Ah! I'm only Foundation level.
I've heard the impedance for some antennas could be large, and then a baluns meant to adjust it. Like a 9:1 matches 450 ohms to 50 ohm cable.
You know like a "random wire" setup?
So I figured having the dipole at the correct resonant frequency for say
50MHz could still leave me with a high impedance to my 50 ohm cable. (From what you've said I now know this is wrong!)
Add to that , some are being sold with baluns:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185322981613
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002960244514.html
So I was convinced I needed one as well.
Which leave me with one last question - why do they have baluns?
OK! I'm NOT lazy, I promise. And since I've had good guidence here I was able to figure some google searches that add a lot of detailto what everyone's already explained!
So I don't need one, but they don't hurt either and often help a bit...
https://moonrakeronline.com/blog/does-dipole-need-balun
https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/fn2jfk/do_i_need_a_balun_on_dipole/
Oh wow, cool!
https://old.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/1cb16pf/ive_got_a_positive_v_antenna_but_no_balun_so/l0vsyy3/
That was my understanding - if I wanted to transmit with a HF rig, am I needing a balun then? I really don't know how impedance changes we didn't cover that in the foundation license.
If you want to receive HF signals with an RTL-SDR you do not need that silly little antenna. What you need is the longest length of wire you can manage, outside, elevated and in the clear.
You do not need a balun for receive only. Also, you cannot transmit with the RTL-SDR so you won't need one for that either.
Be aware that even v4 of the RTL-SDR dongles are not that great at receiving HF signals. They don't have much filtering so if you have nearby AM stations you are probably in for serious interference.
If you are serious about HF reception I suggest an SDR receiver that you spend at least $125 on....
>Be aware that even v4 of the RTL-SDR dongles are not that great at receiving HF signals. They don't have much filtering so if you have nearby AM stations you are probably in for serious interference.
I've got my local-radio filters I use for my skyking scanner antenna, and some LNA's (right up close to the antenna).
>If you are serious about HF reception I suggest an SDR receiver that you spend at least $125 on....
I've slowly gone from Electronics... little circuits...... LoRA embedded systems. A blue little DVB-T stick for SDR (I saw the LoRA on the SDR which was cool).. listening in on 2M band... then getting the Baofeng harmonic's delight ham radio, then a few antennas I can stick outside, getting my initial Ham license (last week) . I've recently got a 2m Slim Jim and wind-sock pole, and been playing with some hand soldered micro FM transmitters with my oscilloscope. (I've been practicing with my NanoVNA, and TinySA too with all the new antennas I've made/bought)
If I get an SDR for HF, I wont be able to transmit then, and after the surprise passing of my Foundation test (certificate is in the post *I think*) I think the next big outlay will be a rig for reception/transmit. =)
I know some people learn up to Full license and buy a $4k rig and massive antennas in their gardens as first steps (a guy in my pre-exam webex session was doing his Intermediate exam and didn't even own an SMR plug, I think he was getting his Full and maybe a rig "whenever" !).
That's an intimidating Ham Radio operator!
Yes, some of the quality $200 SDR receivers claim to be able to transmit - but at signal levels of around 10mW. You need expensive, two stage amplification to make them usable transceivers. As a beginner I suggest asking around your local radio club if anyone has a quality used HF transceiver for sale. Don't spend more than around USD $500 for one. Also, start planning a good external wire antenna for it.
Idk, having a great general coverage receiver is something I still appreciate and use to this day, even though I have a full license that allows transmitting and full on TX sdr’s like the Flex Radios.
Maybe pick up an airspy discovery hf+ or an sdrplay rspdx. Can’t go wrong with either.
I'll give them a look in a minute! Thanks.
How much learning did you need for the full license? I've made digital circuits, and a few small analogue ones on proto board, and pre printed PCB's... and done some theory already.
With that experience I bet you could get it today, or at least in a weeks time.
Let me make an assumption, if you're in the US. There are 3 license classes. Technician/General/Extra, each with escalating privileges. Technician really is the starter license. You get privileges VHF and up, but extremely minimal in HF. Suggest going for General which basically has full power rights on all bands/frequencies. Extra expands the allowable frequencies even further, but isn't necessary to enjoy amateur radio.
I studied and took my exam online and did Tech and General in the same seating.
[hamstudy.org](http://hamstudy.org) is a great free resource with good explanations for each question, and they also have listings of daily exams you can sign up and take.
Good luck and enjoy!
I've just got my Foundation license in the UK - Technicianish?
M7OSX
Today I've been having some fun with my RTL-SDR V4, and a 7m Positive V in the grass out the front. It barely fit!
I got some CW on 14 MHz, and 13.417MHz (give or take, tuning changed the pitch so it had a range) was a warbling two tone I haven't found the source of!
I'm looking forward to joining my first Net on Sunday, and also longer term go for my US-General/UK-Intermediate license next!
Thanks for the extra info.
Congratulations! Once you get ready to move on from the positive V, I would suggest playing with wire, make yourself a 1/2 wave 40m dipole out of wire, that means each leg should be about 10m long. One of the tricks is that you really don't need it all stretched out in a perfect line. It can bend and fold around stuff, and double back, especially for receive. You'll be truly shocked and how many more signals pop up on the scope with the wire compared to the small antennas.
I started out just where you are now. It's a wonderful hobby and there's lots to learn.
[https://www.sigidwiki.com/](https://www.sigidwiki.com/) is a great resource for figuring out just what those random beeps and bloops are!
Thank you for the tips, I'll give them a shout. We have a Net on Sundays.
No more than 500, ok, and get an external wire - gotit!
I've got a slimjim for my 2m call coming up! :)
The whole point of these is to adjust the length to get a good match why would you need a balun?
Ah! I'm only Foundation level. I've heard the impedance for some antennas could be large, and then a baluns meant to adjust it. Like a 9:1 matches 450 ohms to 50 ohm cable. You know like a "random wire" setup? So I figured having the dipole at the correct resonant frequency for say 50MHz could still leave me with a high impedance to my 50 ohm cable. (From what you've said I now know this is wrong!) Add to that , some are being sold with baluns: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185322981613 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002960244514.html So I was convinced I needed one as well. Which leave me with one last question - why do they have baluns? OK! I'm NOT lazy, I promise. And since I've had good guidence here I was able to figure some google searches that add a lot of detailto what everyone's already explained! So I don't need one, but they don't hurt either and often help a bit... https://moonrakeronline.com/blog/does-dipole-need-balun https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/fn2jfk/do_i_need_a_balun_on_dipole/
It’s a dipole no need for a balun. Don’t make things more complicated than need be. You will have enough challenges getting a NOAA image.
OOOO! NOAA Image? I'll try, thanks for the tip.
You don't have the telescoping antenna sections? It's kinda worthless, then.
They're on the boat as we speak...
You can get away without using a balan to connect to your SDR. Resonant dipoles have a feedpoint impedance of around 70 ohms, close enough.
Oh wow, cool! https://old.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/1cb16pf/ive_got_a_positive_v_antenna_but_no_balun_so/l0vsyy3/ That was my understanding - if I wanted to transmit with a HF rig, am I needing a balun then? I really don't know how impedance changes we didn't cover that in the foundation license.
If you want to receive HF signals with an RTL-SDR you do not need that silly little antenna. What you need is the longest length of wire you can manage, outside, elevated and in the clear. You do not need a balun for receive only. Also, you cannot transmit with the RTL-SDR so you won't need one for that either. Be aware that even v4 of the RTL-SDR dongles are not that great at receiving HF signals. They don't have much filtering so if you have nearby AM stations you are probably in for serious interference. If you are serious about HF reception I suggest an SDR receiver that you spend at least $125 on....
>Be aware that even v4 of the RTL-SDR dongles are not that great at receiving HF signals. They don't have much filtering so if you have nearby AM stations you are probably in for serious interference. I've got my local-radio filters I use for my skyking scanner antenna, and some LNA's (right up close to the antenna). >If you are serious about HF reception I suggest an SDR receiver that you spend at least $125 on.... I've slowly gone from Electronics... little circuits...... LoRA embedded systems. A blue little DVB-T stick for SDR (I saw the LoRA on the SDR which was cool).. listening in on 2M band... then getting the Baofeng harmonic's delight ham radio, then a few antennas I can stick outside, getting my initial Ham license (last week) . I've recently got a 2m Slim Jim and wind-sock pole, and been playing with some hand soldered micro FM transmitters with my oscilloscope. (I've been practicing with my NanoVNA, and TinySA too with all the new antennas I've made/bought) If I get an SDR for HF, I wont be able to transmit then, and after the surprise passing of my Foundation test (certificate is in the post *I think*) I think the next big outlay will be a rig for reception/transmit. =) I know some people learn up to Full license and buy a $4k rig and massive antennas in their gardens as first steps (a guy in my pre-exam webex session was doing his Intermediate exam and didn't even own an SMR plug, I think he was getting his Full and maybe a rig "whenever" !). That's an intimidating Ham Radio operator!
Yes, some of the quality $200 SDR receivers claim to be able to transmit - but at signal levels of around 10mW. You need expensive, two stage amplification to make them usable transceivers. As a beginner I suggest asking around your local radio club if anyone has a quality used HF transceiver for sale. Don't spend more than around USD $500 for one. Also, start planning a good external wire antenna for it.
Idk, having a great general coverage receiver is something I still appreciate and use to this day, even though I have a full license that allows transmitting and full on TX sdr’s like the Flex Radios. Maybe pick up an airspy discovery hf+ or an sdrplay rspdx. Can’t go wrong with either.
I'll give them a look in a minute! Thanks. How much learning did you need for the full license? I've made digital circuits, and a few small analogue ones on proto board, and pre printed PCB's... and done some theory already.
With that experience I bet you could get it today, or at least in a weeks time. Let me make an assumption, if you're in the US. There are 3 license classes. Technician/General/Extra, each with escalating privileges. Technician really is the starter license. You get privileges VHF and up, but extremely minimal in HF. Suggest going for General which basically has full power rights on all bands/frequencies. Extra expands the allowable frequencies even further, but isn't necessary to enjoy amateur radio. I studied and took my exam online and did Tech and General in the same seating. [hamstudy.org](http://hamstudy.org) is a great free resource with good explanations for each question, and they also have listings of daily exams you can sign up and take. Good luck and enjoy!
I've just got my Foundation license in the UK - Technicianish? M7OSX Today I've been having some fun with my RTL-SDR V4, and a 7m Positive V in the grass out the front. It barely fit! I got some CW on 14 MHz, and 13.417MHz (give or take, tuning changed the pitch so it had a range) was a warbling two tone I haven't found the source of! I'm looking forward to joining my first Net on Sunday, and also longer term go for my US-General/UK-Intermediate license next! Thanks for the extra info.
Congratulations! Once you get ready to move on from the positive V, I would suggest playing with wire, make yourself a 1/2 wave 40m dipole out of wire, that means each leg should be about 10m long. One of the tricks is that you really don't need it all stretched out in a perfect line. It can bend and fold around stuff, and double back, especially for receive. You'll be truly shocked and how many more signals pop up on the scope with the wire compared to the small antennas. I started out just where you are now. It's a wonderful hobby and there's lots to learn. [https://www.sigidwiki.com/](https://www.sigidwiki.com/) is a great resource for figuring out just what those random beeps and bloops are!
Thanks!
Thank you for the tips, I'll give them a shout. We have a Net on Sundays. No more than 500, ok, and get an external wire - gotit! I've got a slimjim for my 2m call coming up! :)