Posted: 9/15/2013 4:49:27 PM EDT
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This weekend gave me a good taste of 2 meter SSB with a fairly modest setup
(25 watts into a 6 element yagi, that could actually be used portable) The thought being that for those who have 2m SSB capabilities it could be a nice band for communicating up to a few hundred miles without all the noise of HF. (I would also tend to believe the conditions would be more stable) |
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OK, you can't stop there. What rig, how high was the Yagi, (horizontally polarized I assume) and how far away were the contacts, for starters. HF rig with Transverter (though they make 2 meter ssb rigs) Antenna up 25 feet, 25 watts, Other stations between 25 and 300 miles |
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I think I'm going to get a 2 meter transverter for my K2, and a loop beam. For VHF DX you really need the gain of a beam. I'm a fanboy of the Elk Log Periodics but there is a lot of good ones on the market. If you've got the room the line from M2 has got a good reputation. |
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A Yagi is a must, also a single band antenna is better than a log periodic.
I went with the an antenna from Directive systems is it very sturdy and is supposedly (from reading reviews) heaver duty than the M2 antenna line. I have the Directive systems DS144-6RS and it is rated 10.1 dBd Remember when you compare antennas to have them both dBi or dBd Subtract 2.15 dB when the gain is listed in dBi to make it dBd Add 2.15 dB to an antenna listed as dBd to make it dBi dBi is a measurement that compares the gain of an antenna with respect to an isotropic radiator (a theoretical antenna that disperses incoming energy evenly over the surface of an imaginary sphere.) dBd compares the gain of an antenna to the gain of a reference dipole antenna (defined as 2.15 dBi gain). |
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Fixed it for 'ya. For VHF DX you really need the gain of a beam. I'm a fanboy of the Elk Log Periodics but there is a lot of good ones on the market. If you've got the room the line from M2 has got a good reputation. Quoted:
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I think I'm going to get a 2 meter transverter for my K2, and a loop beam. For VHF DX you really need the gain of a beam. I'm a fanboy of the Elk Log Periodics but there is a lot of good ones on the market. If you've got the room the line from M2 has got a good reputation. 2 stacked loops gives more gain than that log periodic. I think a beam would make my landlord finally cry uncle. |
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2 stacked loops gives more gain than that log periodic. I think a beam would make my landlord finally cry uncle. Quoted:
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I think I'm going to get a 2 meter transverter for my K2, and a loop beam. For VHF DX you really need the gain of a beam. I'm a fanboy of the Elk Log Periodics but there is a lot of good ones on the market. If you've got the room the line from M2 has got a good reputation. 2 stacked loops gives more gain than that log periodic. I think a beam would make my landlord finally cry uncle. Mine is about the size of a TV antenna |
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I'm big into mnemonics, so pardon me for reworking what you said. Deduct 2.15 for dBd Increase by 2.15 for dBi Quoted:
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Subtract 2.15 dB when the gain is listed in dBi to make it dBd Add 2.15 dB to an antenna listed as dBd to make it dBi I'm big into mnemonics, so pardon me for reworking what you said. Deduct 2.15 for dBd Increase by 2.15 for dBi what ever works to help you remember it It has been my impression that Manufactures who use dBi are trying to inflate their figures to look better (Like the ones who use Peak over RMS). |
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A Yagi is a must, also a single band antenna is better than a log periodic. I went with the an antenna from Directive systems is it very sturdy and is supposedly (from reading reviews) heaver duty than the M2 antenna line. I have the Directive systems DS144-6RS and it is rated 10.1 dBd Remember when you compare antennas to have them both dBi or dBd Subtract 2.15 dB when the gain is listed in dBi to make it dBd Add 2.15 dB to an antenna listed as dBd to make it dBi dBi is a measurement that compares the gain of an antenna with respect to an isotropic radiator (a theoretical antenna that disperses incoming energy evenly over the surface of an imaginary sphere.) dBd compares the gain of an antenna to the gain of a reference dipole antenna (defined as 2.15 dBi gain). This antenna Rocks! Hands down for the size you will be hard pressed to find anything better. This antenna works great for Meteor Scatter. I would highly suggest trying your hand at FSK-441 on 2m. With my antenna at 15' and 60w I can make a QSO on FSK441 out to 1000 miles most any morning. I have not really tried many contacts past that, but have been decoded and have decoded a station at 1250 miles, but were unable to complete. On flat conditions at 2:00 in the afternoon I was able to work K2LIM in FN12 at about 400 miles. Best contact on it was with my buddy in Indiana one morning while running on MS. Had a 20 second decode off of him, so I grabbed the mike and called on SSB, and he came right back. Either very weak E's or some tropo, 551 miles. Anyone doing 2m SSB should be on the ON4 chat pages to find people to make contacts with Here. Also for Meteor scatter and EME the Ping Jockey pages are the way to go. Especially for the hams on the east coast, and near the great lakes, there are great conditions all the time for contacts. Here is a typical morning along the coast, this is from FM17 in Hampton VA to FN31 in CT. 2m SSB Wave File |
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My DS144-6RS arrived a couple days ago and is still in the box because I'm working on new HF antennas. Hope to have it all done by the end of next week. You will like it! I was one of only 50 people to work the K4N grid expedition in EL84 on 2 meters. I worked them with FSK-441 at 970 miles like butter. Easy 7-8 minute to complete contact. I am sure you already have WSJT-9, if you do I would highly suggest trying meteor scatter. Here are my 2m contacts on it. 
Not bad for VHF simplex 
Every now and then you will get a friggen monster rock come in, normal ping on 2m is like 120ms long. This one was was like 12 seconds Here And the wave file for your auditory pleasure Here |
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Digital 2m is in my plans. Using a 15 element M2 at 60 feet and amplifier for contests. Contests are my only chance to work out of the state on SSB and an amplifier helps make up for line loss. Though I have 1/2" hardline, a gift from a retiring cell tower maintenance guy I knew
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Quoted:
You will like it! I was one of only 50 people to work the K4N grid expedition in EL84 on 2 meters. I worked them with FSK-441 at 970 miles like butter. Easy 7-8 minute to complete contact. I am sure you already have WSJT-9, if you do I would highly suggest trying meteor scatter. Here are my 2m contacts on it. http://www.qsl.net/n6dlh/images/2%20meter%20contacts.jpg Not bad for VHF simplex
Every now and then you will get a friggen monster rock come in, normal ping on 2m is like 120ms long. This one was was like 12 seconds Here And the wave file for your auditory pleasure Here Quoted:
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My DS144-6RS arrived a couple days ago and is still in the box because I'm working on new HF antennas. Hope to have it all done by the end of next week. You will like it! I was one of only 50 people to work the K4N grid expedition in EL84 on 2 meters. I worked them with FSK-441 at 970 miles like butter. Easy 7-8 minute to complete contact. I am sure you already have WSJT-9, if you do I would highly suggest trying meteor scatter. Here are my 2m contacts on it. http://www.qsl.net/n6dlh/images/2%20meter%20contacts.jpg Not bad for VHF simplex
Every now and then you will get a friggen monster rock come in, normal ping on 2m is like 120ms long. This one was was like 12 seconds Here And the wave file for your auditory pleasure Here I missed you Stan. |
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Hmm maybe I should finish this tonight http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q610/jnu5/20131003_060814_zpse01bbd32.jpg HMM is that a hex beam for 2m? |
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no its a 3 element quad. Its built with all scrap. I will have $0 in it. I plan on redoing the arms with fiberglass poles in the future. I would be interested in seeing how well it works. We should be able to work on SSB in flat conditions, even easier using JT-65 or I-Scat. When you get that hing up and running let me know, we will have to get you on the ON4 chat pages, plenty of people to try with. There is a big gun station that moved into FM13. |
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If you're looking for a DIY project I've been extremely pleased with the performance of the "H bay" antennas I built. Haven't finished a 2m one yet but have for 6m and 432. It's kind of a special case of a curtain quad. A four bay for the low end of 2m would just just a little over 10 feet tall, or just using two would be just over 5. I've never tried an odd number like 3 to know if it would work, although I've been tempted just to see what would happen.
One of the greatest benefits (for many applications) is that the horizontal beamwidth is very wide, with nearly a 90 degree front main lobe, and a substantial rear lobe. DEEP nulls to the sides. Gain comes from compression of the vertical beamwidth, and I use a reflector element for directionality. Would seem to be an excellent antenna for aurora, meteor scatter, contesting, and general use. |
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If you're looking for a DIY project I've been extremely pleased with the performance of the "H bay" antennas I built. Haven't finished a 2m one yet but have for 6m and 432. It's kind of a special case of a curtain quad. A four bay for the low end of 2m would just just a little over 10 feet tall, or just using two would be just over 5. I've never tried an odd number like 3 to know if it would work, although I've been tempted just to see what would happen. One of the greatest benefits (for many applications) is that the horizontal beamwidth is very wide, with nearly a 90 degree front main lobe, and a substantial rear lobe. DEEP nulls to the sides. Gain comes from compression of the vertical beamwidth, and I use a reflector element for directionality. Would seem to be an excellent antenna for aurora, meteor scatter, contesting, and general use. Nice, you are correct the flat vertical beam width and wide horizontal lobe would work great for meteor scatter. With a wide lobe you will sacrifice distance, but with enough forward gain you will make some of that up. The 0db lobe width on my yagi is 30 degree's, and the forward gain is 10.1dbd. I am good on MS from around 475 miles to 1100 miles with a sweet spot from about 700 to 950. The large horizontal beam width illuminates much more of the sky, increasing the likelihood of getting scatter on more rocks. It will also allow contacts at much closer distances since your beam covers some of the hot A zones. What becomes difficult with a high vertical beam, or high take off angle is the other station. If they are using a very high gain antenna, then they will usually have nulls in the antenna pattern at high angles. Especially true if they are running a stack. My buddy Gedas has 2 17b2's stacked, so having any scatter angle over about 3 degrees will result in a signal that is down by 3-6db or more. Couple that with most smaller returns from ionized trails at 144mhz, and rapid phase cancelling due to multi path as the signal returns moving through the azimuth regions. Thanks for sharing that, I am going to have to play around with one. |
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Thanks for sharing that, I am going to have to play around with one. Here is what I did with the reflectors... after building the 6m one, I figured out that I'd goofed up, so changed the mechanical configuration when I did the 432. The reflector element I made with the circumference of each rectangle about 10% longer than the driven element... after I built the 6m I realized that the proportion of the reflector didn't matter, so made them the same height as the driven element with all the extra dimension being width, so the stacking works out better. Reflector spacing was just short of 1/4 wave. Tuning of the driven element changes slightly with the reflector, the dimensions I got from the calculator on that website were right on the money for a single element, but with the reflector the resonant frequency moved up a little. The 6m resonance changed from 50.135 up to 50.400 so about 0.5%. I lengthened the calculated dimensions by the same percentage when I built the 432 one and it was right on frequency. One the 432 one, with the PVC pipe in the center at the low impedance points of the antenna I had no noticeable change from dielectric effect. For 2m, an H bay would be just over 9 inches wide, so a similar center-supported construction method using wood or plastic would seem feasible. |