Both ICOM radios, the IC7300 and the IC9700 allow a variable transmission (TX) delay. This comes in handy if external peripherals like amplifiers and/or pre-amplifiers are used. These devices often have slow mechanical relays. It is good practice to wait until the complete transmission chain is ready before RF is applied. Out of curiosity, I measured and verified the adjustable tx delay on both radios.
I recently bought two Diamond MX-2000N triplexors because at my current place I only have space for one RF cable from the shack to the roof. The idea is to have one triplexor in the shack and another one below the antennas. Before installing the triplexors I decided to bring them on the bench and check if the claimed performance is met by the devices.
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.
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!
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!
One of last year’s projects was the improvement of our Contest Station ED1R. For the various Yagis, we needed smart ways to combine antennas. Instead of buying commercial stackmatches (antenna combiners), I decided to build them up by myself and adjust them to our needs.
