N9SAB 80-6m OCFD: What bands can you get on the antenna without an external tuner?
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- Опубліковано 15 січ 2024
- On January 7, 2024, I did a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation in the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor (K-6532) with the N9SAB 80-6m off-center-fed dipole (OCFD) antenna. This is the QRP version, which is recommended for a maximum of 50W SSB, 30W CW, and 20W digital.
I used the ICOM 7300 and was able to make contacts on 10 bands. I operated SSB, FT8 and RTTY, since this was during the ARRL RTTY Roundup contest.
This video was not sponsored and I am not an affiliate. All equipment used was purchased by myself. This antenna and more from Tim N9SAB are available for purchase at the links below:
www.etsy.com/shop/HamRadioAnt...
www.ebay.com/str/n9sab
Here is a link to my POTA late shift livestream with the N9SAB 80-6m OCFD on New Years Day:
ua-cam.com/users/livetV5LIpidu3s?...
Check out my videos on the N9SAB 40-6m OCFD antenna:
• Can the N9SAB OCFD ant...
• What bands work on the...
Great video. Thanks
Thanks, I’m glad you liked it!
Excellent work. Awesome antenna and radio combination. Great video! 👏👏👏👏 N9SAB 🏆
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! I had an awesome time with it.
Thanks for the interesting video! FYI, I enjoy working QRP & 100 watts SSB on all HF voice bands including WARC bands with a stealth 71' non resonant end fed sloper, 9:1 unun, 50 of coax, with common mode choke on 3' coax jumper between my XPA125B amp and the 50' coax feed line. ATU required on 160, 75/80, 40 for SWR of 1.5 to 1 or less on all HF voice bands. I hope this is helpful for those experimenting with multiband low cost HF wire antennas.
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I have a 71' random wire too! I haven't used it much, so I need to take it out again sometime. For me, trying new and different antennas is part of the fun and a good way to learn.
Nice job! Thats a good Multi band antenna
Thanks, I'm really happy with how it performed. It's a lot of wire but you get a lot in return.
nice work with that off center fed dipole. I do the same with water jugs . had them freeze. I am in western NY and used 40 to 6 meter off set center MFJ 1.5 Kw that has a 4:1 and 1:1 in it. had to change the bare copper wire to DX 10 wire from DX commander due to being up a few years in NY. The salt we use in winter did a number on the copper. I got about the same tune 40 threw 6 meters and use it portable now with a DX commander 10 meter pole. I made a short 10 meter only off set center fed with a 4:1 balun then a coax choke ran it veritable up 10 meter pole and worked great. but my end fed half wave made QRO 2 stack FT 240-61 made for 10 meters on same pole but UNUN on ground with ground plain did even better. better RX and FT8 signal reports. I have the same 7300 . I only run FT8 at 50 watt max . more run time on battery. not a problem now I have a 200 Ah LiFePO4. was just using 20 Ah LiFePO4 at first and that ran most of the day . just keep LiFePO4 warm and they fine. it's charging below 32F is the problem or extreme cold. I made a insulated POTA battery box. super easy . just foam insulation all around the battery . put a temp probe in it. stays warm and when using it in cold warms up a tad but not too much on hot summer days. 73's
Good thinking on the insulated battery box! I’m not out for too long in the winter, but I do wait to charge the battery after to be safe. Thanks for watching!
Great video! N9SAB is coming to TEHRS this weekend, so looking forward to hearing more about his antennas.
Yes, I just saw! Looking forward to it. If I miss it live (depends when I go play radio), I’ll be sure to catch it right after.
Great day out in the park. I need to get my 7300 back outdoors. Maybe even learn how to work rtty. You are giving me lots to think about. Looking forward to finding you on the bands - you literally are all over them! Much appreciated - 73, w3rrm
Do what I did and look for the next RTTY contest--that should be a good opportunity to try it since there'll be more activity than normal. We'll definitely get in each others logs soon. Thanks for watching!
Well I learned something else about the 7300! Emergency tuner haha. Thanks!
It’s a nice feature to have. Thanks for watching!
Tim is good people.
I've heard great things about his antennas. I was so happy with his 40-6m antenna I got last year that I bought the 80-6m one, LOL.
That warning screen sure woke me up haha. Mind blown by the RTTY tx/rx on the 7300. I had no idea!
I did not realize the warning was as loud as it was. Sure didn’t sound like it when editing. It made me jump when I watched the premiere, LOL. The RTTY function on the 7300 (705 and I’m sure others have something similar) is pretty neat and I hope to do RTTY some more.
Nice job on the video Mike! Perhaps in a future video you can explain RTTY and how it is that works? There’s lots of info and videos on ft8 but watching you do your RTTY thing right from the radio is intriguing. Anyways, keep up the good work.
Thanks, Chris. I'm still learning, but I realized there aren't many recent videos out on RTTY, so it might make sense to do something more on it. The nice thing about the ICOM 7300, and some other radios have similar features, is that you can decode and transmit RTTY (by pre-programming messages) without the need for a computer.
I've done 1 activation with a Inverted V doublet, but it does require an ATU. Originally a 20 Meter dipole and changed to be a doublet, it will do 6-40 Meters, so 8 bands.
The doublet is definitely on my list of antennas to try. My other radio is an ICOM 705. While I do have an external tuner for it, I don't always like to use it and it's nice to have another resonant multi-band antenna option.
GD!!!! NICE !!! TNX !!! from US4ET Victor. 73!!!!
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!
Nice practical review of the antenna. I would've liked to see what the natural (untuned) readings are on the 3 bands that it didn't work well on. If the antenna had a 3.0:1 SWR, that's a 25% loss still at the antenna whether the tuner adjusted for it or not. Enjoyed watching the various modes you worked in the short time you had it set up, really awesome. 73, KS5KY.
I’m sure I’ll be using it again soon and will try to remember to do a sweep with my NanoVNA. I had it with me but was focused on showing what the radio thought and could (or couldn’t) tune.
What is this fresh craziness that i see on your 7300 screen - digital on the screen!? Can you do that with the 705 too? I only have the 705…
Yes, you can do RTTY from the screen on the 705 too! It’s a neat feature that can work for contests when there a standard exchange.
Cool. Did you cut, fold, or do any tweaks the elements, or did you use it right out of the box?
This was straight out of the box/bag. No modifications necessary.
Did you have to have a choke at the feed point? I have only had one ocfdp and I could not get rid of rfi.
I have not added a choke to it. I haven't noticed any issues with RFI on this one or the 40-6m OCFD that I got last year.
@MikeN2MAK ok thank you
Where did you pick up those side frames? Who is the manufacturer?
What do you mean by side frames?
The handles or rails on the side of the rig. Are those standard?@@MikeN2MAK
The grab handles or sometimes people call them rails?@@MikeN2MAK
I think he means the rails on the side of the radio
50 watts !?!?!?!?!?
Not sure which you’re referring to, the 50W max power in the antenna, the 50W max power in Emergency Mode, the 50W I ran for a few FT8 contacts or something else.