[NLRS] Starter station help

[Zack Widup]

I have a couple small Yagi designs that have worked well for me for years.
One is a 3 element 6 meter Yagi on a 72 inch boom. The other is a 4 element
2 meter Yagi on a 56 inch boom.

I built both so they could easily be transported with the elements off the
boom and rapidly assembled at a portable site. I use the 4 element 2m beam
as an antenna for liaison on 144.260 for attempted microwave QSO's.

The FT-290RII and 690RII are both very good radios but the 290 is a little
on the deaf side. Still, it's a great radio for a starter. I see them going
in the $300 range these days.

73, Zack W9SZ

On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 5:47 PM, David Palm <thepalmhq at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> Hi Bill,
>
> I'm a huge fan of WA5VJB's "cheap yagi" designs:
> http://www.wa5vjb.com/yagi-pdf/cheapyagi.pdf
>
> They are very cheap, super-easy to build, repeatable, and perform great.
> Unlike so many antenna designs out there, these have been not only modeled
> using software, but have been extensively tested on antenna ranges as well.
> The same goes for the N6NB "quagi", which is also cheap, easy to build,
> packs a lot more punch than the "cheap yagis" (albeit on a longer boom),
> and
> also has lots of range testing to back up its claims:
> http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/woverbeck/quagi.htm
>
> As for six meters, I have on my roof now a 2-element shortened yagi with
> coaxial cable for the elements from this design:
> http://www.hamuniverse.com/K4mmg2and6meter.html
>
> Although I'm planning on upgrading at some point, I certainly have had
> great
> success with this.  Obviously there's not a lot of forward gain, but the
> f/b
> rejection is nice.  A 6 meter moxon would be even better in that
> department.  I thought that this design looked robust, but there are
> others:  http://www.n3ox.net/projects/sixmoxon/
>
> Based on correspondence with WA5VJB I have modeled a 3-element, 6 meter
> "cheap yagi" which looks promising which I plan to build "soon", but
> obviously that doesn't help now.
>
> Rig-wise, I love my FT-897 for a starter radio on 2 and 6, with bonus play
> on 432 MHz.  It has made a great IF for a 222 transverter as well, with the
> ability to turn its output down to 5 watts just on 28 MHz, while still
> doing
> full output on 50, 144, and 432 (nothing to remember).  My IC-746 is also a
> great performer on 2 and 6 meters with the full 100 watt punch on 2 meters.
>
> Hope this is helpful, from one VHF-UHF newbie to others.
>
> 73,
>
> David  W9HQ
>
>
>
> On 7/30/10, Bill Davis Jr <cqbilld at msn.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > GA guys
> >
> >   I have agreed to assist Jim K0MHC with some suggestions for "starter
> > stations" for 6 and or 2m. ( For the Weak Signal Recruiting Tool) The
> idea
> > is that we had a active ham who is interested in weak sig ops on those
> > bands. Perhaps he is already active on FM and may even have a "brick"
> usable
> > on SSB.
> >
> >   Do you have a favorite (inexpensive/simple) antenna or rig that you
> would
> > recommend to someone for a starting station? I am looking at stations
> built
> > around a TS700 or FT290R, cheap yagi and a brick for 2m. Just one
> example.
> >
> >   6m antennas that outperform a dipole and are simple/cheap would be of
> > interest. Have you ever built a moxon, small yagi or small quad?? Got one
> > that you would recommend?
> >
> >   Going with a transverter, anything else out there like the TenTec 1210
> > for 2m or the TenTec 1208 for 6m .... they would drive that brick nicely
> if
> > the newbie can keep drive power under control. I'm a bit nervous about
> that.
> >
> >   I'm looking for your experience ... I bet some of the rovers starting
> out
> > had some approaches that would be similar to what a newbie would have a
> > chance with.
> >
> >   THANKS ... 73  Bill  K0AWU  EN37ed
> >
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