Systems Engineering
New Product News & Info Page
NEW - NEW - NEW - 5 BAND VERTICALS (YES 80M is NOW AVAILABLE)
In conjunction with our many satisfied customers and due to popular demand, Rippletech Electronics has developed a modification kit to permit out most popular TZ-V-4 to be converted for operation on 80m. This is great for our many F-Call hams who want to get onto 80m with an effective signal. The Mod kit includes a 40m trap and wires to allow operation as a cap hat on 80m. Some space in 2 dimensions is required but only a few metres on each side of the antenna. The mod kit uses very light guage wire to reduce stress on the top of the antenna.
To coincide with the Mod Kit, 2 new antennas have been introduced. A TZ-V-5L is the same as the TZ-V-4 plus the mod kit and is designed to be a light weight portable antenna, still shippable via Australia Post and packs into the boot of a normal sedan (still only 1.0m long sections) but with slightly heavier top sections to better support the 40m trap. The TZ-V-5H is a heavier antenna with a stronger thicker 20m trap and longer sections for a stronger antenna meant for more permanent installations. It is expected that the TZ-V-5H will comprise sections of no more than 1.575m long so it is still quite portable but cannot be shipped via Australia Post. A packing tube suitable for the antenna will be available for $49 sometime later.
NEW - NEW - NEW - SUPER DX LOW BAND DX VERTICAL (20m/30m/40m and YES, 80M Too!)
We have developed a new low band antenna specifically for ground mounting and working DX on the low bands. This antenna has been developed for the ham bands after our successful development of a commercial antenna for similar frequencies. (see below).
The antenna is a full size on 20m with full coverage of the 20m band. It has a trap for 30m and 40m with an extension and capacity hat for 80m. The antenna has a double wall base section (32mm diameter) and a longer/stronger base support bracket. On 40m the antenna is around 80% of full size and so is extremely effective, and over 60% of full size makes it quite useable as a DX antenna on the 75m DX window or 80m CW DX. A capacitance hat is used for maximum efficiency and at approx 12m tall it is as tall as we can make it without going to very large expensive tubing. Nylon guy ropes are recommended at the 40m trap position with a radius of about 2m from the base to provide additions support, although the antenna can be free standing for short field trips, etc. It is also light and strong enough to be erected by one person (2 makes it easier, but it is possible by yourself with a bit of muscle).
This antenna was only about an S point down on one of our 80m slopers which uses a 50ft tower plus 15ft extension so it is quite efficient. On 30m and 40m the efficiency is almost undetectably different to a full size vertical.
Install on the ground with a ground rod and with as many radials as you can install on your property. Just install as many as you can, as long as you can make them. Add more as time goes by and improve your low band signal month by month.
YJ8TZ DXpedition and Volcano Videos on Youtube
There are a couple of videos now on Youtube of my trip (VK3TZ) to Vanuatu as YJ8TZ in March 2008 for the CQ WPX Phone Contest.
The mini-dxpedition video edited by my good friend and video expert Jack, VK3WWW is here - DXPEDITION VIDEO
The volcano visit video edited by my good friend and video expert Jack, VK3WWW is here - VOLCANO VIDEO
Rippletech Develops Multi-Frequency Vertical for Oil Exploration Company! (June 2010)
Rippletech Electronics was selected to develop a prototype multi-frequency vertical antenna to assist with HF communications in remote PNG. InterOil Corporation, listed on the New York Stock Exchange engaged Rippletech to develop an efficient and easy to set-up vertical for their seismic crews which operate in PNG. The objective was to ensure the antenna would operate without adjustment on all frequencies used by the crews and provide good communications over 50kms or so. The antenna is over 7.0m tall but packs down to less than 2.0m in length and most importantly can be deployed in minutes. Easy assembly with a minimum kit of tools and equipment would ensure the antenna is fit for purpose. The prototype antenna is now undergoing testing and evaluation by the technical staff of InterOil Corporation. Rippletech Electronics is quietly confident that after a successful test phase, 10 or more verticals may be ordered to supplement or replace the existing antennas used by InterOil Corporation.
Full Size 40m Vertical Available (May 2010)
We are now able to produce a single band 40m vertical. Take various parts off the top and use on other bands as well!
Fantastic DX Antenna for 40m. With one of these babies, your signal on 40m will really ROCK!!
$229 with a very substantial base. FULL SIZE - 10m tall.
Long SQUID POLES Available (Mar 2010)
We have some squid poles available for Hams in Victoria (Melbourne). They are 10m long when fully extended but too long to send via the post when compacted. Local pick-up price is $60 (NOTE- INCLUSIVE of GST). Available at Hamfests too.
At 10m long you can make them into a full size 40m wire Vertical
Gathering Interest In Rotatable Vee Dipoles! (Feb 2010)
We are working on a Vee dipole for 10-40m with a "wing span" just slightly larger than a full size 20m dipole. When mounted at a height of 8m or greater this type of antenna will provide you with an exceptional HF signal with a minimal amount of expense and room. We are also considering adding some coils to create a 5 band version (10m-80m) with folded back wire elements at the end of the aluminium sections.
ARE YOU INTERESTED???PLEASE SEND YOUR INTEREST VIA AN EMAIL - If there is sufficient interest in VK, we will produce an initial batch for customers who pre-register interest. Expect retail prices are $550 for the 4 band version and $699.00 for the 5 band version. There is NO commitment required when simply registering interest. The 5 Band version is not prototyped and may not eventuate but the 4 Band version is showing good results and will be produced if there is enough interest to facilitate a commercial production run.
These would be ideal for F Calls (Foundation Call holders) when combined with an EMDRC type mast and a diamond 2/70cm vertical, providing all bands on the one mast.
Send an email to info@rippletech.com.au
OFF CENTER FED DIPOLES - WIA's AR Feature Article
The January/February 2009 edition of AR featured an excellent article by RON Bertrand VK2DQ on Off Centre Fed (OCF) dipoles and the baluns required to build and feed them. Ron's article was very well written and researched by a leading expert. Several Rippletech baluns are perfect for OCF dipoles and ready for immediate dispatch upon order! The mounting technique described in our literature is perfect for OCFs, either for home use or a light simple multi-band antenna for use in the field and on trips away.
Rippletech Product Featured in Antenna Article AR magazine
In the "MOVEMBER" 2007 issue of the WIA's Amateur Radio magazine the article
"A Pretty Good Antenna for 80 metres" by Bill Isdale, VK4TWI features a Rippletech TZ-1840 1:1 High Power Balun. Note I would recommend mechanical support and stress relief for the antenna wires as shown in the balun manual.Support a Men's Health Initiative to improve the Health outcomes and funding for men's health such as prostate Cancer, Mental Health and other Mens Health Issues. Unfortunately, despite a lower life expectancy compared to Women of over 5 years, Government spending on women's health still exceeds that spent on Mens' Health by over 350%.
Yes - I am growing a Mo! Any donations or support gratefully accepted. 5% of all sales in Movember to those mentioning Movember will be donated to this Men's Health Charity.
F
or my friends & relatives -Laurie Burt,
Godwin Cassano,
Martin Van Bladel,
Greg Chenco
Rest in peace.
New Products! (7 Nov 2007)
We are pleased to announce that we are able to offer a few new products that have been introduced to meet demand.
15/20m Trapped Wire Dipole
A new 15m and 20m trapped wire dipole is available in response to new hams with little space for a large antenna but a desire for great performance without the need for a tuner. The antenna is supplied complete with a 1:1 balun and two sealed traps. Hang the antenna at 8m or greater between a couple of trees or water pipe mast and be making QSOs on the best DX bands in minutes. Introductory pricing is $159 AUS inclusive of GST. See the following web page - 15/20m trapped dipole
Self Amalgamating Tape
Also now available is rolls of self amalgamating tape. This tape is invaluable for waterproofing outdoor electrical connections including antenna coaxial connections, coax joiners (barrel joints), earth junctions, etc. The tape is supplied in 10m lengths. Introductory pricing is $18 AUS inclusive of GST. See the following web page - Self Amalgamating Tape
Dual Core Current Mode 4:1 Baluns
In response to customer needs for a better performing balun, we now stock two (2) new 4:1 baluns especially designed for use in Off-Centre Fed (OCF), multi-band dipoles. OCF dipoles perform far better than the ever popular G5RV, an antenna we would never promote simply because of its sub-standard performance. The 4:1 baluns use two (2) toroidal cores to increase power handling and provide excellent, no compromise impedance to common mode current, ensuring your feed line does not become part of the antenna system. Introductory pricing is $75 AUS inclusive of GST for the 500w PEP (250W CW) model and $99 for the 1kW PEP (500W CW) model. See the following web page - Dual Core 4:1 Baluns
3/4 Wave 10/11m Vertical
Available now is a 3/4 wave vertical for 10m and 11m (CB). The antenna has a maximum gain of almost 5dBi and provides superior performance in all installations. Optimum mounting height is 4.0m and the antenna is approximately 8.0m tall. The base features our exceptionally strong and rugged mounting system to ensure the antenna will last for many years. This base is far superior to other competing models. Four (4) horizontal radials are provided to ensure the antenna is adequately isolated from ground and provides a perfect match to 50 ohms. See the following web page - 3/4 Wave 10/11m Vertical
Change of Hosting Service! (30 Jan 2007)
Over the Christmas break an attempt was made to change to a new hosting service for the website and for email. Unfortunately, this did not happen as planned and the site was down for approximately 2 weeks and all emails in that period have been lost. APOLOGIES TO THOSE TRYING TO CONTACT US.
The web site is still not functioning correctly, however emails to the main address tony.burt@rippletech.com.au should now be received. Your patience with this problem is appreciated.
Best Regards
Tony Burt
VK3TZ
This page has been set-up to bring you details of any new events at RippleTech, including new product releases, details of release dates, presence at hamfests, specials, etc.
NEW HIGH PASS FILTER ! (1 May 2006)
A new High Pass Filter has been added to the product range. The filter is designed to be installed between your antenna inlet and the TV set or video recorder/Digital recorder. The filter has a pass band of 50-800 MHz and a reject band of 1-30 MHz with better than 55dB of attenuation in the HF spectrum. Some TVI filters are designed primarily to reject CB transmissions and provide substantially less attenuation on the lower HF bands (less than 30 dB). This filter provides upto 80 dB attenuation on 80m and at least 65 dB on 20m. Ripple in the passband below 300MHz is less than 3 dB.
If your transmitter is clean, and most are, TVI is most likely caused by the failure of the TV set to reject strong out of band transmissions from your transmitter. This filter solves most TVI problems. If your transmitter is dirty ( is high in harmonics or spurious transmissions) then the filter will not solve the TVI problem. In these instances, the radio should be repaired and/or a low pass filter fitted to the output of the radio. Fitting a LPF to a normally and properly operated radio does nothing to improve TVI caused by a low grade TV.
Solve those TVI problems and operate in the knowledge that the XYL or the neighbors can watch whatever rubbish is on TV nowadays without cursing you every 5 minutes.RELOCATION and NEW CONTACT DETAILS (17 July 2004)
Due to a change in family circumstances the contact details for Rippletech Electronics
has changed. Please see the contact page for full details.NEW STOCKIST APPOINTED FOR SE QLD and Nth Coast NSW! (1 June 2004)
Andy Wood VK4KY, has agreed to carry a number of RippleTech Electronics products in stock. This is great news for Hams in the Brisbane, Gold Coast and surrounding areas, including northern NSW. Andy is has been in the electronics business for many years, dealing mainly in the custom controller area and is sure to be able to assist you with any questions about Rippletech products or just to have a "look and feel". Please feel free to give Andy a call, see the stockists page for contact details. (ph: 07 3888 2988 or email. See the links page for Andy's website. CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS NOW ACCEPTED ! (14 May 2004)
I have been able to secure credit card facilities at a reasonable margin. I am now able to process credit card payments for Mastercard, Visa and Bankcard. Provide your credit card details by fax, telephone or email with your order and your order will be processed the next working day.
RESULTS OF SURVEY/QUESTIONNAIRE - see below
(21 Apr 2004)The business course is complete and the business plan has been submitted. Roughly 80 responses were received from amateurs in VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6 and ZL. A big thank-you to those who took the time to help me out. Anyone who completed a survey is entitled to a 10% discount on any product up to $200.00 and $20 off the price of any product with an RRP of $200.00 or more.
Some of the more interesting facts are:
SURVEY RESULTS IN TABULAR FORM
| 1 | How often do you operate | Monthly | Weekends | 2 – 3 per week | Every other Day | Daily | ||||
| 8% | 10% | 24% | 15% | 44% | ||||||
| 2 | Time spent on HF | Never | <10% | Up to 25% | Up to 50% | Up to 80% | Always | |||
| 15% | 23% | 13% | 10% | 14% | 26% | |||||
| 3 | How often person build a home made project | Never | 1 - 2 a yr | Several a yr | 5 – 10 a yr | Always build | ||||
| 15% | 29% | 35% | 9% | 13% | ||||||
| 4 | How often use WARC bands | Never | Sometimes | Often | Regular | Very Often | ||||
| 51% | 29% | 8% | 10% | 3% | ||||||
| 5 | How often use morse code | Never | Sometimes | Often | Regular | Very Often | ||||
| 25% | 30% | 15% | 20% | 10% | ||||||
| 6 | How often use low bands | Never | Sometimes | Often | Regular | Very Often | ||||
| 65% | 20% | 4% | 1% | 10% | ||||||
| 7 | How often operates Portable/Mobile | Never | Sometimes | Often | Regular | Very Often | ||||
| 34% | 40% | 14% | 3% | 10% | ||||||
| 8 | Spend on Accessories p/a | < $100 | To $250 | To $500 | To $750 | To $1000 | To $1500 | To $2000 | > $2000 | |
| 16% | 13% | 34% | 13% | 14% | 4% | 3% | 4% | |||
| 9 | Problems that have stopped a potential sale | Cost | Quality | Lack of Info | Features | No Local Source | Internet | Other | Always Bought | |
| 34% | 3% | 8% | 6% | 15% | 5% | 3% | 26% | |||
| 10 | Operators that own a tower | Yes | No | |||||||
| 37% | 63% | |||||||||
| 11 | Would like to own a tower | Yes | No | |||||||
| 63% | 37% | |||||||||
| 12 | Price range for a small mast | < $250 | To $500 | To $750 | To $1000 | To $1500 | To $2000 | > $2000 | ||
| 28% | 30% | 30% | 8% | 0% | 3% | 3% | ||||
| 13 | Interested in an auto antenna switch | Yes | No | |||||||
| 46% | 54% | |||||||||
| 14 | Price range for a 100w auto antenna switch | < $200 | To $250 | To $300 | To $400 | To $500 | To $600 | To $800 | ||
| 33% | 28% | 17% | 15% | 2% | 2% | 2% | ||||
| 15 | Price range for a 1000w auto antenna switch | < $250 | To $300 | To $400 | To $500 | To $600 | To $750 | To $900 | To $1000 | |
| 24% | 11% | 20% | 18% | 11% | 9% | 2% | 4% | |||
| 16 | Purchase methods (not shop) | Internet | Fax | COD | Ebay | |||||
| 48% | 27% | 3% | 15% | 3% | 3% | |||||
| 17 | Internet purchasing drawbacks | No Salesperson | Security | Spam | Time | Unable to Feel/Use | Integrity of Business ? | Other | ||
| 14% | 32% | 0% | 5% | 41% | 7% | 2% | ||||
| 18 | How many HF antennas used | None | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 or 5 | > 6 | |||
| 14% | 34% | 22% | 16% | 8% | 6% | |||||
| 19 | Interested in low bands if antenna small | Yes | No | |||||||
| 57% | 43% | |||||||||
| 20 | Age of HF rig | Current | < 2 years | 2 –3 Years | 3 – 5 years | 5 – 10 years | > 10 years | |||
| 14% | 8% | 8% | 11% | 27% | 32% | |||||
| 21 | Model of primary HF txcvr | Yaesu | Kenwood | Icom | Alinco | Ten Tec | ||||
| 41% | 31% | 23% | 2% | 3% | ||||||
| 22 | Do you own a HF amplifier | No Amp | 500 w | 1 kW | 1.5 kW | > 1.5 kW | ||||
| 68% | 17% | 9% | 4% | 3% | ||||||
| 23 | Rank problems from 1 to 5 | Very | Quite | Moderate | Some | None | ||||
| 23A | Council laws create difficult to erect a tower | 28% | 25% | 12% | 14% | 22% | ||||
| 23B | My transmitter causes TV interference | 26% | 22% | 16% | 16% | 20% | ||||
| 23C | Power lines interfere with my receiver | 29% | 16% | 16% | 13% | 26% | ||||
| 23D | Computers etc interfere with my receiver | 26% | 19% | 19% | 7% | 29% | ||||
| 23E | It was difficult to pass my radio licence | 7% | 9% | 7% | 9% | 68% | ||||
| 23F | The cost of a tower is prohibitive | 12% | 19% | 22% | 17% | 30% | ||||
| 23G | The cost of transceiver is prohibitive | 16% | 12% | 16% | 26% | 30% | ||||
| 23H | Residence has limited space | 22% | 20% | 16% | 9% | 33% | ||||
| 23I | Identify other problems not listed | 50% | 50% | Nothing statistically relevant found |
||||||
| 24 | Region | ACT | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | |||
| 1% | 28% | 58% | 3% | 5% | 4% | |||||
| 25 | Electronic/Comms related job | Yes | No | |||||||
| 54% | 46% | |||||||||
| 26 | Age bracket | < 20 | 21 - 35 | 36 - 45 | 46 - 55 | 56 - 65 | >65 | |||
| 0% | 6% | 22% | 30% | 24% | 18% | |||||
| 27 | Personal Income bracket | < $10k | $10-25k | $25 – 45k | $45- 65k | $65 – 85k | $85-120k | > $120k | ||
| 4% | 18% | 24% | 17% | 18% | 15% | 3% | ||||
| 28 | Member of their local club | Yes | No | |||||||
| 82% | 18% | |||||||||
| 29 | Member of the national body | Yes | No | |||||||
| 68% | 32% | |||||||||
| 30 | Do you read Radio magazines | Yes | No | |||||||
| 69% | 31% | |||||||||
| 31 | Type of home residence | Inner City | Inner Sub | Suburban | Outer Sub | Semi-rural | Rural | Small Town | ||
| 8% | 6% | 44% | 23% | 10% | 8% | 3% | ||||