade him to conclude this deal and be rid of me (and I, him).

?

Thank you

Eugene

?

?

From: W2HX
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2020 5:06 PM
Subject: OT: Martin Forrester

?

Apologies for this OT post. Has anyone heard from Martin Forrester, G7JWR? I sent him money for some antenna equipment six months ago (which he acknowledged receiving) and has yet to send the equipment. In February, he called saying he’ll ship “in a few days.” Still nothing.? Anyone talk with him recently?

?

Thanks

Eugene W2HX

?

Re: OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

#4958

开云体育

And I note that Martin was QSL manager back in 2013 (or so) for RSGB - the G7 sub-group.??? Seems to me that someone who would take on a voluntary role like that is probably not someone who will also knowingly cheat someone out of money or bits owed.

Richard

G7RVI

On 21/07/2020 16:01, Richard Hankins wrote:

Show quoted text

Eugene,

has it occurred to you that Martin Forrester may have died - and his son got in touch with you as possibly hundreds of separate things needing to be "sorted out" following such an event?

His son may be entirely genuine - and have zero knowledge of anything to do with radio - and thus be struggling to deal with such abstruse enquiries.?? Of course, he could be polite enough to tell you that.....

I only offer that as a possible explanation of what has happened.?? Equally he could have gone bankrupt, been divorced, gone down with life threatening illness, etc, etc.?? Any of these major life events can mean sorting out some deal like this one is rather low on the priority list.

I suggest you can only make posts like this one and see if anyone knows what has happened.? Or you could try the call book and see if you can get a postal adress - and appeal for someone local to that address to go and bang on the door.......

Richard

G7RVI

On 20/07/2020 19:24, W2HX wrote:

Sorry to rehash this. Last time I sent the email below, someone who is a friend of his was kind enough to contact him and let him know I was looking for him. Before the friend’s assistance, months went by without so much as an email or text. I sent him $650 nine months ago for some British mobile antenna bases and whips. After 7 months I finally received the mounts but no whips. So now I have $650 worth of useless antenna bases. The last communication was from his son (or so they said) where it seemed the son was going to take command of this situation and finally rectify it. That was a month ago and again, no more communication. Now it seems all hope is lost.

?

I am hoping someone can contact him and persuade him to conclude this deal and be rid of me (and I, him).

?

Thank you

Eugene

?

?

From: W2HX
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2020 5:06 PM
Subject: OT: Martin Forrester

?

Apologies for this OT post. Has anyone heard from Martin Forrester, G7JWR? I sent him money for some antenna equipment six months ago (which he acknowledged receiving) and has yet to send the equipment. In February, he called saying he’ll ship “in a few days.” Still nothing.? Anyone talk with him recently?

?

Thanks

Eugene W2HX

?

Re: OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

#4957

开云体育

Eugene,

has it occurred to you that Martin Forrester may have died - and his son got in touch with you as possibly hundreds of separate things needing to be "sorted out" following such an event?

His son may be entirely genuine - and have zero knowledge of anything to do with radio - and thus be struggling to deal with such abstruse enquiries.?? Of course, he could be polite enough to tell you that.....

I only offer that as a possible explanation of what has happened.?? Equally he could have gone bankrupt, been divorced, gone down with life threatening illness, etc, etc.?? Any of these major life events can mean sorting out some deal like this one is rather low on the priority list.

I suggest you can only make posts like this one and see if anyone knows what has happened.? Or you could try the call book and see if you can get a postal adress - and appeal for someone local to that address to go and bang on the door.......

Richard

G7RVI

On 20/07/2020 19:24, W2HX wrote:

Show quoted text

Sorry to rehash this. Last time I sent the email below, someone who is a friend of his was kind enough to contact him and let him know I was looking for him. Before the friend’s assistance, months went by without so much as an email or text. I sent him $650 nine months ago for some British mobile antenna bases and whips. After 7 months I finally received the mounts but no whips. So now I have $650 worth of useless antenna bases. The last communication was from his son (or so they said) where it seemed the son was going to take command of this situation and finally rectify it. That was a month ago and again, no more communication. Now it seems all hope is lost.

?

I am hoping someone can contact him and persuade him to conclude this deal and be rid of me (and I, him).

?

Thank you

Eugene

?

?

From: W2HX
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2020 5:06 PM
Subject: OT: Martin Forrester

?

Apologies for this OT post. Has anyone heard from Martin Forrester, G7JWR? I sent him money for some antenna equipment six months ago (which he acknowledged receiving) and has yet to send the equipment. In February, he called saying he’ll ship “in a few days.” Still nothing.? Anyone talk with him recently?

?

Thanks

Eugene W2HX

?

Re: Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

#4956

开云体育

Thanks, Stuart! I will review the photos post haste to better understand how these things work

Thanks

Eugene

?

Show quoted text

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Stuart Mckinnon via groups.io
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2020 4:32 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

?

Eugene and all

?

I have uploaded a few photo's of the cable we are talking about, apologies they are a bit grubby, they were in a box in my outside shed! you will see the rain protectors half way along(Rubber Bung) that stops the rain rolling down lead and into your vehicle, I used these through canvas on a S111 Land Rover, and I am sure they were used in other applications, you can see the spade termination on the far end that would be clamped behind the ATU to the Hot terminal, the plastic end that screws to aerial base as seen in the photo's is dull after 40 plus years of sitting idle, I have no doubt if you cut back the P11 cable an inch or so, it would be virginal Hi

?

I do have though somewhere a reel of New P11 cable Lucky me

?

Anyway hope that's of help

?

And Eugene let me know how I can help, ready and able..

?

Stuart

G0TBI

?

-----Original Message-----
From: W2HX <w2hx@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Tue, 21 Jul 2020 1:44
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

Gee, what a shock that I was sold an uncomplete base that was advertised as complete. Caveat Emptor on me.

?

Looking past all the Forester shenanigans, thank you for the explanation. I will google this P11, not a term I have come across on this side of the pond. I would love to see a picture/diagram of how this HF thing ?works. Seems that the HV wire gets stuck into some kind of plastic nut and then screwed in (or fit into) this base. And it seems one needs this special spanner/puller/thingy to do the installation. Seems complex.

?

As for the VHF base and the matching network, anyone have any information on this? Or a VSWR plot vs frequency or maybe a S11 smith chart for this antenna?

?

Thanks all.

Eugene

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of x_racal
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2020 5:18 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

?

Hi Eugene,

It looks as if you've not been sold a complete base. There should be a plastic nut to fit in the threaded hole in the middle. There is a hole through the plastic nut that the P11 wire feeds through. The strands of the wire are then splayed out over a metal washer and these are then fixed into the threaded hole with a spanner/wrench. I just wish I had a base to send you photographs.

The HF base has no built-in matching - that is taken care of by an external ATU that the P11 wire connects to. The Yeoman VHF base has an inbuilt matching unit and can be fed direct from a transceiver.

I hope that this helps,

Peter

G4DJB

Re: Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

#4955

开云体育

Thanks for the explanations, Peter. FB on the P11. I now understand it is just HV wire. Interesting it uses 12 AWG. Sounds quite hefty.

Eugene

?

Show quoted text

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of x_racal
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2020 3:46 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

?

Hi Eugene,

The spanner is not absolutely necessary, especially on the base you have. Some of the HF bases did have the connection point deeply set so this spanner was essential.

As for VSWR plots I may have one somewhere, but it does very much depend on the vehicle? (and location) where the antenna base was located. The antenna system was designed to cover 30-108MHz so you can imagine that the matching network is a bit of a compromise.

The P11 cable is nothing specific really. Its basically a 12AWG / 4mm2 stranded copper wire with heat resisting, high voltage rated outer insulation.

Peter

G4DJB

Conclusion on Martin Forrester G7JWR

#4954

开云体育

All, we can safely put this to rest. Thank you, everyone, for the moral support here. But he finally contacted me and said he would not be sending me the whips since I have “slandered” (I think he meant libeled) him on these forums. I’ve decided that’s ok. Lesson learned. I just hope these posts will help others avoid the same trap I fell into with this guy.

?

I have heard that he has been contacting some of his friends promoting falsehoods about the deal, so I’ve taken the liberty of assembling some of the more salient correspondences here:

?

Otherwise, lets let this die. No need to reply to the list. No reason to further this topic.

Thank you

Eugene

?

Show quoted text

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of W2HX
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2020 2:24 PM
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: [RacalRadio] OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

?

Sorry to rehash this. Last time I sent the email below, someone who is a friend of his was kind enough to contact him and let him know I was looking for him. Before the friend’s assistance, months went by without so much as an email or text. I sent him $650 nine months ago for some British mobile antenna bases and whips. After 7 months I finally received the mounts but no whips. So now I have $650 worth of useless antenna bases. The last communication was from his son (or so they said) where it seemed the son was going to take command of this situation and finally rectify it. That was a month ago and again, no more communication. Now it seems all hope is lost.

?

I am hoping someone can contact him and persuade him to conclude this deal and be rid of me (and I, him).

?

Thank you

Eugene

?

From: W2HX
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2020 5:06 PM
Subject: OT: Martin Forrester

?

Apologies for this OT post. Has anyone heard from Martin Forrester, G7JWR? I sent him money for some antenna equipment six months ago (which he acknowledged receiving) and has yet to send the equipment. In February, he called saying he’ll ship “in a few days.” Still nothing.? Anyone talk with him recently?

?

Thanks

Eugene W2HX

?

Re: Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

#4953

> Gee, what a shock that I was sold an uncomplete base that was advertised as complete.

The nut/washer/gland tends to get lost, and some sellers don't even realise they exist. Spares are available, e.g.??.? I've also seen new bags of spare insulator cups.

BTW the standard Clansman 1m whip sections fit those bases. Lower sections can be cascaded, and the upper two sections are the same as the VHF whip. The standard vehicle arrangement for HF is a total of four sections. There are plenty on the UK eBay site,?some new and some very scruffy.? I have one of those?bases fitted to my Landrover?(roof, not the usual side stalk) which I generally use with between two and five sections depending on band and whether I'm on the move.? (pics on )

--

Peter (G4VLC)

Show quoted text

On Tue, 21 Jul 2020 at 01:44, W2HX <w2hx@...> wrote:

Gee, what a shock that I was sold an uncomplete base that was advertised as complete. Caveat Emptor on me.

?

Looking past all the Forester shenanigans, thank you for the explanation. I will google this P11, not a term I have come across on this side of the pond. I would love to see a picture/diagram of how this HF thing ?works. Seems that the HV wire gets stuck into some kind of plastic nut and then screwed in (or fit into) this base. And it seems one needs this special spanner/puller/thingy to do the installation. Seems complex.

?

As for the VHF base and the matching network, anyone have any information on this? Or a VSWR plot vs frequency or maybe a S11 smith chart for this antenna?

?

Thanks all.

Eugene

?

?

Re: Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

#4952

Eugene and all

I have uploaded a few photo's of the cable we are talking about, apologies they are a bit grubby, they were in a box in my outside shed! you will see the rain protectors half way along(Rubber Bung) that stops the rain rolling down lead and into your vehicle, I used these through canvas on a S111 Land Rover, and I am sure they were used in other applications, you can see the spade termination on the far end that would be clamped behind the ATU to the Hot terminal, the plastic end that screws to aerial base as seen in the photo's is dull after 40 plus years of sitting idle, I have no doubt if you cut back the P11 cable an inch or so, it would be virginal Hi

I do have though somewhere a reel of New P11 cable Lucky me

Anyway hope that's of help

And Eugene let me know how I can help, ready and able..

Stuart

G0TBI

Show quoted text

-----Original Message-----
From: W2HX <w2hx@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Tue, 21 Jul 2020 1:44
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

Gee, what a shock that I was sold an uncomplete base that was advertised as complete. Caveat Emptor on me.

?

Looking past all the Forester shenanigans, thank you for the explanation. I will google this P11, not a term I have come across on this side of the pond. I would love to see a picture/diagram of how this HF thing ?works. Seems that the HV wire gets stuck into some kind of plastic nut and then screwed in (or fit into) this base. And it seems one needs this special spanner/puller/thingy to do the installation. Seems complex.

?

As for the VHF base and the matching network, anyone have any information on this? Or a VSWR plot vs frequency or maybe a S11 smith chart for this antenna?

?

Thanks all.

Eugene

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of x_racal
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2020 5:18 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

?

Hi Eugene,

It looks as if you've not been sold a complete base. There should be a plastic nut to fit in the threaded hole in the middle. There is a hole through the plastic nut that the P11 wire feeds through. The strands of the wire are then splayed out over a metal washer and these are then fixed into the threaded hole with a spanner/wrench. I just wish I had a base to send you photographs.

The HF base has no built-in matching - that is taken care of by an external ATU that the P11 wire connects to. The Yeoman VHF base has an inbuilt matching unit and can be fed direct from a transceiver.

I hope that this helps,

Peter

G4DJB

Re: OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

#4951

Yes Peter

You are correct Plastic Hi

Stuart

TBI

Show quoted text

-----Original Message-----
From: x_racal <groups@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Mon, 20 Jul 2020 20:41
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

Not ferrite beads, but plastic cup-shaped insulators.

The photo shows some of these insulators plus the special spanner for the centre 'nut' on the underside of the HF base that clamps the P11 cable in place. I don't have a HF base so can't show the completed assembly.

73,

Peter
G4DJB

Re: OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

#4950

Thinking about it Spence/Eugene

The whips both VHF and HF? are still in use today by UK Military, so although the bases are badged specifice to Yeoman I am sure they will fit, as formerley Racal provided the Aerial bases and kit for the BOWMAN programme

I am not sure who followed Racal, I know Cobham had a hand in it, but perhaps now THALES is looking after that side, too many cooks I am afraid

Cheers

Stuart

Show quoted text

-----Original Message-----
From: Spence M0STO via groups.io <unavailable.equal@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Mon, 20 Jul 2020 20:35
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

Hiya Stuart, and don’t worry old bean, I’ve heard your impeccable morse and rarity of typos (or equivalent of a morse typo). I think the group will forgive you.

Eugene! I’m sure I’ve seen similar bases and Stuart will correct me but I’m sure the whip is a two piece fibreglass sectioned type getup!??

? If so then they are about at rallies here in the UK and reasonably priced too but will need to check with another colleague on that. ?

? ?Most of us Brit’s are pretty honest but there a few stragglers out for a fast dishonest buck and it would appear this chap is a worm from the immediate reports.

Let me do some research and see what I can find out. I’m sure I can speak to my inner circle of friends and locate some whips!!

73 and will keep the group informed as this guy doesn’t represent amateurs like myself and Stuart, who travel Europe with an open door welcome wherever we go. We don’t mix in the same circles as this clown I’m afraid.

Sent whilst mobile

On 20 Jul 2020, at 20:13, Stuart Mckinnon via <stuartjmckinnon@...> wrote:

Spelling awful must change Keyboard evening and Ferrite!!

-----Original Message-----
From: Stuart Mckinnon via <stuartjmckinnon@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Mon, 20 Jul 2020 20:12
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

Eugene and Co (Evning Spence)

I would be interested in seeing underneath the base of each, the Larkspur aerial base as an example had a lenght of P11 cable that had ferrit beads running either sid eof the vehicle entry point, I can photograph if you do not understand what I mean?? That lead ran direct to the Radio's ATU

Cheers

Stuart

G0TBI

BTW Pity we have No name and Shame area??? Comments please list owner/moderator

-----Original Message-----
From: W2HX <w2hx@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Mon, 20 Jul 2020 20:03
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

Thanks, Spencer. Funny but as an American, I do have this notion of Brits being very trustworthy and dependable. Maybe that’s just my Hollywood-tinted view of it all hihi!

?

For a Tithonus project I am working on, two VHF yeoman bases and two side stalk HF bases and whips.? You can see one of each here:

?

Does anyone have whips for these mounts?

And while I have your ear, how does one attach the HV wire to the HF base shown?

?

I will add that its been maybe 30 minutes since I sent my email and about a half-a-dozen people have already come forward to me privately with similar tales of woe from this guy. Too bad those tales never made it to a public forum for others to read and avoid. A lesson for us all.

?

Thanks

Eugene

?

?

Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

?

His QRZ page says he lives in Florida? He looks familiar and perhaps he’s been at a UK rally in the past but i can’t say I recognise him. Makes us brits look untrustworthy to our cousins across the pond which isn’t good for business. Hope you sort this out with him as it’s embarrassing to be honest.?

?

What was the equipment by the way??

?

De Spence M0STO.

?

Re: Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

#4949

Eugene

It is the same as previous generations of side HF Ant mounts, will dig out one of those cable assembly and photograph unless someone beats me to it and send it to you and group

Stuart

G0TBI

Show quoted text

-----Original Message-----
From: W2HX <w2hx@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Mon, 20 Jul 2020 20:21
Subject: [RacalRadio] Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

Thanks, Stuart,

?

Here is the underneath (base is sitting in a bin at the moment) of the HF base.

?

I am beginning to wonder if I was cheated out of a complete base here. Anyone know?

?

The VHF Yeoman base has a BNC.

Anyone have any documentation on these bases? Any info? Matching circuits in the base, etc?

Thanks

Eugene

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Stuart Mckinnon via groups.io
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2020 3:12 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

?

Eugene and Co (Evning Spence)

?

I would be interested in seeing underneath the base of each, the Larkspur aerial base as an example had a lenght of P11 cable that had ferrit beads running either sid eof the vehicle entry point, I can photograph if you do not understand what I mean?? That lead ran direct to the Radio's ATU

?

Cheers

?

Stuart

G0TBI

?

BTW Pity we have No name and Shame area??? Comments please list owner/moderator

?

-----Original Message-----
From: W2HX <w2hx@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Mon, 20 Jul 2020 20:03
Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

Thanks, Spencer. Funny but as an American, I do have this notion of Brits being very trustworthy and dependable. Maybe that’s just my Hollywood-tinted view of it all hihi!

?

For a Tithonus project I am working on, two VHF yeoman bases and two side stalk HF bases and whips.? You can see one of each here:

?

Does anyone have whips for these mounts?

And while I have your ear, how does one attach the HV wire to the HF base shown?

?

I will add that its been maybe 30 minutes since I sent my email and about a half-a-dozen people have already come forward to me privately with similar tales of woe from this guy. Too bad those tales never made it to a public forum for others to read and avoid. A lesson for us all.

?

Thanks

Eugene

?

Subject: Re: [RacalRadio] OT: Martin Forrester G7JWR

?

His QRZ page says he lives in Florida? He looks familiar and perhaps he’s been at a UK rally in the past but i can’t say I recognise him. Makes us brits look untrustworthy to our cousins across the pond which isn’t good for business. Hope you sort this out with him as it’s embarrassing to be honest.?

?

What was the equipment by the way??

?

De Spence M0STO.

?

Re: Mobile British antenna bases (was OT)

#4948

Hi Eugene,

The spanner is not absolutely necessary, especially on the base you have. Some of the HF bases did have the connection point deeply set so this spanner was essential.

As for VSWR plots I may have one somewhere, but it does very much depend on the vehicle? (and location) where the antenna base was located. The antenna system was designed to cover 30-108MHz so you can imagine that the matching network is a bit of a compromise.

The P11 cable is nothing specific really. Its basically a 12AWG / 4mm2 stranded copper wire with heat resisting, high voltage rated outer insulation.

Peter

G4DJB