PA0SNY

Tools

My tools are just practical additions to a shack for HF to UHF.
Click on the icon (or a link in the text) for a (higher resolution) picture.

Tool picture (icon)	Description	Remarks
	The Kenwood AT-200 is the matching unit for the TS-820 Transceiver. It is quite straight forward in design and matches various coaxial fed antennas satisfactory. I use the End Fed Half Wave (EFHW) for 40m with extension for 80m. For the 'classic' bands I normally use it on position THROUGH, except for the low ends of the 80 meter band. I made some pictures of the interior and rear side. AT-200 top view - AT-200 side view - AT-200 rear view	Although it has the six 'classic' HF bands only, it tunes the EFHW properly for the 60 meter band and for 30 meters and 17 meters. As my EFHW is tuned for 80m in the higher 100 kHz, I need the AT-200 for the lower 200 kHz, as the IC-7300 ATU cannot cope withe that,
	This straight forward SWR meter has always been between the Transceivers and the Antenna Tuner, eventhough the AT-200 has it's own meter. But I want to see two needles for best tuning.	The Zetagi HP-500 should be fine up to 200 MHz. The weak part of the SWR meter is the potentiometer, of which the reflected power part shows intermittent operation sometimes.
	The NanoVNA V2. This is a real positive addition to the Shack. Developement goes fast for such parts. The NanoVNA V2 provides a wide variety of applications. I use it (in fact) mostly for antenna measurements on VHF/UHF.	I don't use it in combination with a laptop. See the Antenna section on another page for measurements on antennas (pdf files)
The Rigexpert AA30 ZERO	The Rigexpert AA30 ZERO, in combination with the Antscope2 software on the laptop, is a great tool to meaure HF antennas, especially to see the effects of changes to antennas The AA30ZERO print (fully built) cab de aquired in known HAM shops. With the addition of a USB-toRS232 adaptor the connection to a pc or laptop  is simple.  I put it in a aluminum box where it fit perfectly	The Antscope2 software is freely available. You can load various files to the programme, and so view the effects of defects or modifications to antennas. Here four measurements when I was folding back the wire downstream of the coil on my EndFedHalfWave antenna. As I use it mainly in the upper part of 80 meters, the green one was selected.
	This LC-meter is a very useful instrument in the shack, when designing coils. It has the big advantage that it can measure very small values for C and L with a precision of <1%. Specifications: L meter: 1 nH - 100mH, C meter: .010pF - 1uF. The meter was designed by Cor, PA0CHN.	In the specific example a coil was measured of about 20 wdgs of 1.2 mm copper on a 19mm pvc tube. I use the rimstar.org website for the coil design. Whether you want to use coil length or the number of windings: the used program is very intuitive. The web gave 5.95 µH and the meter indicated 5.98
	The MFJ-941D has been used during my "Vijfhuizen" years (I lived in this small village till 2014). I matched the Open Dipole (2x 13,5m) on the balanced output. For that setup, and the fact that I don't operate with PA's, it suffices.	This Tuner has only one small meter. Therefore the Zetagi SWR meter is the supporting companion in the shack.
	The MFJ-993B IntelliTuner is a handy device for automatic tuning of a transmission line / antenna system. I have used it in combination with the FT-897D and a random piece of wire.	When in due time a (2x13m) dipole shall replace the EFHW, this tuner will be used again.
an example of  one cable	Programming sets and porto's. For my YAESU equipment I use the software that Bob Freeth G4HFQ has developed. Since I own the FT-8900 I was looking for strong and intuitive software. I purchased FTBasisMMO (for the FT-897 and more rigs), FTB60 for the FT-60D and FTB8900 for the FT-8900. I prefer it over CHIRP. I use CHIRP for the other equipment	Bob Freeth had announced that he has updated the on line versions of all help files. He also announced that his programming software is now free of charge. Check my Library page for articles on programming and my experience with the various cables and plugs.