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Dave Kelley
United States
Приєднався 27 гру 2011
Fixing my noise floor with a loop for receive at AI7R
With a regular noise floor at or above S9 on 40 and 80, the station is close to useless. So, I put the vertical to use as the transmit antenna and brought a preamped loop online for the receive. Noise is down to S2, and of course, the signals are a bit weaker, but what you want is a wider ratio. And I got that, big time!
The magnetic loop is from Larry, W6LVP and it's well made. It can switch between your transmit antenna and the loop automatically with an internal relay. I just like being able to flip between the two antenna to test.
www.w6lvp.com
The coax I used is very well constructed. I put my own connectors on it, but here is the link. They have lengths from 30-200 feet. Super well shielded and solid center.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BG2861TV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The magnetic loop is from Larry, W6LVP and it's well made. It can switch between your transmit antenna and the loop automatically with an internal relay. I just like being able to flip between the two antenna to test.
www.w6lvp.com
The coax I used is very well constructed. I put my own connectors on it, but here is the link. They have lengths from 30-200 feet. Super well shielded and solid center.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BG2861TV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Переглядів: 1 533
Відео
Tower and beam inspection 2024
Переглядів 2057 місяців тому
The Steppir is an amazing antenna, but it requires regular inspection to ensure all is well. Here's a rundown: This took 1.5 hours from start to finish. I worked hard to simplify the whole process to a simple chore that didn't involve ladders. Accessories, like hoist mount, coax stand-offs, and rotator mount plate are from Chris, KF7P at www.kf7p.com. Very nice guy and premium products. The you...
K3S
Переглядів 3717 місяців тому
This is a flyby of the K3S and accessories. I put this up as a demo that it was working 100% and it has been sold. I'm just leaving it here because I'm sure I'll miss it.
Waveform Antenna install for t_mobile home internet
Переглядів 7887 місяців тому
Living in the country has been a challenge for connectivity for the 23 years we've lived here. HughesNet, a could of microwave companies, and a few others I won't name, and they all worked. I'd say, better than nothing but not by much. ENTER T-Mobile and a Waveform antenna!! Watch the video...I'm getting from 100-300 mbps down and that is amazing!! #waveform #antenna #t-mobile #tmobile
AI7R RemoteKeyer
Переглядів 5978 місяців тому
A device used for remote control of an Amateur radio that allows a CW (morse code) operator to use a key instead of a keyboard to type text.
My new Hermes Lite 2 SDR transceiver.
Переглядів 2,8 тис.Рік тому
I'm having a ball learning this little guy. For about $400 it is amazing.
Our new Forest River R-Pod 190
Переглядів 1,4 тис.Рік тому
Our last adventure trailer, so we did a ton of research. The R-Pod 190 ticked all of the wants and a bunch of 'oh, that's cool'. We are prepping 'The Beast' for the first voyage, but since we have a home in the forest, we have played in it right where it sits. I've spent in it three times and it was wonderful. #trailer #forestriver #rpod #rpod190 #tomscamperland
Antenna View from the roof of AI7R at Bonita Creek
Переглядів 287Рік тому
Scanning east through south (Phoenix area) and then west. To the north is the Mogollon rim at 1k foot elevation about 2 miles away. No problem for HF but a fair block for VHF/UHF. Yet, I can bring up a repeater on Eldon in Flagstaff.
Steppir 18 going up with a Tiltplate
Переглядів 8 тис.Рік тому
The 4 day process of upgrading the antenna system after the Yaesu Rotator turned my antenna into an expensive yard art.
FlexRadio 6400M
Переглядів 9 тис.2 роки тому
An example of a FlexRadio 6400M that is for sale in operation.
Gold Dust twins on CW and a Vibroplex bug
Переглядів 1192 роки тому
Calling CQ on an apparently dead band. ;). Still fun though. I hadn't used my bug in probably three decades so I was pleased I could still understand the code I was sending. 73, Dave AI7R
Collins Gold Dust Twins
Переглядів 5042 роки тому
Vintage Amateur Radio station on the air. A tour of a transmitter built in 1954/55
The Steppir DB18 beam on the tower with a little story of the restoration
Переглядів 1,2 тис.2 роки тому
The Steppir DB18 beam on the tower with a little story of the restoration
My grounding system at the mountain home
Переглядів 1772 роки тому
My grounding system at the mountain home
Drake L4B amplifier modification with Harbach mod.
Переглядів 2,8 тис.2 роки тому
Drake L4B amplifier modification with Harbach mod.
Powering up a Minus Forum mini PC from remote or after a power failure.
Переглядів 4273 роки тому
Powering up a Minus Forum mini PC from remote or after a power failure.
Remote Amateur Radio antenna disconnect system
Переглядів 5 тис.3 роки тому
Remote Amateur Radio antenna disconnect system
Great to see the models come to life. She is indeed a beautful model and the relationship between the two of you makes for amazing images.
A mag-loop, especially a tunable one with a high Q is great for reception, and not bad on transmit either. But you either have to keep the power down or build the antenna for high currents in the loop, and high voltage in the capacitor. It doesn't even have to be all that high in the air, just in the clear and 6 feet or so above the ground, as the magnetic field interacts noticeably less with the ground than the electric field does. Yours is perfect. On receive you can conveniently even play with 2 of them and phase them and rotate them so that you can minimize noise with one and maximize reception with the other. Antenna phasing is one of the most fun and effective aspects of radio, but few hams bother with it because with E field antennas It's a lot of work and takes a lot of real estate. But with mag-loops it's small, works relatively close together, and they are cheap and easy to play with. I suspect they are the future of ham radio as fewer and fewer hams have a house and property that keep the neighbor's RFI at a distance and allows for big vertical arrays. Mag-loops really are the answer to noise and for directionality on HF.
How brilliant! I was looking to do remote FT-8 with my 7300. The problem I have is in order to use the icom remote software I need to plug the USB cable to a computer. But since the Icom 7300 has only one USB port I cannot use it to FT8 and control the rig at the same time. Then I came across the RemoteTx app which Im gonna test today and your remote keyer that was mentioned on eHam reviews. Its awesome that you collaborated together and made a remote keyer possible in one solution. I am planing to start learning CW soon and when I get proficient I will definetly purchase the remote keyer for remote operation when I am away on vacation. BTW the Icom Remote software RS-BA1 was total waste of money and I never got it to work. Icom support was not very helpful. The client/server connection never worked even in my local LAN.
Yep, the Icom software does suck big time. RemoteTX has worked for me for years and I love it. Enjoy learning CW and enjoy your remoting!
the small head jack is great if you blogging. connect the video recorder to that jack, it will record your voice plus the receiver . I have the pro 7 heil I love them, but im thinking of getting me this one here also,
How do you have your peaks so high? On the signal screen.
Hello Dave, I just saw your video, great by the way. I just got my tilt plate a few months ago and will be putting it up soon. I noticed something I hope you already caught and took care of. In your video you had not yet inserted the supplied zerk fittings in the plate bearings. And of course, once installed you need to pump the appropriate grease into the bearings. Thanks again for showing your installation. I am making notes from everyone's tilt plate videos so I can have a sucessful install. 73 de W3LU
Dave I came across a pile of radio post cards. Your name on one WN7GPF May 1967 and a handwritten letter from you. I would be glad to share it with you.
WOW! I'm not sure what is more amazing. That you figured out my old call sign and put it all together, or that you still have something I sent you in 1967!! I would LOVE to see that. I'm good in QRZ under AI7R. And what was your call? I have a bunch of QSLs from that time in my operating and I'd love to find one from you. 73
@DaveKelleyphotography the radio cards were my neighbors who passed away about 3 years ago. Barron Littlefield was his name. What is the best way to send you a quick picture of what I have found?
@@yvonnedonnelly9470 my email is ai7r@mac.com. It would be awesome to see so far back in my life.
@DaveKelleyphotography ok thanks I'll send you a picture sometime today.
@@DaveKelleyphotography I sent the pictures via your email. Please let me know if you received them ok. Thanks
I too have lightning to worry about in the high desert just East of the Sierras (mainly between June-September). Keeping coax unplugged is a basic requirement for me at the QTH. Would love to have a fairly reliable remote disconnect system like this.
very metallic sound vy 73
Well, there is the mic in my phone and then any compression through UA-cam. It sounds pretty good live. Of course, I still like the sound on a nice older analog radio myself. Drake 4B line or FT-1K. 73
@@DaveKelleyphotography like it or not, SDR is the wave of the future. Soon superhet’s will obsolete
@@TheAppalachianWay I agree the tube gear is old and obsolete, BUT, I can fix my Drake lines and they are 60 years old. Do you think the new SDR gear will be operational in 60 years and if so, do you think they could be serviced? Kinda' like old cars.
@@DaveKelleyphotography SDR radios will be viewed like a TV, replaced not repaired. It’s common practice to view electronic devices as disposable. I like the look of 30-40 year old radios but my Icom 7300 can run circles around them. Nostalgia will keep some in service
@@TheAppalachianWay Actually, the tube gear has a pleasing sound that only analog can give you. Better in a contest, nope. Better with band noise, nope. I still enjoy the warmth and smell of the older gear. To each their own. I run a K4 and 7610 most of the time. As a side note, we will eventually run out of places to bury our old crap.
Johnson Scott Robinson Steven Wilson Karen
i have a high noise floor, what did this do to your SWR's when you added it in line?
It can't be in line with your transmitter working. The amplifier relay is used to take it out of the antenna path when transmitting. It's designed to phase out noise. Some noise it works better than others. It is never guaranteed.
@DaveKelleyphotography what activates the bypass Relay, RF or DC voltage? I'm not able to find any directions for these.
Been mainly watching the videos on your tower and antenna, but see you're selling your 6400m Just curious why you sold; didn't you like it? I've been considering buying a Flex, mainly for the remote capabilities, amoung other things. Tks, John N2AO,
The FLEX was a nice radio. I would not have gotten it with the front panel again, but it sounds like that's your plan. As a remote box, it is a beautiful setup. The software looks great on a PC. I enjoyed it better that way than using the front panel. Receiver is outstanding. The company is slow with updates, as they all seem to be. Have fun!
how much power will these connectors support? full legal limit or only 100 watts ?
Did you have to do any setup or testing with the IO board? I just ordered the HL2 kit with the IO board. I was reading on the github page and it talked about needing to test it with a scope, i was kind of scratching my head. 73
Don pulls togeter great kits such as this one. Easy to follow instructions and it works great. 73 KN4YBA
Hello Dave, every time you want to raise your tower, do like me, the only thing you need to do is remove the crank, leave the nuts and use a small cordless electric drill... and there you go...!! 73´s congratulation for your videos and your station..!!
Yep, I could have put a new hand crank winch on the crank up part of it that was a worm drive nd do that just fine. I replaced that with a tower mounted electric hoist. it only takes it from about 25 feet to 45 feet because I just don't take it up all of the way. We get frequent storms so up and down happen often. Tilt over, I changed the factory 1500 to a 2500 hand crank and WISH I'd done a worm drive on that. With almost 200 pounds on the end of a 25 foot tilted tower, it gets pretty rough getting it over and back. The clutch is a real problem. Tilting in down, the clutch gets very warm and I swear, it is harder to get it down than up. Tilting is probably only a once a year thing now, so we'll see. Thanks for the advice.
Good DX 73！
Handy tree that.
That's really cool! Great job!
Thanks for the video, Mate. Thinking of buying one of these... 73
Thanks! The L4B is a real workhorse. I love it. Just make sure the fan keeps working, and you'll be fine. Enjoy!!
Worm gears ARE INHERENTLY SELF-Braking. Thats why dont need any Brakes!!!
When companies like velux etc overcharge for their products, one has to find an alternative…… thanks a bunch from Europe here!
What tower is that?
That is a US Tower heavey duty 555 55' tower.
@@DaveKelleyphotography awesome and thanks! 73s de N0SL
Far too many buttons for my liking.
To each their own. I have radios from the FT-1k with a ton of knobs to a Hermes Lite with zero knobs. All fun!
@@DaveKelleyphotography I learned Ham radio on an RCA AR88D salvaged from a WW11 Sherman tank. No bells, no whistles but a very capable receiver.
is the Ethernet cable you use to connect the Hermes Lite 2 to your laptop a straight or crossed connection?
Just a standard regular ethernet cable. You don't have to use a hub or reverse cable.
@@DaveKelleyphotography Thanks I appreciate the quick reply. I did order an Hermes Lite 2 today and hope to get it soon.
@@Nathalie-vg9ok You'll enjoy it. Take your time putting the heat sync in. It is a chore, but done wrong is a radio destroyer. Tight fit. Beautiful rig!! I just finished building a QMX from QPR Labs and it's probably THE tightest and most complicated radio to build. Damned it is doesn't work perfectly. First hour, a dozen European countries on FT8. The 3 element beam might have helped the 3 watts. ;). 73
@@DaveKelleyphotography Dave, I did order it without the case, I want to use it stand alone with a Raspberry Pi4, 7" LCD and a 20w amplifier. I might go to a 10" LCD if I find a suitable enclosure.
Thanks Dave! This is great! I'm a EE so I buy from Digi-Key all the time. They're wonderful and they don't charge an arm and a leg for shipping. The total for me was just under $150 for two with shipping, and, yes the tariff, which is still in place. Still, not bad, since it's been three years since you bought yours. Your instructions were very clear! I think I'll try to devise a way to put the rivets back.
Does it reconnect when the power comes back on?
Well, that's just a prototype and the software isn't set up to re-engage after a power up, but I expect I could get back into the remote access of that software and reengage the device. I haven't had the time to design a marketable remote antenna disconnect.
Great to hear you spent so much on the feeder, smart ham. 😊
Nice project Dave, very cool.
Thank you, sir!! It's been a journey, but it evolved into a pretty neat device.
This is amazing, Dave. I never knew you were doing this.
I have had mine for a few months and have used it while in Louisiana and Florida with RemoteTX. It's bee a great device to keep in touch with some of my regular CW QSOs. Looking forward to using this while on the Queen Mary 2 and in Europe for the 80th Anniversary of D Day Thanks, Dave. 73, Tom K4AEN
Thanks, Tom!! It is always fun to hear that people are busy with them. Enjoy and travel safe!!
Well it's between this and a No Bo for me
I looked at those also. Nice for sure. We just took our 190 on a long and VERY bad road to visit some land a friend had in the middle of nowhere. Watching the suspension system come into play and to see how well she handled it has really sold me on just how well she was built.
I just got a pair of these. It looks like I have the highest serial numbered 75-a4 too. 496X.
Great video, thanks Dave. Here in the UK Digikey UK don’t sell the ready made battery pack, but various places do sell the individual Panasonic HHR-370 (L-Fat A size) batteries with solder tabs, so you can make your own easily enough. The original batteries in my velux blinds have started to fail after 14 years- I’ve done 3 so far!
Like this really well
Awesome, I hope its working well and hope to hear you on the air! Just have one question, how big is that base and how deep did you go with it??? 73's N3WUB
Hi Peter! It does seem to be holding up rather well once I put shear pins in each sleeve that connects to the mast. 20x40 beams can have some real torque with even a small breeze. The tower specs said 4x4x5 feet and that is how big the hole was. That's one part I never have to worry about. 73 AI7R
Thank you. Your video was very helpful in setting the tilt palate to my mast. N3UNB 73
I'm glad it helped. You can bet i watched every YT video I could find on it before I got it. It still took a little head scratching, but it sure has worked well for me. I can totally maintain my Steppir by myself and no ladder.
Dave. I bought a keying rca to replace the original. When I took it apart looked like the .01 uf cap was across both terminals attached to the rectifier. When I looked at the schematic looked like the cap is supposed to go before the rectifier to ground and rectifier to center pin of rca cable. When you did your upgrade. How did you wire the rca key plug?
That's actually something I didn't install, so I can't answer that. And I'm not very inclined technically. If in doubt, check with Harbach I guess. Sorry I can't give you an informative answer.
ف١اااااك 😂😂😂🎉هههههههاااي واااو يجنن 💇🧑🦱🧑🦱🧑🦱🧑🦱💙💜🌹🌹
Dave, did your batteries slide out of the housing easily? It appears that mine has a touch of glue keeping the battery pack in the housing. I see a tear in the wrapping around the battery cluster in the video which is why I asked about glue. Did you use something to tap the battery cluster to get it to slide out of the housing?
It has been years since I filmed this and it sounds like they have either made some changes to improve the battery or make it so you had to buy it from them and not do this cheaper update.
Dave, the battery housing is thin plastic. It appears the only way to install new batteries is to cut the plastic housing, find out what is preventing the removal of the old batteries, remove them, solder the connectors to the new battery pack and tape the housing together so that the end caps can be installed and install it in the shade. I've opted to have BBM Battery retrofit my old battery pack for $84.95+$8.00 shipping. The battery pack alone $55.95. Besides, I don't think Velux sells this battery pack anymore. Oh, well.
You're screwed when the guy you got the custom board from goes under and leaves you on your own with no parts now that you chopped the wiring all up. Dumb...
I'm not sure what you mean. The board installs fine, and really makes the amp far more operable and cooler. If Harbach went out of business tomorrow, my amp is still working great. I've installed a lot of power supply upgrades from them and each one has worked perfecly.
Dave just completed this mod and your video was a great help in wrapping my head around what the directions referenced. Thank you. One thing.. I don't think it matters but I think you reversed the terminal locations of the AC1 & AC2. There is a picture at the bottom of the Harbach website home page and I believe they are opposite of yours. I could be wrong, take a look. i0.wp.com/harbachelectronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ES4L4B-2.jpg?ssl=1 Thanks Again!!
Are you dement or on drugs, your thought are faaaar from coherent
Really crappy audit, worse then the manual. Just a waste of time.
Thanks for your opinion. Happy holidays to you and yours!
I just built his SWR meter kit, awesome kits. I purchased this one as well, it's next to be built, thank you for the video.
To this day, I still think the Gold Dust Twins is the best ham station anyone could ever hope to have. It's real radio at its best.
After finally obtaining one to go with my 75A4 I am certainly impressed with what it is for when it was made. I do feel the term 'worked someone' is appropriate with this radio. Sure does sound cool just hearing the fan ramp up.
Great video!
Thank you for the tour! This is by far my most favorite radio even though I have never used one or even seen one "in person." I just like the look and can imagine the tactical sensation of turning the knobs.
Taking 5 minutes to change bands and flip a knob to go from transmit to receive is certainly a sign of those times. It sounds awesome with the huge fan and, of course, like all gear of the time, fills the room with that wonderful smell evoking memories of our youth.
Got one too …. Love it!
my solar roller shutter does not connect to the remote control. I want to try changing the battery. I couldn't find any video or explanation where the battery is located. who can help me? for velux it tells me that I have to put everything back in again. Thank you
The battery in the sky light motorized device can only be accessed from the roof. I have to open my glass portion with the hand crank from inside and then I can get to the part that has the long battery in it. There are two clips you open and the battery is right there. Now, there are a LOT of different models of their skylights, so your may or may not be like mine. I take no responsibility for the information of you going on your roof to change a battery. That is all your call.
I have access to the roller shutter without going out onto the roof. I wanted to understand if the battery is in the engine pipe. Thank you
There are a lot of models, so I'm not an expert on that. There should be two slide latches on the 'engine pipe' that should give you access to the battery if that design is like mine.