A Visit to WX0B
| WX0B is located East of Dallas on the western shore of
Lake Ray Hubbard. The property site is above the lake by 40 feet has a steep drop down to the lake. The lake being where it is enables the
two towers to have a water path to the North through East and ending South
East. It also makes the towers appear as if they are 40 feet taller to RF.
So my 160 ft tower is effectively at 200 ft! |
Tower 1
 
| WX0B rotating tower 40/20 meter stacks 2/2 150/80 on 40 and 4/4/4 on 20m at 130/90/60 This tower rotates at the 85 foot joint. The lower 40m
Yagi rotates at 80 feet
on a TIC ring rotator. The lower 20
rotates and is at 65 feet. The rotating tower rings are manufactured by Custom
Metal Works. It is very
well built, reliable, and safe.
 | The Beams are 2/2 elements Cal-Av 40m at 150 ft and 80 ft on the tower. |
| 4/4/4 on 20m, top one at about 135 ft. |
| 3 element 80m vertical dipole array pulled away from the tower and bottom legs folded
back into the tower and phased with the Array Solutions Triangular
Array Controller. |
|
Tower 2
125 foot 10/15m tower. The top antenna is a 4 element 15m Yagi, and below it
is a 4 element
10m beam, etc.
| 4/4/4 on 15M |
| 4/4/4 on 10M |
Looking up at the 10/15 tower. 4/4/4 on both bands.
A view from the back yard. The two towers are about 130 feet apart.
 
Yes the big tower is in the front side yard. My XYL would have killed me if I
obstructed the view of the lake with it.
So its in the front. Were in the country so its actually OK. There is a cow pasture
across the road in front.
160 METER feedpoint showing heliax feed line and shunt coil
| Here is the160m feed point. Notice the big green coil.
It is the matching "helical hairpin" that transforms the feedpoint from 36 ohms
to 50 ohms for a direct coaxial feed. It also doubles as the static
bleed choke to drain off static charges. There is an ICE 303U arrestor
on the other end of the coax in the shack. There are 32 radials
buried
under ground and bolted to the radial ring. We have great ground here so
I was able to get 36 ohms feed impedance with just the 32 radials. I will
add more later. The
vertical is approx 50 feet tall, and has a wire that resonates it sloping
up to the tower behind. The angle is approx 45 degrees to the tower. There
is an insulator in the wire at the resonant point. The other black Dacron
rope you see coming down from the vertical is a back stay to keep things
vertical. The whole thing doubles as a flag pole for us.
|
Inside the shack - Roy AD5Q at the key during CQ WW CW 2008 
Two PowerMaster wattmeters are above the SixPak indicator in the rack panels. The blue box behind the white sheet of paper is the 80m phased array controller. 
STackMatch controllers above left 781. Beverage selection and Preamp controllers are in between the 781s. Rotator controllers are the stacks on the left. BandMasters are the two small boxes behind the monitor. | 
