31-05-2012, 10:55 AM
Great to see you back on good form John - hope you're well on the way to a full and speedy recovery, 'firing on all cylinders', or perhaps I should say hopping around on both legs!
You can buy antenna switches for use in amateur radio, but they're for coaxial feeders and designed to carry up to 1kW of transmitted RF power. Most are only two or three way, and they're not cheap - even the cheaper ones. For receiving, I'd suggest that all you need to do is to use a multi-way single pole rotary switch, which you can get with up to 12 positions, and mount the switch in a small 'project box'. Fit a socket (say a 4mm 'wander' socket) into which the aerial can be plugged, then mount however many 4mm output sockets that you need on the box to feed your radios, and wire each socket (number 1 - 12 or less), to one switch position. You can then plug as many radios into those sockets as you wish, up to 12, and then simply turn the switch to whichever radio you wish to listen to.
For transmitting or at VHF/UHF, there would be considerations such as matching the impendances and losses to take account of, but for receivers there are no such considerations and any losses introduced by the switching arrangments would be insignificant.
Hope that helps a bit.
You can buy antenna switches for use in amateur radio, but they're for coaxial feeders and designed to carry up to 1kW of transmitted RF power. Most are only two or three way, and they're not cheap - even the cheaper ones. For receiving, I'd suggest that all you need to do is to use a multi-way single pole rotary switch, which you can get with up to 12 positions, and mount the switch in a small 'project box'. Fit a socket (say a 4mm 'wander' socket) into which the aerial can be plugged, then mount however many 4mm output sockets that you need on the box to feed your radios, and wire each socket (number 1 - 12 or less), to one switch position. You can then plug as many radios into those sockets as you wish, up to 12, and then simply turn the switch to whichever radio you wish to listen to.
For transmitting or at VHF/UHF, there would be considerations such as matching the impendances and losses to take account of, but for receivers there are no such considerations and any losses introduced by the switching arrangments would be insignificant.
Hope that helps a bit.
Regards, David.
BVWS Member.
G-QRP Club Member 1339.
'I'm in my own little world, but I'm happy, and they know me here'
BVWS Member.
G-QRP Club Member 1339.
'I'm in my own little world, but I'm happy, and they know me here'
