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WRYZ926

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    2010

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Everything posted by WRYZ926

  1. WRYZ926
    I'll see what I can do to come up with some data. My 6 band cobweb antenna is affected the most when it comes to very cold temps. My thinking is part of the reason is the design. A cobweb is basically a folded fan dipole where all bands (except 6m) are bent into a square.
  2. WRYZ926
    SWR can change with temperature changes. I have seen it happen on my HF antennas when temps get into single digits. The SWR usually goes up a bit. But the SWR goes back to normal once temps get to 20 degrees or higher. So far the changes have not been so bad that the internal tuner on my IC-7300 can't handle. Most of the time I don't even need to use the internal tuner.
  3. WRYZ926
    There are many ways to get an antenna up in the air. The main thing is to make sure the antenna and mast are secure so they don't fall over.
  4. WRYZ926
    You can use 1 5/8" fence posts as a mast or to extend the height of a j mount. You will need some 4 Pieces 1-5/8" X 6" Chain Link Fence Top Rail Sleeve to attach the fence posts together or to a j mount. I will suggest using some guy rope to guy the mast if you extend the j mount or the mast is more than a few feet above the mount. I have used 1 5/8" fence posts with those couplers for a mast and also extended j mounts with 1 5/8" fence posts and couplers without any issues. I do run a total of 16 zip screws into the coupler to attache them. I put 8 zip screws into each pipe I am connecting. The main thing is to properly guy the mast to support it and the antenna. Here is a photo of my 6 band cobweb antenna that is on a 8 foot section of 1 5/8" fence post attached to a 40" tall j mount. I have it guyed at three points with guy rope. Here is a photo of my Comet CA-712EFC GMRS antenna attached directly to a 40" tall j mount. I did not need to guy it.
  5. WRYZ926
    A 10 watt repeater will be just fine for the OP's needs.He is only needing to cover about a 1 3/4 mile radius. The key for him will be getting his antenna up as high as he can get it on the highest point of his property, He doesn't need a 50 watt repeater for that. 50 watts is overkill for such a small coverage radius. Plus he can save a lot of money by getting a Midland or Retevis 10 watt repeater.
  6. WRYZ926
    A lot of us use Comet antennas. And for your situation, I am going to recommend the Comet CA-GMRS antenna. The best price I found is $99 theantennafarm.com CA-GMRS antenna I will suggest looking at the DX Engineering 400MAX from DX Engineering. It is good quality and will be cheaper than actual LMR400 coax. I have used JET LMR400 coax from R & L electronics and it is good stuff too. Though I have not used any JET coax longer than 6 feet. A satellite dish j mount will work fine for mounting an antenna. That is what I use for my GMRS antenna along with my HF cobweb and a vertical HF antenna. They have survived 50-60 mph shear winds along with snow and ice. Here is the mounts I have: Antennas Direct ClearStream TV Antenna Mast . I went with the 40" tall version but they only have the 20" version in stock. Or you could probably scrounge an old Dish/DirectTV mount.
  7. WRYZ926
    This is very true. The closest GMRS repeater to me is 21.5 miles away. I can get into it just fine with my base station even on low power. Granted my transmission is clear of any static on mid and high power. I do have my antenna at 22 feet above the ground and the repeater antennas are at 400 feet. I've also talked on the repeater from home using my KG-935G too. But I have to be in the right spot and facing the repeater to do so. The Midland or Retevis 10 watt repeaters will work just fine for @jwalsh7107 as long as he gets his repeater antenna up high enough and uses good coax. 5 watts is no issue for a couple of miles with the antenna up high.
  8. WRYZ926
    You can use dielectric grease. Just put a small amount on the outside of the female threads only.
  9. WRYZ926
    I have to agree. The Retevis or Midland 10 watt repeater will be a better option in your use case. Get the antenna up as high as possible at your house. Don't forget to use a good quality LMR400 or equivalent coax to connect the repeater to the antenna. A 10 watt repeater will actually put out 5 watts on transmit since the signal goes through a duplexer. But 5 watts is still enough power in your situation. again, use a good quality antenna and quality coax. I will suggest an antenna with 6 dBi of gain for your location since you have hilly terrain.
  10. WRYZ926
    As mentioned, there is no emergency or travel channel on GMRS. Your best bet is to look for GMRS repeaters where you plan to travel and program them into your radio. You can also transmit on the repeater output frequency/channel on simplex and others will still hear you if you have tones set correctly (if the repeater used them). Most open repeaters will use a tone of 141.3 PS: for those with CB's, Channel 9 is pretty much useless most of the time. I have heard stations in Puerto RIco and other countries running high powered amps on Channel 9. The one from Puerto Rico sounds like he is just down the street from me here in Missouri.
  11. WRYZ926
    Delete- double post . That was weird, it never showed that my reply was posted and when I checked it posted three times.
  12. WRYZ926
    Delete- double post.
  13. WRYZ926
    I will add to what he said. Remember that most power supply manufacturers/retailers always advertise the peak amperage of their power supplies. The continuous amp draw is usually 75-80 % of that. An example is most 30A power supplies can only run between 22 and 26 amps continuously. So stick with a 30A power supply for a 100 watt radio and you will be fine. Also if you decide to run an external autotune then you will either need a separate power supply for it or step up to at least a 50A supply if you are going to run the radio and tuner from the same power supply. I run my Icom IC-7300 and my LDG AT-1000Pro II autotune on a 50A power supply without any issues. That combo is too much for a 30A supply. I am running my Icom IC-2730A and my Wouxun KG-1000G on a 30A supply but I never transmit on both radios at the same time. I might trip the supply if I transmit on both radios at the same time with both set to high power.
  14. WRYZ926
    I redid the calculations using the kv5r calculator using 0.05 watts (50mw) and 9 feet of RG-58 coax. I don't know the actual dBd gain of the yagi antenna so I just put in 3 dBd of gain. Here is a screen shot of the results. As you can see, with power in at 50 milliwatts and an antennas with 3 dBd of gain you get an ERP of 100 milliwatts. Now if you are getting 5 dB of loss when checking with Rig Expert then I would be double checking the coax and antenna setup. Did you check the coax by itself using a dummy load and open? If so is that when you saw the 5 dB of loss or was it with the antenna connected? I redid the calculations using RG-213 and LMR400. While both have less loss at 100 feet, there was no difference in the ERP using 9 feet of coax.
  15. WRYZ926
    The charging bases will not interchange. There is enough differences between the 935 battery and the Q10 battery to keep this from working. The 935 battery is thinner and narrower so it will not lock into the Q10 charger. The Q10 battery is too wide and too thick that it will not even fit into the 935 charger. Yes I own the Q10H and 935G and tried. It's a no go. The nice thing is that both radios can be charged using a USB C cable.
  16. WRYZ926
    I get a SWR of 1.8 or less with the SBB1 on 2m, 70cm, and GMRS. That is fine and won't hurt. Though I do use a separate antenna for GMRS on my Escape. I tuned a Tram 1174 antenna so that I get 1.4 on 467 MHz and 1.2 on 462 MHz. @WSEM262 check your setup and make sure the antenna does not need a ground plane. Also pull the boat out of the garage to test. You might have something, like garage door tracks, that is interfering with the antenna when you tested. Most antenna analyzers can also test coax cable. If you don't have an analyzer then you can check the coax with a multimeter to make sure there is no continuity between the center conductor and the shield.
  17. WRYZ926
    Here is an excellent coax loss calculator: https://kv5r.com/ham-radio/coax-loss-calculator/ I plugged in the numbers using 912 MHz and RG-58 coax. RG-58 has a 97% loss at 100 feet. It has a 15.5 dB loss at 100 feet. Using 9 feet there is 1.4 dB of loss. This is with a 5 watt radio and an antenna with 3 dBd of gain. ERP is 7.2 watts. If you use an antenna with 1 dBd of gain then the ERP is 4.6 watts. While RG-58 will work, it is not ideal for the 900 MHz band. You can overcome coax loss with a good antenna with higher gain. I have found that calculator to be pretty accurate and if you are getting 5 dB of loss over 9 feet then I would be looking at the condition/quality of the coax and connectors.
  18. WRYZ926
    And yes being inside a garage can affect the SWR some. Things like a very low ceiling and metal garage door tracks will mess with the antenna SWR. I've noticed that with my antennas. I have a Comet SBB1 on my Ford Escape and it barely clears the garage door and the tracks are pretty low. SWR is fine on 2m and 70cm but high on GMRS when I test with the Escape parked in the garage. The SWR is lower on all three bands when I test with the Escape parked in the driveway.
  19. WRYZ926
    Yes I have an Icom IC-7300 and it is a nice radio for HF and 6m. It works well for SSB and digital modes.
  20. WRYZ926
    I use cross band repeat on my base radio (Icom IC-2730) quite often when I am working around outside. I can get into the local 2m repeater with my HT but I don't have the best signal doing so. I don't have to worry about where I am standing or which direction I am facing when using the HT when I use cross band repeats on my base radio.
  21. WRYZ926
    The Kg-1000G Plus is based off of the KG-UV980P with a few physical changes and a different locked down firmware. I have not messed with the UV980P so I don't know if it can be unlocked.
  22. WRYZ926
    I haven't had any problems with heat or cold when it comes to my radios. We go from 1-2 week stretches of single digit temps to 95+ degrees most of the summer here in Missouri. We just had several nights with temps below 0 and no issues with my radios at temps as low as -11. I had a Radio Shack CB radio in my car wheel stationed at Ft Irwin Ca. and never had a problem with the heat while there. Seeing air temps at 120 or higher was normal in July and August. The car I had at the time didn't have AC either.
  23. WRYZ926
    I will help enable others some more. If you are looking for a good IP rated 20 watt mobile radio then go with the KG-XS20G. The XS20G pairs well with the 935G. They actually use the same screen and have the same menu layout. So if you can program one, then you can program the other without having to learn a new menu system.
  24. WRYZ926
    And don't let the fact that the 935G Plus is a SOC (system on chip) radio and not superheterodyne bother you.. The 935G does just as well as the Wouxun KG-Q10G/H models that are superheterodyne. I can't tell any difference between the 935G Plus and the Q10H models I own.
  25. WRYZ926
    This would be the fastest and easiest way to test both the coax and the mount itself. If you get any resistance between the center conductor and shield or do not see 50 ohms when a dummy load is connected then you can start to look at the coax and the mount itself. I would check the dummy load with a multimeter to see what it reads before attaching it to the mount so that you have a good baseline measurement.
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