Tech Alert! - Construction of 6m Yagi antenna

 

The finished product - 4 element Yagi antenna for 50 MHz (6 metres)

This post purely serves as a record keeping exercise for me so that I can check back at some point in the future when I need to view the specs for this antenna I recently built.  The design came from a Serbian amateur YU7EF who is a master antenna designer.  His webpage is at http://www.yu7ef.com/

This was a fun build and I learnt a lot about antenna construction along the way.  Best of all the antenna has proven to be a very good performer.  It works!  Believe me, I don't get to say that very often when I build something.  Mostly it's "oh well, it was worth a try".  I have made contacts all over Australia, NZ and into Indonesia so far with the this antenna over the summer Sporadic E season.

I was extremely careful in measuring the element spacing and lengths and was rewarded with a perfectly matched antenna.  Here are the vital dimensions and gain measurements.

I used the 10mm diameter elements in my construction so the antenna is extremely lightweight.

Using the ARRL antenna handbook recipe I also constructed a common-mode choke tuned for 50 MHz and using LMR-400 coaxial cable.  Here's a photo of the choke.

And here is a pic of the element mounting.  Note the ancient Inca rug.

I used Stauff hydraulic hose clamps from the local EnZed outlet.  These are perfect for this purpose and cost less than $30 for a bag of 25 clamps.

I am very pleased with this build, the only thing I would change next time is use heavier grade aluminium for the boom.  I wasn't able to purchase a heavier grade locally at the time.

Until next time, peace and love.

Two songs for you from Jess Cornelius

 

I am a latecomer to Jess Cornelius, an Australian singer/songwriter now based in the USA.  I first heard her sing in her band Teeth and Tongue maybe a couple of years ago.  Beautiful electro pop gems with an indie edge.  But beyond listening to one record I didn't venture any further until her debut solo record Distance was released a few months ago.  Wow!  What a gem of a record.  It is so full of great songs I have to be careful not to over play it as I want the wonder to last as long as possible.

This was going to be "a song for you" post, but I can't choose between these two songs.  Both videos were shot in LA during COVID lockdown in mid 2020 as you will soon pick up.  

The first song "Kitchen Floor" is the opening track on the record and it's a killer tune and vocal.  I love the video as it makes a strong statement which challenges society's expectations of women by depicting a situation not usually shown and one I've never heard discussed in polite circles.  You don't need me to explain anymore as you'll get it soon enough.

The second song "Body Memory" deals with a tragic event in the song character's life and the fall out for a relationship.  It's a beautifully told story and I find the lyric quiet moving.  The clip though is just plain fun and should be marketed as an exercise video (they probably don't make them anymore, right?).

Please listen to some of the best Australian music there is (or has been).

Jess Cornelius Bandcamp page: https://jesscornelius.bandcamp.com/ 

Until next time, peace and love.

PS, I am still reading that monster novel.

Jess Cornelius - Kitchen Floor

Jess Cornelius - Body Memory

On my bedside table

 

This blog seems to be a running update on what I have been reading of late.  Nevermind, I like to read and really these posts are for my own amusement as much as anything else.  And as I have a terrible memory it can serve as a reminder to me in my enfeebled years as to what I got up to in this period of my life.

So after reading the autobiography of Miles Davis and all that raw reality, I felt like I needed to read some fiction  to restore my sanity a little.  The Miles book was gripping, but also exhausting as the reader delves into the terribleness of his nature.  As I may have said previously, as a jazz musician he made a terrible human being.

So with the need for a psychic reset and without much thought I grabbed the latest Murakami epic (704 pages).  I've read a few of his books, but I wouldn't call myself a fan necessarily; however, he writes in a particular style which I enjoy and makes for a quick read.  So even though this novel was on the hefty side I whipped through it very quickly.

It's an entertaining read for sure, but I'm not sure if it's totally successful.  I'm no literary critic, I failed English lit at school (along with everything else) so it's on the record that my opinion is not to be trusted in these matters.  I had a quick look at the review quotes on his website and all the usual superlatives were there from the newspapers (the Houston Chronicle anyone!?) so maybe it's a good novel.  I shouldn't be too negative as I did actually enjoy the book and it provided the soothing remedy I was looking for following the raw journey through the soul of Miles Davis.

A quick synopsis: a portrait painter moves to a remote mountainous house of a now ailing Japanese master artist to recover from his marriage breakdown.  The master is now ensconced in a care facility to see out his final days.  Our protagonist teaches a little art to adults and children at a local school, has a couple of girlfriends who drop by, but otherwise keeps to himself.  He has given up portrait painting and intends to focus on painting in his preferred style; however, his agent contacts him one day about a proposed commission at a price way above his usual rate.  Short of money he accepts the commission and a strange and wealthy man who happens to live across the valley enters the story, as does a mysterious 13 year old girl.

If you've read Murakami before you won't be surprised the novel enters the supernatural regularly.  Characters from a painting materialise and speak to our artist and there is a journey into the underworld, which if I am to be honest I don't fully understand the point of.  It does correlate with some events in the material world, but I found this section a little weak.

Would I recommend this book?  Well yes, if you are familiar with Murakami and his tales I think you will enjoy this book.  I like him as we don't often hear Japanese voices in English language novels and having visited Japan a couple of times, it's a place I find very interesting and attractive.

My new book is one I have had set aside for a couple of years waiting for the right moment.  That moment has arrived and as of today I am 500 pages into this 1100 page tome.  What can it be you ask? 

Until next time, peace and love.