[HBQRP] HBQRP Meeting Today

[Sean Edwards]

There were only 5 of us, but a good time was had by all!  Thank you to
Dennis for letting us try his PC RC Flight software, that was fun!

Other things we talked about:

*W3EDP Antenna:*

W3EDP PDF Download by Nick Toparcean, AE5VV -
http://www.qsl.net/w5rin/Projects/Antennas/ae5vv/W3EDPAntenna.pdf

The W3EDP is made of a 17 foot vertical section of ladder line, window line
or twin lead and a 67 foot single horizontal wire attached.  The feed point
should be 3 foot off the ground.  Since this is related to the End Fed
Zepp, additional counterpoise or ground plane wires are not needed.  For
best performance, a 4:1 balun, a 1:1 current choke should be at the feed
point connecting to an antenna tuner.

Originally, I think there was an inductance / capacitance matching unit
(coil and variable capacitor) used at the feed point.  Kevin Loughin makes
building this L Network tuner look very easy in two videos:

< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXD9rAOM_o4&index=69&list=WL&t=534s >

< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-fuQz0-xbc&index=70&list=WL >

*G7FEK Antenna:*

This antenna is has a 24 foot vertical section of ladder line, window line
or twin lead, and two horizontal sections. One horizontal section is 38
foot and the other is 8 foot.  This antenna does require a ground plane
wire, but it does not have to be in a straight line.  This antenna does not
perform well on 20m, so read the instructions for adding an element for
that band.

G7FEK PDF Download -
http://www.sral.fi/turva/G7FEKantenna.pdf

*PC Morse Code Keying Interface:*

There are many methods to interface radios and computers.  In order to
prevent some grounding issues from passing between the radio and the
computer, isolation is important.  Between the radio audio output and the
PC mic, consider audio transformers.  Between the computer serial output
and the radio keyer jack, consider transistors or optocouplers.

Sound Card Keyer:
http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/html/cw_keying_page.html

Video Demo of Sound Card keyer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppSc4vX6qJo

More examples here:
http://qrqcwnet.ning.com/forum/topics/what-circuit-for-computer

-= Sean Edwards =-
AD0QG