That was a FANTASTIC tour and demo of your ham shack! I just got my Extra ticket but have never been on HF. Consequently, I've been scouring TH-cam videos and, to date, yours is the one which most appeals to me (barring extreme societal breakdown which many videos seem to focus on). Extra props to you for being a great Grandfather to a wonderful & loving Grandson! 73
Hi Jaac What a wonderful comment! You will have a BALL when you get on HF. My email is good on QRZ. I would be glad to help you. I’m really lucky to have my two grandsons! -Ed W8EDW
All that equipment is over whelming but you explain it well. I am just an old morse code interceptor from the Army so I never was trained on any transmitting equipment. Awesome set up.
Thanks Robert! We need guys like you in our ham radio community. It’s really easy to get a license. Just go to your App Store and download one of the free exam guides. Take a few questions a day and before you know it you’ll have your license!! -Ed W8EDW
Thx for a great vid Ed. It was very thorough and I have recommended it to some new hams to see how it is done. Unlike so many other tubers, you did not skip any steps that might be obvious to old hams but not so obvious for newly minted hams. Good job, OM. 73.
nice setup. I'm glad I don't have to run an amp to reach Europe and Africa, seams like a lot of extra steps to get on the air. I'm using a IC 7300 with just the built in tuner (not needed on most bands) with a homemade EFHW. Going to put up a 50' tower when the weather changes, that will double the height of my antenna. 73's KE0HMS
Hi Groundzero. Wow, it sounds like you have a nice station! Good luck with your tower. That should really improve your signal. Thanks for watching! -Ed
Thanks for the humble video. I'm still working on building a new station. I'm disabled so it's going very slow doing what I can between health issues and budget constraints. It's been almost a year and may take another year to get on the air... It's beem a journey not a race
That is a nice setup, I to have a small footprint and am only using an inverted V dipole same radio the 7300 and the AL-811, I did Tom's W8JI upgrades to my amp for arc protection and all. You can definitely see a difference in the video between cameras. Looks much crisper on the cannon. 73 de ND1B
Thanks Joe! So far so good on arcing. I’ve had that amp about 8 years now. I’ll have to check out Tom’s upgrade. Thanks for the nice comment. Yeah, I’m looking forward to using the Canon. -Ed. W8EDW
I have heard that end fed antennas are the bomb and look forward to testing a 43 footer as it gets it up higher for lower angle signals. Have tried a 19 foot end fed vert and compared to a dipole on the roof and it did about the same. It can be a lot easier to hide a vertical tho. I have used dipoles and a 3 ele tribander for years. Got hamsticks 4 years ago and use them as verticals, horizontal and vertical dipoles, and multiples on a plate for a multiband wspr station. I have always found them to be within 1 db on both xmit and receive to various Websdrs all over US and Australia against EFHW's , full sized verticals and dipoles and even a Magloop which did poorly. For mobile, base or most anything the Hamsticks are awesome as verts or dipoles. Today i setup in a parking lot and found the hamsticks vs a full length vertical were equal.
@@edwhitney1862ave a class reunion this summer and will be back in town. Are you on any particular repeater in town? If so I will try calling you when I get back.
I hear so much about symetrical grounds run along the ground . but all it does is make a bunch of horizontal antennas that cancel each other out. If you only have a few going to one side it acts as a folded dipole and actually puts out a nice signal in a horizontal way. As long as it matches the coax the radio doesnt care if its a symetrical ground plane which radiates little or a horizontal radiator which gets out there.
Great video. My only comment is to note that you along with many others misread SWR. The blue scale on the right is reflected power, not SWR. SWR is read my observing where the two needles cross. The red curves between the forward (black) and reverse (blue) scales is the SWR scale. When the needles cross between two red SWR curves you interpolate between the two.
Excellent video, thanks so much! It certainly is amazing what you can do with a wire on a pole. A couple questions: Are you using a 4:1 unun (or other) at the feedpoint? And for what's probably a dumb question, why do you choose to set the output of the 7300 to 60W when running the linear amp? Is there a benefit to doing so? Cheers!
Hi Thor. I don't need a balun because I am using the SGC-235 Antenna tuner/coupler right at the feedpoint. It automatically tunes when I apply a signal. (It's fairly expensive but worth it!) I only use 60 watts drive from the 7300 because that's all I need to get the amp to 500 watts. Plenty to "work the world!" Thanks for watching! Really appreciate it! -Ed W8EDW
well Done Ed. very similar gear to what I have here on top of our hill, my qth is in the hills of central Victorian, Australia. Grounding is not as good as your here in the rocks. my shack is part of my office and is nowhere as neet as yours, cheers de Bob VK 3 BRD
Hi Bob. I’m married to a wonderful but picky woman who is a “neat nick”. You’re lucky to be on a hill! Thanks for watching and I hope we meet on the air! -Ed
Hi Pat. I got that antenna from LDG model S9v43. It came collapsed with the 14 gauge wire inside. Unfortunately they stopped making it. I think MFJ makes a telescoping 50' fiberglass mast but you would have to put your own wire in it. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. My email is good on QRZ if I can help in any way. -Ed W8EDW
@@edwhitney1862 Of course, learning's a life-long experience, but as hams, I think it's forever! For me, however, I sometimes feel like I'm going backwards!😂 73 de WA4ELW in TN 🇺🇸😀
Hi Jamey. The antenna is just a hollow telescoping fiberglass tube 43’ high. The wire is 14ga stranded that is inside the tube. Fastened at the top and exits through a hole in the bottom of the tube. I’m good on QRZ if you want to e ail me. Thanks for watching! -Ed. W8EDW
Hey Ed, great job! I've been dealing with radio (SWL, CB [only for a short while, it was a social thing in the early 70s], broadcast and ham) for about 50 years now (first ham ticket in 1977, and of the sadly dwindling Advanced Class licensees). Two Questions: 1. I grew up on tube and voltage flow theory- I'm very suprized you don't have to dip the grid amperage- any idea why? and 2. You mentioned you tuned the antenna several times before we saw the SGC remote auto-tuner. I was puzzled until I saw that. ☺
Hi Scot. Sounds like you’re an old timer like me. Yeah, I should have mentioned the remote tuner more often. I’m still learning to make videos. Hind sight 20-20. Thanks for watching Scot!
I worked most of those same stations this past contest weekend using 100w and either a very low sloper dipole (on 20m) or an indoor 4-foot whip (on 10m). Perhaps unsurprisingly, I also got *100%* (!!) "59..." signal reports... 🤣!!
I enjoyed your video presentation. Thanks 👍 The 43' vertical with some radials and the SGC coupler do very well for you. It's a nice shack you have there. De VU2RZA
@@edwhitney1862 there are many others like it by different companies and individual Hams, but the one above is the one I seen on a few TH-cam videos. Some go by HOA hidden antenna, HOA stealth, gutter antenna and so on.
Hi Houdinischild , The antenna is a LDG model S9v43. It is just a hollow 43 foot telescoping fiberglass mast with a 14 gauge stranded wire inside. LDG doesn't make them anymore but I think the Alpha antenna is very similar. It helps to have the SGC or similar auto tuner at the base of the antenna. Thanks so much for watching! -Ed W8EDW
Hi Ed, thanks for the video. But I'm not sure that technique, for tuning the amplifier, necessarily gets you to the sweet spot of max power and efficiency. I always increment the load cap a bit, peak the plate, then repeat, until I have found max RF output. Separately peaking the load and plate caps repeatedly seems to be a popular method, but I'm not sure it is valid. I see, in the Ameritron manual, they are vague about the tuning method.
Hi Tim. Yep, you are right about the vague instructions in the manual. I have always used the method that I described with good results. But, I'm sure everyone has their own methods. Thanks for watching! -Ed W8EDW
You have the icom 735. I have no idea why you didn't know that it's green in color if you open up smoke black door in the front you can make adjustments 👍
Hi Tom. WOW that's so cool. You are right, it is amazing how our radio waves bounce when conditions are right! Tell your son to keep up the good work. -Ed W8EDW
so you have a separate ground… that goes again the NEC bonding requirement, doesn’t it? everything should be sent back and bonded to your service ground at the meter / panel.
Hi Rick. I’m working on taking out my “Screwdriver Antenna with Unique Radials” and trying it out. Hopefully in the next two weeks. (weather permitting. ). Thanks for asking Rick! -Ed. W8EDW
I asked if the frequency was in use a number of times and identified my station. I shot the "scene" and then identified again. Thanks Tom, we can't be too careful. -Ed W8EDW
Hi Barry. I’ve been tuning my amp that way for eight years now. Thanks for the information though. I’ll try dipping the plate next time and see how it goes. Thanks for watching! -Ed
Thanks Joe! It was definitely a learning curve using the new camera on some of the clips. Thanks so much for watching and I hope we meet on the air! -Ed W8EDW
I’m an old long time ham. That’s the best ham radio video I’ve ever seen.
Wow Bruce! What a nice comment! Thank you! -Ed. W8EDW
That was a FANTASTIC tour and demo of your ham shack! I just got my Extra ticket but have never been on HF. Consequently, I've been scouring TH-cam videos and, to date, yours is the one which most appeals to me (barring extreme societal breakdown which many videos seem to focus on). Extra props to you for being a great Grandfather to a wonderful & loving Grandson! 73
Hi Jaac What a wonderful comment! You will have a BALL when you get on HF. My email is good on QRZ. I would be glad to help you. I’m really lucky to have my two grandsons! -Ed W8EDW
All that equipment is over whelming but you explain it well. I am just an old morse code interceptor from the Army so I never was trained on any transmitting equipment. Awesome set up.
Thanks Robert! We need guys like you in our ham radio community. It’s really easy to get a license. Just go to your App Store and download one of the free exam guides. Take a few questions a day and before you know it you’ll have your license!! -Ed W8EDW
Thanks for the great video. Your talk is wonderful, and so is your grandchild!
Hi Kaiserreich. Thanks for the nice comment. I agree, it's great to have nice grandchildren! Thanks so much for watching! -Ed W8EDW
Thx for a great vid Ed. It was very thorough and I have recommended it to some new hams to see how it is done. Unlike so many other tubers, you did not skip any steps that might be obvious to old hams but not so obvious for newly minted hams. Good job, OM. 73.
Thanks Mark! We've got to keep our great hobby going. Sure appreciate your comment! -Ed W8EDW
nice setup. I'm glad I don't have to run an amp to reach Europe and Africa, seams like a lot of extra steps to get on the air. I'm using a IC 7300 with just the built in tuner (not needed on most bands) with a homemade EFHW. Going to put up a 50' tower when the weather changes, that will double the height of my antenna. 73's KE0HMS
Hi Groundzero. Wow, it sounds like you have a nice station! Good luck with your tower. That should really improve your signal. Thanks for watching! -Ed
Good Day. Excellent. I'm considering an IC-7300 as a starter radio. Best Regards.
As a new licensed operator I’m enjoying and learning much from your videos… Thank you👍
Thanks John. Welcome to a great hobby and becoming part of the Ham community!
Thanks for the humble video. I'm still working on building a new station. I'm disabled so it's going very slow doing what I can between health issues and budget constraints. It's been almost a year and may take another year to get on the air... It's beem a journey not a race
Hi Craig! I sure hope you can get on the air soon. Yep, life is a challenge. Don't ever give up and keep on keeping on! -Ed W8EDW
That is a nice setup, I to have a small footprint and am only using an inverted V dipole same radio the 7300 and the AL-811, I did Tom's W8JI upgrades to my amp for arc protection and all. You can definitely see a difference in the video between cameras. Looks much crisper on the cannon. 73 de ND1B
Thanks Joe! So far so good on arcing. I’ve had that amp about 8 years now. I’ll have to check out Tom’s upgrade. Thanks for the nice comment. Yeah, I’m looking forward to using the Canon. -Ed. W8EDW
nice grandson thank you for giving this to your grandfather.
Thanks for the nice comment Mike. Yep, I’m lucky to have such great Grandsons!
Nice job on the antenna!
Thanks Dave. I started in Ham Radio in 1964 and I’m still amazed at how radio works! Thanks for watching! -Ed. W8EDW
I have heard that end fed antennas are the bomb and look forward to testing a 43 footer as it gets it up higher for lower angle signals. Have tried a 19 foot end fed vert and compared to a dipole on the roof and it did about the same. It can be a lot easier to hide a vertical tho. I have used dipoles and a 3 ele tribander for years. Got hamsticks 4 years ago and use them as verticals, horizontal and vertical dipoles, and multiples on a plate for a multiband wspr station. I have always found them to be within 1 db on both xmit and receive to various Websdrs all over US and Australia against EFHW's , full sized verticals and dipoles and even a Magloop which did poorly. For mobile, base or most anything the Hamsticks are awesome as verts or dipoles. Today i setup in a parking lot and found the hamsticks vs a full length vertical were equal.
That’s cool info Doc! It’s amazing what can work well. Very fun to try different set ups-Ed
It's a beautiful installation 👍
Thanks for the nice comment Joe!
Nicely made video, the new camera is superb, thanks for the video best 73 from France.
Hi Anthony. Thanks for the nice comment! -Ed. W8EDW
Ed, phenomenal video.
Thank you! 73
Thanks James! Glad you licked it. -Ed. W8EDW
CMH! That’s my old stomping ground, now an SV0/9 station. 73! Great video!
Hi Subgunman! Cool, you’ll have to come back for a visit. Like your handle!
@@edwhitney1862ave a class reunion this summer and will be back in town. Are you on any particular repeater in town? If so I will try calling you when I get back.
I use 145.11 repeater. It uses 131.8 tone and of course -600 offset. My email is good on QRZ. Just send me an email. Thanks! -Ed
@@edwhitney1862 copy that! 73 from LC!
KD6CFE was here. Great stuff Ed. 73`s.
Thanks Al. I appreciate the nice comment! 73! -Ed
Awesome video! Thank you very much for sharing. Love the setup and great contacts you captured. Cheers and 73 de W3LAM!
Hi Lam. Thanks for the nice comment! -Ed W8EDW
Thank you very much you gave a great presentation on this I should say on your station awesome 👍👍👍👍
Thanks Joe! I’m glad you liked it. -Ed
I hear so much about symetrical grounds run along the ground . but all it does is make a bunch of horizontal antennas that cancel each other out. If you only have a few going to one side it acts as a folded dipole and actually puts out a nice signal in a horizontal way. As long as it matches the coax the radio doesnt care if its a symetrical ground plane which radiates little or a horizontal radiator which gets out there.
Yep. Didn’t have room for “star” radials so I just ran them to the edges of the yard and made a “picture frame”
What a great,well explained video.thanks alot.new subscriber 👍
Thanks so much Andy! And thank you for subscribing!
Nice installation and explanation thank you!
Thanks for the nice comment Tim! -Ed
Hi thank you very much really liked the video I am white stick and loved how you explained things thank you very much
Thanks Joseph! We have to keep our fun hobby going. -Ed W8EDW
Great video. My only comment is to note that you along with many others misread SWR. The blue scale on the right is reflected power, not SWR. SWR is read my observing where the two needles cross. The red curves between the forward (black) and reverse (blue) scales is the SWR scale. When the needles cross between two red SWR curves you interpolate between the two.
Hi Rich. Great point! I’ll point that out next time. Thanks for watching! -Ed
Excellent video, thanks so much! It certainly is amazing what you can do with a wire on a pole. A couple questions: Are you using a 4:1 unun (or other) at the feedpoint? And for what's probably a dumb question, why do you choose to set the output of the 7300 to 60W when running the linear amp? Is there a benefit to doing so? Cheers!
Hi Thor. I don't need a balun because I am using the SGC-235 Antenna tuner/coupler right at the feedpoint. It automatically tunes when I apply a signal. (It's fairly expensive but worth it!) I only use 60 watts drive from the 7300 because that's all I need to get the amp to 500 watts. Plenty to "work the world!" Thanks for watching! Really appreciate it! -Ed W8EDW
@@edwhitney1862 Ah, that makes sense, thanks so much! 73 de K1RSK
Mr. Whitney, great video sir, ty. Very detailed and informative. Subscribed, keep up the great content, 73 NS9T.
Thanks Hammer! I really appreciate people like you! -Ed W8EDW
Thanks Hammer! I really appreciate the positive comment. -Ed W8EDW
well Done Ed. very similar gear to what I have here on top of our hill, my qth is in the hills of central Victorian, Australia. Grounding is not as good as your here in the rocks. my shack is part of my office and is nowhere as neet as yours, cheers de Bob VK 3 BRD
Hi Bob. I’m married to a wonderful but picky woman who is a “neat nick”. You’re lucky to be on a hill! Thanks for watching and I hope we meet on the air! -Ed
Great video! You’re the the Ham man!
Thanks Kaleb! You're the best Grandson!
Fantastic video Hey where did you find a 43 ft long piece of fiberglass
Hi Pat. I got that antenna from LDG model S9v43. It came collapsed with the 14 gauge wire inside. Unfortunately they stopped making it. I think MFJ makes a telescoping 50' fiberglass mast but you would have to put your own wire in it. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. My email is good on QRZ if I can help in any way. -Ed W8EDW
@@edwhitney1862 thanks for your help sir!
Nice job here, Ed!
Thanks for the nice comment Finn! -Ed W8EDW
Nice tour of ur shack & thanx; I also have an IC-7300 & an Ameritron amp; funny thing though, I'd forgotten abt the key-down feature in RTTY mode😂
Thanks E. I appreciate your comments! Yeah, I'm still learning something new even at 75 yrs old. LOL!
@@edwhitney1862 Of course, learning's a life-long experience, but as hams, I think it's forever! For me, however, I sometimes feel like I'm going backwards!😂 73 de WA4ELW in TN 🇺🇸😀
Nice set up, Aloha from Hawaii WH6FLQ, Aloha 73
Thanks Victor! I'm glad you like my set up. Send us some of your beautiful weather! -Ed W8EDW
Nice. I wish you would go in more detail about how the wire is in that fiberglass. My horizontal dipole doesn’t work well on 10 meters
Hi Jamey. The antenna is just a hollow telescoping fiberglass tube 43’ high. The wire is 14ga stranded that is inside the tube. Fastened at the top and exits through a hole in the bottom of the tube. I’m good on QRZ if you want to e
ail me. Thanks for watching! -Ed. W8EDW
@@edwhitney1862 Thank you sir. I might do that project
Hey Ed, great job! I've been dealing with radio (SWL, CB [only for a short while, it was a social thing in the early 70s], broadcast and ham) for about 50 years now (first ham ticket in 1977, and of the sadly dwindling Advanced Class licensees). Two Questions: 1. I grew up on tube and voltage flow theory- I'm very suprized you don't have to dip the grid amperage- any idea why? and 2. You mentioned you tuned the antenna several times before we saw the SGC remote auto-tuner. I was puzzled until I saw that. ☺
Hi Scot. Sounds like you’re an old timer like me. Yeah, I should have mentioned the remote tuner more often. I’m still learning to make videos. Hind sight 20-20. Thanks for watching Scot!
I worked most of those same stations this past contest weekend using 100w and either a very low sloper dipole (on 20m) or an indoor 4-foot whip (on 10m).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I also got *100%* (!!) "59..." signal reports... 🤣!!
Hi JH. Amazing what you can do with 100 watts! Good job! -Ed. W8EDW
I enjoyed your video presentation. Thanks 👍 The 43' vertical with some radials and the SGC coupler do very well for you.
It's a nice shack you have there.
De VU2RZA
Hi Subramanian. Thanks for the nice comment! -Ed W8EDW
There's ones that fit underneath the gutter or soffit of the house that practically makes a loop around the house, and it's pretty stealthy.
Hi Madmax. That sounds very cool. Who makes it? -Ed W8EDW
@@edwhitney1862 look up TN07 IMD-107 - HOA Special - Virtually Invisible Eave Antenna
@@edwhitney1862 there are many others like it by different companies and individual Hams, but the one above is the one I seen on a few TH-cam videos. Some go by HOA hidden antenna, HOA stealth, gutter antenna and so on.
Is that an Alpha Antenna S9 antenna?
Hi Houdinischild , The antenna is a LDG model S9v43. It is just a hollow 43 foot telescoping fiberglass mast with a 14 gauge stranded wire inside. LDG doesn't make them anymore but I think the Alpha antenna is very similar. It helps to have the SGC or similar auto tuner at the base of the antenna. Thanks so much for watching! -Ed W8EDW
@@edwhitney1862 I have the same antenna, just couldn’t see their logo in your video!
Great video. TNX OM 73
Thanks for the nice comment! -Ed W8EDW
Always nice to see more ham content 73 de VK2AOE!
Thanks for the nice comment! 73! -Ed W8EDW
Hi Ed, thanks for the video. But I'm not sure that technique, for tuning the amplifier, necessarily gets you to the sweet spot of max power and efficiency. I always increment the load cap a bit, peak the plate, then repeat, until I have found max RF output. Separately peaking the load and plate caps repeatedly seems to be a popular method, but I'm not sure it is valid. I see, in the Ameritron manual, they are vague about the tuning method.
Hi Tim. Yep, you are right about the vague instructions in the manual. I have always used the method that I described with
good results. But, I'm sure everyone has their own methods. Thanks for watching! -Ed W8EDW
Wonderful video……… I’m a fan…….. 73s
Thanks Sparky! What a great name for “Radio Guy”! -Ed W8EDW
Nice work!
Thanks Aaron! Ed W8EDW
You have the icom 735. I have no idea why you didn't know that it's green in color if you open up smoke black door in the front you can make adjustments 👍
Hi Joe. Yep, I’ve had that 735 for over 25 years! Slip of the brain on the video. Good observation! -Ed
Very informative. I am havinf Ameritron AL 811 H but is giving trouble. Hope to meet on 10 meters during this 25 solar cycle. 73. DATTA vU2DSI.
Hi Datta! I hope you are able to figure out the problem on your amp. Yes, it will be great when 10 meters opens. Thanks for watching! -Ed W8EDW
It took a lot of time and work to do that but it's a perfect it's exactly the way I do it 👍
Hi Joe. Yep, I’m married to a picky wife (52 years) so we gotta keep things NEAT! LOL! Thanks for the nice comment! -Ed
You really don't need that much power. My son recently worked Japan from Maryland on 20M sideband with 10 watts.
Hi Tom. WOW that's so cool. You are right, it is amazing how our radio waves bounce when conditions are right! Tell your son to keep up the good work. -Ed W8EDW
so you have a separate ground… that goes again the NEC bonding requirement, doesn’t it? everything should be sent back and bonded to your service ground at the meter / panel.
Hi Richard. I guess you could ground it to the meter ground as well. The more grounding the better! Thanks for your comment. -Ed. W8EDW
You call it a linear. Isn't an amplifier more appropriate?
Ok Larry. Thanks for the correction!
When is your next video
Hi Rick. I’m working on taking out my “Screwdriver Antenna with Unique Radials” and trying it out. Hopefully in the next two weeks. (weather permitting. ). Thanks for asking Rick! -Ed. W8EDW
Clays cool
Yep. I’m lucky!
That's an IC-735 not a 725
Hi Steve. You are so right! I must be getting old! Thanks for the correction. LOL! -Ed W8EDW
Your name is not Ed, your name is Elmer 😂
That’s a good one George! Thanks for watching!! -“Ed”
Aren't you being somewhat irresponsible transmitting an unidentified carrier particularly for as long as you are doing it?
I asked if the frequency was in use a number of times and identified my station. I shot the "scene" and then identified again. Thanks Tom, we can't be too careful. -Ed W8EDW
You should really dip your plate first and then advance your load. You are abusing those 811's.
Hi Barry. I’ve been tuning my amp that way for eight years now. Thanks for the information though. I’ll try dipping the plate next time and see how it goes. Thanks for watching! -Ed
Nice setup, good demo, and nice installation. WA6WRE
Thanks Towerman for the nice comment! See you on the air. -Ed W8EDW
Icon is kick ass
Hi Jason. Yep, I do like my Icom BUT it’s amazing how many great radios there are today. Thanks for the comment! -Ed W8EDW
Love it. So genuine. "M7HSG out.."
Thanks Glenn. I’m a little “dorky” on my videos but I like to talk like you are standing next to me. -Ed
Nice this is kc2qyw Joe
Thanks Joe! It was definitely a learning curve using the new camera on some of the clips. Thanks so much for watching and I hope we meet on the air! -Ed W8EDW