Successful 23cm (2-way) QSO

[Dave VK6KV]

Hi All,

Thought I would share some good news from yesterday's AD.

Having succeeded with receiving on 23cm through my kit-built 2m/23cm transverter a week ago (thanks Alasdair ATX and Phil ZKO for the significant assist!) I spend the intervening time mounting the various sections on a sturdy metal base, and also aligned the TX section to keep distortion down and set the proper power levels with a 5W IF in.

The base helped keep the ungainly set of boards, wires, connectors etc. from diverging as soon I looked away, and made it look a little more professional.

Yesterday I had a successful FM two-way QSO with Martin ZMS, from the porch out the front of the VHF Group Shack (through the kitchenette!) to Martin's QTH about 15km in the Northern Suburbs... with my Tx at 1.6W Martin reported a clean clear voice with acceptable quieting (I think).

Given I was holding the 10-elt Yagi Martin gave me in vertical pol (roughly) in my left hand (wobbly) and aiming where I thought (approximately) Martin's QTH was... I was pretty chuffed with that.

Steve BBM was also on site at WH, and I'd set up the TS2000 on 5W with the beacon tribander plugged directly into the 1296 port of the TS2000, Martin reported that my signal with my "handheld" setup was better than the TS2k on the tribander!

More an indictment of the tribander, than praise for my transverter I suspect ... 

I also learned that putting the Auto-PTT hold capacitor in is actually required to use SSB mode, otherwise my Tx/Rx changover relay clatters while I'm talking into the mic ... helps to read the design notes / instructions before keying up I guess!

I've set about getting a 2nd LO (just for fun) so I can theoretically do repeater offsets in my transverter (as a backup to doing split VFO on my 991A "IF" radio)

Anyway, so I have had a very satisfying couple of weeks in AR... Now I really do have to finish housing it all up, installing a few linear regs to power various stages separately (to maintain isolation and distribute heat), and set about building a bi-cycle antenna for 23cm. (think of a bi-quad, but with circular elements instead of diamonds).

I also sense a 10W (or so) 23cm PA is in my future ...

Cheers, Dave VK6KV

[Martin VK6ZMS]

Hi Dave.

You had full quieting and a signal strength of around S5 (preamp on)  in fact I though you

were on the clubs TS2000 !

I'm currently on two weeks leave and  monitor 1294.000  FM (vertical) if anyone else wants to test an antenna

or transverter. My QTH is Yokine 

Hopefully WARG find time to install the 23cm repeater shortly.

  

Cheers

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Regards

Martin 

VK6ZMS

[Denis Brown]

Excellent news Dave.

Now when i get back to VK i must follow in your footsteps with my Aldam Pluto and Minikits Charon LNA, PA, mixers etc board.

In regard to antennas for 23cm, as well as the bi-cycle there is also the barefoot folded dipole... for some field days, Alasdair ATX loaned me his home brew folded dipole.

Attached to the club's TS2000 we had very clear QSOs with Martin, Alasdair and Kevin KQ.  The last named from a site near Keysbrook quite far South.

If it helps, I am very happy to make my "bi-cycle" available for trials.   It might take me a while to get my 2nd harmonic up to speed with where it is though.

Surely 23cm is not called a magic band for nothing :-)

Cheers

Denis

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