I know the correct way is to replace the line or install a splice section. For a small hole, I've always wondered if it would be possible to fill a small hole on the shield (air dielectric cable) with a small amount of silver solder. I think this would be an issue with foam dielectric (melting the d...

The higher, longer and more vertical the long wire the better. The problem with a low height horizontal antenna is that the effective radiation toward the horizon (coverage area) is low. I have a 1.8 MHz antenna vertical wire antenna that uses a 100 foot tree as a support. It has several elevated ra...

I have not found a USB sound card that is bullet proof. We do use the Lexicon Alpha boxes but not for on-air or main production. My preference for critical applications is to purchase an on-lease HP Z400 workstation and install a Digigram VX222HR sound card. You can get the Z400's off-lease for abou...

Most of the folks at work like to now order what I call small "baby" units that are rack mounted. They have very limited air volume capacity. Seems like folks are always chasing small air leaks since the duty cycle goes high due to the limited air volume. I remember a few years ago, we spe...

We have a cabling group for my day job. I was wondering why they have been using lots of Cablewave (RFS) corrugated cable for a while for the larger diameter cables. I used to design projects with Andrew 2 1/4 inch diameter cable but it is not available any longer. RF Parts was also pushing a Europe...

Times Microwave has a good unit that I use:

Model LP-GTR-DFM-35
It uses the same gas discharge plugs as the polyphaser.
Very well made. You can get either the male or female DIN connector


https://www.talleycom.com/viewProduct?r ... GTR-DFM-35

Ray

Does part 74.1201 (g) apply for a AM (class B) primary station to lease a FM translator that is well beyond the primary station's 1mV/meter coverage area? The translator location is actually close to the 0.1 mV/meter primary contour. (g) Translator coverage contour. For a fill-in FM translator rebro...

How easy are minor frequency changes for the newer synthesized Marti RFUs (analog)? It looks like you have to program the frequency via a RS232. Is special software required or is it just a RS232 command? Can't seem to find any documentation that talks about this other than "send it to the fact...

Digital Alert Systems (formerly Monroe) is now offering a "special" price for a EAS firmware catchup to the current version 4 for $390 until June. This will take you from whatever version you are now using to the current version. I don't know if June means until June 1 or the end of June N...

We had a car that ran into a utility pole late yesterday and took out the AC power. This has happened several times before and is can be handled remotely with the station controller. This time however, the surge tripped a 115 VAC circuit breaker in the control room that powers the computer UPSs. It ...

I've thought of buying the StereoTool Software www.stereotool.com for a backup Tx for about $150 and installing on a dedicated rack mounted PC. Not sure of the reliability, but it might be OK for a backup. I'd be interested to find out how the new car radios have the same range with mono or stereo. ...

I used Coax Seal (connector putty) several years ago. Andrew also sold their own version. It is OK until you try to remove it and then it leaves remnants on the connector threads that are hard to remove. Mineral Spirits is about the only way to remove it. The idea is that any left over residual can ...

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago. It just about drove me crazy. There was a random VSWR spike every few weeks that would sometimes fault the transmitter. I even logged the forward and reflected power with a A/D converter for about a month. I think the root cause was remnants of RF conne...

I had a frequency search service ask me for our "stop buzzer" this morning. I found out they were asking for the FCC Point of Contact for shutdown. I've never heard this term used before.

I also use a hacksaw, but I put the Heliax in a mitre box when I cut so that I can get a square cut. This works up to 1 5/8 diam.