I guess we know who’s really the cause of the long podcasts. 😂

That bad?! 😂

@@SmittyHalibut 🤣

I don't know. I'll ask them if they want to publish it, or if they're ok with me publishing it on their behalf.

I assume you mean SSM2167; I couldn't find a 2168. But the 2167 looks very interesting, I'd never seen that. I kinda want one for line level signals now! I'll go looking for that. Anyway, to answer your question: I think this would be a great addition to a User Adapter! I'm not likely to add it to the Open Source kits that I'm designing and selling, mostly because it only comes in surface mount and I'm trying to keep these kits to "minimalist, easy to assemble" kits. BUT! I might add it to the next revision of the User Pro. And, this design is open source, so someone can add it themselves. ;-)

@@SmittyHalibut Yep, sorry, typo! the SSM2167... I picked up a few modules from AliE with the chip and support passives already fitted on board to avoid the smd-ness. It's a nice little chip! This version only has fixed preamp gain, which was too much for my radio at any mic gain setting, even a little hot with mic gain at 0! So it needs to be externally divided down, but the compression and noise gates are adjustable by changing a resistance ( just note that on the modules I got, the resistors for NG and COMP where reversed on the board and needed swapped or replaced with pots... check the fine datasheet 🙂) There is also a (so far in my searching) harder to source alternate version that has programmable gain, but for the extra expense and sourcing difficulty, it may not be worth it since you can just put a resistive divider on the output...)

I hope it helps you! Report back if you see an improvement. 🙂

In your defense, we did plan it, like a couple weeks ahead of the event. We'll do better to announce it with more lead time next time. 🙂

Did I really get all that backwards? *facepalm*

Diodes: that’s true, and I didn’t discuss that. The good news is, the diodes are passing very little current so their forward voltage will be much lower than the rated 0.7v. But you’re right, I should have put a diode below the n-ch, which would still be plenty of negative voltage to turn on the p-ch.

@@SmittyHalibut I went through the logic in my head at least 5 times before submitting the comment, but I think so... sorry about that.

@@SmittyHalibut, yeah you're probably right about the diodes and a diode below the n-ch would certainly do the trick.

@@MrDonTabasco Hehehe.. No worries, its not your fault I got it backwards. Hopefully people watching this video won't try to build it exactly as I drew it, or will read the comments first.

Dang! Looks like you're right. hamradio.com completely removed it from their web page, and DX Engineering lists it as "Not Available" which I'm pretty sure is different than "Out of stock, but on order and hopefully coming soon." I have no authoritative info other than just searching for it, but it looks like you're correct unfortunately.

Things are a little hectic right now (traveling for the last week and this coming, and probably moving into my shop the week or three after that), but when my schedule settles down a bit, I'll do something with this. 🙂

Thank you for the kind words. That means a lot to me. 🙂

Go back to the first in the series, it starts at the beginning. :-)

Mine or Paul's? The Mac doc at the bottom of the screen is Paul's. If you see an Ubuntu/Gnome dock on the left side of the screen, that's mine. But most of the time, you're looking at Paul's screen as shared through the Zoom call we were on during the live stream. To be fair, both are rather full of stuff... 🙂

Heh. I have a healthy fear of the edge of my roof. All the camera work here was done from the center ridge line. :-)

I have no idea. You’d have to ask an engineer to do the calculations for you on that. It’ll take into account the wind load of the antenna (different than the total dimensions and weight), and whether you guy the mast or not. Even with that information, I can’t answer that question for you. Sorry.

Nice! Let us know here how it turns out. :-)

Probably true, but since it’s outside the house, part of the overhang, I can observe it. So far so good.

This is KiCAD. I think I was using version 5 at the time of this video, but they’re up to 6 now.

@@SmittyHalibut thank you, very much

It worked very well for the time I had it up, but I ended up taking it down several years ago for various reasons. There's no reason the shorter element can't be on top, but since you'll generally be tying off to the longer element, it's easier to let the shorter ones hang down. But if your construction method makes it easier to put the shorter ones on top, there's no reason that can't work electrically.

@@SmittyHalibut I think 3 is the best number of bands. This is a great way to have a reasonably priced reliable multiband antenna that's quite easy to build.

Since recording that, I’ve made a test rig kit available: electronics.halibut.com/product/common-mode-current-choke-test-rig/ I’m not sure how good it’ll be at VHF and UHF, but it should work well enough at HF. For VHF and up, I’d made individual adaptors for each connector type, and keep all wire lengths as short as possible. I also wouldn’t bother with switching.

Make sure you’re signed up for my groups.IO list, halibut-electronics.groups.io The website is live now, but SOAR is not yet for sale. electronics.halibut.com/

Hey Marty. So, funny thing. I used this console this past weekend and thought to myself "I really need to do another version, and make X, Y, and Z changes." So, no. I haven't made a version 2 yet. And when I do, it's likely to be a product from my new-since-this-video-was-made company, Halibut Electronics. electronics.halibut.com is where it'll be. I'm actively working on a few other projects right now, but this product (and several others in a similar series) are on the back-log and will happen within the next year or two.

Three turns, two clamp ons: It would not be exactly the same, no. I don't have measurement data at hand, but my memory was that two separate 3-turn loops, each with one clamp-on, provided better rejection than two clamp-ons on a single 3-turn loop. The clamp-ons increase the inductance of a loop without increasing the capacitance, which is good. But the loops are the root of the inductance; having two of them in series is better than having one. Three ferrites vs three turns through a single ferrite: These are VERY different. Adding ferrites to a cable is linear, but adding turns to a coil is geometric (goes up with the square of the number of turns.) Think of a single ferrite on a cable with no loops as a 1-turn inductor (which is what it actually is). When you put three ferrites on that cable in a line, that's three 1-turn inductors in series. When you put inductors in series, their inductance adds. So the inductance is i*n (i being the inductance of a 1-turn inductor, n being the number of ferrites). However, adding more turns to your inductor causes the inductance to go up with the SQUARE of the number of turns: i*(n^2). So, this is definitely a more efficient use of expensive ferrite material. There are draw-backs to adding more turns, however: 1) It is physically larger and possibly more awkward than just a straight linear string of beads on a cable. Stringing beads on the cable may be the more PHYSICALLY preferred solution. 2) As shown in the video, more turns also increases the mutual capacitance between turns, which makes the choke more resonant, and results in that very peak-y graph. So more turns is not always better. That's why I suggested sticking to three turns, and adding more inductors in series. Does that answer your questions?

Spoiler: Neither have I, and for the same reasons. It's ALMOST as if that were the inspiration for the project! ;-)

That is a very fair concern. SOAR is in active development. I tweet occasionally about the work at @HalibutElec, but I post a lot more often to the [email protected] mailing list. If you'd like to see my progress, that's where to go. Availability hasn't been announced because the truth is I don't know. I will say that I'm HOPING to have a batch of hardware ready to sell at Hamvention in May 2022, that's my goal. You didn't ask about price, which is the other question I get a lot. I haven't said anything about that either because, again, I don't know. I know what my Bill of Materials cost is, but I haven't finalized the assembly cost yet. Once I have that nailed down, I'll be able to announce a price tag. I have been saying: It's more than $100, and less than $1000. And not just "$999.95" less than $1000. I know that's a wide range, but it's what I've got for now. Thanks for your interest! I appreciate your skepticism, and I hope I can meet your expectations. :-)

I really like this idea. However, there’s only so much I can do since I’m using a 3rd party RF module. I’m going to move this discussion to the groups.io email list that I see Alan is already on. If anyone else would like to follow along, you can subscribe here: electronics.halibut.com/

I have not! Halibut Electronics will start selling a test rig before too long (give me another couple months to finish getting the business setup). If you've got that Unun, I'd love for you to test it and post your results. :-)

Right now, I'm asking myself why I decided to start with THE MOST COMPLICATED of the product ideas I had when setting up the business! :-)

I've thought about that. There are some pros and cons to that. For the immediate term, SOAR will be separate from the antenna.