Field Day is right around the corner … We are still in need of help for set up on Friday, June 24^th… please give a hand… even if it is just for an hour or two… your time helps a great deal…   We ALSO need a table for one of the stations…  this is very important…   please contact me at w2ntv@arrl.net if you can help or if you just have questions… Remember, this is YOUR Field Day… make it work!

Click here if you are inquisitive.

After the May 3rd meeting, Fred KC2QFR, JB WA2WMJ, and Stan WB2LQF sauntered out into the parking lot to see how well Stan’s newly revised 20 meter mag loop would work in front of a couple impartial witnesses.

The mag loop has a circumference of approx 11.5 feet and is made of 1.5″ copper pipe.  It has a 10-100pf vacuum variable tuned by a 1 rpm motor drive.  When designing a mag loop, one can have any two of the following:  High Q, broad bandwidth, or high efficiency.  Stan chose High Q and high efficiency.  This resulted in a very narrow bandwidth.  Hence the one rpm motor.  Tuning is very sharp.  The original Farady loop coupling was replaced with a cut-and-try Gamma match that resulted in 1.1:1 SWR . JB made a CW contact with N0ZH in Missouri.  Mike was running 5 Watts on 14.060.  JB was putting out around 50 watts.  Mike gave JB a 559.  JB gave Mike a 229 (not too bad for a QRP signal into our loop in the parking lot behind a big  steel beambuilding with a high noise level from the parking lot lamps.

A mag loop operated with vertical polarization can be used right at ground level.  Thus, a mag loop is quite easy to set up – there simply IS no setup.  Just put it down and hook it to the radio!  The radiation pattern is a figure eight with deep nulls broadside so the loop is quite directional.  The front to back ratio is, of course, 1:1. 

More testing will be done but initial results suggest that having moved the capacitor and motor from their original location in the center of the loop to the point outside and above the loop improved transmitting performance significantly.  This loop – in both its original configuration and this new revision – was always a fantastic receiving antenna.  Loops are known  for that!  73, Stan

The second Field Day Planning Meeting was held on April 30th.  The minutes are here for the viewing pleasure of the QSY membership.

The Radio Central Amateur Radio Club will put W2RC (SKCC# 5073T)
on the air April 30 for International Marconi Day. We will do
some CW, some SSB and maybe PSK-31.

Info on the web at http://www.rcarc.org

Dick. k2rfp