Latest microwave equipment at G3PHO

OPERATIONAL MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT AT G3PHO

AS AT DECEMBER 2005

To date I have the following narrowband equipment in regular use (all portable).
All transverters are driven with 120mW of 144MHz by an FT817, IC202S or IC202 transceivers.

For liason (talkback) I use an IC706Mk2G on 144MHz SSB at 50 watts to a homemade 8 element DL6WU design yagi or a 9 element portable Tona yagi. I also have 20 watts on 432MHz from the IC706MK2G to a 15 element yagi.

Click on the linked keywords for details of individual equipment

NARROWBAND EQUIPMENT

1296MHz: Down East Microwave transverter (1296/144MHz) at 18 watts output. Assembled from a kit many years ago. Antenna: 23 element Tonna yagi. I use a home made interdigital bandpass filter in front of this transceiver to eleminate cross modulation problems caused by high power TV transmitters and ther like.

3.4GHz

DB6NT TRANSVERTER + 15 WATT SOLID STATE PA assembled from a kitset and made into a high power portable system with the addition of a surplus SSPA. I use this with a 1.2m dish and chaparral (scalar) type feedhorn.

5.7GHz: DB6NT transverter assembled from kitset and a surplus 12 watt PA. Antenna: 1.2m prime focus dish mounted on an E.M.I professional outside broadcast tripod and using a VE4MA type feedhorn.

10GHz: DB6NT transverter assembled from kitset driving a modified surplus Qualcomm PA to 750 milliwatts which in turn drives a DB6NT 5 watt solid state PA. Antenna -- usually 1.2m dish with prime focus scalar ring horn feed mounted 3 metres above ground level on a mast. This is my main station for portable work. For short period /P work I use a 60cm offset fed dish with home-made dual mode feedhorn.

24GHz:
Homemade transverter based around DB6NT kits with local oscillator chain assembled from kitself modules designed by DF9LN, G4DDK and G3WDG.

I added a half watt PA to the system described at the first link in this section.

I then increased the output to 2 watts during the early part of 2003.

I will be adding an electrically operated 3 port waveguide switch in 2005 and increasing power output to 3 watts.

47GHz
Due to an amateur microwaver friend deciding to quite the millimetre bands I have been fortunate in obtaining his 47GHz equipment! While I would naturally like to be able to say I built my own, at least this aquisition means Dave's gear is still going to be used on a regular basis and I have more free time to build for my remaining lower microwave band ... 2.3GHz! My present portable 47GHz station can be seen by clicking here. It is a separate fixed frequency transmitter producing 22 milliwatts of CW or NBFM and a separate mixer receiver/transmitter with just a few microwatts o/p (which can be used on ssb semi locally or on line-of-sight paths ).

WIDEBAND EQUIPMENT

I also still have some microwave wideband FM equipment which is not used much these days but I will, on request, activate this for newcomers to microwaves or anyone who wants to try this mode.

3.4GHz: If you are really desperate I can come on with a 60 milliwatt Polarplexer
transceiver based around a 723A/B klystron! This feeds a 90cm prime focus dish. 30MHz IF. I would need a week or two warning before I got this gear out of the basement! It's been there for 20 years and still works! For nostalgia buffs only!

10GHz: Home made transceiver based on a Microwave Associates Gunnplexer, gunn diode module. 10 milliwatts output. 30MHz IF. Duplex operation possible. Antenna: either 60cm offset fed or 1.2m prime focus (see narrowband section above).

24GHz: Home made transceiver based around a Plessey GDHM32 gunn module. 10.7MHz IF with duplex operation available. 5 millwatts output. In addition, I have a separate 50 milliwatts Gunn transmitter.

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	NARROWBAND EQUIPMENT
1296MHz:	Down East Microwave transverter (1296/144MHz) at 18 watts output. Assembled from a kit many years ago. Antenna: 23 element Tonna yagi. I use a home made interdigital bandpass filter in front of this transceiver to eleminate cross modulation problems caused by high power TV transmitters and ther like.
3.4GHz	DB6NT TRANSVERTER + 15 WATT SOLID STATE PA assembled from a kitset and made into a high power portable system with the addition of a surplus SSPA. I use this with a 1.2m dish and chaparral (scalar) type feedhorn.
5.7GHz:	DB6NT transverter assembled from kitset and a surplus 12 watt PA. Antenna: 1.2m prime focus dish mounted on an E.M.I professional outside broadcast tripod and using a VE4MA type feedhorn.
10GHz:	DB6NT transverter assembled from kitset driving a modified surplus Qualcomm PA to 750 milliwatts which in turn drives a DB6NT 5 watt solid state PA. Antenna -- usually 1.2m dish with prime focus scalar ring horn feed mounted 3 metres above ground level on a mast. This is my main station for portable work. For short period /P work I use a 60cm offset fed dish with home-made dual mode feedhorn.
24GHz:	Homemade transverter based around DB6NT kits with local oscillator chain assembled from kitself modules designed by DF9LN, G4DDK and G3WDG. I added a half watt PA to the system described at the first link in this section. I then increased the output to 2 watts during the early part of 2003. I will be adding an electrically operated 3 port waveguide switch in 2005 and increasing power output to 3 watts.
47GHz	Due to an amateur microwaver friend deciding to quite the millimetre bands I have been fortunate in obtaining his 47GHz equipment! While I would naturally like to be able to say I built my own, at least this aquisition means Dave's gear is still going to be used on a regular basis and I have more free time to build for my remaining lower microwave band ... 2.3GHz! My present portable 47GHz station can be seen by clicking here. It is a separate fixed frequency transmitter producing 22 milliwatts of CW or NBFM and a separate mixer receiver/transmitter with just a few microwatts o/p (which can be used on ssb semi locally or on line-of-sight paths ).
	WIDEBAND EQUIPMENT
	I also still have some microwave wideband FM equipment which is not used much these days but I will, on request, activate this for newcomers to microwaves or anyone who wants to try this mode.
3.4GHz:	If you are really desperate I can come on with a 60 milliwatt Polarplexer transceiver based around a 723A/B klystron! This feeds a 90cm prime focus dish. 30MHz IF. I would need a week or two warning before I got this gear out of the basement! It's been there for 20 years and still works! For nostalgia buffs only!
10GHz:	Home made transceiver based on a Microwave Associates Gunnplexer, gunn diode module. 10 milliwatts output. 30MHz IF. Duplex operation possible. Antenna: either 60cm offset fed or 1.2m prime focus (see narrowband section above).
24GHz:	Home made transceiver based around a Plessey GDHM32 gunn module. 10.7MHz IF with duplex operation available. 5 millwatts output. In addition, I have a separate 50 milliwatts Gunn transmitter.