From owner-qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Tue Dec 1 16:41:01 1998 Received: from fidoii.CC.lehigh.EDU (fidoii.CC.lehigh.EDU [128.180.1.4]) by oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id QAA19992 for ; Tue, 1 Dec 1998 16:40:52 -0500 (EST) Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1]:2591 "HELO Lehigh.EDU" ident: "IDENT-NOT-QUERIED") by fidoii.cc.Lehigh.EDU with SMTP id <53878-48098>; Tue, 1 Dec 1998 16:37:39 -0500 Received: from nss4.CC.Lehigh.EDU ([128.180.1.13]:2624 "EHLO nss4.cc.Lehigh.EDU" ident: "IDENT-NOT-QUERIED") by fidoii.cc.Lehigh.EDU with ESMTP id <53761-48098>; Tue, 1 Dec 1998 16:36:29 -0500 Received: from postoffice.mcg.net ([206.147.121.2]) by nss4.cc.Lehigh.EDU (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id QAA232754 for ; Tue, 1 Dec 1998 16:36:27 -0500 Received: from groucho (i103.cc202.mcg.net [206.10.202.103]) by postoffice.mcg.net (Post.Office MTA v3.5.2 release 221 ID# 0-56468U2500L250S0V35) with SMTP id net; Tue, 1 Dec 1998 15:38:28 -0600 Message-Id: <001901be1d72$a3cdbfc0$a10a5e2c@groucho> Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1998 15:35:58 -0600 Reply-To: applitech@mcg.net Sender: owner-qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Precedence: bulk From: applitech@mcg.net (Claton Cadmus) To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: Re: Feedline from basement ideas? X-To: "QRP-l" , X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 X-Orcpt: rfc822;qrp-l@fidoii.CC.Lehigh.EDU X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 beta -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN Status: RO OK, I use the stuff and here's how I do it. I run coax out of the house to a balun, which in nothing more than 30 feet of RG-58 (solid poly dielectric, not foam) wound around a few inches of 3"-5" diameter PVC pipe. This gets me by the house wiring. pipes and ductwork etc. You can run the balanced line into the shack too, really not a problem just make sure you keep the line a few inches away for parallel metal objects. Crossing by a conduit or pipe the runs perpendicular to the line is really not a problem. You only need to drill a clearance hole through the wood, in fact the easy way to do it is to drill two small holes spaced a little wider than the line and use some number 8 machine bolts and wing nuts as through terminals. Crimp and solder eye lugs to the balanced line on the ends attached to the bolts. I hope that was a good explanation, each bolt becomes a connector for one side of the line. Even easier is to use a couple short lengths of insulated house wire passed through holes just the right and size spaced about right. Then wire nut the ladder line inside and out. Yeah that's the ticket. Might not look good but will work FB. No one will see it under the deck and up near the ceiling in the basement. Here's some more good tips. 1. The wireman is now selling 300 ohm ladder line, great stuff. ($0.17 at foot!) I just brought 100ft to replace my ten year old 450 ohm line. It's smaller and less noticeable, which the yl will appreciate. 2. The 300 ohm stuff can be used with regular TV twin lead standoffs. These standoffs are easy to use too. Just screw into the side of the house, tree, whatever. Make sure you position the line across the slot, mount the standoff so a "ladder" is in the standoff and rotate the slot around to close the standoff. (this will make sense when you see one.) 3. Turns, keep the turns gentle, no sharp bends. As a rule keep the radius of the bend about 10 times the width of the line. With 300 ohm ladder line the bend should be about the radius of a one gallon paint can as a minimum. 4. Twist the line about 1 turn per foot. This will distribute any nearby effects to both side of the ladder line evenly and keep it balanced. 5. All this stuff is a good thing to do, but if you can't do it perfect, don't sweat it. It will work anyway and probably better than coax. Not to mention at about 1/2 the price. 6. If you really want to save money, buy the cheap TV twinlead at Wally-World or Radio Shack. It will work just as well at QRP levels but might not last as long. If you plan on changing antennas allot and experimenting it's a good value. The only other precaution is to make extra sure you support and immobilize the connection to the antenna, the soldered wire connection will not do. Of course this is good advice no matter which feedline you are using. Also a coating of auto wax will reduce the effect on the 300 ohm twinlead during rain. Hope this Helps! ---- 73 de KA0GKC Claton Cadmus cla@mcg.net MNQRP #1 Minnesota QRP'ers we're looking for you! Email me or visit this page http://www.qsl.net/mnqrp