Ian VK3MO was booming in from Australia this morning. No wonder: he has a 5 over 5 over 5 over 5 array on a rotatable tower. He can get a 3 degree takeoff angle with this antenna and I think I heard him say that he is working on another so that he can get a one degree takeoff angle. He was also using a using a Collins 30L1 linear. Lots of soul in that old machine!
At one point in our QSO, I turned off my .12 kW amplifier. He said I was still 58-59 with 3-4 watts.
And Ian is a homebrewer! He has built a number of transceivers and has another one in the works. I told him about the BITX and he printed out Farhan's article (to read later). He tells me that he has heard Peter Parker, VK3YE, on the air.
In this QSO, Ian was using a modern commercial rig, but wouldn't it be great if we could get him to connect a homebrew sideband rig to that big antenna. Go for it Ian!
More on Ian's antenna here: http://vk6ysf.com/vk3mo_visit.htm
Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" http://soldersmoke.com/book.htm Our coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmoke Our Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20
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i met today 14/10/2024 VK3MO Ian. I happen to be working in front of his property. The main Antenna Array of stacked Yagis and the extensive towers for the Rombic Antenna is ore inspiring. A great fellow to boot that invited me when passing through to drop by for a coffee which I will take up in time. Thanks Ian if you read this for taking time out to chat about your Radio Communication setup, George.
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