SORRY ABOUT THE LONG POST.
I posted this already in the Weatherfax
plug in page, but unfortunately got no reply. So maybe someone can help here.
I'm not a HF buff and only want to receive RTTY and weatherfax.
I have currently no intention to become a Ham or
Marine HF operator. Sorry.
So please keep your answer as simple as possible. Thank you!
Tecsun-PL880 aerial question.
Yesterday I made an aerial for the Tecsun PL-880 as follows and I TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHY PLUGGING THE AERIAL IN SEEMS TO MAKE HARDLY ANY DIFFERENCE TO THE
RECEPTION WHEN I
PLUG IT IN.
Few comments before I describe the aerial I made.
*We are currently at
anchor in Taormina
Italy.
*All other electrics are off. I only use a 12V
power supply for the computer and a USB connection from the PC to the Tecsun to supply it with
power.
*I can receive DWD RTTY weatherforecasts on 10100KHz very well.
*I do understand that lower frequencies tend to
work better in the morning and evening, while the higher ones may
work better at midday.
When I try the weatherfax frequencies of DWD or from Northwood I get very poor results to the extent that I can not read the
charts.
Here is how I built my aerial:
9.50m of tinned copper cable (2.5mm2) along my intermediate
dyneema shroud.
Could not go longer, as it would chafe when attached to the upper
shroud.
Attached to a
deck socket.
In the
interior I use about 4m Coaxial cable running to the jack plug which goes into the Tecsun aerial socket.
Core is attached to the exterior aerial wire on the inside of the
deck socket.
The only Jack plug I had available on-board was a 3.5mm stereo jack plug.
So I attached the aerial cable to the tip of it and the shield to the two channels.
I added heat shrink over the plug housing and then even extended the shield over the housing with tinfoil before adding another layer of heat shrink tubing over that.
So the shield goes really over the complete
interior cable run up to the
radio.
On the attached
images you see the deck connection and aerial.
QUESTIONS:
1)
Is there something wrong with my aerial setup?
2)
Should I open the
radio and check if the
antenna jack is connected properly? There is no warranty anymore.
3)
Do I need to add a ground wire?
4)
Where would I attach a ground wire, the PL-880 does not have a ground wire attachment?
5)
If I need a ground wire, should I use coax and how do I need to attach it?
Does it need to have continuity with my coax shield going from the deck plug to the Tecsun?
6)
I read, AND SUSPECT THIS TO BE NONSENSE, that it would suffice to spread out some tinfoil under the waterline INSIDE the
bilge and attach a groundwire to it. Does that work?
In case I need to attach it to an underwater metal object I'd need to run a 5m long coax wire to a through bolted Anode, which I really would like to avoid.
All our seacocks are Trudesign plastic ones.
We do not have inboard engines and the outboards are lifted normally.
Thanks for any consize and practical suggestions/help to troubleshoot this.