Transceiver
Nowadays I operate three transceivers. The Yaesu FTDX10, Kenwood TS-480HX (200W version) and Yaesu FT-857D. The FTDX10 is my main radio at home. The TS-480HX is standby for an extra punch when I need the extra power and is also my HF rig for mobile and portable operations. The FT-857D I mainly use on VHF and UHF and hooked up to a SB-2000 CAT interface.
I can switch TX between the FTDX10 and the TS-480HX through a line of coax switches and a TRS-450 T/R switch from SV1AFN. The TRS-450 allows me to add my modified US4LG X-phase QRM Eliminator to the receive line.
The rigs are powered by a stack of SPA8230 (23A) and Samlex SEC-1225G (25A) switching power supplies. Those power supplies are extremely low noise.
All transceivers are hooked up to my pc. I use a Behringer UCA222 and multiple Soundblaster Play3 soundcards handle the audio from the PC for digital modes.
Receiver
Next to the three transceivers I have a SDRplay RSPduo. It has in two identical wideband receivers which makes it great for antenna RX comparisons. I use this RSPduo mostly for medium wave up to 30 meter band. The RSPduo is connected to a remote-controlled pc in the attic.
Audio
I use a Devine DM20 dynamic microphone with the FTDX10 and a bit more sensitive DAP PL 07B dynamic microphone with the TS-480HX. With two keyboard sustain pedals I operate the PTT switch of both transceivers.
The FTDX10 is connected to the Edifier XM6BT 2.2 speaker set. For the TS-480HX I use the center speaker from a Sony home cinema set.
Antennas
I am continuously experimenting with antennas, so this part of this page changes every now and then.
The picture above shows my current operational antennas. The upper roof is about 8m (27ft) above ground level.
My operational antennas
I have several antennas for TX and RX.
The 7-band Cobweb
My main antenna is a lightweight 7-band Cobweb from Polish manufacturer AWK. It combines all bands from 20m up to 4m. You can read my review about this antenna.
14m longwire with autotuner
For the low bands, I use my entire mast and a piece of wire as antenna. It’s fed through a CG-3000 remote automatic tuner. It uses my aluminium balcony fence and some random lengths copper wires as counterpoise.
VHF and UHF
For 2m and 70cm I use a vertical polarized Diamond X-30, about 10m (33ft) high. Complemented by a horizontal polarized square halo. The latter antenna, 70cm part of the halo, is as large as a matchbox! But still managed to work DX with it during tropo conditions.
The Wellgood loops
This is a very affordable and well performing active loop, made by M1GEO in the UK. The Wellgood is a quiet receiving antenna which I use for listening from DC up to 10 MHz. I have two of those loops. One is positioned vertically and the other horizontally. I also use the two loops together for diversity receive mode to eliminate man made noise.
Miniwhip
As an auxiliary antenne for my QRM eliminator, I use a Miniwhip active antenna. It is mounted close to my neigbor’s solar panel installation to pick up maximum QRM for optimum performance.
Coaxial switch
To switch between antennas I use a 4-way remote switch from Amplitec, which is mounted outside the attic. Some sheets of aluminium protects it agains the sun.
Past antennas and experiments
I have been experimenting with antennas for all of may ham life. Here are a few of then antennas I build and operated in the past.
The Five Band Square Halo
One of my 2020 projects was a limited space dual band halo antenna for 10m and 20m. After I added 12m, 15m and 17m, I named it the The Five Band Square Halo. The mechanical design is inspired by the Cobwebb antenna, and electrically by the famous halo antenna, which is commonly used on VHF as an omnidirectional antenna with horizontal polarization. The Square Halo stood about 12m from the ground. It covered 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m and part of the 10m band.
The Moxon
A full size Yagi would have a too big turning radius for my house. PG0DX Henry inspired me to build a Moxon. I used special PVC tubing, loudspeaker wire and other used materials to build my own version. It performs very good with excellent front/back ratios and up to 4 S-units more signal compared to a regular 1/4 wave vertical. Later I added 6m wire dipole to the Moxon and a 2m vertical dipole on top.
When solar activity provides propagation on 10m, I kick the Moxon in action. It’s mounted about 13m from the ground. Here is a picture made just after it was mounted on the roof. During years of low solar activity, the Moxon is decommissioned.
The Channelmaster antenna rotor in the picture performed flawlessly for over 20 years, but finally the gears were damaged beyond repair.
MMANA antenna designs
I have gathered quite some antenna designs and made a few myself.
You can download them from my OneDrive.