Beverage antenna & radials cart

9. January 2017 in Hardware

At our Contest Station ED1R we are limited in space. Therefore we have to install before the contests our low band verticals and beverages - and of course, after the contests, take them down and bring them into the storage again. Over the last years, we started optimizing the way how to rapidly deploy and remove radials. Earlier we used a bunch of garden hose carts, which were inexpensive, but after three contest seasons, they started falling apart. A more solid solution was needed. This time we build a solid cart, using surplus military equipment.

Network accessible Rotators

11. January 2015 in Contesting, Hardware, IT Stuff

Once your contest station grows bigger and you add more antennas to turn, it becomes quite annoying to move around the physical rotator controllers between the operating positions inside the shack. Desperate for a better solution, I developed a server software that provides access to the Rotators through the network. Now all rotators can be controlled either directly through Win-Test, TCP socket, or through a Web-Interface.

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.

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

14. March 2013 in Hardware

A few days ago I had the time to build and try a Double Half Delta Loop (DHDL) at our Contest Station ED1R. The Antenna was built within 3 hours and can be deployed/erected within 20 minutes.

A simple broadband 4:1 Balun Transformer

21. September 2012 in Hardware

During the summer break, it became quiet here on my blog. While Instead of chilling at the beach, I spend a lot of time on new Hardware and Software projects. Most of them are done, and now it’s time to document them. In this blog post, I want to share the construction of a versatile 4:1 Balun. In combination with a ladder line and an automatic Antenna tuner, you can use any dipole on almost all frequencies.

2el Vertical Array for 160m

10. January 2012 in Contesting, Hardware

In CQWW 160m we are planning again a serious participation. This time we want to erect a 2el vertical Array for 160m towards the US. In this post, you will find some details regarding our unique situation and some design thoughts.