Anyone know if the Nitto B307AA bars can take bar end shifters? It doesn't seem likely, but I can't find anything conclusive. :(
(Yes, I know about the RM016, but I don't want bars that wide. I'm currently on the hunt for swept-back bars narrower than 46cm that can take bar end shifters.)
@mastobikes group @biketooter group #cycling #bicycle #mastobikes #biketooter
Finally got the T130-0 toroid transformer put together and things are looking better for the 6m band. The SWR remains under 3 with a ~50Ω resistor load. 👍
An XMPP friend sent me this from Twitter. Even the DOGE AI bot "knows" that our government is incompetent. >:(
Habeas corpus is the bedrock of due process—any threat to suspend it over political disputes is a red line. The real issue? National security demands discipline, not defiance. If leadership can’t uphold constitutional guardrails while executing the mission, that’s a failure of command structure, not an excuse for overreach.
The Pentagon’s job is to protect America, not engage in power struggles that erode public trust. Fix the dysfunction, don’t torch the Constitution to mask incompetence.
Well, I got a local minimum at 50.3 MHz, but the SWR is horrid. :(
I started by shortening the antenna by folding it as shown in the photo, but it was very slowly moving the local SWR minimum up. Once I started actually cutting the down-turned ends, it started moving said local minimum up more quickly to this point. Not sure what the safest thing to do here is now to get it to a "normal" (straight dipole), though. :/
Finally built that fucking J-pole. It definitely does 70cm better than my 6m dipole does, but I still haven't received anything interesting. :(
SWR has a local minimum at 49 MHz, but it's still 14. :(
Wondering about that tuned reflector idea in my original post.
Continuing from here…
So now I have an 1:1 transformer balun based on these instructions (using 20 gauge thermostat wire and an FT-140-43 ferrite toroid) at the feed point of the antenna, and while I'm getting less noise when receiving than before, the SWR plot still looks pretty bad. :(
Some ideas going forward:
- Since the bad SWR might simply be "uneven" (multipath) reflections from the stucco walls of my balcony, I'm thinking it might help to have a Yagi-Uda style reflector on the balcony side of the dipole, as shown in the attached diagram.
- Just fucking build the J-pole and save the dipole for later. :(
What do folks think?
Times are shown in the local timezone
It's currently 15:29 on Saturday, April 26th in the local timezone, well before 18:01. >:(
I don't think the big sleeve balun I've been using is working so great, what with all of the radio waves bouncing around and off the stucco walls of my balcony. Going to build one of these to use instead. Already got the supplies for it! 👍
