Progress in the Ham Shack (Continuing to Catch Up)

I bought an Alinco DR-235T Mk III 220 MHz (1.25 meter band) transceiver and installed it in the shack to supplement the Yaesu FT-857D. With my current antenna setup, I can operate on all bands between 80 meters and 70 cm--or at least I will when I put up my HF antenna.

Speaking of my HF antenna, I finally settled on one and bought it. It is a multi-band, end-fed wire, good for bands between 80 meters and 70 cm.

Here are updated views of the shack and my antennas:

The minimalist shack.

The antenna on the left is an Ed Fong DBJ-220 j-pole for 220 MHz; on the right is a KB9VBR 2-meter  j-pole, which also works well on 70 centimeters. The satellite TV dishes are inactive but help to make the scene a little more impressive.

The Shack: A Work in Progress

Shown are my awesome Yaesu FT-857D transceiver and a Diamond SX-1100 SWR meter. The antenna cable is connected via an MFJ-4601 FeedThru Window Panel. An MFJ-4125 switching power supply powers the radio. My rig is very simple because I'm only set up for VHF and UHF so far. Once I add an HF antenna (for long-distance "DX" contacts), an antenna tuner will be added to the equipment on the table.

To the left, on the window ledge, is my trusty Radio Shack PRO-651 handheld scanner. Posted on the bulletin board is my first  QSL card (!).

When I get around to finishing the shack, there will be a small bookshelf next to the table for my growing collection of amateur radio literature, and the bulletin board and various certificates will be on the wall.

Homebrew Portable 2-Meter Antenna: SWR Test Results

The results for the antenna were quite good. I tested it with my Yaesu VX-6R handheld at 5 watts (my usual SOTA rig) on a range of 2-meter FM simplex frequencies from the band plan for my region. The standing wave ratio (SWR) ranged from a low of 1.2:1 at 146.415 MHz to 1.5:1 at 147.585 MHz.

To paraphrase from The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual, SWR is a measure of how well the antenna and feed line impedances are matched. A ratio of 1:1 is a perfect match (and is very difficult to achieve), while SWR greater than 1:1 is called a mismatch. Low SWR indicates the efficient transfer of power from the feed line because less power is reflected by the antenna. It also reduces losses in the feed line resulting from reflected power in the feed line traveling back and forth between the antenna and the transmitter.

A New Gadget

Yesterday, I paid a visit to Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) in Oakland, California. This was my first visit to a ham radio store; to see all those radios in person, instead of just in a catalog or magazine ad, was incredible. I was able to restrain myself and limited my purchase to the item that I said I was going to buy: an SWR meter. I bought a Diamond SX-1100 SWR & Power Meter, with a frequency range of 1.8 MHz-160 MHz and 430 MHz-1300 MHz. The impetus for this purchase is that I want to test the standing wave ratio of my new homebrew portable 2-meter antenna. I hope to post a report soon.