[NLRS] 6M operations at KTCA

[Doug Reed]

Kent sent an email with more info about the Dallas CH 2 operations. I 
was most interested to hear they used the antenna with good effect on 
6M, 2M, 432, and 1296. Maybe there is a chance of a more broad-based 
contest effort than just 6M. We'll have to look for some more filters. 
Kent said they used cavities on all bands. He also said that transmitter 
phase noise was a real problem for receive.

Still will not know anything for sure until February. Until then all we 
can do is collect stories and try to find filters and equipment to use 
when the time comes.....

73, Doug.

Donn Baker - WA2VOI/0 wrote:
> Kent, WA5VJB, had a similar opprotunity in Dallas/Ft. Worth a couple 
> of years ago.  They built a new Ch 2 station with antennas at the 
> 1800' level.  The transmitter was delayed by several months so Kent 
> and gang had a reasonably good 6m antenna for that time.  I'm pretty 
> sure they ended up with two or three cavitys (cavities ?) to keep the 
> other stuff out of the receiver and transmitter.  They measured (with 
> a Bird wattmeter) about 8 watts coming back down the coax from the 
> other stations on the tower.
>
> It was apparently well worth the time and effort spent in getting it 
> working.  They had lots of fun.  We can ask him what they actually had 
> to do... it might save some time and effort here.
>
> 73 Donn
> WA2VOI/0
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Reed" <n0nas at amsat.org>
> To: "NLRS List" <nlrs at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 2:31 PM
> Subject: [NLRS] 6M operations at KTCA
>
>
>>
>>
>> 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 
>
>
>