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Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Quantum Phaser

Quantum Phaser under the ELAD FDM-S2
Quantum Phaser under the ELAD FDM-S2
I recently added a Quantum Phaser to my ham radio shack. This tool "combines the signals from two separate antennas and allows the manipulation of level and phase of the signals so that a single, steerable null results. It is optimized for use on the crowded MW band, can be used with antennas of virtually any type and is capable of snagging DX not usually obtainable with conventional antennas alone."

In other words, the Quantum Phaser allows you to null out a strong radio station so that you can copy a weaker radio station on the same frequency that you ordinarily would not hear because of the stronger radio station.

Living where I live (about half way between New York City and Boston), there are a lot of strong AM radio stations and a lot of weaker stations on the same AM frequencies, so the Quantum Phaser has the potential of unearthing a lot of new stations for the log.

Problem is that I am antenna poor at this time. All I have outdoors is an 80-meter inverted Vee and an ICOM AH-7000 VHF-UHF discone, but I connected them up to the Quantum Phaser and gave it a try.

It did not take long to get the hang of using the Phaser and it was able to null out strong stations to hear weaker stations on the same frequency. The only catch is that the discone is a poor choice for MW DXing, so when I nulled out a strong station there was usually nothing left but dead air. I hope that when I get some more aluminum up in the air this spring, I will have more success hearing the weak stations.

4 comments:

  1. Stan:

    If you can string up another 80 meter inverted Vee antenna that is 90 degrees offset from your current one that will make a huge difference getting deeper nulls of unwanted stations.

    Make sure you have a good earth ground connection to the Quantum Phaser. Keep the ground wire as short as possible.

    Mike Schaffer
    KA3JAW

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Mike. I have another antenna ready to go up as soon as the weather gets better

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    2. Hi,
      Build yourself a couple of loops (flags). Even a small one (25' long by 10' tall) will work. For Europe put your connection on the east side. The antenna should be ~a 60 degree angle. My main loop is 40' long by 15' high. It works great for Europe. Mine is switchable on either end so I can use it for Europe or for dxing to the west. Mine was made from plans from Marc Connelly if I remember correctly. As for Absolute 1215, yes you had them. Your only other choices are a low power station in Spain or Leningrad and I haven't heard Leningrad in a few years. In the winter Absolute is there nightly. Thanks for visiting my site. My new one is mikesdx.com. I've been involved with WTFDA for decades.

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    3. Thanks, Mike. As soon as the snow melts, I will be hanging wire. In the meantime, I will add your new website to my list.

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