Tuning 60 Meters

The rules regarding 60 Meters do not allow the transmission of a carrier. The tuner I use for HF, an LDG AT-897 uses a CW carrier to tune so I haven't been able to tune my antenna for 60 meters (I and haven't been able to put up a 60m only antenna). Purely by accident today, I discovered that if the G5RV I'm using and the AT-897 are tuned for the top end of the 80 Meter band, it will also work on 60 Meters with an SWR of 1.1:1 to 1.5:1.

Thanks to Guy, K4GTM for a successful test on 60 Meters Channel 1 to prove the discovery.

Hopefully I'll now be able to be a regular on the 60 Meter band.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

The AT-897 is Back From Repair

The AT-897 tuner returned from LDG yesterday while I was at work. Before turning in last night, I reinstalled it on the side of the FT-897 so that I could give it a try this morning. LDG replaced a bad latching relay (the problem was a relay that was unlatching after a couple of transmissions) and upgraded the unit's software while they had it. Turn around time on the repairs wasn't bad at all, including delivery times, it was only gone just over two weeks. So far, I have no complaints with LDG's service.

I worked UR5HAC in the Ukraine, KT4FW in North Carolina, N1QLL in Maine and checked into the South CARS net with no problems. The tuner never "un-tuned" once, so the repair job seems to have worked. Prior to sending it off, it would have certainly have had a problem during the QSO I had with KT4FW.

I look forward to working it out some more this weekend as a further test.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

LDG AT-897

I lost a lot of radio time today (on my day off, no less) trying to cure the problem of my AT-897 tripping relays and de-tuning during transmissions. A few months ago, RF chokes on the DC power cord and increased RF grounding seemed to improve the problem. At the time it was only occuring on the higher bands such as 10-Meters and 6-Meters. Recently, it has begun doing it again, with the problem extending to down to 20-Meters and 40-Meters.

I called LDG this afternoon and explained my problem. They advised me to package the unit up and return it to them, which I have done. I'll be interested to see how the problem is handled and how it works when it comes back.

Thus, I'll probably be off the air on HF for a few weeks... I'll see you on 6-Meters, 2-Meters, and 70cm.


Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Problems with the FT-897D/AT-897 Combination

Over the weekend I decided to try out the small amount of spectrum that I have access to in the 10 Meter band as a Technician Class licensee. I ran some feedline down the hallway to the connection for the G5RV my father uses for his TS-140 and IC-703 and connected up to the LDG AT-897 antenna tuner I purchased for the Yeasu FT-897D.

At first everything seemed to work just fine, the AT-897 tuned everything up just fine. After several transmissions, however, the AT-897 would make a clicking noise and the SWR would shoot up too high to continue transmitting. The FT-897D/AT-897 combination is connected to a ground rod outside the window next to my operating position, so RF ground didn't seem to be the problem.

On Monday, I sent a technical request to LDG Electronics via their website, receiving a response from them in a couple of hours even though I had labeled by request non-urgent in nature; Repair Technician James Skaar sent me an email explaining that I was probably picking RF through the DC power cord. A trip to Radio Shack the next morning yielded a couple of large snap-on RF chokes for the DC Power Cord and a couple of smaller ones for the Y-ACC and CAT cables. Putting the chokes on didn't take more than a couple of minutes. Initial testing seems to indicate that the problem is solved, I'll find out for sure once I upgrade to General and do more HF work.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net