DG8SAQ VNWA & Virtual Machines

11. January 2015 in Hardware

A few years ago I migrated almost entirely to OSX & Ubuntu. However, I still had to maintain a Windows copy on one of my hard drive partitions, since a few applications were just available for Windows. In particular, DG8SAQ’s superb Vector Network Analyzer (VNWA) software. I can already use most of the applications in a Virtual machine, with the benefit of not having to reboot and change the OS, but DG8SAQ’s software with it’s USB I/O always gave me hard time. Finally, I figured out what needs to be changed. Now the VNWA runs also smoothly in a Virtual Machine.

DXHeat.com is online

22. January 2014 in Contesting, IT Articles

Over the last 8 months, I was digging deep into Web Development. The result went yesterday public, DXHeat.com. Instead of building just another Web DX Cluster, I tried to build something innovative with new, unique features. The best is to check it out by yourself!

Will additional coax stubs improve Bandpass Filter performance?

12. May 2013 in Hardware

I was curious if the performance of our 4O3A high-power Bandpass filters could be improved with additional coax stubs in parallel. We were operating at ED1R for some time now with the added stubs, and we are pleased with the results. Check out the details!

How to rapidly deploy & remove antenna radials

24. March 2013 in Hardware

At our contest station ED1R we have no space for permanent Lowband Verticals. Each Contest, the verticals have to be installed temporarily in a field nearly. Especially the deployment and removal of the antenna radials are very time-consuming. Over time we optimized our system which reduced the required time from 2 hours down to 30 minutes.

Can I still use oxidized coax cable?

18. March 2013 in Hardware

This question bugged me after trying to exchange the connectors of a 25m long Aircell7 coax cable. During preparation, I discovered a black inner conductor. It seems water entered the cable. Do I have to throw it away? Read more to discover a probably unexpected answer!

4O3A Triplexor

14. March 2013 in Hardware

Until today, I’m fascinated by what can be achieved with good filters. At our Contest Station ED1R we bought a Triplexor (10m/15m/20m) to be able to use our new Optibeam OB11-3 on the three bands simultaneously.

Double Half Delta Loop (DHDL) Low Band Receiving Antenna