Yard is being cleared for the building of an outdoor antenna based on PhilB's "Ultimate Antenna," a ten-foot vertical pole with lengthy buried radials.
The transmitter will be an AMT5000 from sstran.com inside the newly available outdoor enclosure.
At long last it will become possible to discover first-hand exactly what can be done with a fully developed legal Part 15 installation using the most recently designed high-efficiency Class-E RF circuit.
It's been about two years already since I installed my first AMT5000 using the interim antenna, which I have dubbed the "Wintenna," because it is literally a metal window frame with lengths of wire added at the top and bottom to achieve the 10-foot vertical length.
A comparable Wintenna on another wall is also in use with an AMT3000 peak-tuned using a self-made triangular loading coil, which has already made a dramatic comparison between the two transmitters.
For one thing, I am very satisfied by the result of the AMT3000, which covers indoors and outdoors everywhere on the property, and for several blocks all around.
The coverage of the AMT5000 is dramatically greater, reaching about twice the distance, and mysteriously, often receivable in the background noise for an estimated 2-miles!
All this with less than ideal antennas!
When the outdoor pole goes on the air, the Wintenna system will remain in service so that either AMT5000 can be put on the air, thus allowing an A-B comparison between the two.
Keep checking this "Things To Come" column for pictures and progress report as the project moves ahead.
A special The Ultenna Web Page has been made to document the progress of the antenna building project. Visit often to watch the land being cleared, ground planes laid and tower erected
http://kdxradio.com/ultenna.html
Looking forward to watching the progress of this project.
Neil
Everyday I use the handsaw to reduce more bamboo poles to trash-can size for disposal, but the pile still looks about the same, so there's yet no point taking another photo.
When the outdoor Ultenna is up and in full operation, I am wondering if it might make a good nighttime transmission.
As it is now, the daytime signal from my Wintenna using the AMT5000 is about all I want or need, but at night when the universe crowds in it might make sense to switch to the outdoor Ultenna with ground-radials for a (still legal) signal which will somewhat match the daytime results.
Best of luck in this endeavor.
Say, when will LPH #77 become available for D/L so I can play it Sat morning?
Hi Ken and I am happy you are asking about #77 because I have been sitting here for several weeks with all the notes and preparation ready to go, but my brain has gotten stuck in the "park" mode and I just sit here admiring what the show will be like someday.
Alright. Time for action. Too hot to saw bamboo today, we'll produce the show!
Excuse me now, there's work to do!