Repaired Buddipole Arm

I got my Buddipole arm fixed today. I checked my tool box and the center console of the truck to see if I had an extra stud in there but I don't. I know I have one, but apparently it isn't with me. So I went to Ace Hardware today and got a stainless steel bolt - 3/8"x24x1". The bolt was $1.05, so that wasn't too bad. Stainless steel is pretty pricey over all the other types. though. Considering a spring with a stud is, maybe, $5-10 at a hamfest, I figured the stud being $1.00 or so would be a decent deal. So, the bolt wasn't far off of that.

I used a hacksaw and chopped off the hex head. Here are the parts:



I threaded the cut end in to the arm. It seems to stay in the arm pretty well. I tightened it as tight as I could with my fingers and it doesn't seem to want to come out when I unscrew the arm from something else.

Another Magnet Wire Antenna

I am visiting family for a couple days. I never travel without a radio. I always have my mobile station as long as I drive wherever, but I don't like to sit in the truck and operate (which I have been known to do on occasion!). So I brought a few antenna options with me. In the past I have used my Crappie Pole antenna, a Hustler 5BTV, a jumper dipole, and my screwdriver antenna (still mounted to the truck). The 5BTV is a favorite. It is a very rugged antenna, pretty easy to set up, and runs 5 bands (more if I add resonator wires for 6, 12, 17m). However, I let a buddy borrow the 5BTV.

I figured it would be easiest to do a random wire. After all that is the main purpose of a random wire - ease of use. They are not the most efficient antennas, but they are easier to string up than a dipole.

So what I did was I ran a #12 wire to the faucet outside the room here as a ground line. I attached it with a hose clamp. Then I went outside and tossed fishing line with a weight on the end up through the tree next to the house. This was a chore - it took 5 tries to get it right. One time I had to climb up on the roof because the weight broke the fishing line when it rolled down the shingles.

After I got the first line threaded I spooled out the magnet wire across the yard. I would say I have about 80' of it. I estimated how high it was up in the first tree and adding that extra in to the distance to the second tree. Then I cut off the wire and dragged it back to the first tree and attached it to the end of the fishing line with the weight.

After that it was a piece of cake. I wound up the fishing line on the spool again and pulled the wire up through the tree.

Once I had the wire pulled out as much as it would go I walked it over to the second tree, took it off the fishing line, and re-attached my weight. Getting the weight thrown over the second tree was a bit easier - it took two tries. I didn't have enough line out the first throw so the weight didn't make it down to the ground. The second time did it.

I attached the wire back on to the fishing line and wrapped up the line on the spool, hoisting up the wire in the process.

Based on my last attempt at raising a magnet wire random wire antenna I was very careful about how much tension I put on the wire. I measured the breaking strength with a digital fish scale (I use it for weighing my backpack weight - reads in lbs/oz) and it broke at 1lb or less. I did it three times and the most I saw the scale read was 16oz.

The wire droops down a LOT. However, it is about 25-30ft up in both trees and is still about 15ft off the ground in the middle of the droop. I suppose I could pull it up a bit more, but I don't want it to break... at least not until I am done with it!

Here are a few pictures I just took. It is getting dark so the outside pics didn't come out great, but they give you an idea:

Station:



I am just using the FT-857D. I didn't bring a power supply, just a 12ah battery and a charger. I can keep the battery charged with the charger floating it even when the 857 is on because the current drain is so low. I brought the TS-2000 for my comparing to the FT-450 last night at my friend's place.

Here is the wire going out the window. I used some insulated computer ribbon wire (two conductors - scrap from my Norcal Doublet antennas) to run out the window, then I attached the magnet wire. Where the white wire stops is where the magnet wire starts - it just disappears!



The wire goes across the yard to the pine tree you see in the distance. It looks further away than it actually is. The support line is only about 5 feet or less from the top - I got a real good throw on it! (note the TV in the reflection is on my favorite channel - The Weather Channel!)



OK, back to 40m...

FT-450 vs. TS-2000

I spent several hours last night with my buddy Levi, KD8KTY. He has the little FT-450. We worked on setting up a vertical antenna (had some RF grounding issues, but it works all but one band with a good SWR now) and then worked the bands a bit. I brought my TS-2000 with me so I could do a direct A/B comparison. I was over there the day before I left for Canada but I didn't have time to really focus on comparing the radios - now I got my chance!

One feature that really stands out to me about the FT-450 (and most other radios for that matter - even my IC-718) is the IF shift. Having a dedicated knob for this is really spectacular. The IF shift on my FT-857D works the same as on the FT-450 in that it is smooth and nearly infinite in its increments. However, I have to engage the IF shift with a button and then it uses the selector knob to adjust it. The FT-450's knob is specifically dedicated to IF shift.

The TS-2000 in comparison has 50hz incremental shifting on CW only. There is no IF shift on SSB. Instead it offers a high cut and low cut (individual knobs). It would be so much better to have a filter width control, like on CW, and then shift that wherever you want with an IF shift. I don't really see the benefit to having separate a separate high cut and low cut.

The FT-450 has three DSP filter widths. I don't think this is quite enough. It definitely works well, but having the option to narrow the filter down to 150hz or lower sometimes is a benefit. The TS-2000 lets me select down to 50hz (although it rings terribly down that low).

I tried to tune in a weak CW station on 40m so I could do my comparing. The TS-2000 gets the higher mark for being able to pick out the station better. If the rig had a smooth infinite increment IF shift it would be that much better!

Both radios were on the same playing field with noise. The FT-450 seemed to show less noise, but I had the AGC as slow as it goes on the TS-2000. The receivers both seemed to respond to near stations about equally at a 500hz or so filter width. Neither one was good at "digging" a station out of the dirt.

On CW keying the FT-450 seemed to be a bit hard. I did not look too hard to see if there was a way to adjust the rise time though. I did not see it real fast scrolling through the menu, I didn't dig in the manual. With the TS-2000 I can adjust the rise time from 1ms to 6ms. This allows CW to flow smooth and you don't get the pop in the speaker/headphones (a REALLY big deal with headphones). With how much I used the FT-450 (and I did have a QSO on 40m CW with it) the CW keying was a bit hard to listen to.

The audio quality of the TS-2000 overall is a step above the FT-450. Having the equalizer built in (even in as few of increments as it has) really is nice. The audio from the FT-450 was a bit more sharp or harsh - it seemed a bit fatiguing to listen to in comparison.

I still think the FT-450 is a great buy. You get a lot of cool features in a really cool box. I like the tuning knob - even though it is small. The display is great. The buttons and knobs all have a real good feel and quality to them. I can't forget to add that the front panel key jack is awesome! I wish all radios had that.

If you are new to HF or are looking for a good secondary/field day/portable/vacation rig the FT-450 is worthy of looking in to.

I did not do an A/B comparison between the FT-450 and my FT-857D. So that will wait for the next time! It will be interesting to compare. Two things I can say about the two in comparison is, and the first one is very obvious, the FT-857D has 2m/70cm and the FT-450 has IF DSP, as opposed to AF DSP and a single (optional) IF filter per mode in the FT-857D.

Stay tuned! I will post a write-up on the FT-857D vs. FT-450 the next time I get a chance to sit down with both side-by-side.

Broken Buddipole Arm - Whip Extension to Screwdriver

If you read my last post about breaking my antenna, here is the fix for it.

The stud for one of the arms snapped off:





Note the stud is hollow. This is a big help. I used a screw-out to unscrew the broken pieces as there wasn't enough to grab on to. I tried to unscrew the stud that was still attached the arm, but the hollow stud collapsed and wouldn't let me get a good grip. A screw-out is almost like a reverse thread tap, only it tapers. The further you screw it in the tighter it holds until the screw breaks loose.

The stud is held in to the arm with what looks to be LocTite (that red ring). Once the bond was broken the stud came out pretty easy, but it is tough breaking the bond!



Now, to replace it I am going to use one of the steel studs from an old spring mount. You can probably pick these up at a hamfest for a dollar or so also. The Columbus Hamfest is coming up so maybe I will see if anyone has some, and an extra couple of springs to add to the rest of my versatile antenna parts.