warthog74

I went with a copper j-pole for 3 reasons. Weighs 1 pound, it has next to no wind resistance, and cost. With my cobbled together setup consisting of thin 1 1/4” aluminum electrical conduit with some wood slats to help anchor it from swaying, it made the most sense. There will always be something better. There will always be something worse. For me it works well and does what i ask of it. No complaints. I also have another j-pole that i have 50 feet up for my small solar powered GMRS repeater. I set it up for our (semi rural) neighborhood to use, but it actually covers about 10 miles. Again, no complaints. People can crap on them all they want, but a copper j-pole wont snap in half or splinter like fiberglass does. Oh, and i clear coated mine, so don’t yell at me about oxidation. J-pole base station antenna at about 30 feet. (Don’t mind my cat. He loves it up there). J-pole repeater antenna at 50 feet on 30’ flagpole + 20’ aluminum electrical conduit.

I started playing with solar about a year ago. Nothing overboard. Just a little 320ah power bank w/150 watt panel to keep things running and/or charging (phones/handhelds/flashlights/fans/led rope lights/portable tv) while camping, fishing, etc. Also built a small ammo can gmrs simplex repeater thats powered by a 10 watt panel and 6ah battery. Great for extended comms when out in the wilderness.

Same thing happened to mine recently. However i’ve owned it for about 12-ish years now, so i’m not too disappointed. Now i just shut VFO B off and have it display voltage instead.

That's fine. Marketing “lingo” aside, proper wrapping/sealing is all that’s required regardless of connector type is all i’m saying. There is nothing wrong with pl259/so239 if installed properly. Spending money on N connectors is not really going to change anything or be a magical “permanent fix”.

There are thousands of websites that say this. Google it. Believe what you want, but weatherproof does NOT = waterproof. An N connector will not solve your problem as it is not waterproof. But suit yourself and waste more money, and have this same problem again in 6-12 months. If you properly wrap your connections regardless of connectors, you shouldn't have any problems for a few years.

Source of info: https://waterproved.com/definitions/ There. It’s settled. You’re welcome.

I use one of these for my 5 watt GMRS repeater. https://www.jpole-antenna.com/shop/462-mhz-land-mobile-gmrs-j-pole-antenna/ Cheap, light, and works well. You’ll want to get it higher than 18 feet though. Trust me. I ended up using a 30 foot flag pole, then i attached 2 10 foot aluminum poles on top of that. Antenna now sits at 50 feet and covers 10 miles of city and rural mixed. At 30 feet i barely got 5 miles. However at 30 feet, it should have no problem covering your 250 acres.

Good for you. Do you want a cookie too?

I just used a light layer of clear coat as i like the copper color. You can however spray paint it to match your house, the sky, etc. Won't harm anything.

I am using that same GMRS tuned j-pole for my repeater. It's up on a 50 foot mast. Works great.

Odd. I got my CB500 in 6 days.

Well, i know people still using the original 6666 that came out a decade ago. In todays throw away world, i say 10 years out of a CCR is pretty damn good. Also 90% of the President radios now come from China. Only a few “flagship” models still come from Vietnam. At any rate the QT80 is a great rig. Just talk some SSB DX and you’d be amazed how many are using AnyTone/Radioddity products because they are spot on frequency with great audio for a respectable price.

The QT80 is just Radioddity’s rebrand of the AnyTone 6666 Pro. Not a cheap radio at all. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. I have the AnyTone AT5555+N and the Radioddity QT40 (rebranded AnyTone Ares II), along with both the smaller AM/FM versions (AT500M II and CB500). Great radios for the money. I would have bought direct from Radioddity.com though instead of Amazon as they offer a warranty and support. Amazon retailers don't.

Similar around here as well. Lots of terrain issues. To the west/northwest of me is the city which is down in a valley some 300 feet below me and to my southwest is a 892 foot ridge that kills me. To my northeast, east and southeast is nothing but farmland mainly and that’s where i get my best results. Now if i could only rent a space on that 892 foot hill….. Pardon my crude photo editing skills. Lol.