Articles & Hints by AD5X
Amplifier Related
| Attenuator for transceiver/amplifier interfacing - Makes putting your amp in-line a no-brainer! New |
| ALS-600 QSK Conversion - Simple, low cost internal QSK mod. Also works for the ALS-500. |
| HF Amplifier QSK Switch - External relay-based HF Amplifier QSK switch (Revised 4/6/07) |
Antennas
| 43-Foot Vertical 160- and 80-Meter Matching - Three matching solutions that will significantly improve performance on 160- and 80-meters. New |
| Build a 12/17 Meter Trap Dipole - Includes building your own high voltage capacitors. |
| Portable Dipole - 40-10 meter resonant dipole for portable operation (Revised 2/26/07) |
| Vertical Travel Antenna - Compact & improved 60-10 meter portable vertical antenna (Revised 9/6/05) |
Antenna Tuners and Antenna Accessories
| Static Bleeders for Any Antenna: Stop worrying about damaging your antenna analyzer. New |
| Z-Match Antenna Tuner: 100 watt compact unit (Revised 4/3/2009) |
| Tenna-Tune - Original, but updated Tenna-Tune article (Visual SWR indicator) |
| Tenna-Tune2 - Updated and improved SWR tuning accessory, and now IC7000 compatible (Revised 7/2/2009) |
| Tenna-Tune Audio - An audio-based SWR indicator (Revised 7/17/05) |
| Manual Switch with Limit Indicator for screwdriver antennas |
| Antenna Matching Bases for portable and mobile antennas |
| VW New Beetle Mobile HF Antenna Base - Useful on many other cars as well |
| SWR Tamers - Protect your transceiver during antenna tuning |
| Temporary HF Mobile Mount & Powering: For occasional operating in different cars. |
| IC-706/703 Tuning Interface Simple tuning interface for IC-70X series radios (Revised 3/17/08) |
| SG-239 Simple SMARTLOCK - Simple, but works just like the SGC unit |
Baluns, Ununs. Air-Wound Coils
| HF Legal Limit Current Balun: Build a 160-10 Meter Guanella balun. New |
| HF Legal Limit Voltage Unun or Balun: Build a 160-10 Meter Ruthroff unun or balun. New |
| K5OOR balun modifications and assembly ideas |
| Elecraft balun modifications - Make it a 1:1/4:1 switchable unit |
| Build your own air-wound coils and coil supports (Revised 10/3/05) |
| Multi-Impedance Switched Transformer for Short HF Antennas (Revised 5/7/05) |
Boat-Anchor Related
| ARC5/BC455 Conversion Info: Bring that military receiver to life (Revised 4/10/07). |
| Inexpensive Vacuum Tube Plate Supply: AC-isolated high voltage power supply (Revised 4/8/08). |
| Johnson Ranger restoration project - Detailed info on updating/restoring this transmitter (Revised 6/17/2007) |
| Johnson Ranger front panel removal - Step-by-step directions |
| Boat-Anchor TR Switch - Uses inexpensive DPDT relay |
| Boat-Anchor Night Light - Unique gag gift for the older ham |
| LED Replacements for incandescent pilot lamps |
DC & Powering Related
| DC Power through your coax - Multiplex DC voltage onto your feed line (Revised 5/13/05) |
| Voltage Conditioner for Ham Transceivers (Revised 3/2/06) |
| Voltage Reducer for IC-703 and other QRP transceivers |
| IC-703 Side-Mounted battery pack - Self-contained IC-703 (Revised 6/21/05) |
| Compact 9.6V NiMH Fast-Charger - For NiMH battery packs (Revised 4/19/2005) |
| SG-2020 Battery Pack (Revised 5/7/05) |
| FT-817 voltage conditioner - and more! (Revised 9/12/05) |
| Variable Voltage Controller - Add-on to your fixed output power supply (Revised 4/3/09) |
| Surface-Mount your PowerPole Connectors - Simple support method for your workbench |
| Battery Holder Voltage Drops - Home-brew battery pack considerations (Revised 5/25/05) |
| Digital milliammeter - Inexpensive in-line unit you can easily build |
Measurements
| Precision Mismatches - For checking your SWR Meter and Antenna Analyzer |
| Accurate TX Power Measurements: 30- and 200-watt precision dummy load/peak detectors. |
| Attenuators for Receiver Tests - Attenuators and techniques to check your receiver. |
| Measure Inductor Q - Q Meter Adapter for your antenna analyzer. |
| High Current DC Test Fixture - Switchable current steps to check power supplies & batteries |
| Simple In-line Current/Voltage Monitoring Fixture - Get rid of your rat's nest of wiring (Revised 1/21/06) |
| Reduce RFI in your Home & Shack: RFI minimizing techniques. |
Miscellaneous
| Useful and inexpensive tools and supplies for the ham (Revised 5/11/05) |
| Portable Work Area Extension - Use a portable cart to temporarily extend your work area |
| Connectorizing RG-6 coax - How to solder a PL-259 to aluminum-shielded RG-6 coax |
| Suitcase Portable HF Station - Entire station fits into an MFJ6404 carrying case |
| Speech Compressor for Dynamic Microphones - Specifically designed for the FT-817 |
| Add a fan to the IC-706/MKII/MKIIG heatsink (Revised 9/13/05) |
| Scratch-Proof the IC-706/703 flip-up stand |
| FT-1K MKV Memory Keyer & Tune Control - Nice replacement for the FH-1 keypad |
| Palm Paddle portable key base - Easily built non-skid snap-on steel base |
| SG-2020 Mobile Mount - Built with parts from yur local hardware store |
| Low-speed DC Motor - Used for remote tuning capacitors, etc. |
| Simple RF Detector - Good from HF through 450 MHz (Revised 5/27/06) |
| LED Light - Great low current lighting for portable operation |
RF Switching Related
| Transmit/Receive Antenna Switch - For separate T/R antennas and single port transceivers (Revised 4/7/07). |
| 160-6 Meter Remote Antenna Switch with control through the coax cable |
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