the
4X1MK
photo gallery
The main 4X1MK sky hook.. (May 2005 - decorated with flag
for Independednce Day)
5 band spider quad built on the Canadian Gem Quad structure (adapting
the EI7BA design), individual coax feeders going to a relay box near
the tower base.
Inside the quad - two phased 8 element 145 MHz yagis built from used TV
antennas and a 14 element one metre long log periodic which
works quite well on the 70 centimetre band (in 1989 I worked Japan and
California on the OSCAR 13 satellite with 25 watts with this TV
aerial!).
Below the quad... an 80 metre "pyramid" loop antenna fed with
balanced coaxes at the apex, used on 80, 40 and 30 metres.
(note the guy cables are broken up with insualtors)
Summer 2003-
A homemade "slinky" dipole strung behind my mother-in-law's house
provided some diversion there during a visit.
my current QSL
My son, Oz, silhouetted between the lower branches of a beautiful
Acacia tree near the mound of the ancient city of Sheruhen on the
Habesor river channel, about 6 km. away from my QTH.
The same tree appears in a number of my paintings.
Winter 2002-3
working Europe on CW on 12 and 10 metres
with 2-1/2 watts and a home-made centre-loaded whip antenna
in the back yard with a battery powered FT-817
September 2002 - first kite suspended long-wire operation in the
field with the FT-817 (note the 2 metre whip antenna, and just to its
left the ground rod bleeding off electro-static charges from the
antenna to the ground to save the radio from destruction).
The typical "messy shack".... August 2003, just after
getting a spanking new FT-920 HF transceiver.
and 39 years earlier...
with a Lafayette HE-30 (Trio 9R59)receiver,
homemade 1 tube regenerative SW receiver,
and a World-War II "19 Set"
transceiver.
To the right of the "Ham-Key" paddle, an iambic paddle made from
two microswitches with guitar picks glued to their levers...
works great!
My home-made QRP antenna tuner,
built into a tin box which previously stored Chinese jasmine tea.
In the upper
left hand corner, the 4X1MK 1.5 metre diameter hexagonal kite flying
high.
The upper diagonal line cutting the corner is the kite string, and
below it the longwire antenna attached to the kite string at certain
points.
Profile of Isaac 4X1HJ operating the radio.
The second annual kite antenna expedition.
Note the tea-box transmatch and iambic microswitch paddle before gluing
on the guitar picks.
Modifying the Yaesu MH-31
Microphone to accomodate the addition of a Heil mic element
December 2005....
Magnetic Loop Experiment MARK
II
1 metre diameter of 17mm OD
copper tubing with a 2 gang receiving-type variable capacitor in the
middle
fed at the stators for minimum
loss and Faraday coupling loop 1/5th size of main loop for feed.
At this height
got out quite well especially
on 15 metres with about 25 watts of power, no arcing on the
capacitor.
Chopstick extension on the capacitor... tune very carefully for
maximum receive noise,
and you should be on the money SWR-wise to transmit.
The experiment is to be
continued, hopefully with a smaller and much thicker loop which should
be just as efficient
and more portable.
Plenty of good resource material on the internet....
More stuff to be added...
In the meantime you may want to enjoy my paintings.
(click here)
73, 72, 18 es BCNU
Ron 4X1MK