UTARC 1999 A New Band 1296 MHz

In the summer of 1999, the University of Texas Amateur Radio Club (UTARC) station N5XU was for the first time equipped with gear for one of the Amateur Radio microwave bands. Inside the station, an original-model Yaesu FT-290R 144MHz all-mode radio serves as the Intermediate Frequency (IF) radio for a UHF Units 3W 1296MHz transverter that has been mounted in a rain-proof box near the top of the N5XU tower. These are some photos of the project as it went together. Unfortunately, some of them are a little out of focus, as the camera used has difficulty focusing on close-up objects.

	A frame made out of light-duty plywood was constructed such that it could sit inside the rain-proof box. Small metal L-brackets are used to keep the feet at a 90° angle. This way, the gear could be attached to the frame and we could avoid the need to drill any additional holes into the box. The H shape to the frame was done to accomodate the U-bolts that will hold the box to the tower, and in the upper left, two screws are used to act as a common 13VDC bus. The equipment is mounted to one side of the frame, leaving enough space in the box to add another transverter or a brick amplifier in the future.
	The UHF Units 3W transverter is the large silver-colored cube. In front of it is a Down East Microwave SHFPINK PIN diode switch that interfaces the transverter to the IF radio. The SHFPINK (inside a metal box painted green) also provides 13VDC power on transmit to the T/R relay, and to the upconverter portion of the transverter (which is normally unpowered during receive.) The transverter and PIN diode switch are held to the frame with "plumber's strapping" bent into a bracket. A small plywood shelf, held in place with a small metal L-bracket, was made above the transverter to hold the coaxial T/R relay, a 12VDC SMA model. The relay is held to the shelf with stiff wire.
	This is the transverter and switching fit into the box, ready to go. Notice that all of the equipment really only occupies half of the box. This means we still have space for an amplifier, or maybe 902 MHz transverter, in the future. Next to the chair is a 45-element loop yagi on a 12' boom.
	This is the box and all of the cables that go along with it. The two grey cables are each 85' of Romex 12/2 direct-burial type electrical house wiring cable, one run each for the positive and negative 13 VDC lines. The two thicker black cables are 85' of RG-213/U for the run between the IF radio and the transverter box, and an 18' RG-213/U rotor loop. The thin black cable is an 85' run of RG-58A/U, used for the PTT line to key the transverter.
	To test out things before we mount them on the tower, we made a test QSO by hooking everything up in its final configuration. This way, if anything failed to work as expected, it could be fixed before it was put up on the tower. These are all the cables running from the open door of the shack up the stair case to the roof for this initial test.
	This is the box sitting on the roof of the penthouse. All of the cables that would be used to tower-mount the box have been hooked up. In each of the Romex 12/2 cables, all three of the 12 guage conductors are bonded together. At the box, we see 13.76 VDC on receive and 13.60 VDC on transmit.
	The 45-element loop yagi was donated to the club by George K5TR. It is attached to a mount designed to U-bolt to a Rohn-25 tower leg. As we didn't have the correct size of U-bolts handy, for this test, we simply attached it to the tower leg using some stiff wire. The light on the tower is a 60 watt incandescent bulb in a plastic cage with a hook - very useful for working outdoors at night. The vertical column of light is the stairway inside the Engineering Sciences (ENS) building, across the parking lot.
	Inside the shack, things are ready to go for N5XU's first microwave QSO. The 144 MHz IF radio is an original model Yaesu FT-290R. It is sitting beneath the CW keyer. The contact was with John K5IUA in EL29cd, near Houston, TX, over 150 miles away.
	The next weekend, the antenna, rain-proof box, and feedlines were all installed into their permanent locations. This is where the new 1296 MHz antenna will go on the mast.
	Ken KM5FA wrestles the loop yagi into place above the Force 12 C-4 HF multi-monoband antenna, and below the K1FO 432 MHz yagi. Robert KA5WSS was helping out as ground crew, and took this photo.
	Ken searches for a part to complete the loop yagi installation. This turned out to be the hottest day in July, with a temperature exceeding 102°F. The tower work was done, believe it or not, from 3PM to 6PM. We had tried to start earlier, but discovered that we needed additional parts.
	After the antenna and transverter box were installed on the tower, feedline, PTT line, and DC power line had to be routed down the side of the tower, though our feedline bulkhead, and into the shack. We were pushing the line into the room from above. This is what we found when we were done. This was around 9PM at night.
	The new antenna and transverter box have been mounted on the tower. The cables all come out of the bottom of the box, where steel wool is used to keep the bugs out.
	This is what the tower looks like after the 1296 MHz antenna and transverter box was installed. The photos of these antennas were taken the day after the installation, as we had finished some time around 11PM.
	A view of the towers from the other penthouse on the roof of the W.R. Woolrich Engineering Laboratories (WRW) building.
	Another view of the finished tower.