No major moves forward at the AA7EE shack recently, just a few little ones.
I’ve been eyeing a fairly tall tree (50-60 feet) that is right at the edge of the apartment building next door. It’s just a few feet over the property line, and overhangs the small back yard of my apartment building. With the aid of a slingshot, I attempted to get a line over it some months ago, but this is a built-up urban area and I didn’t try too long or too hard with the slingshot. It was my first time using one (whatever DID I spend my childhood doing?) and I didn’t want to accidentally put a 1oz lead sinker through a neighbor’s window, or worse, hit a passerby. My initial attempts failed, I stashed the slingshot away and continued to use the Buddistick vertical from my first floor balcony.
The thing about tall trees though is that if you’re a radio amateur, unless you own a tower, they’re near impossible to ignore. Yesterday afternoon I gave in. I grabbed the slingshot, walked out onto my balcony, took aim, and the next thing I knew the lead sinker had arced over a branch and was hanging just a few feet above the ground on the other side of the tree. Bingo! It wasn’t as high up as I wanted, but if I had aimed it higher it wouldn’t have made it through the dense foliage to the ground, and a heavier sinker wouldn’t have made it as high in the first place. It’s a regular catch 22.
Long story short – with the aid of a reel of 26 gauge magnet wire, I now have an approximately 65-70 foot longwire antenna about 35 feet off the ground. The magnet wire will keep my antenna relatively stealthy (I hope). It’s still a pretty crummy location for an antenna, but at least I now have frequency agility with the aid of an LDG Z11 tuner and 4:1 balun.
In other news, I finally fitted a KD1JV Digital Dial to my Norcal 2N2:
This is a really worthy upgrade. The only other thing that this rig could use now is a small electronic keyer. Here’s another view in which you can see the 100 ohm resistor and 100uF electrolytic mounted at the power connector that serve to filter out the low level interference from the display multiplexer:
The 2N2 is an absolute pleasure to listen to. The only commercial rig I have is an FT-817, and when I use that for the other HF bands, I cringe at the high level of noise generated by the receiver. The receiver noise in the 2N2 is much lower. There is a clarity to signals heard on the 2N2; in comparison the FT-817 sounds noisy and mushy (it is a great jack of all trades radio though and has served me well).
I also started putting the Fort Tuthill 80 into a case. A KD1JV Digital Dial should be arriving soon and will be fitted, along with decals (probably yellow, to contrast with the black, as inkjet printers won’t print white). Here’s a view of the Tut80 without it’s top cover. Imagine this with a digital frequency readout and yellow decals. I think it’s going to look pretty sweet:
I’ll save the top view until I’ve tidied up the wiring inside a bit so stay tuned. John AE5X is waiting on a Ten-Tec TPB-41 case to put his in, and I’m keen to see how he does with it in the ARRL International DX Contest this weekend (if the case arrives in time that is – if it doesn’t, how about a bit of bare board operating eh John?) While we’re talking about cases for the Tut80, Steve KB3SII has designed and is manufacturing a custom drilled and painted aluminum case for it. Target price is under $35. Check the Tut80 Yahoo Group for more details.
I’ve been trying to get a QSO with the Tut80, but the electrical interference in the evening at this location is so bad on 80 that I can’t hear much without a noise blanker. Oh for a nice quiet radio QTH…….
In the meantime I’m searching for a new living situation. There are two main criteria – affordable rent, and the ability to string a longwire antenna to nearby tall trees. It’s time for me to experience the amateur bands with something more than a marginal antenna. I know that I could probably move away from the San Francisco Bay Area and buy (or rent) a little place on a big piece of land but, for the time being at least, I want to stay in this area. So if you know anyone with a cheap room or studio to rent in the Bay Area that would be amenable to a friendly and quiet QRP operator, send ’em my way!
Dave Richards AA7EE 
Dave, your construction looks excellent. I’m curious how you make those rectangular holes to accomodate the digital dial?
John AE5X
I heard great things about the Adel Nibbler tool John, so I sent off for one (Aircraft Spruce have the best price). Although the cut is straight and clean, it leaves slight “chew” marks on one side of the metal which I don’t like, and the aluminum on the 2N2/40 case is just a bit too thick for the Adel, so I did this cutout the old-fashioned blood, sweat n’ tears way. I drilled 3 large holes at center, left and right of the cutout. I then drilled a bunch of smaller holes in between them so that I could remove most of the metal from the inside of the cutout. The rest of the work was done with a set of fine hobby/craft files: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2719767
It takes time, but with plenty of coffee and the radio turned on, it’s not so bad. I was surprised that such a primitive method of cutting yielded a serviceable result.
PS – I think you’ll do just fine without a vernier on your Tut80. I’m thinking of losing mine and going with a knob connected straight to the polyvaricon. It gives smoother tuning and makes it easier to do quick band scans.