Sure, relaying information is done all the time, often for emergency situations.

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HljXA9nJc3E

Gil.

Hello Tess,

Here is a good way to understand electricity. Compare it to water flowing in a pipe. Current is akin to how much (quantity) water flows inside the pipe. Voltage is like water pressure. Resistance is both the diameter of the pipe and obstructions inside, like, say, a piece of rock stuck inside the pipe. This explains how the three, current, voltage and resistance are related. Change one and you change the others.

Gil.

Totally agreed. Technician and General exams are easy. The Extra is a step above, and it should be. I actually think that the Extra exam should include at least a 5wpm Morse test.

Gil.

Hello,

Adding a 100K resistor between the center of the coax and shield at the transmitter can help with static discharges during a storm. That said, I'd rather unplug the radio...

Gil.

Hello,

Many Hams do have solar power as a backup, especially the QRP (low power operation) crowd. Some even use solar as their main power source. I don't know how much current a well pump draws, but you would probably need a fairly large panel and a battery to store the energy.

Lightning is a problem.. A good ground installation is necessary. The simplest protection is to unplug your radio when not in use. Have a spare antenna or extra wire, because that won't survive a strike.

Gil.

Well, they're missing out a great deal. Maybe they are afraid of the General exam, which isn't much harder than the Tech..

Gil.

Hello Sunflower,

The Technician test is extremely easy. He probably did not study at all. Anyone will pass by reading the book once and taking a few practice exams online. It's much easier than getting a driver's license!

Gil.

So, here is my question for you guys with more practical experience: The lot my house is on is about 100' wide. I can't really use the length, which would mean a wire above the driveway and almost to the street; not very discreet. The top of the roof is at 20'. I could use a few feet of mast tube above that. I probably would have to use an inverted V antenna of some sort. Feed point would need to be in the middle. I thought about a folded terminated dipole, but is is a bit large.. The G5RV might be the solution. Maybe a doublet fed by ladder line.. What other solutions are there and which one would be best?
With an antenna that low, it would pretty much be for NVIS on 80/40. If I get bonus bands, so much the better. I have a vertical for 10/15. My K1 and K2 have built-in ATUs.

Thanks,

Gil.

Well, I have the theoretical knowledge, now I need more experience...

Gil.

Correct! A perfect example is the dummy load.. The trick here is to use an antenna designed to present a 50ohm impedance at resonance. That isn't often the case however. A regular dipole will present an impedance of about 73ohm at resonance. You can lower the ends a bit and bingo, 50ohm at resonance. Of course, you changed the radiation pattern doing that.

A SWR of 1:1 isn't always best, and perfect resonance isn't always best either. What matters is how much RF is radiated by the antenna. Some non-resonant antennas will radiate more than a resonant one. A field strength meter tells the story..

My take on all this is to make the antenna as near-resonant as possible, and match impedance at the feed point when possible to reduce line losses. Books have been written on the subject, and I certainly don't know it all, so I won't elaborate. I have a lot to learn..

Aren't antennas are a lot of fun?  :)

What the dipper does is tell you that your radio won't be damaged by reverse power, and that's it. It also speeds up antenna adjustments.

Gil.

Thank you  :D

Gil.

I passed all three exams this morning...

Gil.

Well, I just ordered the capacitor for my magnetic loop, 9-110pf, 4KV. I'll probably get the tubing this week-end..

Gil.

I was thinking about getting a vertical, but decided not to because of the radials.. Kind of messy, and I rent.. I do have a Solarcon I-Max2000, which presumably is a "no radial" vertical, but we all know that there is no such thing.. I also like end-fed dipoles.. Same problem. The coax outer shield IS the radial! I can't put a dipole higher than maybe 30ft, and no longer than maybe 100ft. I might still try a doublet fed by ladder line. I am looking into magnetic loops, copper tubes, octagonal, 21ft circumference, 40m (55% efficient) to 20m (95%). Not sure about RF issues with that. I need to investigate more.. Of course the fact that I'll never use more than 15W might help not getting RF burns and since I can't really afford high voltage vacuum capacitors.. Still, I want most of my signal to radiate properly at the low power levels I want to use.. More about the mag loop in a future post...

Gil.

What is your radials situation? I read that those verticals require an ungodly number of radials...

Gil.