[Lowfer] Definitely did something wrong !! But fixed it.

[Andy - KU4XR]

Hello all:

After trying different combinations of fixed coil placement on
the paint bucket," for best efficiency ",the fixed coil was put
back towards the top of the bucket. The FS reading came back up
after the ground had a chance to dry out for a couple of days.
I still have to accept the wet ground issue. I'm thinking of
during the winter after mowing stops, of putting down some 
#14 solid / insulated copper for the radials. At the present,
I'm using aluminum electric fence wire ( bare ) on the ground.

A couple of other notes: 
 
" Drilling holes in the bucket " :::

I drilled 3/4" holes, side by side, all around the bucket. All
the windings go across the holes. The only difference I have
detected is a small reduction in needed Inductance. It went
from 2.54 mH down to 2.48 mH. I also drilled holes in the 
plastic coffee can I'm using as the vari-coil.

" Cutting the bottom out of the bucket " :::

Lee posted a reply on the LWCA message board that drilling the
holes really wouldn't be worth the effort. However he recommended
cutting the bottom out of the paint bucket as a way to help
reduce losses in the coil form. OK !! I tried that just to see 
what would occur. I did not see any improvement in output, or
coil " Q " ( tightness in tuning ). But what DID happen was a
large increase in Proximity Effect around the bucket now. Before
removing the bottom; I could lay my hand on the bucket and the
output would just barely move. Now, if my hand gets within 3 to
4 inches of the bucket, the output drops drastically, and if I
place my hand over the top of the variometer within 5 inches,
it drops to Zero. So my experience with this one is that no
improvement was seen, and the coil became super sensitive to
anything nearby. Might be time for some Duct tape ! hi - hi .

I hope this is of interest, and useful to someone.

73 for now :::



Andy - KU4XR - EM75xr - Friendsville, TN.
LOWfer Beacon " XR " @ 184.322 KHz ( QRSS-60 )
Coordinates:  N:  35* 43' 54" - W:  84* 3' 16"
http://www.myspace.com/beaconxr