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Re: Good Morning from Rural VA

wn4isx
 

I took introduction to chemistry and physics in the 9th grade (along with Latin and typing)
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The teacher was a cast iron !@$% about properly documenting every step of every experiment we did.
Incomplete lab notes meant you failed and got to come in on the next weekend and "do it again, right this time!" With her giving you looks that would petrify wood.
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She kicked over half the class out by the end of the first quarter.
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I'd been playing with radio since I was 8, got my first SW when I was 12 (Radio Australia was my first station and QSL card, still have it framed on the wall!) but the idea of actually keeping track of what worked and what didn't never occurred to me. (most didn't, I didn't have much of a clue, I read Popular Electronics, Radio Electronics and Electronics Illustrated, but most of what I read was way over my head.)
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I owe most of whatever success I achieved later in life due to Miss Marsh's strict rules on "document everything." [and save it for that rainy day.]
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Of course being dyslexic my handwriting left something to be desired, my wife teases me the NSA uses my chicken scratches to weed out cryptographers. Typing fit right into Miss Marsh's concept of a well ordered lab notes. She actually let me use her Selectric with the proper sub and super scripts for chemistry and physics.
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Such fanatical attention to detail served me well in college....and life.?
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I have several photocopy boxes filled with personal lab notes.
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Funny story here. I worked at the U of Ky from October 1979 through October 2003 when they nuked the department. The UK archivist would send these terrifying emails "Be sure to preserve any records covered by the state's open records act." We started shutting things down in June, I contacted the archivist, "Sir I have 25 photocopy boxes filled with every production note, work order, layout design, wiring diagrams, etc since I started."
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I received a snotty letter [not email]? "As an engineer you can't have anything of interest."
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OK I burned up the office shredders, the chief engineer called physical plant and they sent over the people who shred the UK hospital and student records.
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They had a "tree branch shredder" You could throw a filled photocopy box in and 1/10" squares came out as confetti. It was a beauty to behold, as an engineer I was impressed by the sheer power and cutting ability.
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A day later I received a call from the archivist "Er....we've reconsidered and we believe your records fall under the law."
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"Sir I didn't save much but I did save the nice letter you sent me directing me to shred everything. unless you can glue a gazillion tiny pieces together, they are gone." I explained about using the official document shredding company.
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The gurgling sound was music to my ears. [I was somewhat unhappy over our department being eliminated.]
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And of course all hell broke loose with the legal office getting involved. I have this nice letter from the head lawyer I'll save until I die because it is my get out of jail card. It states I followed the orders of the official UK Archivist and all responsibility for any breach of the law is his.
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But really, keep notes, what worked, what didn't, what problems you had.? There will be internal contradictions because you will make mistakes and mother nature conspires to make identical experiments come out differently. But. those notes can save you from having to repeat tests. My notes have saved my butt more times then I can remember.
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For instance, my wife's never to be cursed enough Ford Escort ZX2 is designed to have the oil filter changed from below, but, if you remove the coolant overflow and wiper fluid tanks, and stand "right here" [it is marked with a magic marker] and use your left hand and the short oil filter tool (it is in the trunk) you can remove the filter 'without too much trouble.'
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My This Damn ZX2 Maintenance Manual covers all sorts of tricks not in the real service manual.
Like how to change dash light bulbs without removing the entire dash. I realized I probably wouldn't be able to do that again because there was no way I could do it without knelling and knelling is out with artificial knees, so I replaced the incandescent with home made LEDs (that my wife loves).
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or changing the kitchen faucet where we used to live. It is a nightmare, unless you know to remove all the shelves, lay on your right side, use your left hand and get the brightest light you can find and practice being Harry Houdini level of contortionism. [well it ought to be a word]
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I have detailed notes on all the problem children of my life.
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Now if I can just find that tiny water leak on the left hand side of the 'ditch' that runs beside the trunk seal before I get laid up again. At least I've documented what hasn't worked.
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Notes are your friends. About once a decade I have to align my Kenwood R-2000. The manual is wrong, flat wrong, couldn't be more wrong but wrong in a tricky way, [the 2nd IF is odd, tune for the lower peak!] so my notes save me.
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Or setting up my Siglent DSO. Maybe I'm dense but the manual is a PITA written in High Martian and translated by idiots, when I finally figure out how to set the DSO up to do a measurement, I write out each step. Then check them. Saves me a lot of time in the long run.
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And make an accurate diagram of your radio wiring, power, audio, RF, ground. And document changes!
I've been to friend's ham shacks where they have no idea how they've wired it, it has gone through so many changes it might as well have been wired by Martians. And nope. Terry doesn't crawl around under their desk trying to trace wires. They can learn a valuable (if painful) lesson by unwiring then rewiring everything.
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[I also took 2 semesters of Library Science, it helps one organize one's notes.]
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Re: Reduced version of the ALA1530

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Steve,

?? thanks. Well, I am interested also in VLF, so maybe I should try to get hold of some 2SK932, though the idea of working with SMDs is not appealing (but I have already done that in the past). I also have one of the inexpensive nanoVNA, so maybe I could do some tests.

--
73 Alberto I2PHD
<<>>
Re: Good Morning from Rural VA

 

Hi WN4ISX and Simon,
Thanks for the notes. Both of you.
First WN4ISX (Terry?) Thanks for the reminder to keep notes. Being an old submariner and Sonar tech, ELF,VLF,HF and NDB's and CW interest me. Loops too as putting up high wires is next to impossible.. Everything from ground or my wife watching me stumble around on the roof on my butt (HIHI) and thats after climbing the ladder!. Canes and roofs are not compatible. Sons are non existent here in the sticks. About clubs.. long story here.. went a couple of times, mostly (if not all handy talkie stuff). I even brought some homebrew stuff (recievers,qrp HF and more) they looked.. said wow and that was it.. I even got an IC-910H with all the bells and whistles to see if I could interest them. All I got was being approached after 3 meetings to run as president of the club.. nah.. my health not acceptable.. but my desire was there. Many said they would come visit to see my setups.. but never came.. a non starter.

EMI.. well the 20,40,80 bands are noisy.. I have a lower 240ft doublet, home brew up about 60ft.. that took me 2 weeks to hang.. and a home brew 80m efhw ant with 49:1 transformer again homebrew..

Its loops and technical things for me now. I cannot find anyone interested in this here in the rural back woods..

Simon thanks for the info on the PEC-AL-PEC 1 and pictures of your implementation. This is almost exactly what I wish to do.. except, if possible, off the ground. Using and anchored tripod or pipe in the ground with cement.

Good Morning to all
Guy N1GMM

--
73/
Guy, N1GMM
Web Presence:
Withywindle ( )
tom-bombadillo ( )
Re: Good Morning from Rural VA

 

PS.. I am new to using receivers, and SWL CW listening. Newbie here. Not new to Ham Radio QRP and CW though..

--
73/
Guy, N1GMM
Web Presence:
Withywindle ( )
tom-bombadillo ( )
Re: Good Morning from Rural VA

 

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the info on Chris's paper (Chris, thanks for all the work!). Very interesting and am thinking of implementing a shielded loop radial using this. What loops are you using? My plans are for NDB's and QRP CW (diff loop). Tuning control using MVAM109 diodes is very interesting too. I have some parts coming and I have a few things to play with here too.
Note: things slow with me. sorry (strokes, right cerebral). If I write something thats way off let me know. :-)

Best! and Good morning!
--
73/
Guy, N1GMM
Web Presence:
Withywindle ( )
tom-bombadillo ( )
Re: New to being ownwer/moderator

 

It is an incredibly long tale told across multiple mailing lists, mostly forgotten. Anyone remember Onelist? Loads more transferred and absorbed.
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I'm awaiting more radiation, sadly their machine broke so I'm waiting an extra week on strong meds.
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My inclination is to type in a long tale, but you have no idea how long this alone is taking with multiple corrections. I'm normally a very steady 50/60wpm touch typist. Now I'm about 6wpm with loads of corrections.
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I think we count on the wisdom of crowds. If someone makes a mistake, we share. Mostly I stick to no sports, politics, or religion as they tend to quickly become divisive. I think I've mostly been hands-off, I'm not an expert here anyway. There have been extremely few real issues here and electronics101. People are mostly helpful.
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I've got 8 groups on groups.io but pretty much only loopantennas and electronics101 remain active. so I've assigned some group owners on electronics101 also.
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--
Steve Greenfield AE7HD
Re: Good Morning from Rural VA

 

Also wanted to mention that I'd probably go with PEC-AL-PEC 1" if I had to purchase loop material again. Like this one:
You get slightly more than 1" (OD) of aluminum pipe inside plastic material. It's probably still light. I made loops from 7/8" (OD) HVAC soft copper pipe and 5/8" (OD) HVAC soft aluminum pipe. All of these can be formed by hand but 7/8" copper pipe is noticeably heavy! I won't be surprised if 1" PEC-AL-PEC will be even lighter than 5/8" (OD) aluminum.
Regards,
Simon
KM6MUL
Re: New to being ownwer/moderator

 

I had a complete replacement of both knees simultaneously a few years ago.? I didn't want to go through PT twice and wanted it over with (the pain on simply walking had become intolerable).? Sure, it was pretty intense for 2 months of PT, but well worth the effort (and a bit of pain).? Got it over with all at once.

If a message is moderated which is typical of new members or members returning from a "baddy" (like a rant on politics), you have the choice of "OKing" it or blocking it.? If? you block it, you should write why.? That message and blockage will be sent to all moderators and the originator of the blocked message.?

Dave - W?LEV


On Thu, Aug 15, 2024 at 3:16?PM Andy ZL3AG via <zl3ag=[email protected]> wrote:

Yep. I'm a moderator here, mainly vetting new member's first posts to
make sure they're on topic.

Having moderators spread around the globe helps get posts up while
others are curled up in bed sound asleep.

On 16/08/24 03:09, Andy wrote:
> Terry, you don't need to jump in right away.? Owners and Moderators can
> be inactive if they need to.? Take care of yourself first!
> Chances are that Steve set the group up with a handful of other Owners,
> not only you.? Anyway, I think you (and they) are there primarily for
> protection, in case Steve needs to step aside.? In the meantime, he
> still runs the shop.
> In another group where I am one of the admins, I have others helping
> me.? I have not heard anything from two of them in months, which might
> be related to the political climate in their part of the world, but I
> expect they will be back eventually.? That group lost its main Owner a
> few years ago, and we wanted to make sure that there would always be
> someone who still held the keys and could keep it running if it happened
> again.
> Andy
>







--
Dave - W?LEV
Re: Good Morning from Rural VA

 

Not sure if this info will be helpful to anyone but I double boxed my LZ1AQ. Internal box is what it came in from Chavdar. An external one is much bigger IP67 box that also holds two 1m loops:


Cable glands should isolate loop entry points from the elements. Although bottom one is a bit loose for the cable of that diameter. I can just use silicone self adhesive tape over cable to make it tight or just leave it as is - this will create a vent at the bottom.
Regards,
Simon


On Thu, Aug 15, 2024, 8:07?AM wn4isx via <wn4isx=[email protected]> wrote:
Another thought, initially I installed my loops with the bottom of the loop at 10 feet. I removed them to stabilize the support pillar before a nasty thunderstorm with high winds was forecast and? placed on horizontal about a foot off the ground and the other to the side of a plastic utility building with the bottom edge exactly 1 foot off the ground.
The horizontal loop gave somewhat contradictory reception and later experimentation showed it needed to be at least 3 feet off the ground.
The other loop's reception was so similar to the reception at 10 feet I decided to go with "lower is better then higher for windy conditions."
I've since relocated both antennas well away from our home, and, to decrease their visibility, I've painted them a nice forest green with some splotches of brown.
They are extremely difficult to see from 100 feet. A friend says I need to cover them in Marpat.
Some of the digital camouflages are probably worth investigating for stealthy antennas...
? ? ?
Re: Schematic & PCB design software

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Carl,

You can try QRZ, N4CY, or Everettsharp ?(at) aol com.?

Everett N4CY

On Aug 15, 2024, at 11:41?AM, cd_lovitt via groups.io <cd_lovitt@...> wrote:

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Everett,
How do I contact you off-list about some board designs??
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Thanks,
Carl AK4OT
Re: Schematic & PCB design software

 

I second that. There is a SprintLayout group on Groups.io. Lots of useful files in the files section.
The program costs about the same as dinner for 4-5 at McDonalds and is not a subscription or an on-line only program.
There is a free demo that does everything but save on the Abacom site.
Try it, you'll like it!

Sam Reaves
ARS W3OHM
Owner / Moderator of:
LeCroy Owners Group on Groups.io
Sencore Owners Group on Groups.io
Sprint Layout Group on Groups.io??
Pulsonix EDA Group on Groups.io
LPKF Owners Group on Groups.io
Electronics and Mechanical Hardware Design Engineering Manager
Staff Scientist Andritz Rolls Global Research Center (RETIRED)



On Thu, Aug 8, 2024 at 12:46?AM tardivat via <tardivat=[email protected]> wrote:
Another good program if you just want to make simple 2 sided boards as? fast as possible and you are new to PCB design.
Consider using Sprint Layout 6 by Abacomm. You can layout a board the moment you install it without even reading the manual.
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Regardless of what PCB software you use, the libraries are always the issue if you have no patience.
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Its not free. The support from the author is excellent.
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Henry
Re: Reduced version of the ALA1530

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Sometime back I mentioned to the list about experiments I've done using various numbers of jfets as well as trying different types. Using the 2SK715s (or the SMD equivalents), the input impedance steadily decreases with more paralleled jfets. Andrew Ikin decided four in parallel worked for a loop amp? low enough input impedance to give LF-HF response. If your interest is only HF then the higher impedance resulting from only using two in parallel each side might be OK. (I don't have the data I took from my experiments, it was several years ago, so can't tell you just what input impedance results from using only two on each side.) But perhaps with use of a VNA (I use the DG8SAQ VNWA that can have output power reduced so the loop amp isn't overloaded), you could find a different input transformer turns ratio that would work using the reduced number of jfets. That would be quite an interesting experiment to do!?? :)

73,

Steve AA7U

On 8/15/2024 9:37 AM, Alberto I2PHD via groups.io wrote:

What happens if, instead of the 4+4 2SK715 FETs used in the schematic of the ALA1530, I will use only 2 + 2 ?
I have only 5 of those FETs, so cannot build the schematic in its original form...
Are modifications needed to the number of turns of T1 ?
There will be a substantial degradation of the performance ?
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Thanks for any suggestion.
?
73? Alberto? I2PHD
?
?
Re: Schematic & PCB design software

 

Everett,
How do I contact you off-list about some board designs??
?
Thanks,
Carl AK4OT
Reduced version of the ALA1530

 

What happens if, instead of the 4+4 2SK715 FETs used in the schematic of the ALA1530, I will use only 2 + 2 ?
I have only 5 of those FETs, so cannot build the schematic in its original form...
Are modifications needed to the number of turns of T1 ?
There will be a substantial degradation of the performance ?
?
Thanks for any suggestion.
?
73? Alberto? I2PHD
?
?
Re: New to being ownwer/moderator

 

Yep. I'm a moderator here, mainly vetting new member's first posts to make sure they're on topic.

Having moderators spread around the globe helps get posts up while others are curled up in bed sound asleep.

On 16/08/24 03:09, Andy wrote:
Terry, you don't need to jump in right away.? Owners and Moderators can be inactive if they need to.? Take care of yourself first!
Chances are that Steve set the group up with a handful of other Owners, not only you.? Anyway, I think you (and they) are there primarily for protection, in case Steve needs to step aside.? In the meantime, he still runs the shop.
In another group where I am one of the admins, I have others helping me.? I have not heard anything from two of them in months, which might be related to the political climate in their part of the world, but I expect they will be back eventually.? That group lost its main Owner a few years ago, and we wanted to make sure that there would always be someone who still held the keys and could keep it running if it happened again.
Andy
Re: New to being ownwer/moderator

 

Terry, you don't need to jump in right away.? Owners and Moderators can be inactive if they need to.? Take care of yourself first!
?
Chances are that Steve set the group up with a handful of other Owners, not only you.? Anyway, I think you (and they) are there primarily for protection, in case Steve needs to step aside.? In the meantime, he still runs the shop.
?
In another group where I am one of the admins, I have others helping me.? I have not heard anything from two of them in months, which might be related to the political climate in their part of the world, but I expect they will be back eventually.? That group lost its main Owner a few years ago, and we wanted to make sure that there would always be someone who still held the keys and could keep it running if it happened again.
?
Andy
?
?
Re: Good Morning from Rural VA

wn4isx
 

Another thought, initially I installed my loops with the bottom of the loop at 10 feet. I removed them to stabilize the support pillar before a nasty thunderstorm with high winds was forecast and? placed on horizontal about a foot off the ground and the other to the side of a plastic utility building with the bottom edge exactly 1 foot off the ground.
The horizontal loop gave somewhat contradictory reception and later experimentation showed it needed to be at least 3 feet off the ground.
The other loop's reception was so similar to the reception at 10 feet I decided to go with "lower is better then higher for windy conditions."
I've since relocated both antennas well away from our home, and, to decrease their visibility, I've painted them a nice forest green with some splotches of brown.
They are extremely difficult to see from 100 feet. A friend says I need to cover them in Marpat.
Some of the digital camouflages are probably worth investigating for stealthy antennas...
? ? ?
Re: New to being ownwer/moderator

wn4isx
 

Thanks to everyone for the advice, name here is Terry.
I'll read the linked articles after preadmission testing later today.
It is a bit of a zoo here right now.
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Re: New to being ownwer/moderator

 

Also, I need to mention there are the Manuals.
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Getting Started manual - /helpcenter/gettingstarted
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Members Manual - /helpcenter/membersmanual
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Owners Manual - /helpcenter/ownersmanual
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Read them online, or download the PDF files and read them offline.
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Andy
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Re: New to being ownwer/moderator

 

FYI, it's worth noting that a large number of members of these groups do not access them via email.? They visit the group's website, when they get around to it.? Therefore, it might not be a good idea to delete messages before everyone has a chance to read them, and maybe it's best to leave them there forever.? I'm not speaking about this thread; but in general it is probably best to not delete most messages in the groups where you are now an Owner/Moderator.
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Also, the guidelines for how to run a group are mostly up to the group's Owners (that's you).? It is your choice how to handle situations where someone goes off the rails.? Each group may have their own unique ways of handling it, and some groups never need to deal with it.? Any member can have their posting privileges temporarily revoked, which is an effective way to silence someone who gets abusive.? Also, topics can be locked so nobody can reply to them.
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There are general guidelines about what is NOT allowed in all Groups hosted at groups.io.? Things like pornography and copyrighted material is generally not allowed.? Consider that your starting point, and then a group owner can go from there and further decide what topics are OK and what is too much off-topic for that group.? Again, that's the owners' decision.
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Steve Greenfield has his way of running these groups.? When someone makes me a co-moderator, I try to follow the lead of the group's original owner and not change their style very much.? When in doubt, you can ask Steve how he wants it done.
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By the way, another place where Moderators sometimes visit, is the "Beta" group.? That's where the owner of Groups.io discusses changes to the functions and features of the software behind all these groups.? It is not a good place to learn or discuss how to run a group, the way the "Group Managers Forum" is.
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Andy
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