Clifton Laboratories was acquired by DX Engineering. The Clifton Laboratories website is now redirecting to DX Engineering, and the Clifton Lab references and papers are unavailable. However, It *is* possible to get at the old Clifton Laboratories Documents via the Internet Archive’s wayback machine. The original K3 AGC paper from 2009 is available on the …
Mike, K7IR, President of SteppIR Antennas, showed me a printed circuit board from an antenna controller that a customer had sent returned. They didn’t get a direct lightning hit, but after a small storm nearby, their antenna wasn’t working any longer. Check out the destruction of the driver chips. It’s prudent to make sure you …
The DB-36 Prototype I’ve been fortunate to be able to work with Mike, Jim, and Clay on the new Steppir “Dream Beam 36” antenna. You may have seen hints in the pictures of one of the initial prototypes on W7CE’s (Clay) web site. These folks are DEDICATED to producing a great product. I’ve been helping …
Alpha 87A Amplifier Fault 1 & the ‘downlevel amplifier’ I purchased a used Alpha 87A amplifier from a local ham in April of 2007, and enjoyed using it for a number of months. One evening in October 2007, while trying to work some 160 meter DX, the amplifier faulted on keydown, turning itself off. Upon …
Denny W7SNH came over to do the CQ160 CW Contest — his first contest using computer logging. We decided to use his call for the operation. Conditions on the first night (Friday) were excellent from here — it’s not normal (as near as I can tell, having only done the top band thing for four years …
Ameritron AL-1200 to GS35B Conversion The Ameritron AL-1200 Amplifier is in current production. In its factory configuration it uses a single 3CX1200A7 (triode) tube, grounded grid configuration. Some of the nice features of this amplifier include; Peter Dahl transformer Pi-L output circuit Full 160m-10m coverage Large chassis with accessible components Some of the ‘Russian tubes’ …
Work that DXpedition on 160m N8S (Swain’s island) is active now, and BS7H (Scarborough Reef) will be active shortly; in this part of the sunspot cycle, why not try to work them on 160m? If you have the time and room, a reasonable antenna might be like W7IUV’s Vertical, but if you need them on …
Using a Balloon or Blimp to Support an Antenna for 160 meters If you want to get on top band, and you don’t have the real estate or towers to get a permanent 160 meter antenna in the air, why not try a blimp or balloon? Ground crew (KE7MAN) with 13′ blimp. ** 3/23/2017 update: This guy …
The BTI LK-2000 was originally a 3-1000z based amplifier. It’s nearly as old as I am. The LK-2000 has some pros and cons: Pro – beefy PI-L output circuit robust Peter Dahl Transformer (capable of over 4500v in this configuration) Reasonable layout, lots of room for modifications Con – 220v input, only 3 wire cord …