[Elecraft] new product idea: phasing unit

[Wallace, Andy]

So here we are with the KX1 not even in field test and I can
still think of new toys Eric and Wayne ought to consider. ;-)

One thing which I would find handy would be an antenna phasing
unit. I am lucky enough to have some very experienced DXers in
the local SWL club and they do the unusual: DX for overseas stations
on the mediumwave (535-1700 kHz) broadcast band. They can do
simply AMAZING things by phasing two antennas against each other.
A local AM station is suddenly gone, and underneath you hear
Morocco or whoever.=20

Phasing units can also be great for removing local hash and
noise.=20

My idea of an Elecraft phasing unit would be one with MEMORIES.
One or more for each "band" of coverage. To my knowledge all
the commercial (and the homebrew) phasing boxes are all manual
adjust affairs, where you have to tweak several buttons and knobs
to get things set correctly. It would be great to switch bands and
just have things ready, like the KATx series of tuners.

The best idea would be to have a stand-alone box with a PIC inside
and buttons on its front panel - this would mean it is marketable
to anyone, not just someone with an Elecraft equipped ham station.
Instead of pots to tweak, perhaps it should have an encoder and the=20
PIC will use that to set the phasing settings.=20

It should be able to phase two antennas, and have transmit pass
through of 100W.=20

It must cover the HF bands (yes, I know phasing is less effective
above 5 MHz) and it would be a real winner if it covered down
to longwave and had the ability to handle strong MW signals.

Perhaps it should have a small whip antenna on top (like the MFJ
and JPS units) for phasing out very local noise.=20

I would think that such a product would fit perfectly into the KAT100
size case.=20

Nothing of the sort exists - Elecraft would again be the first.
I'd buy one. :-)

Andy