All Activity

You Just Posted It..... Another Attitude - Please Re-read My Post - Or Not...... Peace Out.....

Antennas typically consist of reactive elements and radiating elements. The reactive elements are used to match the impedance of the radio and feedline which is usually 50 ohms. The radiating element is one or more metal wires or rods that convert the signal into RF. It’s usually the most visible part of the antenna.

How do we "loose" an attitude? And which one is it? Should we stop discussing this stuff or should we share our knowledge and experience? I'm confused.

OMG..... Unbelievable.... Maybe All You Folks Should Consider Talking On Your Radio Stations Instead Of Constantly Arguing, Bickering, & Discussing On How They Are Supposed To Perform Better According To Your Opinionated Logic Of The GMRS / UHF Frequency Band, & Everything Else Involved....... Not Sure What Else To Say, But It's A Pretty Sad Rendition Of Folks That Should & Definitely Know Better With All The Knowledge That Exists On This Form. Folks Just Need To Loose Their Attitudes & Share Their Supported Knowledge........ Thx Bob Somers - WRXL702

RG58 is used because the dielectric is solid plastic and doesn’t deform like foam dielectrics, but you’re right that it’s even lossier than RG8x. Choosing cables for a mobile installation is a juggling act. The only cables that will withstand being pinched in a door are thin and stiff because of solid dielectric materials. But they’re also very lossy. So you minimize the length as much as possible and accept that they aren’t ideal.

I picked 10:1 as an example to demonstrate how SWR readings can be completely misleading when made through lossy cable, not as any assumption of the SWR of your antenna. Th right tests are important, but tests can be very misleading. If you want to know the SWR of your antenna, measure it at the antenna feed point, not at the radio. If you want to see how well your cable works, SWR of antenna and cable combination isn’t really an ideal test. Test the cable with a dummy load at the end. Test the SWR of the antenna separately. And put a power meter next to the antenna and then next to the radio and compare the results to see how much power is lost.

I'm in the process of researching base antennas and was wondering if someone could explain radiating element to me. It seems the term should be self explanatory but I need help because I don't know how much that should factor into my final purchase decision. I appreciate the anticipated response. So far this forum has been super helpful to this noob.

The one I got came with CFD200, a little better than what everything else comes with.

I'm your Huckleberry.

Went to get one the other day, Can't order now till June.

I don't, but a few years ago there was some official at FCC that claimed using a radio that could transmit out of the allowed frequency bands just by using VFO was a violation. I don't remember the guy's name. There was a lot of discussion/argument at the time and I never heard of any resolution. I also never had a problem with out of band TX.

I've done exactly this. It was to demo real-world line loss at example frequencies. I'll share a link if you or anyone else is interested.

FOR OUR MEMBERS, WE ARE ON BROADNET 700 REPEATER. 462.7000 467.7000 PL TONE 82.5 ON TX ONLY

Every mag mount antenna and every NMO kit I've ever seen uses RG58. I'll bet all of you have at least one on one or more of your radios. RG58 is even more lossy than RG8X, so I'm mystified about why your installation is right and mine is wrong. If the dummy load isn't between your ears, tell me something I can use. Be Elmer, not Mr Magoo.

Why do you need to? I’ve never accidentally transmitted out of band on any radio ever. Why is this even a thing? And I do give my radios to noobs, kids, older people ect. No one ever accidentally changed to fbo mode and then transmitted out of band.

I'm going to do some testing with various antenna's on this wouxun this weekend . It's just that little tiny wall on either side of the radio, one by the on/off knob and one on the antenna side that makes me question the fit .

So what is the right cable? "You're doing it wrong" isn't helpful information. It might make you feel superior, but it sure as hell isn't going to save me any heartache or money.

Thanks for your input and the photos you shared, I'm going for the LMR400 equivalent. I only need 40 ft so it should work out for me,it just needs to make one 60º bend through a port in my exterior wall it should be flexible enough for that.

You simply use the correct cable, and RG8x is simply not going to cut it on UHF. Only place RG8x should be used as a compromise cable at 30MHz and below, and that's a stretch. You lost so much power using the stuff it even fooled you into thinking you have an acceptable VSWR, kinda like a dummy load. Just trying to save you heartache and money.

How about duplex? Will it let you set duplex to off ? my bad I just seen you were talking about in VFO mode. So disregard my post !

this is why I'm a fan of VNA's to get a picture of both coax and antenna on a separate scale

I've tried the Nagoya 701G and 771G on my KG-935G and the stock Wouxun antenna performs better. I do see an improvement when using the 771G on my Baofeng UV-5R GMRS radios.

Thank you for the reply I also have a baofeng but it's a uv5G plus and two TD H3's . I'm addicted to these little radios.

Put the SWR meter at the end of the run of cable and before the antenna if possible and you will get a more true reading of the antenna SWR. Coax can introduce as SWR as well so it'll still be higher than what the near antenna reading is.

I have the KG-S88G which is of a similar form and the 701 fits fine. That said the Wouxun stock Antenna I think is better than the 701G. I do use the 701G on a Boafeng UV9G and I think it is a little better than the stock on this radio.