23cm transverter dispatched from Bulgaria

Just had an email saying my 23cm 2W transverter has been dispatched. I have no idea how long it will take to get here. 

Assuming all is OK, I hope to try some local tests this year, with the 23cm UKACs next year. I have no idea how far I can get with the small test antenna supplied with it.

See https://www.sg-lab.com/TR1300/tr1300.html .

23cm antennas (again)

At one time, a very popular 23cm antenna, for ATV I think, was the bow tie designed by G8GML (now SK). As I recall it was 2 diamond shaped elements with a solid reflector. I think it had a useful (not high) gain and a fairly broad forward lobe. 

For DX contacts, a decent beam with lots of forward gain is usually essential, but such an antenna might be better for me than the PCB HB9CV that, I believe, is supplied with the 23cm transverter that should come next month.

What I am wondering is does anyone make this commercially and at what price?

Such an antenna might be useful on 70cm too.

UPDATE 1907z:   As David says in the comments, Wimo make such an antenna. It looks expensive.

23cm antennas?

As regular readers will know, I am buying a 23cm 2W transverter from SG-Labs in Bulgaria. I think at one time they supplied a small 23cm PCB antenna with it. I have to check if this is still the case.

Looking around, 23cm commercial antennas look very expensive. As the majority of QSOs would be local(ish), I am wondering what you would recommend? As my fine motor skills are not good these days, I don't think I could make one. In the past, I would have made one! Is there one that would be ideal for me?

23cm antennas?

Next year, all being well, I hope to try some /P 23cm operation in some of the RSGB organised activity contests (UKAC). I am wondering if there is a popular antenna used in these contests?  

Clearly very high gain antennas will give good signals, but will miss stations that are out of the very sharp beamwidth, whereas smaller antennas will have broader beams, but less gain.  Perhaps, stations use one antenna for hunting, then a sharp, high gain one when on beam.

It is a very long time since I was on 23cm and then only RX.

Is there a favourite antenna?

23cms - which locals can I expect to work?

Within 25km of me are probably several stations that I could work on 23cm with a very modest indoor antenna. When my transverter  arrives I shall have to arrange a few skeds!

23cm transverter

This was ordered this weekend. Hopefully it will arrive early November. Not sure what import duty or VAT is payable. I am sure someone will tell me!

23cm portable

As a comment on an earlier post made clear, the 23cm transverter I was thinking if is made in Bulgaria and not the Ukraine, so may still be available. 

I have sent an email about price and delivery to the UK. If promising, I may get one ready for next year, assuming it is still available!

See https://www.sg-lab.com/TR1300/tr1300.html .

UPDATE 1256z:  Just got this email. I think I am going to get one.

"The price of 23cm band transverter V3 is 156 Euro.
The price for shipping is 8 Euro by BG Post .
Payment can be made by Paypal (our account is : info@sg-lab.com ) or by bank transfer.
Now lead time for 23 cm units is 2-3 weeks"

UPDATE 1422z:  I shall place an order. All being well, I shall try some local 23cm SSB tests when the transverter arrives and I have a suitable antenna. Next year, I shall try some 23cm activity sessions from a local highspot. Yes, there are a few in East Anglia!!

23cm portable?

At one time there was very good 23cm transverter available from the Ukraine, but I doubt that is currently available. 

I was considering 23cm portable operation next year using the FT817ND as the driver/IF. What 23cm transverters are currently available and at what price please? What would you recommend? I assume 2W is the typical power for a /P station.

Sadly, my fine motor skills these days rule out kits, so I would be looking at a ready made unit.

No 23cm in Finland?

According to a piece in Southgate News, amateurs in Finland lost the 23cm band (apart from temporary access by special permit) back in April. They are seeking alternative spectrum, possibly the 220-225MHz band that is allocated in the USA. The prime driver is amateur television.

The authorities are concerned about future interference with Galileo navigation satellites. It is a pity they could not have retained access to 23cms, perhaps with a much reduced ERP on a "non interference" basis. 

As far as I am aware there are no similar plans across Europe for 23cms. If the Finns get access to the 220MHz band, I think this would be the first in Region 1. 

Personally I would have tried for low band 1, possibly including the 8m band, say 40-45MHz. The bottom could be narrowband and the rest for DATV on a secondary basis. Even if they only allocated 2MHz, this would be useful in under-used spectrum.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/december/finland-radio-hams-ask-for-1240--1300-mhz-replacement.htm#.X9kP9miTLrc

23cm

This is a band I have never transmitted on. Many years ago I borrowed a RX converter and had a play one evening with an indoor home-made 4 el antenna. Quite a few people have played around on the band with the SG labs 2W transverter that comes with a PCB HB9CV antenna.

Some erect serious stations with big antennas and linears with far more power. These people can access scatter modes and get ranges that some would consider amazing for a microwave band.

I guess the trouble is that we cannot do everything as time and money are limited.  There is so much I would like to try!

See http://www.sg-lab.com/TR1300/tr1300.html

2023 WRC threat to 23cm band?

Southgate News reports that the 23cm band could be threatened at the 2023 WRC (World Radio Conference). The main issue is possible interference to Galileo satellite systems.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2019/august/threat-to-amateur-radio-23cm-band.htm

10GHz contest and 1296MHz operation

Sadly, I have no gear for 10GHz. I think there was a 10GHz contest on Sunday afternoon. I have thought about getting something, also for 1296MHz /P. If I was fitter I might have got "my arse into gear" sooner. As it is, I guess one can only do so much in our great hobby, especially if fitness is a thing of the past!

There is a quite low cost 1296MHz 2W transverter available from Bulgaria (SG lab) which has had good reviews. I know G8LRD (David) uses one with his FT817 when out portable and works some decent ranges. I cannot remember what antenna he uses.

The image is from the SG Labs website. I hope they don't mind me linking to it.

As you can see, this is small and light enough to be mounted on a portable mast close to a 23cm antenna to minimise cable losses.

As I could not find a price for this transverter on their website, I dropped them an email. I got a reply very quickly: 156 euros plus 8 euros economy shipping to the UK. They accept PayPal. Not bad for a 2W, sensitive, transverter. This is for V2.3 which also accepts an external 10MHz reference.

See http://www.sg-lab.com/TR1300/tr1300.html

Microwave TX and RX modules

I have just seen this site, although I have never used it so cannot say how good the service is.

See http://www.13cm.co.uk/index.php

1.3GHz UKAC this evening

This is a band I do not go on. Tonight is the 1.3GHz leg of the UK activity contests organised by the RSGB.

If this is like the 2m and 70cm contests, it is a good opportunity to come on the band and work a few new stations and squares.

In the distant past I borrowed a converter and listened on the band with a homemade, indoor 4 el yagi made of 2.5mm silver plated wire. I recall hearing a local well.

Really it is a band I should try,  like 10GHz. I have always been put off by a lack of test gear. My site is quite good, but I am not good on ladders these days and decent antennas are a must.

23cms the inexpensive way

A very very long time ago I went on 23cms RX with a homemade 4el yagi (tiny, indoors) and borrowed RX converter. This must have been about 1976 or 1977.

There is an relatively inexpensive way of getting on the band (transceive) if you have an FT817 or FT290 to drive it using an SG-LAB transverter. The transverter is about £140 and is made in Bulgaria. Output on TX is a useful 2W. This set-up could be ideal for portable use.

See http://gm1sxx.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/that-elusive-23cms-beacon-gb3csb.html .
See http://www.sg-lab.com/TR1300/tr1300.html .

A new 23cm transverter kit from Australia

http://www.minikits.com.au/image/data/eme171_1200_files/eme23-trva.jpg

Mini-Kits in Australia has just announced a new transverter for 23cms. Based on a number of modules, it allows a complete, high performance transverter to be built. This transverter replaces earlier designs that used parts no longer available. At the time of writing there is no price shown. See http://www.minikits.com.au/eme23-trv.htm .

I am very impressed when people release kits for 23cms and higher. Designing a kit that is easy to reproduce is not an easy task, although using SMA components and printed inductors/striplines makes the initial modelling easier and less subject to variations than when leaded parts are used.

23cms omni-directional horizontal antennas?

At the moment I'm still pondering the bands to try at my new QTH in a few months from now.  One possibility is 23cms, a band I have never used on TX.

One consideration at the new QTH is antenna (non) visibility and I am anxious to go for "neighbour acceptable" solutions on all bands. For 2m SSB/CW/data I am still minded to use a couple of stacked big-wheel antennas giving around 5dBd horizontal gain. Up above the apex of the roof, this should soon be lost being not that much bigger than a TV yagi. The partly vertical feeder to this will load up on the HF bands as a nice stealth antenna: I have used the coax to my 10m halo as a very effective HF antenna, even on 472kHz despite being only a few metres long.

But what about 23cms?  Maybe to just get on the band simply and with an unobtrusive antenna the Alford slot is worth a try? If I understand correctly, these give an omnidirectional horizontally polarized signal with around 10dBd gain. Placed at the top of the mast, maybe above the big-wheel and inside a PVC pipe as a radome, and fed with low loss coax (or with the transverter up near the antenna) this might be enough to work the locals during UKAC contests.  Alford slots are popular for 23cm beacons and ATV, so why not for local 23cm SSB/CW activity or for weak signal data modes?

Another possibility would be a big-wheel (or should it be tiny wheel?) on 23cms. This would be about 12cms across only!

The photo above was from an eBay item which sold for around £130 back in April. Is anyone aware of commercially available 23cms horizontal omni-directional antenna?

Simple, fool proof 1296MHz transverter?

Thinking about my new QTH on top of our East Anglia "hill" (aka 20m bump) I am wondering if I should consider 1296MHz operation for the first time, if only to monitor/try the band in UKAC contests with relatively local stations. Although I have listened (briefly) on 23cm years ago with a borrowed RX converter, I've never transmitted on the band with any mode.

What I am looking for is a SIMPLE transverter for the band, either a no-tune kit or a simple ready built unit. I have no test gear for this band, which is why I've not really considered the band before. The driver would be the FT817, so any suitable band could be used for the IF.

The Down East Microwave 1296MHz transverter may be a possibility. See http://croatia-microwave.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/w1ghz-rover-transverter-for-1296-mhz.html for a report of one built.

Incidentally I remember the 23cm antenna I used back in the 1970s with the borrowed converter: it was a 4 element yagi made with 2.5mm silver plated wire. The whole antenna sat in the palm of the hand, but worked well, even indoors mounted on a piece of bamboo cane as the mast! If I remember correctly, the design was in an early edition of VHF Communications, a magazine I subscribed to back in the 1970s.

23cm activity contest next Tuesday

Having had some fun in both the 2m and 70cm cumulative contests today and last Tuesday my thoughts are now turning to the next contest which is on 23cm next Tuesday evening. As I don't have any transmit or antennas on that band I shall just listen. Once again I shall have to make a suitable antenna and the most likely will be either a small 4 el beam made from thick wire or a 23cm Moxon 2 element beam which would be about the size of my hand. My 23cm converter has not been used for well over 15 years so that will need to be checked carefully and the LO crystal re-netted.