ZS6TJ Calling

The Johannesburg Amateur Radio Hub August 2024

This is where it all happens

Also in this issue:

BUILD • Too much GPIO?
 2M Quad • REACT
 Loop Yagi • CW Training
 Satnogs
Ground Station

Home Contents
◀ ◀
 TS
N
TE
N
O

• Letter from the editor

• On the Air Activity

C

• is it possible to have too much GPIO?

• Loop Yagi Antenna

• REACT

• CW Training Relaunch

• Satnogs Ground Station

• Ronnie’s Radio Shack

• 2m Quad antenna

• In Our Next issue ...

*Simply click on the article

for easy navigation

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◀ ◀
 Editor’s Letter
Whatever happened to
“the Good Old Days”?
O
n a bleak winter’s day, the best radio amateurs and youngsters that are
antidote is to write something bringing their electronics education and
positive about this fantastic programming skills to this hobby in the
amateur radio hobby in South Africa. form of SDR Radio technology etc. Then
Is this hobby dying a slow death? One there is the competition radio side for
of the factors causing a down-turn those that make as many radio contacts
to this hobby in South Africa (in my as possible using QRP modes. Then, there
personal opinion), is the age group of are a few advanced older radio amateurs
radios amateurs compared with the that build their own linear amplifiers
“new generation” youngsters interested and install masts and directional Yagi’s
in electronics. There is not enough for long distance DX comms ..And that
attraction or sharing of knowledge into is only for the financial stable radio
this hobby like it was in the “old days”, or amateurs with a large property …In
more familiarly, “…the good old days”. Europe it’s a different story . Every Radio
Back then, we were building electronic amateur is an Electronic Engineer! Why is
projects from electronic magazines and classification “plug-and-play your radio that? Is it the introduction of electronics
other radio amateurs where sharing their equipment”, where amateurs connected career at an early age?
knowledge and educating us; building equipment together and collected So, the other question: is this hobby only
our own receivers and transmitters; QSL cards and only talked about new for the wealthy? Does South Africa’s bad
stripping old radios for parts and projects. Nothing, or very limited new economy and recession at hand make
building new ones and testing them on builds happened, apart from simple this hobby unaffordable?
the air where everyone was “radio active” shack accessories like an antenna switch As far as technology is concerned, there
and interacting together to make the or power supply. are enough affordable plug-and-play
project a success. Best of all there were In South Africa not a lot has been done tools that can be used to get into this
no smart phones distracting us from as far as introducing the electronic radio hobby without spending a large amount
doing something productive. Phones related hobby in schools or universities. of money. QRP SDR radio kits can be
where in the passage on a table and used In certain universities the advancement bought online or built and wire antennas
as a tool for business and calling non- of satellite projects for amateur satellites are easy and cheap to build and with as
amateur friends, not used for sending were attempted and never completed, little as 5 watts of power, communication
jokes and pictures or playing games! whereas professional projects are given with other radio amateurs can be
The projects we built had to be more priority and, as students finished established.
researched and information had to be their degrees, they progressed in other So instead of sitting on your smartphone
collected from books at the library or electronic non-radio related projects or playing games and talking on whatsapp,
well-experienced friends in the electronic professional markets, completing their come down to our clubhouse! Learn to
hobby. And when you completed the thesis and then disappearing, leaving build a radio-related project.
project and tested it on the air with amateurs in the dark. The ZS6TJ club is making all sorts of
friends, it was a very satisfying feeling of As I have seen with my recent visit to the projects available that can be built, to
success. Ah, the good old days! USA and the Hamvention, there are a lot bring the good old days back again …
As technology progressed over the more youngsters in the amateur radio
years with off-the-shelf radios and other hobby, although not on the electronic 73 & 88
accessories like Antenna tuners, linear building side, but using ready-made Ronald Verweerdt
amplifiers and antennas, the hobby equipment for disaster communication Chairman
progressed into a sort of operators purposes. There is only a small amount of ZS6RVC

ZS6TJ Calling Physical Address: Postal Address:

Published every JHB Amateur Radio PO Box 2160
Third month by the Hub/Club Cresta
Johannesburg Amateur Radio Club.
9 Louis Street 2118
Cnr Lawley Avenue
facebook.com/groups/ZS6TJ/ Telephone:
webpage: zs6tj-club.co.za
Waterfall Estate
Ronald ZS6RVC
e-mail: [email protected] 2195
082 44 100 44

Chairman: Ronald Verweerdt 082 441 0044 Secretary: David Le Grange 082 457 4186
Treasurer: Steve Baynes 082 929 6817 Technical: Awie Bosman 083 360 4412

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◀ ◀
Schedule
Sunday
08h30 SARL HQ Bulletin in Afrikaans. ZS6KED
08h45 SARL HQ Bulletin in English. ZS6KED
10h00 Amateur Radio Today. ZS6AKV
11h00 ZS6TJ News Net Vacant Position

Monday
19h30 Morse Lessons with Richard ZS6CAL
145.650 Mhz JOHANNESBURG central Repeater.
20h30 Repeat of the ART bulletin ZS6AKV

Tuesday
19h30 Morse Lessons with Micheal ZS6MSW
20h00 NoviceNet with Abdulah ZS6TTL
145.650 Mhz JOHANNESBURG central Repeater.

Thursday
08h30 SHOP-TALK With Ronald ZS6RVC & ZS6GND

Saturday
08h30 AWASA.net with (RAD) ZS6RAD
145.700 Mhz AND 3.615 mhz (80M) LSB
Call-ins On 5380 USB on 60m and 10.133 USB on 30m ZS6GM

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◀ ◀
 GPIO Part 1

Is it possible to have
too much GPIO? Part 1
Andrew Paterson (Zs6ap)

Sometimes the question must be asked: Is it possible to have too much GPIO?
And the answer is always NO. It is not possible to have too much GPIO.
But before we dive into the question of how to add more GPIO and what to add it
to; lets have a look at what GPIO is.

GPIO or General-purpose input/output is the ability to If we’re using a microcontroller then there a lot of options
in the form of IO Expander integrated circuits. If you’re
program an integrated circuit (typically a microcontroller)
familiar with SPI then the MCP23S08-E/SO IC will give you
to output a high voltage, output a low voltage or input
an additional 8 bits of I/O that can be ticked in or out at a
whether an existing signal is high or low.
maximum of 10MHz for an effective 8 bit signal rate of less
Or to put it another way GPIO can be programmed to write
than 1MHz. That’s absolutely fine for a lot of applications
a digital signal or to read a digital signal.
although one of the down sides of SPI is that it requires 3
Using the Raspberry PI Pico as an example: it has 26 pins of
signal lines (Clock, MISO and MOSI) plus one chip select for
exposed GPIO (labelled GP0 through to GP28 with 23, 24
each expansion IC.
and 25 missing).
Alternatively there are IO expanders that are I2C compatible
Each GP pin can be individually set high, set low or put into
like the PCF8574ADWR. But, to use the PCF8574 as an
a high impedance read state. But more excitingly the pins
example, it has a maximum serial rate of only 100KHz and
can all be set synchronously. They can be set high together,
that makes its effective 8 bit signal rate much, much slower.
set low together or any combination in-between at the
The address must ticked out first before the data even
same time. This can be used for something as simple as
knows where to go. An upside of I2C is that any number of
driving a 7-segment display to something as complicated as
devices still only require 2 signal lines (SDA and SCL).
communicating with a computer’s databus.
There is another option and that is to take two or more
Each of the 26 GP pins can also be read synchronously
Raspberry Pi Picos and strap them together using their
so the high or low voltage state on the pins are all read
UARTs to communicate. This is probably the cheapest and
together. Then afterwards a program can use the value that
simplest option and the Pico’s UART can be driven to about
it has read to make whatever decisions it needs to, taking as
4,000,000 baud (which I’ve not managed – the max I’ve
much time as it needs.
seen is 460,800 baud) and that’s probably plenty fast for
As a side note the Raspberry Pi Pico, powered by an RP2040
most projects. A pair of Picos together using only 2 lines for
microcontroller, can only handle 3.3V input signals. It is not
communication gives 48 lines of GPIO. That’s a lot of GPIO.
5V tolerant and any 5V input will need to current limited or
But it’s not enough. And it’s not fast enough.
preferably translated to a 3.3V signal.
Let’s take trip into the past and look at some
It’s also worth noting the Raspberry Pi Pico cannot provide
microprocessors rather than microcontrollers.
more than 50mA of current in total across all it’s GPIOs.
Specifically let’s look at the 6510 variant of the 6502, the
Something else we might need to look into if we need to
processor used in the Commodore 64.
drive high current devices.
A microcontroller can be defined as having the processor,
So now we’ve covered what GPIO is we can start answering

◀ ◀
RAM and ROM inside a single integrated circuit. Internally
the question of how to add more.

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the RP2040 of the Pico is an Arm Cortex-M0+ with 264KB D1:1 D0:0) or in binary 00000010. Then the one’th P (P1) is
SRAM and 2MB flash ROM. Along with a few additional set to high and all others are set to low. Repeatedly writing
devices like UARTs and USB controllers etc… 00000010 then 00000000 to address one would blink a LED
A microprocessor, however, is only the processor. To run attached to P1 on and off.
usefully it needs to be connected to ROM that contains the And this concept of addressable GPIO is what we’re aiming
initial program and it needs RAM to do calculations and to for.
store data. I lied a little, by omission.
It’s connected to that RAM, ROM and any other devices There are plenty of GPIO expanders available; and most
through the Data Bus and the Address Bus. The 6502 has of them are for microcontrollers that want to use as few
16 address lines (A0 to A15) for a total of 216 (64KB) of GPIO lines to control the expander as possible. Thus serial
addresses. communication protocols like SPI, I2C, UART or CAN.
And 8 data lines. This allows 8 bits of data (a number from But there’s another type of off-the-shelf IO expander that
0 to 255) to be read or written to any of those 64KB of doesn’t communicate serially. A type that has a lot more in
addresses. common with the address bus and data bus approach of the
The 6510 does something a bit interesting. It is a 6502 with 6510.
6 bits of GPIO strapped to it. The first two address (zero and A type that can communicate over multiple parallel bus
one) never leave the processor and address the GPIO inside lines at once. A parallel interface if you will.
of it instead. And … they’re hideously expensive and kinda slow (maxing
Writing data to address zero (i.e. all 16 address lines low) out at 8Mhz usually).
selects whether or not the GPIO pins P0 to P5 are inputs So in the next issue we’re going to start building our own
or outputs. Lets assume all the P pins are set to outputs. parallel interface. One that can run at tens if not hundreds
Then writing to address one (i.e. A0 high and A1 to A15 low) of megahertz. And one that that can potentially have
causes the P pins to output either a high or a low signal. hundreds of lines of GPIO. And one that can read and write
For example: If the data on the data lines is 2 which is only all of those GPIOs synchronously.
the one’th data line high (D7:0 D6:0 D5:0 D4:0 D3:0 D2:0

Using the Raspberry PI Pico as an example

it has 26 pins of exposed GPIO (labelled
GP0 through to GP28 with 23, 24 and 25
missing).
The 6510 variant of the 6502, the
processor used in the Commodore 64.

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◀ ◀
A pair of Raspberry Pi Picos driving a combinded 38 pins of GPIO using
UARTs to communicate. It works but it’s slow. And the first Pico sets its
pin values before the second one which is not great for synchronising
data on a databus.

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ZS6TJ Calling Newsletter designed and
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 Loop Yagi

Loop yagi
antenna
In todays times with smaller property’s it is not always possible to put up a tower I got some materials and attempted
on the property. to construct one for myself. I has
I started looking for options to be able to use a directional antenna that does not a hard time at first to try and get
take a lot of space. the antenna to resonate on the
I have played with magnetic loop antenna and the results was surprisingly good frequency’s I wanted it for as I only
with it. Only problem I found is the variable capacitor I was using was only good has a normal cheap antenna analyser
up to 30watts max before it started sparking. I am also on a SASA pension and but managed to recently acquired
was looking to do it as affordable as possible. I was searching for something on a NANO VNA and wow!!! So much
the internet and came across this antenna that sparked my interest. simpler to see where on the spectrum
the antenna is working .
I have even built a full wave 11meter
DELTA loop antenna that works
extremely well and a lot quieter than
my penetrator 500 and the VNA in my
opinion is a very worthwhile piece of
equipment .and necessary if you like
to experiment with antennas.

This is what I built and managed to

test it on a 2meter pole off the ground
that I rotated by hand. I received
pretty well but I could not do a proper
TX test as yet as it was to low to
really test it properly. I still need to
build some kind of rotator that I am
thinking of using a motorized window
winder as I have one and put it up at
least higer than my roof to actually
work with it. Unfortunately the
process is a slow ongoing project that
one it is completed I will report on the

◀ ◀
actual performance when it is in full
This boom antenna is relatively small and directional.
Home Contents
 use. I have actually heard a guy in America using one of them and he came through very well.
I will be very happy if mine also preforms like his. I have built a few various 11 meter antennas
and 2meter antennas that work reasonably well.
And my HF antennas is a inverted V with two sets of wires ,one for 40 meter and one for
10meter. My other one is a Carolina windom that we built the 4:1 balun at TJ Club that works
very well.

Bennie Erlank
ZS6ERL.

The Boom I Built. Not very pretty but it works.

ZS6TJ Calling Newsletter designed and prepared by nbdesignprint

“Visual communication is at our core”.

[email protected]
www.nbdesignprint.co.za
nevillebateman

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page layout, brochure design, Company CI,
logos, business cards, annual reports,
graphic design and image manipulation,
digital adverts, photographic printing
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REACT
REACT Radio Emergency Associated Citizens (now Affairs program. The aforementioned video clips were
Communications) Teams was established in America broadcast with the result that the CB radio phenomenon
in the 1970’s during the boom in the use of CB radios. in general and REACT in particular, received very positive
Their main purpose was to act as a communications response from the South African public and contributed
link to first responders during road-side and other greatly to the legalization of CB.
emergencies. They have now expanded their services to Once legal, we formalized REACT South Africa as a section
providing communications for other events as well as civil 21 company not for profit and proceeded to provide
emergencies, weather related and others. training and guidelines to our teams based on the
Although illegal in South Africa, CB became very popular experience and with the support of REACT U.S.A.
in the late 1970s and into 1980 with lots of folks having lots In addition, we installed CB base stations at the
of fun speaking with their “Good Buddies” and avoiding Johannesburg Traffic Department as well as the Turfontein
Golf Papa Oscar, a bit reminiscent of an old Keystone Cops Fire Station, with the result that response times to
movie. In order to try to legalize CB, a group of us formed emergency situations was vastly improved.
the Citizens Band Association of SA as REACT teams continued to provide these
an “official” entity for the purpose of Their main purpose emergency monitoring services as well
negotiating with the Post Office. was to act as a as mobile communications services at
In order to further promote CB as an communications link events such as the Iron Man Marathons and
important service to the community, to first responders international races at Kyalami. We also teamed
Marc Quesnel, then MD of handic up with the Red Cross during long weekends
Communications Africa a division of JASCO, contacted the to provide back up for them at traffic accident hot spots like
REACT headquarters in Chicago and convinced them to the Uncle Charlie’s interchange (Checkpoint Charlie) south
allow us to incorporate REACT South Africa, the original of Johannesburg. This continued right up to 1990’s when
members of the board of directors were Tony Slotar (CB-1), the introduction of cell phones rendered their monitoring
John Bishop (White Rabit), Julian Pokroy (Mastermind) and services redundant.
Marc Quesnel (CB-2/Canuk). The Future:
We then proceeded to establish provisional REACT teams Now that ICASA has scrapped the requirement for licensing
throughout SA, (of interest is that Brian Emminis, famous on the 27MHz CB band, we can see a resurgence in interest
for his commentary at the region’s air shows, was our team in CB in general. So, dust off your old CBs, hook them up
leader in Welkom). During this time, we undertook, various to your antennas and go looking for some “Good Buddies”.
Public Relations exercises, to promote the value of CB. This can also be a good opportunity to get some youngsters
The most successful of which was with the cooperation interested in RF and to get them away from their computer
of SABC TV we made some video clips depicting some games to have some real fun. As it has in the past, CB can
emergency situations that were resolved using CB radios lead to a more serious interest in radio and possibly attract
communicating with REACT members monitoring their some new blood into the Amateur fraternity. Once this
home bases. Once completed, the SABC invited Marc happens maybe we can find a new role for REACT. (to prove
Quesnel and Mel Miller to have a debate with Col. Joe Asher this point, Marc Quesnel recently acquire his Amateur Radio

◀ ◀
of the Wagthuis Radio Reserve on the Midweek Current Operator’s License with the call sign ZS6-MQ)

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◀ ◀
Breaking News

ZS6TJ World CLASS CW Training

RE-LAUNCH

Good News can never come early enough. prepared and some did not pre–prepare. This held
some candidates behind.
We at ZS6TJ are going to re-launch CW practice The candidates need to realize that CW largely is a
sessions like we did three years ago. Allow me to self taught program, meaning we can’t make you
introduce myself. learn the code, neither are there any shortcuts. What
I began CW about 7 yrs ago, and developed a we will do is by arrangement meet at the Club and
passion for it. At this stage after accomplishing a host a Q&A session before we begin in earnest. We
moderate comprehension of the code, with the will answer as many questions as we can to settle
assistance of Richard ZS6CAL. I decided to dive any uncertainties, before we begin.
straight in and start teaching Morse Code. During There are several apps, you can download onto
this time I was a member of ZS6STN, the Sandton your pc or phone. The way we manage classes is the
radio branch. As I grew more proficient in CW, I following. People must begin learning the Sounds
felt more and more distant from that Club. I have of the letters, pro-signs and numbers. What we
personal thoughts as to why I felt this way. ask of you is to focus on 5 characters per week. No
Ronald ZS6RVC invited me to come over and begin looking up on CW tables at dots and dashers. If you
classes. These classes were very well attended at do so, that will utterly cripple your learning phase.
the club of ZS6TJ. I delivered two semesters back to CW is strickly an audio experience, and never a
back. visual one. But we can discuss this at the club.
If there are any interested members of ZS6TJ to
attend these classes whole heartedly, im happy to
help with Richard ZS6CAL. What we require from Michael Spencer-Wilson
the candidates is full commitment, and a desire to Cwops (USA) # 3247 Life Member
learn. I promise I don’t bite :) Long Island CW Club (USA) # 4856 Honorary Life
Members ideally should be self motivated. What we member
learnt last time was that some came to class Straight Key Century Club # 20485

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◀ ◀
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◀ ◀
 Satnogs GS
My first successful ANTENNA BUILD

On the Weekly bulletin on 9 June a mention

was made of a satellite monitoring system
called Satnogs. Up until this point there had
been only one local site set up by Anton
ZR6AIC (https://network.satnogs.org/
stations/2164/ ) in 2021, but it is currently
running in the training mode. Johann
ZS6ETA was able to get a ground station
up on the same day as the bulletin and it
has been running continuously for the last
seven weeks with only an hour down time
By David M – ZR6DM and is generating good downloads.

(https://network.satnogs.org/
stations/3625/ )

Setting up a Satnogs Ground Station

I was able to use Google to find the Satnogs to create a user-login on the site to provide me with
information and landed up on the Dashboard site - a station number and an API code. You need to go
https://network.satnogs.org/ . The first thing you see back to the https://network.satnogs.org/ page to
is a vast area of Africa that has no stations. sign in tab. Armed with the info I now was ready to
Next go to the Wiki tab which takes you through setup the station.
the process of creating a station. There are a few On the build tab – “ Configure/Update your station
YouTube videos around to assist you with this. On “ I started to set up the station . I followed the
the Build tab select “Build a ground station” . instructions, but along the way made a mistake I
I decided to ignore the rotator options and build an only discovered four weeks later. I got the station
omnidirectional antenna. I chose to use a Raspberry connecting to the website on 14 June, but was
PI 3B and a RTLSDR Blog3 for the station. unable to read any satellite data. Two days later I
Onto the next drop down on the Build tab – “Install disconnected the station. At that point in time I had
a Raspberry Pi” . I followed the instructions here and the station connected to a J-Pole for 400 to 470Mhz
soon had the Pi configured and linked up to the reception. I assumed the problem was the antenna
network. and spent the next four weeks sourcing parts for an
Before I could go to configuring the station I needed egg-beater antenna.

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◀ ◀
Egg-beater omnidirectional antenna for 70cm
The first distinction I had to make was between the biggest challenge was trying to find 100 Ohm coax
egg-beater and turnstile design. After extensive for the phasing line. In the end the design explains
confusing searches I found a website which had four that the best way is to use two parallel 50 Ohm
explanations of the build of an egg-beater antenna pieces of coax to create the quarter wave phasing
and how the design options had been modified over line at 100 Ohm. At some point the design shows a
time. It is important to read all four documents to complicated transformer. Later on this transformer is
get an accurate picture as to how to proceed. The replaced with ferrite beads.

This diagram sourced from ON6WG AND F5VIF on their website shown below:
For the full explanation you need to download all four Pdf files :

https://on6wg-f5vif.online/Page%201.html .

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◀ ◀
 Antenna build
Eventually I had read all the
documentation and built an
egg-beater antenna

I was then able to check the

antenna and although the
SWR was great for 440Mhz,
it looks like the phasing line
and the antenna are not 100 %
matched. My cut down lengths
for the loops were 61cm.

Fixing the bugs on my station

I was now in a position on 19 July to
reconnect the station to the network. It still
did not work and after two days the system
requested me to put it in a testing mode. Now
out of frustration I called for online help. This
eventually with various iterations resolved my
problems. While inputting the station setup I
had typed the antenna type in as “rx” but the
program required it to be “RX’. With that the
station came alive and I was able to receive
observations. The only other setting was to
put the Gain of the RTLSDR as “36.4”. By using
the RTLSDR dongle you use the settings of
the default system. Using another SDR device
means that you need to start looking on other
websites for their settings.

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◀ ◀
My first observation came through with data attached :
https://network.satnogs.org/observations/9913228/

Further action planned

I need to fix the antenna in a permanent location.

I also will be sourcing a LNA (Low noise amplifier) to improve the data acquisition.

Putting up a 2m station with a Yagi. The SoapyPlay that I was hoping to use I am still
challenged with getting setup. I will probably eventually resort to using a RTLSDR. It
is planned to point the 2m Yagi to the west at a45 degree angle. This is not ideal, but
I see other stations with this setup. This means only choosing observations that this
setup will acquire.

Another local station is being built with a commercial antenna by Ronald ZS6RVC.

https://network.satnogs.org/stations/3675/

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◀ ◀
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.../back to contents page

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 A Blast from the past

2 M quad antenna
Build this portable 2 -meter quad antenna. It offers
plenty of punch to the pound for your next Field Day adventure.

IF YOU’RE AN AVID VHF HILL-TOPPER,

or just thinking about becoming
a “ham”, you’ll be interested in this inexpensive and
easy -to - build antenna for the 2 -meter band. Join
in the spirit of public service by taking this light,
portable quad antenna into the great outdoors
on Field Day, an annual event held every June. On
Field
Day, amateur radio operators take their equipment
into the field and, using power generated at the
operating site, test it to prepare for their response
in the event of a disaster.
Our portable quad antenna weighs only two
and three quarter pounds, and has good gain
compared to a four -element Yagi. Assembly of the
antenna is made simple by the use of PVC pipes
and cross -tees. All the materials you need for this
project
are available at your local home -
improvement center, and they are quite
inexpensive. The author’s
antenna cost about fifteen dollars,
including the coaxial matching section. No exotic
tuning devices are required; all you need is a simple
SWR (standing
wave ratio) meter.
Figure 1 shows a view of the antenna with the
spreader elements taken apart, ready to be
transported.

FIG.1-The entire assembly breaks down

and sets up in about five minutes for
easy portability. Extremely light, it can be
packed in and out of some places where
two bet can go and four wheels can’t.

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 Construction
The quad antenna consists of four element
spreaders (reflector, driver, and two director
sections), four boom sections, a boom support
and mast, five cross -tees and two support lines.
The spreaders are four legs that hold the actual
elements. The spreader elements should be
assembled first. The boom support and boom
sections can be assembled later.
Figure 2 shows how all sections are connected.
Cross -tees Cl through C4 are used in the
construction of the four element spreaders. Cross
- tee C5 is used for final assembly.
Four spreader legs are cemented into the four
openings of cross - tees Cl through C4. The legs,
which hold the antenna elements, should be cut
following the dimensions given in Fig. 3.
The dimensions shown in Fig. 3 are the length of
each spreader.
The spreader length is measured from the drilled
hole on one end to the drilled hole on the other
end. Make sure you leave an extra
half -inch beyond the drilled opening on the end
of each leg, and an extra three quarters of an inch
where the pipe fits into the cross -tee. The exact
FIG. 2-A side view of the spreader elements, boom sections and length of each spreader leg is not critical at this
boom support. point; exact measurements will be taken after the
The driver section is where the RG5911 coaxial cable is connected. legs are cemented to the cross -tees.
Glue the spreader legs into the cross -tees with
a silicone sealing compound. Try to avoid using
standard PVC cement-repair of an individual
element may be difficult later on if it becomes
damaged in field use. Cement all the remaining
spreader legs into the cross -tees and let them
dry for one hour. Figure 3 shows a front view of a
finished spreader element.
While the four spreader elements are curing,
cut boom sections B1-B4, the mast, and boom
support. Measure the nylon cord that is to be
used to keep the boom ends from sagging. Now,
drill two holes in the support section at one
end for the sag lines and attach the lines to the
support piece. At this point, it might be a good
idea to label all the elements, boom sections,
mast, and sag support for final and future z
assembly. Mark each section, according
to Fig. 2 to avoid any mixups, or use different
colored paint to mark mating pieces.
When all spreader sections are dry, drill two holes
at the end of each spreader leg for the wires to
pass through. Use a drill bit a few sizes larger than
the wire you’re using-stringing the wire is much
faster with a larger opening.
Measure as accurately as possible or the antenna
will be difficult to tune. A good way to do that
is to divide the spreader dimension by two, and
measure from the center of the
FIG. 3- Front view of the element spreaders with dimensions; (a) is the
cross -tee.
reflector, (b) is the driver, (c) is the second director and (d) is the first
Mark your measurement on the end of each
director.
spreader element and then drill two 3/8 -inch
holes, one hole drilled directly opposite the other.
After you have finished drilling the holes on the

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spreader legs, take cross-tee Cl, used for the

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reflector element, and drill a 3/8 - inch hole on both sides. The
wooden dowel fits into this opening and is used for suspending
the feedline far enough away from the reflector element to avoid
detuning it.
The next step is to glue half - inch couplings to each of the
elements.
Two couplings are glued on the driver and second director
elements, while only one coupling is glued to the reflector and first a b
director. Figure 4 shows a closeup view of the coupling assembly
used on the driver and second director elements. FIG. 7- A standard plug and receptacle used
A fast -drying, two -section epoxy is the best type of bonding agent to mate two coaxial cable sections; (a) is a
to use for gluing the couplings, just make sure you let each section PL -259 plug and (b) is an SO -239 receptacle.
cure for one hour.
Lay each element down on a flat surface, and rough up the side
surface of each cross -tee as well as one end of each coupler where
the two are to mate.
Use a ruler to determine the center of the cross - tee and mark that
point with a pencil. Mix enough epoxy for four couplings, which is
about two tablespoons.
Coat the four ends of each coupling with a medium amount of
epoxy. Glue the coupling to each element’s cross-tee in the center.
Use only one coupling per element for now. Work as quickly as you
can, as epoxy sets within a few minutes. All ele- ments should dry
for one hour.
Turn the driver and second director elements over. Repeat the FIG. 6- A rear view shows routing of the
process so that those two elements have a coupling on each side of coaxial matching line, the sag support tie
them, in the center. Let all elements dry for twenty four hours. points and the wooden dowel support for
Stringing the wires the antenna feedline.
For the reflector, first director, and second director, pass the wires
through the drilled holesand solder them together at a point
between the spreader legs, making a large loop. You must use a
heat sink on each side of the solder joint to prevent melting the
plastic spreader leg. On the driver element, do not connect the wire
to make a loop. Instead, pass the wire through the hole, make a
loop and wrap it back on itself again a few times.
Figure 5 shows a close up of that connection to the driver feed
point. Again, make sure you use a heat sink, and solder as quickly
as you can when you make that connection. The driver feed point
is where the RG59/U matching coaxial cable will be soldered. If you
notice that there is a significant amount of slack in the wires, you COAXIAL CABLE
can tighten the wire by doing the following: grab the wire with a FIG. 5-A closeup view of the coaxial cable
pair of needle -nose pliers where it goes inside the spreader at each connection to the driver feed point. Make sure
end of the spreader leg, one at a time. Pull gently straight outward you use a heat sink between the solder points
from the center of the element. Repeat that on all four ends of each and the plastic PVC pipe to avoid melting.
spreader leg on each element, except the driver, where you’ll only
have three points to grab. Don’t pull too hard, or you’ll warp the
spreader legs out of shape.
Next, cut back one end of the 36 -inch RG59/U coaxial matching
cable until you expose about 1.5 inches of braid and center
conductor to work with. Solder the braid to one side of the driver
loop. Don’t forget to use a heat sink. ‘Pape the first few inches of
coaxial cable from the solder joint down to the spreader leg, letting
the rest dangle. The cable will run down the center of the boom
during final assembly.
Final assembly
For final assembly gently slide the sections of boom, elements,
support, and mast together according to Fig. 2. The sections
should slide freely out for disassembly. Be careful not to jam them FIG. 4-A closeup view of the coupling
in permanently-excessive force is not necessary as the coupling assembly used on the driver and second
depth is only about 0.5 -0.75 -inch into the cross -tee. director elements. Note that the reflector and
The dowel should now be inserted into the reflector element. The first director elements have only one coupling

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dowel is used to support the RG58/U transmission line that is fed to cemented to the cross-tee.

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the matching section. antenna past about 1.4 or 1.3. If the SWR suddenly rises after
Route the coaxial matching section down the spreader leg an adjustment, you’ve probably passed the null.
away from the feed point and down the length of the boom You should still be able to get the SWR reading down very
as shown in Fig. 6. Tape the coaxial matching section to low. After you’ve gotten the SWR down to an acceptable
the boom with electrical tape-that’s something you’ll want level, seal the feedline connector with silicone cement for a
to bring with you when you use the quad out in the field. good, weather-tight seal. Apply a heavy amount of silicone
Support the assembled unit on a tripod, if possible, or any so that it completely covers the exposed area from the SO
other type of device that can hold the antenna steady while -239 connector to past the edge of the skinned coaxial
keeping it away from nearby metal objects that will distort cable.
it’s field and play havoc with SWR readings. Allow the feedline connector to dry for one day. After the
Tuning the antenna connector is thoroughly dried and cured, feed the antenna
Tune your transceiver to 146 MHz. Trim the free end of the with the RG58/U cable.
coaxial matching section back a couple of inches and solder The cable length should be reasonably short -50 -foot runs
it to a bulkhead SO -239 receptacle connector shown in are not a good idea.
Fig. 7-a. That type of bulkhead connector provides a The antenna works well in the field. When tested over a
maximum adhesion surface for the silicone sealing step. one-hundred and fifty mile distance, strengths of S-9 were
Connect the coaxial matching line with a length of RG58/U reported with as little as 3 watts from a hilltop locale. When
cable and a PL -259 plug, shown in Fig. 7-b. we turned up the power on the quad to 30 watts, the
Use a Voltage Standing -Wave Ratio (VSWR) meter to help receiving station operator said he’d send us a bill for a new S
you tune the antenna. The VSWR is an important tool in -meter! Apparently, the quad antenna does have good gain.
matching impedances of a transmission system. A VSWR Mounting the antenna for field use is left to your
reading, usually called simply the SWR, indicates the ratio imagination and individual needs. But try this little
of the load impedance to the feedpoint impedance. For plumber’s delight. We’ll see you on a hilltop soon!
maximum power transfer to occur, the feedpoint impedance
of the antenna should closely match that of the transmission PARTS LIST
line. If those impedances are mismatched, some • Schedule 125 PVC pipe -20 feet,’/2- inch in
unabsorbed power is reflected back down the transmission diameter
line. Not only is that inefficient, it can damage a transmitters • PVC cross tees -5
output stage. • #14 or #16 gauge wire -11 yards
For proper tuning of the antenna, the SWR meter should • Two-part quick -drying epoxy -1 tube
measure below 1.5. If not, desolder the SO -239 connector • RG59/U coaxial cable -1 yard
from the matching coaxial cable, trim a quarter of an inch • SO -239 bulkhead connector -1
from the center conductor and the braid, re-solder and • PL -259 plug -1
measure again. Repeat that process until the SWR reaches at • 3/8 -inch wooden dowel -6 inches
least 1.5. If that cannot be achieved, you’ve done something • Nylon cord -8 feet
wrong, probably with the driver spreader dimensions. The • 1/2” PVC couplers -6
models the author has built come down to 1.1 at 146 MHz, • Silicone sealing compound, or
and rise to 1.5 at the band edges of 144 MHz and 148 MHz. • RTV-1 tube
Also, you might not want to push your luck in trimming the • Electrical tape -1 roll

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IN OUR NEXT ISSUE

In our November ZS6TJ Calling Newsletter,

we will Feature the following Technical Articles:
Dr Gary Immelman ZS6YI – Latest on the DATV-WW Net.
Chris Turner ZS6GM Earthing the Ham Shack.
Steven Baynes ZS6XU – The basics of tubes and old radio tech .
Andrew Paterson ZS6AP Are there enough GPIO on this project? Part2.
Ronald Verweerdt ZS6RVC – Another Blast from the past !.
Curtis Mostert ZS6CMO – How to setup SVXLink for Echolink .

We have a few surprises for our Tech Articles for later this year.

Leon Lessing ZS6LMG SM1000 Free DV Adaptor project .

Ronald Verweerdt ZS6RVC The T41-SDT Radio Project.
Micheal ZS6MSW The ZS6TJ Morse Code Operators Club
John Sygo ZS6JON 10GHZ EME

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