Several hams have asked about copies of the presentation I gave to the DARC this summer. I’ve been slow in getting it uploaded, but I hope it’s still helpful and interesting.
Click here to download the July 2020 meeting presentation on baluns.
Next meeting’s program will be “Tips and Tricks for Frugal Ham Radio,” presented by me—Tony Mendina, NT5TM. I’ll share my favorite techniques for ham radio on a budget, like building my own antennas and even test equipment…but your participation will be important! There’s only so much that I know, and you probably know lots that I don’t. Do you assemble your own cables? What tools have saved you a trip to the repair shop? What non-ham things have you substituted for expensive ham gear? Please bring your stories, tips, and even show-and-tell items to the meeting. We’ll all be glad you did.
Updates: Bill, N5BB, and several other folks recommended this great collection of ham and electronic training videos by W2AEW.
Participants also mentioned the free practice exams at https://hamexam.org/. It’s important to get the URL right—put a .com on the end and you go to a commercial site.
And David, W5EBB, mentioned a site full of antenna schematics in the comments below.
And if you need to zoom in on that picture of Bill’s power supply, the full presentation is here, too. Frugal Ham Radio Tips and Tricks
The response and interest in my presentation was great! Here are the links from the presentation and the details of my antenna build. Remember, we’ll be building this antenna at the July 28th, 2018, Lecture and Lab.
My modifications to the design by F3WM:
If you want to reproduce my design exactly, use CQ-118 from The Wireman.
I wanted full 2-meter band coverage; I used a 19 11/16” (498mm) upper section and a 19 3/4” (500mm) lower section instead. His size will work better in a radome, if you want to weatherproof the antenna.
I hope you enjoyed the presentation! I had a lot of fun building and using my Buddipole. Here are the links that were presented at the end of the presentation.
Jim Brown, K9YC, author of a very comprehensive guide to RFI and Baluns http://audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf
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