CNHARC -
Six-meter project
Please visit the official web site at
www.CNHARC.org
.
The Central NH Amateur Radio Club has started a project to facilitate
interested members to:
- Locate, recycle and convert some very low cost, high
performance surplus commercial gear for use on six meters (gear is
also available for 2M and 440)
- Train members on the in's and out's of this new
(actually very old) mode of communications as mobile simplex is viable
and fun on 50 MHz. Compared to 2-meters, six-meter repeaters are generally very wide area
coverage machines.
- Deploy of a wide coverage six-meter
repeater in Central NH
- Unite the club around the project and have a bunch of
fun doing it!
Current CNHARC 6-meter repeater project
status as of
Wednesday July 09, 2008:
12-30-2007 at 4PM:
We're on the air in test mode.
7-6-2008 2PM: We're on the air from Gunstock!
Click here for pictures of the Gunstock
repeater
rptr TX: 53.77
PL 100.0
rptr RX: 52.77 PL 71.9
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Completely
unannounced by NY1H, Bob and Rick, K1RJZ had a sked to
confirm that the 53.77 repeater was on the air. Within
the first hour, six contacts were established. CNHARC
members must have had 53.77 in their scanners. What a
blast!
Some of
the first users:
KB1JCL
(appropriately) Now NY1H
K1RJZ
N1PDY
W1PID
N1RCQ
WA1ZDV
K1HZR
KB1ESJ
W1UR
N1LT
and others |
Rick with a 6-meter walkie
testing 53.77 from the deep woods. NY1H was on
the other end. |
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KB1JCL's Jeep Wrangler with a 6M Delta... front
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and the 110-Watt rear.
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The mobile radios.
Is this part of the six-meter repeater project?
Yes, sort of. Deploying a
wide coverage 6-meter repeater is a completely separate project but at least one
half of the "chicken and egg" syndrome may be behind us with the purchase
of these radios.
OK, show me !
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The radio chassis or "drawer"
- GE Delta-S synthesized
- 110 Watts TX output (adjustable)
- very selective/sensitive receiver
that far outperforms most typical ham-spec radios
- receiver noise blanker included
- 16-channels
- multiple CG (PL) included
- original range of 42-50 MHz
modified to 50-54 MHz
In a nutshell, the radio drawer is
loaded. GE Combination
number: N3DD3N110TB
GE Package number: N3A106 but with noise blanker option
More model number info here
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Control head
- Basic S600 non-scan,
non-downloading
- Very small !
- 8 channels but will do 16 with a
simple toggle switch modification on the side
- Can upgrade to other, fancier
heads after radio purchase
-
more
control head info here
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Cables, speaker, mike
- Included with a basic
control cable to match the control head. (other types available
later via eBay, etc if needed)
- all accessories delivered will work as a system
- includes a #12 high-current wire
directly to battery plus a low-current #18 wire to the switched
vehicle ignition lead.
-
more cable &
model info here
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Typical mobile antenna setup
- No, you don't need a 54" whip
with a ball mount drilled into your shiny new car
- Antenna grounding on 6M is very
important. Note the paint removed from the stainless steel
backet to facilitate a good ground.
- The L-bracket is a
Larson TMB-34B
- A standard 2-meter 5/8" whip like
the Larsen NMO-150K works just great as a 1/4 wave on 6-meters
- The Larsen NMO-50K (shown) is a dedicated
6-meter antenna and does work a bit better if you want the best
performance. The whip size is similar to the 2 meter version.
- Or just drill a huge ball mount
into the side of that new BMW
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Test equipment to be used
- Al, K1NZQ will use equipment
similar to this (this is actually K1RJZ's test gear)
- Gear to be available at a club
tune-up event if needed later
- clockwise from bottom left:
- Cushman CE31 service monitor to
tune frequency, modulation and RF sections.
- Cushman CE40 PL freq counter
- SINADDER to tune the RX RF path
for minimum audio distortion
- Cushman CE-15 spectrum monitor to
insure a clean TX signal.
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Project history:
Surplus mobile radios to
modify & tune.
"Real ham radio" by old standards.
K1RJZ takes delivery of untuned GE
Delta adios from K1NZQ. |
 |
Radios may have come
from dusty cement mixers or pristine ambulances. In the end,
you won't be able to tell the difference.
Off to Scrub-A-Dub car wash. |
 |
Do not try this at
home so leave it to trained professionals (?). We left out the pictures during
their spin-dry cycle.
These die-cast frame, completely
gasket-sealed radios meet MIL Spec-810D for vibration and
moisture resistance. An aggressive washing like this is not a
big deal.
(And don't try this with your
brand new FT8900
or IC706 !) |
 |
The shiny rigs after
a loving pat down with the wife's nicest towels.
|
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Clean & bench test unconverted radios prior to ham freq conversions:
K1RJZ Radio conversions:
K1NZQ
Head and cable mods: N1VE
and N1LT. |
Click here for pictures of the Gunstock
repeater
Links to more information
Note: much more technical info on Deltas will be posted on
the other public sections of this web site in the near future.
last updated:
Wednesday July 09, 2008
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