The SPARC team finished the installation of the power winch on the club tower replacing the old hand crank. Those who have cranked the tower up in the past using the old hand crank can appreciate the improvement.
Watch the video Here
Posts published in “Station Building”
Further progress is being made on the SPARC station move to a different room at DMI.
See the video Here.
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The SPARC club radio station is in the process of moving within the DMI Research building. The work is being done in stages with the removal of everything from the old shack a couple of weeks ago. The video clip link (below) is of the latest phase from Jan 21 beginning the process of cleaning both rooms and starting the wiring. The AC facilities were added several weeks ago with the assembly of the antenna switchboard and the removal of old antenna cabling this past weekend.
Enjoy the video clip
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In preparing to do some rewiring in my shack, I investigated the use of crimp-on coax connectors. I ended up purchasing a crimp tool along with coax connector and Powerpole dies from DX Engineering. I can now easily install crimp-on connectors on a variety of coax cables. The die for Anderson Power Pole connectors will make their installation a snap as well.
In my research, I checked out a number of YouTube videos on the subject, I found this one very interesting.
What caught my attention were the scissors used to cut the outer insulation, inner dielectric, foil shield and braid. Digging deeper revealed that they are Messi & Paoloni “Special Coax Scissors.”
These scissors were designed by M & P “to ensure accuracy and delicacy while cutting the cable..”
What makes these scissors unique is the high hardness steel straight nickel-plated blades. The external sides of the blades are coated with a thick chrome plating. The internal mating sides of the blades are not chromed to ensure a correct friction while closing, prolonged life and reducing wear in the blade and its unique cable stripper notch. Its the cable stripper notch that differentiates these scissors from ordinary scissors. Unlike most conventional wire strippers, the edges of the notch are razor sharp. The large size of the notch makes it easy to work with coax up to 3/8” OD. The cut is extremely clean and leaves no burrs. They are also much safer than using a razor blade to make the necessary cuts.
I purchased my scissors from GigaParts. .
I use Anderson Powerpole connectors for all my 12VDC connections. My new crimping tool (see above) will make their installation easier. My research also revealed another tool previously unknown to me, the Anderson Powerpole Insertion/Extraction tool.
This tool is used with the Powerpole 15 to 45 amp terminals. The tool facilitates extraction of the metal terminals from assembled Powerpole connectors and easy insertion of the metal terminal into an empty Powerpole housing.
I purchased my tool from DX Engineering.
*Lagniappe: (LAN-yap) “A little something extra.”
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The February 5th, 2021 SPARC meeting is Home Brew Night. No, not beer. This is where you show off projects related to ham radio you have made this year. It could be an antenna project, some accessory you built and modified in a unique way. It can also be interesting software projects related to ham radio you put together. This year due to our Zoom meetings, you will have to show what you did via your computer. If you have a webcam and can show the project, that will work. If you want to put together a few slides, that will work as well.
The way it works is we take the available time and divide it among the number of presenters equally. Please contact Lisa KC1YL @ kc1yl@yahoo.com with information about your project and show us what you have.
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Many of us use Alpha Delta coax switches in our stations for antenna selection. These switches use Arc-Plug gas discharge tubes as lightening protection. Spare Arc-Plug elements sell for $10 – $12 from the traditional ham retailers. Mouser Electronics sells them for $2.37 each in quantities of 10. P/N 576-CG21000.
Thanks to Richard K2UPS for this tip.