[NLRS] 6M operations at KTCA

[Phil Hejtmanek]

I had a similar opportunity once, while working with WBBM-TV in Chicago, in the early 90's.  I set up a contest station in the windows of their transmitter site on the 97th floor of the John Hancock building.  Needless to say, my 25 watts of 2 meters and 10 watts of 432 really rocked, especially across Lake Michigan to the east.  I was also able to bounce signals off of the flat face of Sears Tower and work into Wisconsin and Minnesota (they had no windows on the north side of the building.  Unfortunately, their channel 2 was on the air, so 6m was a no-go.

Phil   kf9us


--- On Wed, 11/5/08, Doug Reed <n0nas at amsat.org> wrote:

> From: Doug Reed <n0nas at amsat.org>
> Subject: [NLRS] 6M operations at KTCA
> To: "NLRS List" <nlrs at mailman.qth.net>
> Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2008, 8:31 AM
> I've been talking with friends over at KTCA to find out
> what their plans were for after the analog TV stations go
> dark next February. The answer is they plan to play radio on
> 6M, of course....
> 
> Scott, Don, and Ray are inclined to put a 6M SSB/CW station
> on the air from Shoreview using the Ch 2 antenna after the
> analog stations go dark. Scott likes to say it only requires
> a few watts into the main amplifier, but where are you going
> to find a TR relay capable of handling the output?  :-)
> 
> In the real world, they intend to have a double-shielded
> coax coming out to the ham equipment from the main antenna
> feed. Scott has already purchased one of the 8 or 10 section
> DCI 6M filters. It has claimed attenuation over 120 dB by
> the time you hit the FM band. Hopefully that will be enough.
> If anyone has experience doing this, please comment on the
> required filtering and remaining RF noise. By the time we
> attempt this, the closest remaining stations will be in the
> FM band and channel 9 digital. But that doesn't mean we
> still can't get knocked out by simple broadband RF hash
> from the nearby transmitters. We will not know until we try.
> 
> The very best news is that no tower work is scheduled on
> the antennas until mid-August at the soonest. That means we
> have a super antenna site to play with for 6 months,
> including at least 3 contests and the summer Es season. The
> down side is the companies involved will probably NOT allow
> wide-open visits by the horde and assorted friends. I'm
> just saying don't be too disappointed if the ground
> rules include limited access, certainly only when an
> employee is available.
> 
> Once we have proof-of-concept and make required changes to
> get things working, and the three contest weekends are out
> of the way, what other suggestions do you have for potential
> activities? Where would NLRS want to participate in events?
> Or are there only a few more people who want to play?
> 
> If I don't hear anything better, my own suggestions are
> along the lines of a PropNET PSK31 propagation beacon on
> 50.291 for most of the summer. The propagation beacon might
> be useful spotting openings and it would certainly be
> interesting to compare results from one station at 200 feet
> and another at 1100 feet.
> 
> Or (possibly and) a temporary 6M FM repeater or a remote
> base on 52.525MHz. The repeater or remote base would be fun
> for the rest of the ham community.
> 
> It might even be interesting to try one day or weekend
> where that station is run at the legal limit, just to see
> how far we can talk when the band isn't supposed to be
> open.... That is where it would be interesting to have an
> "activity day" scheduled for late February or
> early March when all the Ch 2 - 3 stations we can find
> nationwide get on the are with high power at the same time.
> Then see what the paths look like... But we've been
> using Ch 2 for a propagation beacon for a long time now, so
> the results probably wouldn't be that different or
> exciting....
> 
> No, I will not be at this breakfast, but I hope to read
> some discussion on the reflector.
> 
> 73, Doug Reed, N0NAS.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> NLRS mailing list
> NLRS at mailman.qth.net
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/nlrs