WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:06.019 by Tower Electronics. For connectors, cables, 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:12.939 and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259 00:00:12.939 --> 00:00:17.640 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, logged 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:22.859 it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash amateur 00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:58.869 for more information about ICOM radios. Good 00:00:58.869 --> 00:01:03.479 evening everyone! It's time for another episode 00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:08.439 of HamTalk Live, episode number 248, Building 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:12.260 the Big Ugly Ballon, recorded live on Thursday, 00:01:12.359 --> 00:01:17.299 February 25th, 2021. I'm your host, Neil Rapp, 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:21.959 WB9 VPG. Thanks for tuning in to this episode 00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:25.700 of HamTalk Live. Tonight we're joined by John 00:01:25.700 --> 00:01:30.950 Portoon, W6NBC. and we'll take your calls live 00:01:30.950 --> 00:01:34.390 in just a few minutes. Last week, Mark Brown 00:01:34.390 --> 00:01:37.409 in for BCD was here to talk about some encouraging 00:01:37.409 --> 00:01:40.849 news about the Huntsville Ham Fest. If you missed 00:01:40.849 --> 00:01:43.849 the show, you can listen anytime at HamTalkLive 00:01:43.849 --> 00:01:47.950 .com or on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:51.439 and you can catch the rebroadcast of ham talk 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:54.040 live every saturday afternoon at about three 00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:59.239 thirty p m eastern time over on w t w w that's 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:04.040 five zero eight five a m shortwave again w t 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:09.060 w w five zero eight five on uh saturday's three 00:02:09.060 --> 00:02:14.389 thirty p m eastern Well, let me remind you about 00:02:14.389 --> 00:02:18.129 the QSO Today virtual ham expo coming up again 00:02:18.129 --> 00:02:21.090 on March 13th and 14th. Early bird tickets are 00:02:21.090 --> 00:02:24.590 $10. As part of the speaker lineup, they have 00:02:24.590 --> 00:02:27.509 all kinds of speakers. I believe it's like 80 00:02:27.509 --> 00:02:32.770 or so. But ARRL CEO David Minster in A2AA will 00:02:32.770 --> 00:02:36.310 deliver the keynote on Saturday, March 13th from 00:02:36.310 --> 00:02:39.689 12 to 1 Pacific time. And in his keynote, he 00:02:39.689 --> 00:02:42.830 will share some enthusiasm for advancing amateur 00:02:42.830 --> 00:02:46.409 radio and highlighting some current ARRL initiatives 00:02:46.409 --> 00:02:50.150 to engage and inspire. The current generation 00:02:50.150 --> 00:02:55.810 of ham so check that out Okay, well we're gonna 00:02:55.810 --> 00:02:58.669 talk to John here in a minute, but but we had 00:02:58.669 --> 00:03:03.210 some sad news come our way yesterday My favorite 00:03:03.210 --> 00:03:08.969 store on the planet Fry's electronics has closed 00:03:08.969 --> 00:03:13.750 the doors and It was so much fun. You could go 00:03:13.750 --> 00:03:19.580 in and buy You know a USB cable um something 00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:23.639 from the as seen on tv section and and get lunch 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:26.939 all at the same time and and it was just a fabulous 00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:31.300 place and and uh last few years have been pretty 00:03:31.300 --> 00:03:36.060 rough uh and then um you know covid hit and and 00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:40.719 so they have closed the doors so um fries uh 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:43.580 electronics is no more so so we're going to take 00:03:43.580 --> 00:03:51.229 a moment of silence to remember fries All right. 00:03:51.270 --> 00:03:53.750 Well get your questions ready to go for John 00:03:53.750 --> 00:03:58.030 we're going to talk to him about The big ugly 00:03:58.030 --> 00:04:00.189 so we're going to talk about that if you're listening 00:04:00.189 --> 00:04:03.389 to us live on Thursday night You can give us 00:04:03.389 --> 00:04:06.729 a call after the interview by calling eight five 00:04:06.729 --> 00:04:10.770 nine nine eight two seventy three seventy three 00:04:10.770 --> 00:04:13.270 Don't worry. We'll give out that number many 00:04:13.270 --> 00:04:16.329 more times before it's time to call so you can 00:04:16.329 --> 00:04:19.000 have it ready and We'll let you know when it's 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:22.139 time to call. You can also tweet us tonight. 00:04:22.699 --> 00:04:25.740 It's at HamTalk Live on Twitter. And if you're 00:04:25.740 --> 00:04:29.079 on Spreaker, there's the comments. and we have 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:31.519 a kind of a little chat room kind of thing going 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:34.620 on there in the comments. So you can do that 00:04:34.620 --> 00:04:38.860 in real time as well. So I'll be back with John 00:04:38.860 --> 00:04:41.600 right after this word from ICOM America right 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:47.079 here on HamTalk Live. Love is on the air at ICOM 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:52.040 with this sweetheart of a package. It's the IC705, 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:55.620 the perfect sidekick for hams that like to enjoy. 00:04:55.819 --> 00:04:58.319 what both the great indoors and outdoors have 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:01.420 to offer. It's the perfect QRP companion, base 00:05:01.420 --> 00:05:04.079 station features and functionality at the tip 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:06.680 of your fingers in a portable package covering 00:05:06.680 --> 00:05:10.240 HF 6 meters, 2 meters and 70 centimeters. This 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:13.139 compact rig weighs in at just over 2 pounds with 00:05:13.139 --> 00:05:16.259 RF direct sampling for most of the HF band and 00:05:16.259 --> 00:05:19.779 IF sampling for frequencies above 25 megahertz. 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:23.060 It has a 4 .3 inch color touchscreen with live 00:05:23.060 --> 00:05:25.500 band scope and waterfall, runs 5 10 watts with 00:05:25.500 --> 00:05:29.439 a battery, 10 watts with a power supply, CW -AMFM 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:32.680 sideband, full D -star functions, a micro USB 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:35.360 connector, Bluetooth, wireless LAN, integrated 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:38.959 GPS, a micro SD card slot, and a speaker mic. 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:42.680 comes standard and it supports QRP and QRP portable 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:46.439 operations. And the perfect accessory for the 00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:51.459 705 is the now available optional backpack LC192 00:05:51.459 --> 00:05:55.040 with a special compartment for your IC705 and 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:58.339 room for accessories for soda activations or 00:05:58.339 --> 00:06:01.240 just a day in the park. Some other accessories 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:04.680 include a QRP portable magnetic antenna, a standard 00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:07.860 battery, a lithium -ion battery pack, micro USB 00:06:07.860 --> 00:06:12.050 cable, USB -C to micro USB cable, a DC power 00:06:12.050 --> 00:06:14.990 cable, a compact lapel push -to -talk Bluetooth 00:06:14.990 --> 00:06:18.129 with earphone, a desktop tray, and the antenna 00:06:18.129 --> 00:06:20.850 tuner is coming soon. And there's free software 00:06:20.850 --> 00:06:23.230 available to download, the programming software, 00:06:23.449 --> 00:06:25.850 the Android app, the terminal mode access point 00:06:25.850 --> 00:06:28.250 mode application, and the smartphone picture 00:06:28.250 --> 00:06:32.230 utility for Android, iOS, and Windows. And the 00:06:32.230 --> 00:06:35.990 RSBA1 IP remote control software is sold separately. 00:06:36.250 --> 00:06:40.410 Visit IcomAmerica .com slash amateur for more 00:06:40.410 --> 00:06:44.769 information on Icom radios. Two antennas met 00:06:44.769 --> 00:06:47.790 on a roof, fell in love and got married. The 00:06:47.790 --> 00:06:50.930 ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent. 00:06:51.490 --> 00:06:54.290 You're listening to HamTalk Live with Neil Rapp. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:22.639 Welcome back to HamTalk Live. Tonight, John Fortune 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:27.720 W6NBC joins us on the Orlando Amateur Radio Club 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:31.300 and hamcation Zoom line. John's been a ham since 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:38.680 1965. He's active on 160 through 2 .4 gigs and 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:42.939 helps people get licensed. and helps new licensees 00:07:42.939 --> 00:07:48.459 and manages a remote base on HF and VHF at Vandenberg 00:07:48.459 --> 00:07:51.740 Air Force Base and does a lot of two meter and 00:07:51.740 --> 00:07:55.920 40 meter mobile from his RV. He's married to 00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:59.500 KF -60EB, has three married children, 12 grandchildren, 00:07:59.779 --> 00:08:03.060 and John retired in 2002 and spent most of his 00:08:03.060 --> 00:08:08.300 career working for KNBC. Oh, hang on. I lost 00:08:08.300 --> 00:08:15.779 my sound effect here at KNBC in Los Angeles and 00:08:15.779 --> 00:08:20.040 Ampex Corporation and Sony Electronics. So John, 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:23.879 welcome back to the show. My pleasure, Neil. 00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:30.170 Well, we're talking about. The big ugly and and 00:08:30.170 --> 00:08:32.529 and I had to I had to make this connection because 00:08:32.529 --> 00:08:35.549 you know the term ugly ballon has been around 00:08:35.549 --> 00:08:38.789 we'll talk about that maybe bit of a misnomer 00:08:38.789 --> 00:08:43.929 but But there's there's this hamburger place 00:08:43.929 --> 00:08:48.990 here in Indiana Called bubs and they and that 00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:52.029 bubs stands for the big ugly burger and they 00:08:52.029 --> 00:08:55.649 have this 22 ounce hamburger that would made 00:08:55.649 --> 00:09:04.500 the Was it dine -in or dives or man versus food 00:09:04.500 --> 00:09:10.070 or one of those big... Food network shows where 00:09:10.070 --> 00:09:12.649 they they take on the challenge and then you 00:09:12.649 --> 00:09:14.370 know If you eat the whole thing you get your 00:09:14.370 --> 00:09:16.250 picture on the wall and all that kind of thing 00:09:16.250 --> 00:09:20.190 and so they called that the big ugly so You know, 00:09:20.190 --> 00:09:22.549 we're talking about ugly balance. I said, well, 00:09:22.549 --> 00:09:24.529 we're talking about the big ugly, but it's not 00:09:24.529 --> 00:09:28.470 the burger It's the it's the ugly ballon and 00:09:28.470 --> 00:09:34.899 you have an article in QST about That so let's 00:09:34.899 --> 00:09:38.679 talk a little bit about the ugly ballon and what 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:45.779 it's used for Okay, Neil Well, basically the 00:09:45.779 --> 00:09:49.080 ugly ballon as it is a actually affectionately 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:54.620 called I think Just like any other ballot. It's 00:09:54.620 --> 00:09:58.320 basically there to choke off RF from the outside 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:02.879 of the coax It does it It does it in much the 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:06.899 same way as a ferrite ballon that you might buy. 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:12.519 But it's called ugly because it's large and heavy, 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:16.299 because it's made by taking the feed line that 00:10:16.299 --> 00:10:18.659 you're feeding your antenna with and turning 00:10:18.659 --> 00:10:23.000 it into a big coil that creates an inductive 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:26.480 reactance in the outside of the shield. In other 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:32.110 words, a blockage or a high RF resistance in 00:10:32.110 --> 00:10:35.470 the shield to block off current on the outside 00:10:35.470 --> 00:10:41.809 of the line. And they're heavy and big. So sometimes 00:10:41.809 --> 00:10:45.409 people think they're ugly. I don't. I use them 00:10:45.409 --> 00:10:50.149 everywhere. They're particularly good at VHF, 00:10:50.450 --> 00:10:53.610 which is where I often am. So that's why they're 00:10:53.610 --> 00:10:57.480 called ugly balance. I think they look pretty 00:10:57.480 --> 00:11:00.179 cool. Just you know, if you if you wind it tight 00:11:00.179 --> 00:11:03.360 now, you know if you if your windings not real 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:06.419 great it might be a little ugly, but But yeah, 00:11:06.419 --> 00:11:08.759 I think they look pretty cool. But yeah, they 00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:13.820 are they do tend to be a little big Yeah, indeed 00:11:13.820 --> 00:11:17.279 when you ask what are what are they for what 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:20.379 are they good for Well, or what do we need to 00:11:20.379 --> 00:11:24.980 know to build one of them? well There are five 00:11:24.980 --> 00:11:27.659 things that you need to keep in mind when you're 00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:34.080 going to build any kind of a balance, an ugly 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:40.620 balance. And that is, don't pay attention to 00:11:40.620 --> 00:11:47.600 the internet. There's a terrible lot of misinformation 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:51.139 out there about ugly balance. Every time I go 00:11:51.139 --> 00:11:54.649 looking, I say, Oh, no, not another badly designed 00:11:54.649 --> 00:11:59.149 ugly ballad. Because one needs to start with 00:11:59.149 --> 00:12:02.629 an understanding of what a ballad does. A ballad 00:12:02.629 --> 00:12:07.610 is basically a device to get rid of the RF on 00:12:07.610 --> 00:12:10.870 the outside of the shield caused by the fact 00:12:10.870 --> 00:12:14.289 that at the end of the coax connected to a balanced 00:12:14.289 --> 00:12:17.649 antenna, there is a connection between the inside 00:12:17.649 --> 00:12:20.690 of the shield and the outside of the shield. 00:12:20.860 --> 00:12:24.100 which are separated by skin effect. It's the 00:12:24.100 --> 00:12:27.659 same reason a Faraday's shield is separated inside 00:12:27.659 --> 00:12:32.100 and outside. But the misinformation that we commonly 00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:36.159 run into on the internet is that, well, you just 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:38.179 grab a bunch of coax and you wrap a bunch of 00:12:38.179 --> 00:12:40.600 windings on any old piece of pipe and it's good 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:44.240 enough. That is not true. That is absolutely 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:47.360 not true. If you want that ugly ballon to work 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:51.330 right, there are some specifics. that you need 00:12:51.330 --> 00:12:57.269 to follow. So the number of turns, the length 00:12:57.269 --> 00:13:01.250 of the ballon turns, and the diameter of it do 00:13:01.250 --> 00:13:04.870 need to be a specific size, a specific number, 00:13:05.070 --> 00:13:09.830 if you want that ballon to work right. And the 00:13:09.830 --> 00:13:15.289 reason is, is because the ballon has a self -resonant 00:13:15.289 --> 00:13:20.529 frequency. That coil of coax out there is a parallel 00:13:20.529 --> 00:13:23.909 tuned circuit, and it has a self -resonant frequency. 00:13:24.570 --> 00:13:26.769 And if you don't work with that self -resonant 00:13:26.769 --> 00:13:29.649 frequency right, your ballad may be not only 00:13:29.649 --> 00:13:33.169 useless, but it may be counterproductive. So 00:13:33.169 --> 00:13:35.509 you do need to be aware of the self -resonant 00:13:35.509 --> 00:13:38.629 frequency. And what is the main consequence of 00:13:38.629 --> 00:13:42.009 that self -resonant frequency? It limits the 00:13:42.009 --> 00:13:45.090 range of the ballad. So those are some of the 00:13:45.090 --> 00:13:48.009 things you need to keep in mind when you're building 00:13:48.250 --> 00:13:52.649 one of these balance and calculating it. All 00:13:52.649 --> 00:13:56.710 right, and if people don't know, why would you 00:13:56.710 --> 00:13:58.909 put one of these things on? Why would you do 00:13:58.909 --> 00:14:02.970 this? Well, it's the same reason you put any 00:14:02.970 --> 00:14:07.330 ballon on an antenna to get rid of the current 00:14:07.330 --> 00:14:12.250 that flows from the inside skin of the shield 00:14:12.250 --> 00:14:16.409 on the coax around the end and out onto the outside. 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:20.100 And when it gets there, it does all sorts of 00:14:20.100 --> 00:14:24.159 nasty things, simplest of which might be to bite 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:26.500 you in the lip on your microphone when it gets 00:14:26.500 --> 00:14:30.559 back to the shack. But worst of all, it disturbs 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:33.220 the radiation pattern of the antenna because 00:14:33.220 --> 00:14:37.659 it's part of the radiating antenna. It does radiate. 00:14:38.139 --> 00:14:42.470 Also, it disturbs the SWR of the antenna. and 00:14:42.470 --> 00:14:46.110 it also changes the tuned frequency of that antenna. 00:14:46.669 --> 00:14:49.450 So if you don't have a ballon on your antenna, 00:14:49.870 --> 00:14:52.789 all of those nasty things can happen. You need 00:14:52.789 --> 00:14:58.230 to keep the RF inside the coax, where it is a 00:14:58.230 --> 00:15:03.049 balanced line. Surprisingly, coax is not an unbalanced 00:15:03.049 --> 00:15:06.690 line. It's a balanced line with a third wire, 00:15:07.190 --> 00:15:10.379 the outside of shield. That's what makes it so 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:15.559 -called unbalanced. So that's going to keep, 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:21.360 or at least hopefully keep, the RF from going 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:25.940 in places you don't want it, like, you know, 00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:30.259 back into your rig and into your electronics 00:15:30.259 --> 00:15:35.679 and all that kind of thing. So... You mentioned 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:38.580 the number of turns and the length and the diameter 00:15:38.580 --> 00:15:41.899 and all those kinds of things How do you go about 00:15:41.899 --> 00:15:44.879 figuring that out for the bands that you're looking 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:51.259 at? Okay There's a very basic rule of thumb in 00:15:51.259 --> 00:15:54.940 designing these balance these coax balance and 00:15:54.940 --> 00:15:59.779 that is 200 ohms inductive reactants now many 00:15:59.779 --> 00:16:02.440 people might pull up their skirts and run off 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:05.080 in a horror with the term inductive reactance. 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:09.759 It's just the AC resistance of a coil, the inductive 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:12.700 reactance. And it's measured in ohms, just like 00:16:12.700 --> 00:16:16.519 common DC resistance is measured. That needs 00:16:16.519 --> 00:16:21.740 to be 200 ohms, and not different than 200 ohms. 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:27.399 And the reason for 200 is 200 is enough to block, 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:30.429 pretty much block, the current on the outside 00:16:30.429 --> 00:16:34.309 of the shield. But it's not too much. If you 00:16:34.309 --> 00:16:36.590 make it more than that, and you shouldn't do 00:16:36.590 --> 00:16:39.110 that, you shouldn't make it more than that, and 00:16:39.110 --> 00:16:42.769 many websites recommend that you do, what you're 00:16:42.769 --> 00:16:44.649 going to do is you're going to bring the self 00:16:44.649 --> 00:16:49.210 -resonant frequency down into the operating frequency 00:16:49.210 --> 00:16:52.769 of the ballad. And when you do that, it'll stop 00:16:52.769 --> 00:16:56.889 being a ballad. So here's probably the number 00:16:56.889 --> 00:17:01.730 one rule of doing coax balance. You want to calculate 00:17:01.730 --> 00:17:04.309 the right number of turns, the right size, and 00:17:04.309 --> 00:17:08.410 the right length of that coil so that the inductive 00:17:08.410 --> 00:17:12.690 reactance or the RF resistance of that coil to 00:17:12.690 --> 00:17:17.349 RF is 200 ohms. That's pretty much of a stand 00:17:17.349 --> 00:17:20.809 mark. From there, that's a benchmark. From there, 00:17:21.029 --> 00:17:26.410 you have to turn 200 ohms reactance into microhenries, 00:17:26.609 --> 00:17:29.680 and then you have to turn microhenries into turns 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:32.519 and size and length. But there are some nice 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:35.279 little free calculators on the internet, which 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:38.160 I listed in my article, that you can get to do 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:42.980 that with. And I can do math, but I prefer the 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:46.460 online calculators. And so it's a matter of calculating, 00:17:46.660 --> 00:17:50.339 beginning with 200 ohms inductive reactance at 00:17:50.339 --> 00:17:53.240 the frequency you're operating, turning that 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:56.920 into microhenries. by math or by a calculator 00:17:56.920 --> 00:18:02.420 and then turning microhenries with another calculator 00:18:02.420 --> 00:18:06.519 or another equation into turns, lengths, and 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:09.420 diameter. Once you've got that, then you'll know 00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:12.319 the right size to make the coil. So it'll do 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:16.799 its job but not limit the frequency range of 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:19.619 the ballon by having too low a self -resonant 00:18:19.619 --> 00:18:26.099 frequency. All right, so last question here before 00:18:26.099 --> 00:18:30.559 we take a break and give people a chance to Call 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:32.680 in here and let me give that phone number out 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:39.119 again. It's 8 5 9 9 8 2 73 73 and we'll give 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:43.220 that out again Soon, but keep that number handy. 00:18:43.220 --> 00:18:45.279 We'll let you know here in a little bit when 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:55.220 it's time to call 8 5 9 What kind of antennas 00:18:55.220 --> 00:19:00.000 would you typically want to put this on? I know 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:05.160 you mentioned some VHF stuff. Where would you 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:09.420 typically want to use this? Well, you can use 00:19:09.420 --> 00:19:13.279 an ugly ballon or a coiled coax ballon. which 00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:16.539 is what I prefer to call them, on any kind of 00:19:16.539 --> 00:19:20.900 an antenna because it does the same job as a 00:19:20.900 --> 00:19:22.960 ferrite balance that you might spend a lot of 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:27.059 money for. Ferrite balance are good, I use them 00:19:27.059 --> 00:19:31.819 too, but you want to use it on an antenna in 00:19:31.819 --> 00:19:34.960 which its weight and its size is not a problem. 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:38.500 Obviously, if you're trying to hang it up at 00:19:38.500 --> 00:19:40.420 the feed point, the weight might be a little 00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:44.250 difficult. Fortunately, usually though, you're 00:19:44.250 --> 00:19:47.269 not doing that on 160 meters where you'd need 00:19:47.269 --> 00:19:51.029 to make a big ballad. So it fits on any antennas. 00:19:51.470 --> 00:19:55.529 On VHF, however, I find that often the mast is 00:19:55.529 --> 00:19:58.690 made out of PVC. And therefore you can use the 00:19:58.690 --> 00:20:02.410 mast of the PVC that the antenna is made on or 00:20:02.410 --> 00:20:05.069 mounted on as a place to mount the ballad. And 00:20:05.069 --> 00:20:08.069 it goes right below the antenna. Very handy place. 00:20:08.410 --> 00:20:11.240 Fill a couple of holes in the mast. if you find 00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:13.700 the correct number of turns around it, and you're 00:20:13.700 --> 00:20:18.500 away. All right, very good. Well, we're going 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:21.500 to take some questions about these and talk a 00:20:21.500 --> 00:20:25.259 little bit more about the big ugly with John 00:20:25.259 --> 00:20:27.960 right after this word from Tower Electronics 00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:33.380 right here on AmTALK Live. Thanks for choosing 00:20:33.380 --> 00:20:36.359 Tower Electronics. How may we help you today? 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:40.839 We have PL259s, we have in connectors, we have 00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:44.339 SMA adapters, we have BNC adapters. What can 00:20:44.339 --> 00:20:47.579 I show you today? Where's the tower? Well, we 00:20:47.579 --> 00:20:50.759 don't actually have a tower with us, but we have 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:53.059 all kinds of things you can use with a tower. 00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:56.680 We have power poles, antennas, soldering irons 00:20:56.680 --> 00:20:59.960 and meters. Where's the tower? Ma 'am, that's 00:20:59.960 --> 00:21:02.539 the name of our company. We can't haul towers 00:21:02.539 --> 00:21:04.700 to all the ham -fests across the country that 00:21:04.700 --> 00:21:07.339 we visit, but we have almost every connector 00:21:07.339 --> 00:21:09.900 and adapter you would need to connect your antenna 00:21:09.900 --> 00:21:12.000 that's on your tower. I don't think there's a 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.619 tower back there. I really don't. Tower Electronics. 00:21:15.880 --> 00:21:18.960 Visit us at a ham -fest near you or call 920 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:24.859 -435 -2973 or see our whole catalog at pl -259 00:21:24.859 --> 00:21:27.680 .com. Sorry, one thing we don't have is a tower. 00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:32.660 If you're a fan of Tim Allen's TV series Last 00:21:32.660 --> 00:21:36.140 Man Standing, you'll have a final chance to contact 00:21:36.140 --> 00:21:39.000 the show's amateur radio club station before 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:46.980 it goes QRT. The week -long KA -6 LMS radio special 00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:52.779 event starts on March 24th at 0000 UTC and runs 00:21:52.779 --> 00:21:57.329 through 2359 UTC on March 30th. This will be 00:21:57.329 --> 00:22:01.490 an all -mode, all -band event. KA -6 LMS QSL 00:22:01.490 --> 00:22:04.410 cards will be available for stations who contact 00:22:04.410 --> 00:22:07.150 the stage directly or through relay stations. 00:22:07.769 --> 00:22:10.529 Special event certificates, including clean sweep 00:22:10.529 --> 00:22:13.150 endorsements, will be available via download. 00:22:13.789 --> 00:22:20.670 For more information, go to www .gsbarc .org 00:22:20.670 --> 00:22:27.359 slash LMS. Join the conversation. Give us a call 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:33.420 at 859 -982 -7373. Again, the number to call 00:22:33.420 --> 00:22:39.960 is 859 -982 -7373. Or, if you'd rather type than 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:43.700 talk, tweet us at HamTalk Live. Now, here's Neil 00:22:43.700 --> 00:22:48.920 Rapp with more HamTalk Live. HamTalk Live with 00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:53.619 Neil Rapp. Hey, baby. I'd love to be in your 00:22:53.619 --> 00:23:17.880 grid square. Welcome back to HamTalk Live, thanks 00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:22.059 to Scott and Jill. at Tower Electronics for sponsoring 00:23:22.059 --> 00:23:24.400 the show tonight. They help bring you HamTalk 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:27.220 Live each and every week. Coming up this weekend, 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:30.960 it's the HamFest at Dalton, Georgia. You can 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:33.680 catch them there or you can catch them online 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:42.400 from anywhere at PL -259 .com. HamTalk Live is 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:45.460 on the air every Thursday night at 9 p .m. Eastern 00:23:45.460 --> 00:23:49.609 Time Live right here at HamTalkLive .com. And 00:23:49.609 --> 00:23:51.950 be sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, 00:23:52.349 --> 00:23:56.910 and Instagram. And before we get back to John 00:23:56.910 --> 00:24:00.829 here and talk about the ugly ballon, we're going 00:24:00.829 --> 00:24:05.259 to... Hear from Rick in 9GSU with this week's 00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:32.680 Joke of the Week. I can't get my satellite radio 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:36.500 to work. It appears to be having serious issues. 00:24:56.880 --> 00:25:00.180 Oh my goodness, well Rick's back next week with 00:25:00.180 --> 00:25:02.799 yet another one. He sent me some new ones today. 00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:06.180 So we'll get those ready for you. All right, 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:08.980 well now it's time for your calls. If you have 00:25:08.980 --> 00:25:13.579 a question for John, give us a call at 859 -982 00:25:13.579 --> 00:25:18.400 -7373 or you can tweet us at HamTalk Live. And 00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:21.740 if you're listening to us on WTWW right now or 00:25:21.740 --> 00:25:26.660 on a podcast, You won't be able to reach us because 00:25:26.660 --> 00:25:32.640 we're doing this live on Thursday night, so we're 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:36.759 Memorex instead of live. Okay, well we actually 00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:43.099 do have several tweets here, so let me get to 00:25:43.099 --> 00:25:49.660 those. The first one came in early. Let me hunt 00:25:49.660 --> 00:25:58.170 it down here. from John W7JKC and where did it 00:25:58.170 --> 00:26:04.549 go? It was right here. Oh, John wants to know 00:26:04.549 --> 00:26:08.670 if the number of turns makes a difference in 00:26:08.670 --> 00:26:12.130 the frequency for the balance. So I think you 00:26:12.130 --> 00:26:14.170 already addressed that, but any other comments 00:26:14.170 --> 00:26:18.809 on that? Yes, the number of turns is quite important, 00:26:19.049 --> 00:26:22.349 but so is the diameter and the length of the 00:26:22.349 --> 00:26:25.869 of the ballad. The key in making a good coax 00:26:25.869 --> 00:26:30.470 ballad is to make it square, which means make 00:26:30.470 --> 00:26:33.670 the height equal to the diameter. Then your self 00:26:33.670 --> 00:26:37.250 -resonant frequency will be as high as possible. 00:26:37.509 --> 00:26:41.130 It peaks for a square coil. Don't follow the 00:26:41.130 --> 00:26:44.490 guidelines on the internet that show long, thin, 00:26:44.829 --> 00:26:48.390 many turn coils. That's a poorly designed ballad. 00:26:48.690 --> 00:26:51.269 Also, One that doesn't have enough turns and 00:26:51.269 --> 00:26:54.509 is too big in diameter is a poorly designed ballad. 00:26:54.950 --> 00:26:58.430 Make your ballad square. If it's six inches in 00:26:58.430 --> 00:27:00.789 diameter, make it the number of turns that'll 00:27:00.789 --> 00:27:03.650 be six inches tall. Then you'll have the best, 00:27:03.650 --> 00:27:08.390 most efficient ballad. All right, very good. 00:27:09.349 --> 00:27:16.009 Brett, WI7BG brings in F equals MA. Conservation 00:27:16.009 --> 00:27:18.970 of energy means that energy cannot be created 00:27:18.970 --> 00:27:23.849 nor destroyed. It's back to physics 101 here. 00:27:24.750 --> 00:27:27.829 And if that doesn't go down the shield of your 00:27:27.829 --> 00:27:32.750 coax, it's got to go somewhere. So where does 00:27:32.750 --> 00:27:37.769 it go? Well, that's really pretty simple. The 00:27:37.769 --> 00:27:40.650 energy that's going back down the shield is part 00:27:40.650 --> 00:27:42.970 of the energy that's coming up the coax from 00:27:42.970 --> 00:27:48.420 your transmitter. So, if you're putting 100 watts 00:27:48.420 --> 00:27:52.460 into the coax, then it's going out the end. And 00:27:52.460 --> 00:27:54.660 whether it goes out the end into the antenna, 00:27:55.480 --> 00:27:58.299 or part of it goes back down the coax, the total 00:27:58.299 --> 00:28:01.359 is still the 100 watts that's coming out of your 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:05.880 transmitter. You're not creating new power. So 00:28:05.880 --> 00:28:09.980 hopefully, we're releasing a little more power 00:28:09.980 --> 00:28:14.150 out of the antenna, if everything's right. Yes, 00:28:14.269 --> 00:28:17.470 we're releasing more power. The same power is 00:28:17.470 --> 00:28:20.250 going out of the total antenna system, but the 00:28:20.250 --> 00:28:23.769 outside of the shield is, if it's active there 00:28:23.769 --> 00:28:26.630 is part of the antenna system. So part of the 00:28:26.630 --> 00:28:28.769 power is going out the shield. Part of it is 00:28:28.769 --> 00:28:31.509 going out the dipole that you want it to go out 00:28:31.509 --> 00:28:35.609 of. All right. And then also do you need different 00:28:35.609 --> 00:28:40.509 ones for different bands? Oh yes, very definitely. 00:28:41.369 --> 00:28:45.940 The self resonant frequency. of the ballad, which 00:28:45.940 --> 00:28:48.640 you can calculate. The little calculator I like 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:53.279 is called COIL64. Look it up on the internet. 00:28:54.180 --> 00:28:58.420 COIL64. And it has a way to calculate the self 00:28:58.420 --> 00:29:01.339 -resonant frequency. It needs to be above the 00:29:01.339 --> 00:29:07.420 operating frequency of the ballad. But it's usually 00:29:07.420 --> 00:29:10.259 close enough that it limits the total frequency 00:29:10.259 --> 00:29:13.440 range of the ballad. of the ballad. A 160 meter 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:16.519 ballad will not go to 10 meters despite what 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:19.380 the internet will tell you. Don't make the ballad 00:29:19.380 --> 00:29:22.819 too big. Too many turns is not a good idea. That's 00:29:22.819 --> 00:29:27.259 too much reactance. So you do need to make it. 00:29:27.559 --> 00:29:31.000 Now people ask, well, if it'll only go if an 00:29:30.970 --> 00:29:34.529 of a 160 meter ballon will only go to 40 meters, 00:29:34.529 --> 00:29:37.390 for example, or a 40 meter ballon will only go 00:29:37.390 --> 00:29:39.990 to 10 meters, or a 10 meter ballon will only 00:29:39.990 --> 00:29:42.869 go to six meters. How do I make it work all those 00:29:42.869 --> 00:29:46.329 bands? Well, you can't. It's not a possibility 00:29:46.329 --> 00:29:49.509 with a coax ballon. But how do you get around 00:29:49.509 --> 00:29:54.430 this? Very simply, put more than one ballon on 00:29:54.430 --> 00:29:58.599 the same coax. build one for 160, build one for 00:29:58.599 --> 00:30:01.299 40, and build one for 10, and put them all in 00:30:01.299 --> 00:30:03.700 the same coax, and they'll do the trick. Now 00:30:03.700 --> 00:30:06.500 you've got a wide frequency ballad. If you want 00:30:06.500 --> 00:30:09.039 a single ballad that gives you all frequencies, 00:30:09.539 --> 00:30:12.380 use a ferrite ballad. They have shortcomings, 00:30:12.420 --> 00:30:14.920 they're expensive, and they heat up if you try 00:30:14.920 --> 00:30:18.799 to use them at high SWR, but if you want a single 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:22.359 ballad that covers all bands, use ferrite. But 00:30:22.359 --> 00:30:26.799 coiled coax ballads are great for One band or 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:36.099 one or two bands All right, very good so RJWY7AA 00:30:36.099 --> 00:30:38.980 sent us a picture and and John I don't know if 00:30:38.980 --> 00:30:41.059 you're on Twitter or not, but I may have to send 00:30:41.059 --> 00:30:44.059 you this picture if you're not afterwards so 00:30:44.059 --> 00:30:48.259 you can see this but RJ says a big ugly saved 00:30:48.259 --> 00:30:52.299 me during the seven Kyuso party one year with 00:30:52.299 --> 00:30:55.960 the 40 meter dipole up which by the way in the 00:30:55.960 --> 00:31:01.359 picture is next to the his famous El Camino it 00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:04.380 would shut down his IC 7000 what he keyed up 00:31:04.380 --> 00:31:08.279 and he grabbed one of his water jugs and yes 00:31:08.279 --> 00:31:12.319 the hams favorite friend some duct tape And a 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:16.039 few wraps and he was in business again. No calculations 00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:19.119 were done at the time, just dumb luck, but you 00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:21.960 can see here the coax coming out of the El Camino 00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:26.480 and going around the milk jug with water in it 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:29.740 a few times and then right over to the antenna. 00:31:31.519 --> 00:31:34.059 Yep. Soda bottles, water balance, make pretty 00:31:34.059 --> 00:31:37.200 good, ugly balance. Just don't, just don't overdo 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:42.309 the number of turns. All right. Oh, we've got 00:31:42.309 --> 00:31:46.089 more here Chris says does the number of turns 00:31:46.089 --> 00:31:50.470 matter as much as the total coax length and is 00:31:50.470 --> 00:31:53.250 there a standard size for a ballon that will 00:31:53.250 --> 00:31:56.230 work from 160 through 10 so you got part of that 00:31:56.230 --> 00:31:59.970 but Does the number of turns matter as much as 00:31:59.970 --> 00:32:04.769 the total coax length? They're pretty much directly 00:32:04.769 --> 00:32:08.670 related So does one matter more than the other? 00:32:08.710 --> 00:32:11.630 No, they both matter and they're directly related. 00:32:12.289 --> 00:32:15.470 But again, I emphasize there is no ugly balance 00:32:15.470 --> 00:32:19.250 that will cover 160 through 10 meters. Don't 00:32:19.250 --> 00:32:22.910 believe the websites. They're wrong. These are 00:32:22.910 --> 00:32:28.470 people that don't understand ugly balance. All 00:32:28.470 --> 00:32:31.529 right. Well, that's all of our tweets that we 00:32:31.529 --> 00:32:34.519 have. Let me... check and see if we have any 00:32:34.519 --> 00:32:37.259 messages on the speaker and if you want to give 00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:40.579 us a phone call you can do that right now at 00:32:40.579 --> 00:32:51.400 859 -982 -7373 again 859 -982 -7373 give us a 00:32:51.400 --> 00:32:54.789 call right now And you can ask your questions 00:32:54.789 --> 00:33:00.210 from John Portun, W6NBC. And he's written an 00:33:00.210 --> 00:33:05.430 article in Q Street for February about the big 00:33:05.430 --> 00:33:10.009 ugly ballon. And I believe you also have one 00:33:10.009 --> 00:33:18.210 of the AWRL learning webinars coming up, as well 00:33:18.210 --> 00:33:22.670 as the virtual ham expo that you'll be talking 00:33:22.670 --> 00:33:27.789 about some stuff. But I believe the the ARRL 00:33:27.789 --> 00:33:30.490 one is is about the ugly balance. Is that right? 00:33:31.769 --> 00:33:33.950 Yes, that's correct. It's not scheduled yet, 00:33:33.950 --> 00:33:38.589 but it will be on presently. And yes, I will 00:33:38.589 --> 00:33:43.289 be speaking at the QSO today virtual expo on 00:33:43.289 --> 00:33:46.630 March 13. But it won't be on the balance. It'll 00:33:46.630 --> 00:33:51.650 be on my The antenna that I mentioned recently 00:33:51.650 --> 00:33:56.210 has been gaining such great popularity. The double 00:33:56.210 --> 00:34:02.230 inverted delta skeleton slot antenna for HF. 00:34:02.730 --> 00:34:06.750 I mentioned it in my talk on slot antennas, which 00:34:06.750 --> 00:34:12.230 is also in my Amazon Kindle eBook on slot antennas 00:34:12.230 --> 00:34:15.630 for ham radio, if you'd like to avail yourself 00:34:15.630 --> 00:34:19.289 of a copy of that. by simply searching by that 00:34:19.289 --> 00:34:23.570 name. And that's what I'm talking about at the 00:34:23.570 --> 00:34:27.349 Ham Expo. And what I'm particularly talking about 00:34:27.349 --> 00:34:30.809 at the Ham Expo in regard to that antenna is 00:34:30.809 --> 00:34:34.969 how to use it without having to buy an expensive 00:34:34.969 --> 00:34:39.269 auto tuner by using it as a mono bander. Mono 00:34:39.269 --> 00:34:42.090 banders are quite satisfactory to lots of hams. 00:34:42.489 --> 00:34:47.019 So I'm showing at the QSO Expo how to use the 00:34:47.019 --> 00:34:50.119 double inverted Delta skeleton slot as a mono 00:34:50.119 --> 00:34:52.619 bander for a lot less money than buying one of 00:34:52.619 --> 00:34:55.860 those remote auto tuners, which work well, but 00:34:55.860 --> 00:35:01.159 they're expensive. Okay, very good. 859 -982 00:35:01.159 --> 00:35:03.980 -7373 is the phone number. And Chris has another 00:35:03.980 --> 00:35:06.960 question here. So if I have an ugly ballon that 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:09.920 works, say on 80 meters, will using that antenna 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:14.820 and ugly on the other bands cause issues or increased 00:35:14.820 --> 00:35:21.889 loss? No, the ballon is not a lossy device. The 00:35:21.889 --> 00:35:24.929 RF is going down the middle of the coax. But 00:35:24.929 --> 00:35:28.570 if you have an 80 meter, a balance really designed 00:35:28.570 --> 00:35:32.429 for 80 meters, a square 80 meter ballon of the 00:35:32.429 --> 00:35:34.590 right number of turns and the right diameter 00:35:34.590 --> 00:35:37.750 and the right height, it will only work down 00:35:37.750 --> 00:35:45.690 to maybe only work up to let's say about 15 meters 00:35:45.690 --> 00:35:48.909 or so. They have a limited frequency range at 00:35:48.909 --> 00:35:52.269 most about 3 to 1. So don't try to use an ugly 00:35:52.269 --> 00:35:55.429 ballon over a wider frequency than that. And 00:35:55.429 --> 00:35:58.869 again, I re -emphasize. Don't believe the websites 00:35:58.869 --> 00:36:02.010 that tell you, oh, just fill the 160 meter ballon 00:36:02.010 --> 00:36:05.289 and it's good for all the higher bands. No, it's 00:36:05.289 --> 00:36:08.610 not. The self -resonant frequency will eat you 00:36:08.610 --> 00:36:13.929 alive. All right. Some good advice there. So 00:36:13.929 --> 00:36:18.639 thank you for that. If you want to give us a 00:36:18.639 --> 00:36:23.519 call, do that now. It's 859 -982 -7373. We're 00:36:23.519 --> 00:36:26.260 going to wrap things up here shortly. So I want 00:36:26.260 --> 00:36:28.900 to give one last opportunity for people to call 00:36:28.900 --> 00:36:32.719 and we'll check the tweets here again as well. 00:36:33.239 --> 00:36:35.780 But I know somebody on one of the forums already 00:36:35.780 --> 00:36:40.480 mentioned, why do we call this a ballon? And 00:36:40.480 --> 00:36:46.010 so talk a little bit about the origins of the 00:36:46.010 --> 00:36:52.630 name, the ugly ballon, and where that might apply 00:36:52.630 --> 00:36:57.750 and might not. Well, first of all, the term bal 00:36:57.750 --> 00:37:00.989 -un, which comes from balanced, unbalanced as 00:37:00.989 --> 00:37:05.909 an acronym, is a valid term. But unfortunately, 00:37:05.989 --> 00:37:09.150 it masks the real purpose of a ballon, which 00:37:09.150 --> 00:37:12.650 is to keep the RF off the shield of the coax. 00:37:13.050 --> 00:37:16.010 because because of skin effect there are three 00:37:16.010 --> 00:37:19.530 wires in coax the outside of the center conductor 00:37:19.530 --> 00:37:22.730 the inside of the shield and the outside of the 00:37:22.730 --> 00:37:25.690 shield and due to the connection natural connection 00:37:25.690 --> 00:37:28.949 at the end current gets on the outside the purpose 00:37:28.949 --> 00:37:31.829 of the ballon is to get rid of that outside and 00:37:31.829 --> 00:37:35.030 to keep the coax a balanced line now the term 00:37:35.030 --> 00:37:38.519 ballon originated, I think, about the same time 00:37:38.519 --> 00:37:42.800 as coax began to be popular with hams just after 00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:46.179 the Second World War, where coax was used extensively 00:37:46.179 --> 00:37:50.639 for the first time. And the term ballon got into 00:37:50.639 --> 00:37:53.539 the vocabulary of ham radio. And that's what 00:37:53.539 --> 00:37:56.639 people think. Stand up at a radio club sometime 00:37:56.639 --> 00:37:59.400 and ask, what's the primary purpose of a ballon? 00:37:59.659 --> 00:38:01.820 And hams will shoot up and they'll say, oh, it's 00:38:01.820 --> 00:38:04.719 to convert balance to unbalanced. Yes, that's 00:38:04.719 --> 00:38:07.800 true. But that's not the primary purpose. And 00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:10.739 that's where the term ballon was originated. 00:38:11.079 --> 00:38:15.920 I much prefer coax shield choke. That's what 00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:21.679 to me the device is. And in fact, the ballon 00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:28.900 changes coax from unbalanced three wire coax, 00:38:29.159 --> 00:38:31.900 three wire transmission line, into balance two. 00:38:32.280 --> 00:38:36.420 two wire transmission line only the inside coax 00:38:36.420 --> 00:38:39.800 is not unbalanced it's balanced with a third 00:38:39.800 --> 00:38:42.579 unbalanced with a third wire get rid of it and 00:38:42.579 --> 00:38:45.619 it's a balanced transmission line inside of a 00:38:45.619 --> 00:38:49.059 faraday shield it's perfectly balanced inside 00:38:49.059 --> 00:38:57.460 very good all right so so we'll call it the the 00:38:57.460 --> 00:39:03.710 uh coaxial coiled uh choke But it just doesn't 00:39:03.710 --> 00:39:05.510 it just doesn't roll off the tongue as well. 00:39:05.510 --> 00:39:13.510 I think that's maybe it No, it doesn't All right. 00:39:13.590 --> 00:39:17.010 Well, I think we're through all of our questions 00:39:17.010 --> 00:39:21.730 and comments here for tonight John so Thank you 00:39:21.730 --> 00:39:24.789 so much for being here and sharing with us as 00:39:24.789 --> 00:39:29.670 you do from time to time about some antenna issues 00:39:29.670 --> 00:39:34.690 of one type or another and thanks for coming 00:39:34.690 --> 00:39:38.369 on and talking about the big ugly and we'll do 00:39:38.369 --> 00:39:43.650 it again soon with something else. That'll be 00:39:43.650 --> 00:39:46.130 fine, Neil. I look forward to it. Always got 00:39:46.130 --> 00:39:50.139 things to talk about. All right. Well, that's 00:39:50.139 --> 00:39:55.400 John Portun W6 NBC and We want to thank him for 00:39:55.400 --> 00:39:59.139 being on the show and that is a wrap for this 00:39:59.139 --> 00:40:03.360 week's episode of ham talk live Thanks also to 00:40:03.360 --> 00:40:06.260 everybody out there in cyberspace for listening 00:40:06.260 --> 00:40:09.460 and typing in tonight with your questions And 00:40:09.460 --> 00:40:12.860 we invite you back next Thursday night at 9 p 00:40:12.860 --> 00:40:16.920 .m. Eastern Time when Jim Wilson, K5ND will be 00:40:16.920 --> 00:40:20.400 here to talk about VHF contesting and roving. 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:23.400 And for a list of all of our upcoming guests, 00:40:24.139 --> 00:40:28.960 visit HamTalkLive .com. If you like HamTalk Live, 00:40:29.139 --> 00:40:31.559 please leave us a review wherever you listen. 00:40:31.639 --> 00:40:34.690 It helps others find us faster and... We're about 00:40:34.690 --> 00:40:38.329 to finish up our giveaway in February to people 00:40:38.329 --> 00:40:43.530 who leave us reviews on Apple podcasts or iTunes 00:40:43.530 --> 00:40:46.710 as it was formerly called. We're giving away 00:40:46.710 --> 00:40:50.469 some free t -shirts to people that leave us a 00:40:50.469 --> 00:40:54.309 review in the month of February. So what you 00:40:54.309 --> 00:40:59.949 do is launch Apple's podcast app on your mobile 00:40:59.949 --> 00:41:03.730 device or iTunes on your computer. search for 00:41:03.730 --> 00:41:07.110 ham talk live click on the logo and then you 00:41:07.110 --> 00:41:09.570 can scroll down to write a review and make sure 00:41:09.570 --> 00:41:13.230 you leave your call sign in your review so we 00:41:13.230 --> 00:41:17.250 can send you a shirt so we'll contact you and 00:41:17.250 --> 00:41:20.030 find out what size you need and get a shirt to 00:41:20.030 --> 00:41:23.849 you so do that in the next few days here we're 00:41:23.849 --> 00:41:27.349 going to end the contest at the end of the month 00:41:27.349 --> 00:41:31.750 but We appreciate reviews at any point on any 00:41:31.750 --> 00:41:35.230 platform, but that's where the contest is right 00:41:35.230 --> 00:41:39.949 now. So for now, this is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 00:41:39.949 --> 00:41:45.550 7 -3, 7 -5, and may the good DX be yours.