# CQ Radio Amatuers de G4MYD



## BobClay

I'm in the process of setting up a Radio Amatuer Station at home, which is all new to me, although I've had the licence for over 30 years. (Don't ask ... it's a long story.)

I'm taking my time with it, and have pretty much ac***ulated most of the bits and pieces of gear. At a recent meeting of the ROA I bummed quite a bit of knowledge from other members and I think I've got an aerial plan (end fed wire) ... but ... now I have to consider earthing.

Now it's been 30 years since I was at sea, and Earthing on a ship, as I remember it, was relatively simple. So when I started researching Earthing for a home station (will never exceed 100 Watts) on the Internet, what I found was .... advice comes in at all angles, with all opinions, all of which seem to contradict one another.

So I figure ex-sparkies who are also Radio Hams (which is my plan) are far more likely to know stuff, or at least tell me what their arrangement is with regard to Earthing.

For your info my place is a bungalow with mains provision via TNC-S and PME (Protective Multiple Earth) and I know this because I put in a Edition 17 Consumer unit some years ago which required me to understand domestic mains systems. My loop earth reading is well below 10 Ohms on all sockets.

So, how do I earth the radio station kit ? Should I drive in a copper rod outside (I could do that) ? Should I earth via the house earth ? Should I put out Earthed counterpoises ? (If these questions seem dumb ... please tell me so.)

Would appreciate any advice, and you can hurl abuse if you like, as long as it's constructive abuse.

For your info, no aerial is currently in place. I've got to prune a young Oak Tree and I'm waiting for January to do that. I have a hole through the outside wall ready for the transmission aerial. I am worried about RF creeping about in the setup.


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## Varley

I imagine the least likely to cause interference is to have the copper rod(s) independent of the supplies' protective earth, whether an urban supply or rural.

Did 'they' ensure you had an amateur callsign so they could keep an ear on you?


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## BobClay

Worked for the _'lads'_ Varley. Not going to transmit prime number codes to Moscow in the dark of the night … that knock on the door is something I can do without with these days … (I'm f****** outnumbered for starters.) :sweat:


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## G0SLP

My house was a new build 19 years ago, so I opted for both a ground spike and a chicken wire 'mat' which I put down and connected up before laying turf in my back garden. Other options for a ground 'mat' in established gardens, as you've alrady suggested when referring to counterpoises, are to cut slits in the grass with a spade and then lay bare wires at the bottom of the slits. It's remarkable how quickly these slits close back up. (And stop sniggering at the back...  )

73 es gd DX de Mark


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## Troppo

Yes, you need a separate earth stake, and a counterpoise (wire radials in/on the ground) if you can fit it in as you are running an end fed antenna....otherwise you will get RF feedback problems.

Usual rules - keep the run to the stake from the radio and (especially) the antenna tuner as short as possible, using as heavy a cable as you can find. Get as many radials out as you can - bury them. Connect the radials to the earth stake.


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## BobClay

OK thanks for the advice. 

I've started an initial plan and even driven in the Earth rod right by the wall directly outside the equipment site. There's a bit of an old copper gas pipe runs up the wall there (from bottled gas which I got rid of years ago) and I can use that as part of the run down the wall from the cable hole. The distance from the radio to the earth rod will be about 4 feet. I was thinking of putting in another earth rod below the point where the actual bare copper wire part of the aerial (I think) will start and run counterpoises from there across the lawn. (Using the slit idea as above.) The two earth rods will of course be connected together at their tops. They will only be a few feet apart, but, there's concrete between them, so the connection will have to be over the top of that.

Is there any reason why I can't drive in more than one earth rod ? (they only cost a few quid from Screwfix.) Will this cause problems ? (like, disturb tectonic plates or something :sweat: )


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## Troppo

No, run as many as you like. The law of diminishing returns does start to apply though... radials are more important.


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## GW3OQK

Bob, I you or anybody else wants to know all about earthing I think this has it. http://rsgb.org/main/files/2012/11/UK-Earthing-Systems-And-RF-Earthing_Rev1.3a-.pdf 
73, Merry Christmas
Andrew


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## BobClay

Many thanks Andrew. 

I do have that do***ent, but some of the suggestions in it, e.g. transferring your house power system to TT is something I definitely do not want to do. It would be a very extreme fault on the TNC-S PME that would put you in danger.

Also I don't think the power company would wear that. However some of the other information is useful.


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## BobClay

Many thanks to all for your advice. I think my plan is sorted thanks more to this site then all the Internet browsing I've done on the subject.

I'm off up north to _Peaky Blinders_ land for the holiday, and leaving this chaos behind for a few days. Boy am I ever rusty when it comes to radio shacks, …


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## Naytikos

I agree with what appears to be the majority consensus; as many ground rods and radials as you can fit in.
I don't have the luxury of soil, just a few patches of mold in rock crevices, and so have drilled a couple of wells 70 feet down into the water table with 2" diameter copper tubes as electrodes; also have electrodes in the septic tank and a grid of copper tubes under a filled-in sandy area.
All in anticipation of the 5KW Tx I'm working on……….


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## trotterdotpom

BobClay said:


> Many thanks to all for your advice. I think my plan is sorted thanks more to this site then all the Internet browsing I've done on the subject.
> 
> I'm off up north to _Peaky Blinders_ land for the holiday, and leaving this chaos behind for a few days. Boy am I ever rusty when it comes to radio shacks, …


That place is a bloody mess, Clay ... there isn't even a rosy for your beer cans! Don't let those Peaky Blinders know about your copper rod plans ... they won't last five minutes!

John T


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## BobClay

No beer or butties in the equipment room. Cheltenham rules.


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## Naytikos

posted by BocClay:
_



For your info, no aerial is currently in place. I've got to prune a young Oak Tree

Click to expand...

_You could always use the tree as an antenna; I've done it with a coconut palm, which are very sappy; don't know how it would work with a dense wood like oak, but it might be interesting to find out.


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## trotterdotpom

Naytikos said:


> posted by BocClay:
> 
> 
> You could always use the tree as an antenna; I've done it with a coconut palm, which are very sappy; don't know how it would work with a dense wood like oak, but it might be interesting to find out.


So that's what they mean by a "radio log"!

John T


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## BobClay

Problem I have is I've sort of grown fond of this tree. Here we are, how it was when I first planted it about 10 years ago, having been lumbered with it in a pot in my local pub, and how it was earlier this year.

So, sad f***er that I am, I actually feel guilty about having to cut it in order to put in an aerial …. which I am going to do. But use it as an aerial (which is complete b*ll*x by the way :sweat I can't do that. I don't want to upset the 'ents.'

We on these islands owe a lot to the oak tree. We shouldn't discard that debt … (although clearly I am going to do just that.) 

(Jeez if this is how 2018 starts, it doesn't bode well for me ….  )


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## GW3OQK

Bob, please don't cut down that innocent tree, one of the symbols of our heritage. Ships of Oak, Men of Iron. The best cure for sea-sickness is to sit in the shade of an oak tree. 

A low-cost 10 metre telescopic fibreglass fishing pole or two are good supports. I have a doublet, and a 13m vertical using some more rugged telescopic poles. A friend ran a wire along his wooden fence top and with an atu worked everybody he could hear. What't your rig?

73, HNY
Andrew


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## BobClay

I can assure you I'm not going to cut it down. Just prune it a bit on the right hand side to clear that high fence post you can just see.


Have picked up a second hand ICOM 7300 off Ebay which seems pretty neat. Lot of learning to do about it. (Read)


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## BobClay

Are there any out there who've had experience with the ICOM software RS-BA1. This is basically remote control software for a PC to control the ICOM transceiver. I had to send away to Japan for it, and when it came just before the holiday I could not get it to work on either PC or laptop. So I gave up and went down the pub. 

Today I had another go, and noted an update produced since I last tried a couple of weeks ago. After a lot of cursing and throwing pinless grenades about, I finally got it to work (not sure if the update had anything to do with that.) The tricky bit for the PC seems to be the comport drivers !! Have others had this trouble. ?

While trawling through YouTube videos on this I came across some free logging software called N1MM which had the spectrum display feature and this installed easily and was very easy to set up and lo and behold the transceiver sucked it like a Yorkshireman sucks free beer !! A much better spectrum display I think than the RS-BA1, which was quite expensive. 

Anybody had any experience with this ? It looks like it has a lot of other features which it will take me some time to explore.


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## J. Davies

Bob .... I have used N1MM for several years with Elecraft K2 and K3 and a notebook PC. I use it for general logging but if you are into contests most of their formats are included. It really comes into its own when connected through RS232 or USB to a PC. (I have heard that Icom interfaces are a bit tricky though.)
Especially useful is the Telnet server thingy where you can get it to show spots from whichever skimmer you prefer, shown in the Bandmap window.
I haven't connected the spectrum display yet. 

As freeware it is a wonderful gift for the amateur community, and is constantly updated by a dedicated team. Along with thousands of other users I can't understand who would want to pay for logging software.

See you on the air someday.


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## BobClay

Thanks JD. Yes I am quite impressed with it so far. And it picked up the ICOM much easier than the ICOM software did !!

I'll look into the Telnet feature as I've got some of that software laying around somewhere.


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## BobClay

Searched drawers I didn't even know I had for the Telnet software, but to no avail. I thought Microsoft had removed the Telnet facility from Windows from Vista onwards, but as I browsed the net for freebies, I suddenly got informed that the Telnet Client is still in all later versions of Windows, but you have to turn it on first.

DUH !!!!!

(I'll stand in the corner for half an hour with a pointed hat on.) (Smoke)


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## J. Davies

Bob .... N1MM will set up the Telnet cluster for you. Go to main menu at the top of the log page, Window, Telnet. The manual online will help you dig deeper if you need it.

John


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## BobClay

I didn't know there was such a thing as a 'spy satellite spotter !' But did this fellow ever make a score when he found a previously abandoned failed NASA satellite had come back to life !!

He must have some good kit in his radio room.

http://www.spaceweather.com/


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## Anabasis

A buried earth rod to start with, but at least 1 buried radial the length of each band you want to work. In the US we have to tie it to the building's earth per the code, but I'm not sure what you have to do locally.

There are plenty of software programs to run the rig. I do quite a few digital modes, so I use FLRig to run my radios.

You're right that it's a heck of a lot easier to do it on the ship.

73 Jeremy N1ZZZ


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## BobClay

Thanks for all the advice. I've got one 20 metre copper wire buried in the lawn. My primary problem has been the weather since the New Year. I'm planning some radials of varying lengths but I'm starting to think the entire Atlantic is on the move and although I'm 500 foot above sea level at three miles from the coast, I half expect to wake up swimming each morning with all this effing rain.

Does make putting the wire in easy though as the lawn is as soft as a sponge with all this water falling out of the sky. Haven't started putting up the aerial yet although I've got all the bits and pieces. Should be a 20 metre end fed wire crossing over the lawn.

I've pruned the oak tree and it's looking a bit sad, but should be ok. The way it's growing it must be some sort of mutant anyway.

(Smoke)


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## Bill.B

Don't forget to put a weak link in the end of the wire so it won't break when you clout the pole with the lawn mower.


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## BobClay

The only thing the lawn mower can clout Bill is a 4x4 fencepost. My guess is the lawnmower will come off worst should that happen. I've given a safety loop some thought, but to be honest I'd rather just replace the wire in the event it starts to look tired and not faff about with loops.


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## Varley

It'll never pass survey without a loop!


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## Bill.B

Probably best with no loop then you don't look a numpty when the insulator is where the weak link goes. I have seen a few like that for real.
I hope the wire ends are going to be post office splices and not those horrible grips.
&#55357;&#56860;


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## BobClay

Loops are out. Splices are in. Might put some bunting on the wire … [=P]


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## Troppo

NO bulldog grips!

Proper splices only!

(Jester)


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## BobClay

Nothing a bit of Sellotape can't fix ….


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## BobClay

Finally completed the aerial installation. (My excuse is the weather.) My first tune up for 32 years  and it's looking good. Opted for both a wire and a whip in the end. This meant some overengineering of the porch posts I'm using but the SWR's look really good.

Now the embarrassing part. Boy am I rusty on the morse key (been 32 years since I touched one in earnest.) I'm going to need some practice before I commit to the airwaves without making a knob of myself. I have an up and downer in the attic somewhere, I'll have to dig that out to fall back on or cringe in embarrassment in the corner. 

As far as I can tell I've no interference problems although I'm only going out on test at 10 watts. There's a TV in the same room that doesn't react to transmission and a computer directly along side that doesn't either.

Bear in mind that though I've had a licence for over 30 years, this is my first actual transmission. If I'd known how much work was involved in setting up these aerials I might have given up given the weather we've had recently, but I'm glad I've finished it.


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## Searcher2004

Well done, Bob! 

TVs don't seem to be so affected these days by a local HF transmission but I do find routers get upset and drop their connection quite often, especially if I go on 160 metres. 

73

2004


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## BobClay

Thanks for that. I'll devise some tests. (Thumb)


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## GW3OQK

Bob, when I started back after a 30+ year back it came back very easily, though I still haven't got back to error free 25's on the Marconi 365. This site is excellent for receiving practice. http://www.smrcc.org.uk/Morse/morse.htm

There's some poor morse from people using paddles who run letters together. When you hear "NAG IS BRIP" it means "name is Brian" Tell us when you are ready to try for a qso.
73, PDRÜ


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## BobClay

Many thanks for that. It is my keying that's rusty, receiving is ok. Former work in the Civil Service was really only about receiving if you know what I mean, no sending involved.

I am using an electronic paddle key, my old Samson EM4-C I used at sea, but I came by a Vibroplex twin paddle second hand on Ebay (just the twin paddle, not a bug key.) I might get a keyer box for that, although the ICOM 7300 should be keyable direct with it, but so far haven't got it to work. Think that might be the plug wiring of the paddle.

Even so that site might be useful as I _train up._


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## King Ratt

BobClay said:


> Finally completed the aerial installation. (My excuse is the weather.) My first tune up for 32 years  and it's looking good. Opted for both a wire and a whip in the end. This meant some overengineering of the porch posts I'm using but the SWR's look really good.
> 
> Now the embarrassing part. Boy am I rusty on the morse key (been 32 years since I touched one in earnest.) I'm going to need some practice before I commit to the airwaves without making a knob of myself. I have an up and downer in the attic somewhere, I'll have to dig that out to fall back on or cringe in embarrassment in the corner.
> 
> As far as I can tell I've no interference problems although I'm only going out on test at 10 watts. There's a TV in the same room that doesn't react to transmission and a computer directly along side that doesn't either.
> 
> Bear in mind that though I've had a licence for over 30 years, this is my first actual transmission. If I'd known how much work was involved in setting up these aerials I might have given up given the weather we've had recently, but I'm glad I've finished it.


I hope you get on the air soon. I will have a listen out for you although I don’t yet know your callsign. I often listen to the CW QSOs on 40 and 20 meters. Bands however have been poor.

73 de KR (ex VP8ARR)


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## BobClay

Thanks KR. Callsign here is G4MYD.


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## J. Davies

Bob

I didn't touch a key for 15 years from my last R/O job until getting a ham ticket. The CW soon comes back. In a few weeks you'll be off again. Like riding a proverbial bicycle. Conditions are awful now but can only get better. However, you should have lots of locals to chat to, so never mind if there's no DX. 

John 9V1VV


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## King Ratt

BobClay said:


> Thanks KR. Callsign here is G4MYD.


Thanks Bob. I should have read the thread from the beginning.

73

KR


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## BobClay

I've found I can still thump an up and downer without too much problem but the paddle key is going to need a bit more practice. Strange since I used one for years when at sea. 

Could it be old age inspired decay …


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## Tony Selman

Bob, give the ROARS Nets a bash on Thursday evenings. Several people you know on there and they will be tolerant as you ease your way back in. Virtually everyone will be in Chelmsford next month. Tony


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## Troppo

Bet you wish you had the 7300 as a main rx, eh!

;-)


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## BobClay

Tony Selman said:


> Bob, give the ROARS Nets a bash on Thursday evenings. Several people you know on there and they will be tolerant as you ease your way back in. Virtually everyone will be in Chelmsford next month. Tony


I'll do that Tony, although this week I've got family visiting. I might even tickle the key …


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## BobClay

Troppo said:


> Bet you wish you had the 7300 as a main rx, eh!
> 
> ;-)


Yes it is a nice bit of kit. Got it 2nd hand off Ebay. I think that waterfall display is really something as I got used to using a spectrum analyser in a previous job. But there are a lot of bells and whistles on it, I'll need to study the manual carefully … also there are lots of useful videos about it on You Tube. :sweat:


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## 5TT

> I've found I can still thump an up and downer without too much problem but the paddle key is going to need a bit more practice. Strange since I used one for years when at sea.


This might be due to the different iambic keying modes, I think most modern amateur radio rigs default to mode B, that might trip you up if you're used to an older keyer.

Adrian


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## sparx

My shack is in the attic. Don't have an earth. No problems whatsoever.
I am using the Icom IC-7300 with a regulated PSU, Inverted V wire
dipole on my roof, the apex is 7m up from the tiles (each leg about 5m).
The 7300 has a built-in tuner but I find the LDG Z-100Plus Autotuner works much better and is fully automatic. Add to that a key, straight or paddle and a SignaLink USB Interface for digital work and you are good to go! I have only had the Icom for 3 months. Before that I used an Icom IC-718. Propagation is pretty poor right now and not expected to pickup for another 4 or 5 years. I am also a latecomer to this hobby, been operating for nearly 2 years and worked 225 countries with the above kit, 99% CW and all with about 90 Watts!

If you need any info just post or email me.


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## BobClay

Phew !! talk about nervous, like sitting the PMG all over again …. 

First QSO on CW tonight in 32 years with the ROARS net.. Pretty much made an @rse of my keying, will have to fall back on an up and downer if I go on it again. Still, nice to know the signal is going out ok, with only 10 watts of power on the wire aerial.

Not very slick on procedures but I'll have to practice that a bit. Did I ever need a drink after I came off …. !!! … felt like I'd done a ten hour watch … (POP)

(Pint)(Pint)


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## johnvvc

Congratulations Bob - you'll be running with the big boys in no time !!!


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## BobClay

johnvvc said:


> Congratulations Bob - you'll be running with the big boys in no time !!!


Many thanks, I am putting in a bit of practice on the old twin paddle .. but have dug out the old up and downer and connected it up.

It's a bit humbling to realise how bad you've become through lack of doing. (egg)


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## Troppo

I had the pleasure of a few QSOs using Icom's latest over the weekend.

A 7610. Magnificent.


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## R651400

At £3600 a go it should be.


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## Troppo

Incredible rx. As good as a $20000 R and S from 2 years ago....


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## Troppo

Further to my last. Rx performance as good as a 100K Hagenuk military HF transceiver....


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## Dave McGouldrick

Speaking of receivers and costs... I remember in mid/late 70s, 2/Eng had bought a Sony HF2000(?)one of the first 'domestic' digital receivers. We connected it to the ship's communal aerial, and while we were at anchor off Fujairah for a number of weeks, I used to take tfc lists whilst enjoying his cold beer.


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## BobClay

If that's the Sony Digital with the LCD display Dave I had one of those too and did occasionally use it as 'backup.'

Nice little set but I made the mistake of lending it to somebody to go camping and never saw it again …


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## Dave McGouldrick

Yup - that's the one. Nice little set. (And indeed a very handy size for someone sticking in their pocket and forgetting to return it)


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## BobClay

Looking at these recent posts it's interesting to see how receiver technology has changed since we first went to sea, both commercially and domestically.
The first receiver I sailed with as a Junior was the Marconi Atalanta. Perfectly good analogue receiver using valves (mutter mutter ... not tubes ... :sweat but a bit clunky.
The next analogue receiver I sailed was the Redifon R408, (Dave might remember this from Leith Nautical) which was about as good as an analogue receiver as you can get in my experience. After that I sailed with ITT digital receivers (first time I'd seen one) and I thought I'd duff up I was so impressed.

THEN I SAILED WITH THE REDIFON R50M 

I still have nightmares about that. The little Sony digital receiver would have been about a googolplex times better than that bloody thing.

And now we have wonderful little digital receivers with spectrum analyzer displays, both traditional and waterfall, that literally tell you to go away and we'll do the QSO's for you, bloody humans are slow and filled with errors anyway.

(You'd know about that wouldn't you DAVE, (think a HAL9000 voice) ... had to get that one in. :sweat

Shall I wire up a keyboard with a computer, let it talk over the air and poke me with a cattle prod when it needs some human advice (and I say advice, not instruction on purpose ... :sweat ... is this the way for amatuer radio to go ?

(Judging by my performance on a morse key last week it might not be a bad idea.) (*))


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## Dave McGouldrick

Had the R50M on my first ship. Came complete with the classic slight freq drift as the ship rolled. Something to do with the varying of the capacitance between the aerial wire and earth.


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## BobClay

Just for you Dave …. [=P]

http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/galle...o/978730/title/la-estancia-radio-room/cat/all


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## Naytikos

posted by BobClay:


> _The next analogue receiver I sailed was the Redifon R408_


,

Agreed. I would buy one today if I found it.
There were two common problems: the little LES lamp in the aerial circuit would blow when one transmitted if there was no aerial disconnect relay as part of the 'desense' system. I actually came across one example where this had obviously happened to my predecessor and, instead of taking a bit of sleeving to extract and replace the lamp through the tiny hole in the front panel, he had reamed out the hole to about half an inch.
The other problem was if/when the cord driving the frequency scale drum broke.

But, to my mind, one really appreciates a piece of equipment when one has taken it apart and fixed it a few times.


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## Troppo

I still have nightmares thinking about the 408....(EEK)

Most of my main rx'ers were Apollos.


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## richardwakeley

Dave McGouldrick said:


> Had the R50M on my first ship. Came complete with the classic slight freq drift as the ship rolled. Something to do with the varying of the capacitance between the aerial wire and earth.


G'day Dave,
Was that on a Blue Funnel M-boat? I was on Memnon and have been trying to remember what radio gear they had. Not Marconi like the A-boats,
Richard


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## R651400

GTZB appeared to give up on Marconi with the last of the A-boats and went for Redifon when the M-boats were built. 
Would be nice to see any pic of this installation and the later Super P's and Centaur etc.


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## Dave McGouldrick

richardwakeley said:


> G'day Dave,
> Was that on a Blue Funnel M-boat? I was on Memnon and have been trying to remember what radio gear they had. Not Marconi like the A-boats,
> Richard


Morning Richard
It was Orestes/GNZG ex Nestor.
Now of course I'm thinking was the R50M on Ixion/MLLB (second ship)?
It was 1970 and the brain cells are maybe not so sharp as they might be(?HUH)


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## R651400

All 50's H (Ixion/MLLB) and P class to the best of my memory were Marconi. 
GTZB appeared to give up on Marconi with the last of the A-boats and went for Redifon when the M-boats were built. 
Would be nice to see any pic of this installation and the later Super P's and Centaur etc.
Built like a tank with fantastic stage metering never had a any problem with the Redifon R50M except maybe an occasional inaccurate logging scale if mishandled.


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## majoco

> Came complete with the classic slight freq drift as the ship rolled. Something to do with the varying of the capacitance between the aerial wire and earth.


Wasn't that called a "Banana Boat Swing". Everard's Yellow Perils all sounded like that - and so did the only Liberty Boat that I sailed on - had an early Oceanspan, Elettra and Mercury. Fortunately on the first visit back to Liverpool the nice Marconi guys took it all out and gave me a much newer 'Span and two Atalantas - no more swing on the new Tx!


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## sparks69

Bury a dust bin lid in the soil somewhere near a soakaway.
QED
Oh & don't forget to connect a wire back to the Tx.
Welding cable is best.


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## sparks69

Dave McGouldrick said:


> Had the R50M on my first ship. Came complete with the classic slight freq drift as the ship rolled. Something to do with the varying of the capacitance between the aerial wire and earth.


"Slight drift" now that is being kind.


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## BobClay

I laid another radial about three weeks ago. The old split with shovel and push the wire down with fingers. But the weather God decided to extract the liquid waste matter and we got a fortnight of hot dry weather. Where I'd split the lawn (and then thoroughly kicked it back !!!) opened up like the bloody grand canyon, making my lawn look like Frankenstein's Monster after he'd downed ten pints of Banks Bitter. 

Eventually I bought a bag of dirt in the local agricultural shop (lots of them in Cornwall,) … of course they didn't call it dirt, they called it compost … but I know dirt when I see it (you might gather from this I'm not much of a gardener, as far as I'm concerned gardeners all wear anoraks and are probably into train spotting as well.)

I patiently went along the crack and filled it full of this £5 a bag dirt. Then … LO AND BEHOLD ... it rained. And the expensive dirt disappeared down the crack as if it had never been there. (EEK)

Agricultural shops …. FASCIST CORPORATE LAND BARONS the lot of em. :sweatJester)(==D)


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## Mayday

Funny how we all see our experiences with different receivers differently.
I never had any problems with the R408, of which two were installed on the "Baby Bays". Eventually, the main R408 RX was replaced by the R5000, an excellent receiver with memory recall, if I remember correctly.
We also had a dual R551 with synthesiser on the bigger bays, a step up in stability but no memory recall.
I own an R551 with synthesiser and the only problem I ever had was the antenna fuse blowing. Once blown, never forgotten.

Regards, John.


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## Dave McGouldrick

sparks69 said:


> "Slight drift" now that is being kind.


There _was_ a subtle amount of irony involved....


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## BobClay

I'd like to have been subtle with the R50M … preferably with a ten pound sledge hammer. :sweat:


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## sparks69

Mind you the IMR 5000 when working was a magic Rx but when the PLL went bonkers it just went blip blip, blip blip until it cooled down a bit.
My favorite of all Rx's was the R408 (?) never missed a beat and you could go on watch with 5 seconds to go for the traffic list !


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## GW3OQK

Thomas
In the 1920s Radio Amateurs were using much more advanced equipment than ship's commercial gear. They were using Valve (Tube) transmitters and superheterodyne receivers.

In 1923/24 the ARRL shipped radio gear to the UK for Transatlantic radio tests. http://www.arrl.org/files/file/QST/This%20Month%20in%20QST/May%202014/MARINARO.pdf Last May's RSGB Radcom has an even better article with good pictures. 

How about your hero being a Radio Amateur on his way to Hawaii to conduct Transpacific radio tests? Here's some nice pictures.https://www.radioblvd.com/WirelessPhoto.htm

73, Andrew ex r/o
PS I never call Radio Amateurs Hams, don't have Antennas, only Aerials, and have Vintage radio gear but only going back to 1940. Picture on QRZ.


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## BobClay

GW3OQK said:


> Thomas
> In the 1920s Radio Amateurs were using much more advanced equipment than ship's commercial gear. They were using Valve (Tube) transmitters and superheterodyne receivers.
> 
> In 1923/24 the ARRL shipped radio gear to the UK for Transatlantic radio tests. http://www.arrl.org/files/file/QST/This%20Month%20in%20QST/May%202014/MARINARO.pdf Last May's RSGB Radcom has an even better article with good pictures.
> 
> How about your hero being a Radio Amateur on his way to Hawaii to conduct Transpacific radio tests? Here's some nice pictures.https://www.radioblvd.com/WirelessPhoto.htm
> 
> 73, Andrew ex r/o
> PS I never call Radio Amateurs Hams, don't have Antennas, only Aerials, and have Vintage radio gear but only going back to 1940. Picture on QRZ.


Errr … are you sure you've got the right thread for this one ? :sweat:

I think you want: 'Question: Possible to tap or hack into wireless?'


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## GW3OQK

You'r right Bob, I wondered where it had gone!
Andrew (Whaaa)


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## BobClay

That's ok, just thought Thomas might miss it as there are some good pictures you've linked there.


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## BobClay

When I was at sea I used to think working on aerials was a nice easy bronzy job. After all HF aerials on ships couldn't be much simpler. (There is a downside to this working in the Sun malarkey, as I found out a few years back when I had a malignant melanoma cut off my back.)

But since I've started this radio amateur business I've come to the conclusion aerials are a bit of a pain in the @rse. About a month ago I laid another counterpoise wire right across my lawn, the old slice with spade and push it down job, then kick the cut shut.

But for the last six weeks we've had unusually dry and sunny weather, and the cut dried out and opened up like the grand canyon. I had tourists (they're called emmets around here) pulling up to gawp at it.

Yesterday I filled it up AGAIN with a bag of dirt but there is no rain in the foreseeable future, and every time I go out to fill this crack, I suspect the dreaded malignant melanoma monster is lurking nearby because the Sun is about as high as it gets at this time of year.

And now I've decided to put up another end fed wire, but this time, with a bit wangling, I can make it longer and higher. Unlike ships, back garden aerials are something of an experiment.

I've got a high whip for the higher frequencies, and my neighbour commented my place was starting to look like Jodrell Bank !! … and was I still working for that outfit down the road ?

I told him no, that place are a bit beyond tapping a Morse key, it would be much more advantageous to hack the Amazon Echo if you wanted to listen to what people were up to.

I got a very strange look for that joke. (Smoke)


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## Troppo2

On ships, you had a perfect earth.....


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## sparks69

Troppo2 said:


> On ships, you had a perfect earth.....


Only when you ran aground though !!


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## BobClay

Had a QSO with someone at the Lizard Point Marconi Wireless Station and Museum this morning.
I visited the hut that contains this original Marconi ship-shore station a couple of years ago. I put a picture of my visit up in the gallery, but I think that's gone to the great big gash bin in the sky.
I'm pretty sure they weren't using the original equipment :sweat:
Callsign was GB4LD frequency 7030 KHz.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/museum/...oni-wireless-station-and-museum-landewednack/


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## BobClay

Anybody had any direct experience with the DXPatrol USB dongle SDR radio. I've sort of accidently come by one, and although I've downloaded all the manuals and software I just wondered if anybody had any working experience with one of these things.

www.dxpatrol.pt

(Smoke)


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## Varley

#84 . I wonder how easy that would be to prove.


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## BobClay

I got the impression from my visit that you would not be picking out a particular HF frequency. However I'll be honest, the only thing I really recognized when I took this pix was the Morse key and the clock. (EEK)


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## BobClay

With reference to #85 and the SDR Dongle. I've been fiddling with this for a few days and finally got it to work.

Had to download drivers and installation files and a DLL. The display software is HDSDR and is a freebie. There are others that will work too, they all seem to be fairly similar.

Easily missed (well for me anyway) little adjustments have to be made in this software which caught me out, but it all appears to be working now.

This thing, about the size of a Swan Vestas matchbox, goes from 100Hz to 2 Ghz. It's shown tuned to 7 Mhz and I put a £2 coin alongside it to give you some scaling.

All I've got on it is an old Disk Cone aerial, but that seems to pull stuff in. I wouldn't say it's as good as the receiver on the ICOM 7300, but it isn't bad … I am sort of impressed. 

Next project is to get it hooked up to the phone.


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## 5TT

Re Dx Patrol SDR.

Hello BobClay, a mate of mine got one of these a while ago and he raves about the performance, particularly on H/F. I have something similar here, an RFSpace SDR-IQ, a slightly bigger box but no VHF/UHF and it too is amazing, I could quite easily use it on the station and plan to do so in the future. This is a Linux shack and I've found that QtRadio is about the best software on that platform, and what is nice is that there's an accompanying Android app called glSDR which allows you to connect to the DSP server running on the computer and operate the SDR from your phone. Okay, the real power of these things is in the computer software but still, when one looks at how small these things are compared to how things used to be, I mean, I've got a Redifon R551 here which weighs a ton and I'll bet that there's nothing the Redifon can hear that the RFSpace can't.
Glad you're enjoying your IC-7300, that is an amazing radio too. The main rig here is a Yaesu FT-2000 which will be 10 years old later this month, but sitting down here at the tip of Africa I'm not getting much DX activity these days, the bands have been dead, but hopefully when conditions improve and the 12 / 10 meter bands open up again we'll get a chance to say hello.

All the best,

Adrian - ZS1TTZ / M0GNC


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## BobClay

Thanks for that. I have a computer running Linux so I'll put that on the project list. :sweat:


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## Troppo2

I have an RF space NetSDR rx that I run with SDR console on a windows machine.

It performs as well as a 20K R+S professional rx.


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## R651400

Sounds great for a swl... What about the tx side?


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## Troppo2

I have an IC7610 and a 7300.


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## BobClay

5TT said:


> Re Dx Patrol SDR.
> 
> Hello BobClay, a mate of mine got one of these a while ago and he raves about the performance, particularly on H/F. I have something similar here, an RFSpace SDR-IQ, a slightly bigger box but no VHF/UHF and it too is amazing, I could quite easily use it on the station and plan to do so in the future. This is a Linux shack and I've found that QtRadio is about the best software on that platform, and what is nice is that there's an accompanying Android app called glSDR which allows you to connect to the DSP server running on the computer and operate the SDR from your phone. Okay, the real power of these things is in the computer software but still, when one looks at how small these things are compared to how things used to be, I mean, I've got a Redifon R551 here which weighs a ton and I'll bet that there's nothing the Redifon can hear that the RFSpace can't.
> Glad you're enjoying your IC-7300, that is an amazing radio too. The main rig here is a Yaesu FT-2000 which will be 10 years old later this month, but sitting down here at the tip of Africa I'm not getting much DX activity these days, the bands have been dead, but hopefully when conditions improve and the 12 / 10 meter bands open up again we'll get a chance to say hello.
> 
> All the best,
> 
> Adrian - ZS1TTZ / M0GNC


I remember first encounter with the R551 on my first CP Ship. I thought it was the bees knees :sweat: but then the only other Redifon rx I'd sailed with had been the R50M ... which puts you into serial killer mode.


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## Tony Magon

*Amateur Radio*

Hi

My name is Tony Magon - VK2IC - Was an R/O in the RNZN from 67 to 75 - Worked at ZLO in 68 - 70 - 71, 73 - 75 and was on Otago/ZMSI Paea/ZMSS (briefly) Blackpool/ZMMG and Canterbury/ZMCR (delivery voyage from UK via Panama in 72). Worked at ZLB from 75 with occasional stints at ZLC (Chatham Islands) in 76. 83. 85/86 - Made redundant in 89 then moved to Sydney and worked at VIS from 89 to 92 then worked as a phone and data tech for Telstra (Telecom Australia) until 2003 then worked as a Security guard until retirement in 2016 - Hopefully will again become active after our big balcony on our unit is re waterproofed and retiled - which hope will be in a week or two -

Callsigns on Chathams were - ZL3LN/C, ZL4DE/C and ZL7DE - Callsign when at ZLB was ZL4DE

73

Tony Magon VK2IC


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## sparks69

BobClay said:


> I got the impression from my visit that you would not be picking out a particular HF frequency. However I'll be honest, the only thing I really recognized when I took this pix was the Morse key and the clock. (EEK)


and the chair......... ??


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## BobClay

Have to say that my experience with this little SDR which was given to me, and a bit of research that it really is quite a cheap one, has enthused me to buy a more expensive model to see how much better it is.
So I forked out £200 for an Airspy HF+ !!
I've been fiddling with it all day using the Airspy Software, SDRradio V3 and HDSDR.

WOW !! This receiver is something else !! … a vast number of settings to explore but the sensitivity is close to science fiction. It'll take me a week to figure out what all the bits do (my only complaint is that the do***entation is a bit sparse, nothing came with it other than a card saying goto the website, and the layout of that is pretty questionable.)

Still, I guess learning by fumbling is good enough. :sweat:


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## majoco

Bob said...


> but the sensitivity is close to science fiction.


That's the trouble, we're now spoiled! I was listening to a little CW station somewhere in Italy on my WinRadio G33DDC thinking 'he's not very strong' and then looking at the spectrum, there he is poking his nose above the noise - then I notice that my noise level was -128dB! It was about 2330 local time and all the TV's had been turned off so my local noise level had sunk right down - if only I could keep my eyes open I should have stayed some more but....zzz.


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