Mick Annick
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- Burgundy, France (450 miles SE of Somerset)
Like the old army saying, if it moves, salute it, if it doesn’t, etch it!
- Thread starter God mode restorations
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Like the old army saying, if it moves, salute it, if it doesn’t, etch it!
Hood
I am obsessed.
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- Carnoustie, Scotland
We still use candles up this way.
The_Yellow_Ardvark
https://www.death-clock.org/
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- Going Away.
Modern. You upgraded from wick lamps then?
Hood
I am obsessed.
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- Carnoustie, Scotland
They are still used in parts of Caithness.
I've half completed a work table.
Usual 50mm square by 3mm box section. The top square has 45 degree mitred corners so there's no ugly open ends on show. This is a first for me. I cut and welded the top last week and got round to adding the legs and lower tie in pieces today. Everything cut on the bandsaw. It's going to go in my shed which has double doors so I should be able to get it in.
The plan was for a five-foot by four-foot working area. The frame is six inches smaller in both dimensions to allow for a three-inch overhang for the top. I haven't decided what to use for the top. Whatever's cheap that I can lay my hands on will have to do. I might need to put a supporting piece across the middle depending on the material used for the top but I'm trying to keep the weight down. I'm tempted to add a shallow drawer underneath to allow tools to be tidied away into it to keep the top clutter-free. One side of the frame has been left open so I can comfortably get my feet under if needed.
Some build pics as I went along.
One of my better MIG welds. They were a mixed bunch but I generally improved as I got more comfortable during the day.
I know, I know! Wrap your corners. Maybe in my next life.
A bit of assistance called for below to keep everything where it should be and not where it wants to be. Everything bloody moves once a bit of weld is applied. It's not quite square everywhere but it's close enough. Adjustable feet make all my inaccuracies go away anyway.
Final thing done today was to cut these squares of 3mm strip, they will hold the nuts for the threaded feet to ensure I can get the top straight and level. They still need drilling in the middle and welding down each side onto the legs. I have posed one on an offcut below. They are cut narrower that the box section so I have a nice little joint to weld into.
I've gone and ordered a fabrication square today which would have really helped with the build. It looks like this. (Ebay pic, not mine) It allows me to clamp the box section to keep everything held at 90 degrees. There's a nice cut away in the corner to make room for weld beads too. I always do this, buying stuff after completing the job.
Usual 50mm square by 3mm box section. The top square has 45 degree mitred corners so there's no ugly open ends on show. This is a first for me. I cut and welded the top last week and got round to adding the legs and lower tie in pieces today. Everything cut on the bandsaw. It's going to go in my shed which has double doors so I should be able to get it in.
The plan was for a five-foot by four-foot working area. The frame is six inches smaller in both dimensions to allow for a three-inch overhang for the top. I haven't decided what to use for the top. Whatever's cheap that I can lay my hands on will have to do. I might need to put a supporting piece across the middle depending on the material used for the top but I'm trying to keep the weight down. I'm tempted to add a shallow drawer underneath to allow tools to be tidied away into it to keep the top clutter-free. One side of the frame has been left open so I can comfortably get my feet under if needed.
Some build pics as I went along.
One of my better MIG welds. They were a mixed bunch but I generally improved as I got more comfortable during the day.
I know, I know! Wrap your corners. Maybe in my next life.
A bit of assistance called for below to keep everything where it should be and not where it wants to be. Everything bloody moves once a bit of weld is applied. It's not quite square everywhere but it's close enough. Adjustable feet make all my inaccuracies go away anyway.
Final thing done today was to cut these squares of 3mm strip, they will hold the nuts for the threaded feet to ensure I can get the top straight and level. They still need drilling in the middle and welding down each side onto the legs. I have posed one on an offcut below. They are cut narrower that the box section so I have a nice little joint to weld into.
I've gone and ordered a fabrication square today which would have really helped with the build. It looks like this. (Ebay pic, not mine) It allows me to clamp the box section to keep everything held at 90 degrees. There's a nice cut away in the corner to make room for weld beads too. I always do this, buying stuff after completing the job.
ajlelectronics
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- 9,538
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- Gloucester, England
RF Electronics, building a new HF aerial Carolina Windom design 40m upwards...
Experimenting with a new 4:1 balun.
Case used to be a waste trap but is perfect for the job. The end cap blanks were 3D printed from PETg. It is just a trial fit lash up for now, but it should look professional once finished.
I then need to find a case for a replacement choke, the one currently in use on the aerial has all come apart!
Response is largely flat from 1Mc/s ( yes, real money!) to 30Mc/s, with a maximum SWR of 1.09:1. Asymmetric loads are also very well handled due to the twin toroid design. The twin speaker wire just happened to be about the right spacing to achieve a 100r transmission line.
Experimenting with a new 4:1 balun.
Case used to be a waste trap but is perfect for the job. The end cap blanks were 3D printed from PETg. It is just a trial fit lash up for now, but it should look professional once finished.
I then need to find a case for a replacement choke, the one currently in use on the aerial has all come apart!
Response is largely flat from 1Mc/s ( yes, real money!) to 30Mc/s, with a maximum SWR of 1.09:1. Asymmetric loads are also very well handled due to the twin toroid design. The twin speaker wire just happened to be about the right spacing to achieve a 100r transmission line.
MattF
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selectedgrub
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It will become clearer when he puts wheels on it and rides it around the block.
ajlelectronics
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Glad you explained. I totally understand everything about it now.
If I thought that you or anyone else were the faintest bit interested, I would elucidate!
MattF
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If I thought that you or anyone else were the faintest bit interested, I would elucidate!
For the love of god, please, no.
My Old Landy
Engineering Mayhem
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I am always interestedIf I thought that you or anyone else were the faintest bit interested, I would elucidate!
ajlelectronics
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I am always interested
Well to avoid upsetting @MattF (
) here are some links that the interested might find useful...https://www.qsl.net/vu2msy/homebrew/qrp_4-1_guanella-type_balun.pdf ( A single toroid version does NOT conform to the correct design ).
More in depth information can be found on the Owen Duffy website. (G4IIA) which is where I started.
This is the choke, which needs rehousing. It is just 12 ( I think) turns of Mini-8 on a ferrite rod.
This is the original balun which again uses a single ferrite rod. It is a commercial design.
Here is the complete aerial, a commercial Carolina Windom, cut for 40m.
My Old Landy
Engineering Mayhem
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Cheers that article is extremely helpfulWell to avoid upsetting @MattF (
https://www.qsl.net/vu2msy/homebrew/qrp_4-1_guanella-type_balun.pdf ( A single toroid version does NOT conform to the correct design ).
More in depth information can be found on the Owen Duffy website. (G4IIA) which is where I started.
ajlelectronics
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It certainly helped me and inspired me to spend more money on more toys, a NanoVNA. Then you have to start buying adapters and connectors, then you have to know someone down under who can send you the toroids (tests show that UK available toroids work just as well) and then the hunt for suitable winding wire without spending MORE money!Cheers that article is extremely helpful
ajlelectronics
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That is a very good point and one that I have also considered. The commercial one is plumbing pipe too but is likely to be a thicker wall. I intend to attach a bracket each end and cable tie them together for lateral strength.
My Old Landy
Engineering Mayhem
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I have a nanoVNA and I bought the adapter kit so well on the way! I have built a simple dipole and my own 1:1 balun which I think I posted on here. The Windom is something you encouraged me to build when I first got licensed so now I have the kit I will give it a go
My Old Landy
Engineering Mayhem
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mIw'a' DeghmoHI can only grasp the basics about electrickery. I can understand where Mattf is coming from. ( But then again I can speak Klingon)
Norm.
