That was a FANTASTIC tour and demo of your ham shack! I just got my Extra ticket but have never been on HF. Consequently, I've been scouring RU-vid videos and, to date, yours is the one which most appeals to me (barring extreme societal breakdown which many videos seem to focus on). Extra props to you for being a great Grandfather to a wonderful & loving Grandson! 73
Hi Jaac What a wonderful comment! You will have a BALL when you get on HF. My email is good on QRZ. I would be glad to help you. I’m really lucky to have my two grandsons! -Ed W8EDW
All that equipment is over whelming but you explain it well. I am just an old morse code interceptor from the Army so I never was trained on any transmitting equipment. Awesome set up.
Thanks Robert! We need guys like you in our ham radio community. It’s really easy to get a license. Just go to your App Store and download one of the free exam guides. Take a few questions a day and before you know it you’ll have your license!! -Ed W8EDW
Thx for a great vid Ed. It was very thorough and I have recommended it to some new hams to see how it is done. Unlike so many other tubers, you did not skip any steps that might be obvious to old hams but not so obvious for newly minted hams. Good job, OM. 73.
That is a nice setup, I to have a small footprint and am only using an inverted V dipole same radio the 7300 and the AL-811, I did Tom's W8JI upgrades to my amp for arc protection and all. You can definitely see a difference in the video between cameras. Looks much crisper on the cannon. 73 de ND1B
Thanks Joe! So far so good on arcing. I’ve had that amp about 8 years now. I’ll have to check out Tom’s upgrade. Thanks for the nice comment. Yeah, I’m looking forward to using the Canon. -Ed. W8EDW
Thanks for the humble video. I'm still working on building a new station. I'm disabled so it's going very slow doing what I can between health issues and budget constraints. It's been almost a year and may take another year to get on the air... It's beem a journey not a race
@@edwhitney1862 Of course, learning's a life-long experience, but as hams, I think it's forever! For me, however, I sometimes feel like I'm going backwards!😂 73 de WA4ELW in TN 🇺🇸😀
nice setup. I'm glad I don't have to run an amp to reach Europe and Africa, seams like a lot of extra steps to get on the air. I'm using a IC 7300 with just the built in tuner (not needed on most bands) with a homemade EFHW. Going to put up a 50' tower when the weather changes, that will double the height of my antenna. 73's KE0HMS
Hi Groundzero. Wow, it sounds like you have a nice station! Good luck with your tower. That should really improve your signal. Thanks for watching! -Ed
@@edwhitney1862ave a class reunion this summer and will be back in town. Are you on any particular repeater in town? If so I will try calling you when I get back.
Hey Ed, great job! I've been dealing with radio (SWL, CB [only for a short while, it was a social thing in the early 70s], broadcast and ham) for about 50 years now (first ham ticket in 1977, and of the sadly dwindling Advanced Class licensees). Two Questions: 1. I grew up on tube and voltage flow theory- I'm very suprized you don't have to dip the grid amperage- any idea why? and 2. You mentioned you tuned the antenna several times before we saw the SGC remote auto-tuner. I was puzzled until I saw that. ☺
Hi Scot. Sounds like you’re an old timer like me. Yeah, I should have mentioned the remote tuner more often. I’m still learning to make videos. Hind sight 20-20. Thanks for watching Scot!
Excellent video, thanks so much! It certainly is amazing what you can do with a wire on a pole. A couple questions: Are you using a 4:1 unun (or other) at the feedpoint? And for what's probably a dumb question, why do you choose to set the output of the 7300 to 60W when running the linear amp? Is there a benefit to doing so? Cheers!
Hi Thor. I don't need a balun because I am using the SGC-235 Antenna tuner/coupler right at the feedpoint. It automatically tunes when I apply a signal. (It's fairly expensive but worth it!) I only use 60 watts drive from the 7300 because that's all I need to get the amp to 500 watts. Plenty to "work the world!" Thanks for watching! Really appreciate it! -Ed W8EDW
I worked most of those same stations this past contest weekend using 100w and either a very low sloper dipole (on 20m) or an indoor 4-foot whip (on 10m). Perhaps unsurprisingly, I also got *100%* (!!) "59..." signal reports... 🤣!!
Hi Jamey. The antenna is just a hollow telescoping fiberglass tube 43’ high. The wire is 14ga stranded that is inside the tube. Fastened at the top and exits through a hole in the bottom of the tube. I’m good on QRZ if you want to e ail me. Thanks for watching! -Ed. W8EDW
Hi Pat. I got that antenna from LDG model S9v43. It came collapsed with the 14 gauge wire inside. Unfortunately they stopped making it. I think MFJ makes a telescoping 50' fiberglass mast but you would have to put your own wire in it. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. My email is good on QRZ if I can help in any way. -Ed W8EDW
well Done Ed. very similar gear to what I have here on top of our hill, my qth is in the hills of central Victorian, Australia. Grounding is not as good as your here in the rocks. my shack is part of my office and is nowhere as neet as yours, cheers de Bob VK 3 BRD
Hi Bob. I’m married to a wonderful but picky woman who is a “neat nick”. You’re lucky to be on a hill! Thanks for watching and I hope we meet on the air! -Ed
Great video. My only comment is to note that you along with many others misread SWR. The blue scale on the right is reflected power, not SWR. SWR is read my observing where the two needles cross. The red curves between the forward (black) and reverse (blue) scales is the SWR scale. When the needles cross between two red SWR curves you interpolate between the two.
Hi Ed, thanks for the video. But I'm not sure that technique, for tuning the amplifier, necessarily gets you to the sweet spot of max power and efficiency. I always increment the load cap a bit, peak the plate, then repeat, until I have found max RF output. Separately peaking the load and plate caps repeatedly seems to be a popular method, but I'm not sure it is valid. I see, in the Ameritron manual, they are vague about the tuning method.
Hi Tim. Yep, you are right about the vague instructions in the manual. I have always used the method that I described with good results. But, I'm sure everyone has their own methods. Thanks for watching! -Ed W8EDW
I enjoyed your video presentation. Thanks 👍 The 43' vertical with some radials and the SGC coupler do very well for you. It's a nice shack you have there. De VU2RZA
@@edwhitney1862 there are many others like it by different companies and individual Hams, but the one above is the one I seen on a few RU-vid videos. Some go by HOA hidden antenna, HOA stealth, gutter antenna and so on.
You have the icom 735. I have no idea why you didn't know that it's green in color if you open up smoke black door in the front you can make adjustments 👍
Hi Tom. WOW that's so cool. You are right, it is amazing how our radio waves bounce when conditions are right! Tell your son to keep up the good work. -Ed W8EDW
so you have a separate ground… that goes again the NEC bonding requirement, doesn’t it? everything should be sent back and bonded to your service ground at the meter / panel.
Hi Rick. I’m working on taking out my “Screwdriver Antenna with Unique Radials” and trying it out. Hopefully in the next two weeks. (weather permitting. ). Thanks for asking Rick! -Ed. W8EDW
Hi Houdinischild , The antenna is a LDG model S9v43. It is just a hollow 43 foot telescoping fiberglass mast with a 14 gauge stranded wire inside. LDG doesn't make them anymore but I think the Alpha antenna is very similar. It helps to have the SGC or similar auto tuner at the base of the antenna. Thanks so much for watching! -Ed W8EDW
I asked if the frequency was in use a number of times and identified my station. I shot the "scene" and then identified again. Thanks Tom, we can't be too careful. -Ed W8EDW
Hi Barry. I’ve been tuning my amp that way for eight years now. Thanks for the information though. I’ll try dipping the plate next time and see how it goes. Thanks for watching! -Ed
Thanks Joe! It was definitely a learning curve using the new camera on some of the clips. Thanks so much for watching and I hope we meet on the air! -Ed W8EDW
