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K5TRA
Stealth Antenna Farm
1T.Apel
K5TRA
Preliminary Considerations
2T.Apel
• Why stealth ? Restrictive neighborhood covenants !
• Attic performance factors– Location /ground elevation
– Longley-Rice propagation plot for VHF/UHF/mWave
– Attic size and height
– Reflective clutter: furnace/AC/ducting
– Roof insulation (reflective or not)
– Feedline routing plan
• Improvements– Plywood flooring
– 120 V AC power
– Overhead lights
– CAT-5 ?
K5TRA
440 MHz Longley-Rice Plot
3T.Apel
• Analysis before I purchased my home
• Planned for repeaters and weak-signal operation
K5TRA
Keys to Performance
4T.Apel
• HF– Balanced antennas: large loops or dipoles – eliminates problems with
grounding/counterpoise– Lots of copper – I use copper tubing for my HF loop– A good balun with plenty of reserve power rating – I use a 10KW, 4:1
• VHF-UHF-mWave– Stacked beam antennas reduce boom length– Line loss management is key to performance at higher frequency bands
• Remote LNA establishes system NF at antenna –• LNA preselector filter is a MUST below 440 MHz• Remote PA provides ‘free’ boost to transmit power• CAT-5, IP control of remote power supplies for LNA/PA works well
– Omni antennas are useful for local QSO’s
• Filters are needed with co-located transmitters / repeaters– Receiver desense– Reverse IMD
• Crossband couplers reduce the number feedlines
K5TRA T.Apel 5
K5TRA Shack
HF, 50 and 222 MHz
144, 432, 902 and 1296 MHz
K5TRA
Home Repeater
6T.Apel
927.1125
K5TRA
Shack Configuration
7T.Apel
CROSSBAND
COUPLER
OMNI / YAGI
SELECT
CROSSBAND
COUPLER
CROSSBAND
COUPLER
440 MHz
HF
50 MHz222 MHz
144 MHz432 MHz
1296 MHz
902 MHz
927 MHz440 MHz
HF
6 M
222 MHz XVTR
1296 MHz XVTR
902 MHz XVTR
146 MHz
432 MHz
902 MHz
144 MHz
432 MHz
K5TRA
HF and Weak Signal Antennas
8T.Apel
CROSSBAND
COUPLER
CWS
10KW
4:1 BALUN
LOOP
REMOTE
TUNING
CROSSBAND
COUPLERCROSSBAND
COUPLER
OMNI / YAGI
SELECT
CROSSBAND
COUPLER
HF
50 MHz222 MHz
144 MHz432 MHz
1296 MHz
902 MHz
927 MHz440 MHz
HF COPPER TUBING LOOP
50 MHzOMNI
22
2 M
Hz
OM
NI
14
4, 4
32
, 90
2 &
1
29
6 M
Hz
STA
CK
90
2 M
Hz
OM
NI
12
96
MH
z O
MN
I
Dia
mo
nd
X-5
0
SCA
LA O
GB
6-9
00
222 MHz
144 MHz
432 MHz
50 MHz
1296 MHz
902 MHz
440 MHz
927 MHz
K5TRA
Beam Antennas
9T.Apel
• 3 STACKED 144/432 5EL LP• 17 ELEMENT M2 902 YAGI• 2 x 22 ELEMENT M2 1296 YAGI
K5TRA
CROSSBAND
COUPLER
Repeater and Link Antennas
10T.Apel
LINK-1
927/902 MHzLINK-1
443/448 MHz
LINK-2
927/902 MHz(ALLSTAR) LINK-1(ALLSTAR) LINK-2
Dia
mo
nd
X-5
0
SCA
LA O
GB
9-9
00
Dia
mo
nd
X-5
0
Dia
mo
nd
X-5
0
Dia
mo
nd
X-5
0
SCA
LA O
GB
6-9
00
Ph
elp
s-D
od
geSt
atio
nM
aste
r-II
K5TRA
Repeaters and Links
11T.Apel
CROSSBAND
COUPLER
U
R
I
U
R
I
U
R
I
LINK-1
927/902 MHzLINK-1
443/448 MHz
LINK-2
927/902 MHzLINK-1LINK-2
927/902 MHz
LINK-1,LINK-2
K5TRA
Balun Feed for HF Loop
12T.Apel
K5TRA
HF Loop Tuning Capacitor Switch
13T.Apel
K5TRA
WEB Controlled Power-Strip
14T.Apel
• Remote PA and LNA on-off control
• HF loop tuning capacitor switching
K5TRA
Remote 902 MHz and 1296 MHz LNAs
15T.Apel
K5TRA
Loss of LMR-400
16T.Apel
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
0 500 1000 1500
50 MHz
144 MHz
222 MHz
432 MHz
1296 MHz
902 MHz
(100 ft, with connectors)
Loss
(d
B)
Frequency (MHz)
K5TRA
Sensitivity vs NF
17T.Apel
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
-143
-141
-139
-137
-135
-133
-131
-129
-127
-125
-123
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
SSB Sensitivity (dBm)
CW Sensitivity (dBm)
Degradation (%)
SEN
SITI
VIT
Y (d
Bm
)
SEN
SITI
VIT
Y D
EGR
AD
ATIO
N (
%)
NF (dB)
SSB: 2.7 KHz BW, 10 dB S/N, 50 WCW: 500 Hz BW, 6 dB S/N, 50 W
K5TRA
Sensitivity vs NF
18T.Apel
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.10
0.12
0.14
0.16
0.18
0.20
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
SSB Sensitivity (uV)
CW Sensitivity (uV)
Degradation (%)
NF (dB)
SEN
SITI
VIT
Y (u
V)
SEN
SITI
VIT
Y D
EGR
AD
ATIO
N (
%)
SSB: 2.7 KHz BW, 10 dB S/N, 50 WCW: 500 Hz BW, 6 dB S/N, 50 W
K5TRA
Remote 902 MHz and 1296 MHz LNAs
19T.Apel
K5TRA
Schottky Detector
20T.Apel
222.060 MHz Beacon
CONTROL SENSITIVITY DOWN TO +13 dBm
K5TRA
Mini-Circuits ZX60-P162 LNA
21T.Apel
222.060 MHz Beacon
0.5 dB NF and 20 dB gain
K5TRA
VHF and UHF Remote LNA’s
22T.Apel
222.060 MHz Beacon222 MHz ASSEMBLY
K5TRA
Helical BPF
23T.Apel
222 MHz ASSEMBLY
K5TRA
LNA Preselector Response
24T.Apel
222.060 MHz Beacon
K5TRA
More Helical BPFs
25T.Apel
432 MHz ASSEMBLY
144 MHz ASSEMBLY
K5TRA
902 MHz and 1296 MHz Remote PA & LNA
26T.Apel
222.060 MHz Beacon
K5TRA
900 MHz Remote PA & LNA
27T.Apel
222.060 MHz Beacon
K5TRA
1296 MHz Remote PA & LNA
28T.Apel
222.060 MHz Beacon
K5TRA
Modified 1296 MHz PA
29T.Apel
222.060 MHz Beacon
K5TRA
VHF-UHF Remote PA & LNAs
30T.Apel
222.060 MHz Beacon4
32
MH
z
22
2 M
Hz
14
4 M
Hz
K5TRA
VHF-UHF Remote PA & LNAs
31T.Apel
222.060 MHz Beacon4
32
MH
z
22
2 M
Hz
14
4 M
Hz
K5TRA
222 MHz Remote PA & LNA
32T.Apel
222.060 MHz Beacon
K5TRA
H-Polarized Omni’s
33T.Apel
CIRCULARCOLLINEAR50 MHz OMNI
FOLDED DIPOLE222 MHz WHEEL
22
2 M
Hz
HEL
ICA
L C
OLL
INEA
R
12
96
MH
z H
ELIC
AL
CO
LLIN
EAR
90
2 M
Hz
HEL
ICA
L C
OLL
INEA
R
K5TRA
927 MHz Notch Cavity with 902 MHz Omni
34T.Apel
Hi Q
¾ l
CA
VIT
YN
OTC
H F
ILTE
R
HEL
LIC
AL
CO
LLIN
EAR
H-P
OLA
RIZ
ED O
MN
I
K5TRA
Link Radios Share Feedline and Antenna
35T.Apel
Frequency 1 Frequency 2
PASS F1REJECT F2
PASS F2REJECT F1
REJECT F3UHF Repeater
SHARED LINK ANTENNA
K5TRA
Crossband Couplers
36T.Apel
(BAND SPLIT DIPLEXERS)
K5TRA
Some Attic Photos
37T.Apel
K5TRA
Summary
38T.Apel
• Location, location, location ! (elevation, elevation, …)
• Plan before you begin
• Key to performance:
Remote LAN with BPF Establish NF at antenna !
Remote PA
Filters needed for co-located links and repeaters
Crossband couplers for efficient use of coax runs
Link radios can share feed and antenna through cavity duplexer
• No rain, lightning or UV deterioration
• Easy maintenance