WB0SMX

  Trap Dipole for the Mesa QTH Filed in Antennas on Feb.08, 2015 In preparation for the Novice Rig Roundup, I was reminded of my poor state of affairs for low band operation at my Mesa QTH. I had put up a quick 40-meter dipole about 5 or 6 years ago, but it was only about 15 feet off the ground. This did not do a very good job at all, due to the low height and relatively short length. I had been reading about various antennas, and decided to try out a trap dipole. This would allow me to work 30, 40 and 80 meters with an inverted vee that would easily fit within my backyard of our suburban lot.   30-40-80 meter trap dipole I had collected several articles about trap dipoles over the years, and was intrigued with the concept of using RG-58 coax wrapped around PVC pipe to form the traps. As I was searching the internet, I came across a site ( http://degood.org/coaxtrap/ ) that used this method to create a multi-band trap dipole for the operators attic. It was short (good fo

  HG-10b VFO for the HW-16 Filed in Vintage Radio on Feb.08, 2015 The HW-16 was now operating reasonably well under crystal control. Next, I turned my attention to the HG-10b VFO.   HG-10b and HW-16 Ready to go to work. I removed the covers, and discovered that there were no paper caps or electrolytic can caps used. Because the VFO has no ventilation holes, the inside was as clean as the day it was buttoned up. All solder joints looked to be good, and I saw no reason to think that it might not work. I checked the wiring of the cable to make sure it was wired for Grid Block keying, as required by the HW-16. Then I buttoned it back up and plugged it into the HW-16. I turned them on and brought them up with the variac, to make sure the VFO didn’t have any faults that would harm the HW-16. Because it derived it’s operating voltages from the HW-16, there was the chance that something could go wrong and do damage to the transceiver. But all was good. While letting the VFO and