marcspaz

If anyone is thinking their radio is acting up... it's not. This is the worst storm I have ever seen. All bands are in terrible shape and I have never seen an S9+ noise floor.

Nah... let's let this jem get revived a few more times... especially in about 2 years.

My primary radio makes 18w at the output. It works fantastic in my area. We have about 300 feet of elevation variation for about 100 miles in any direction. I get 25 to 35 miles from any given repeater with 80%+ reliability. Once I stretch past 35 miles, going to 48 watts is very helpful in many cases, but doesn't even come close to punching through "every time" I drop out with the 18w. Long story short, I think 15w is great for many applications.

@KAF6045 That looks awesome! If you plan to use it soon, can you let me know how you like it? I took my MFJ out this morning (rain finally stopped for a couple of days) and the needle is stuck. It was only $100, so it's not worth it for me to send it in to repair. I was going to buy another one, but for $300, that looks like a much better meter. If you think it's good, I would definitely get one. I was looking at another MFJ or EXTECH, TENMARS, and a couple of others, including the LATNEX HF-B8G. The only one I have seen that I can afford that I have knowledge of is the MFJ. I don't know anyone else using anything except a newer Bird that I definitely can't afford. Some feedback from you on the LATNEX would be awesome.

Not gonna lie, the scanner is pretty bad ass.

After @OffRoaderX posted a thread asking about a good meter, I start doing some research. After looking into some real-world experiences and consulting with some pros, I bought a new Daiwa CN-901. I have to say, this meter is fantastic. I like it so much, that I am seriously considering replacing my Swan with a 2,000w HF version of this meter. I got it home and did some testing, comparing it to my other meters. I compared it to a Diamond and a Bird and it looks to be significantly more accurate than the Diamond. This unit is usable in passive mode in RMS Power/SWR mode in a 20w or 200w scale. On 13.8vdc, the unit will measure PEP and can be illuminated. I like the cross-needle function, with a large display and it provides a good amount of light. You can turn the meter off, using it in bypass mode. It's tucked into a nice size package, so you don't give up much desktop surface. The frame is wrapped in rubber dampeners which helps reduce damage due to mechanical shock. It's simple operation, positive feedback on the controls, large easy to read face and a price just under $200... this unit is a winner. Light on. Light Off. Back.

I'm pretty sure you're right. That or UV5R's.

They are wrong and right at the same time. LOL With very, very limited exception, this is false. Being on private property doesn't mean you can violate the FCC rules. During a life threatening emergency if you are initiating and facilitating communications to save life, you can ignore the rules (for the most part). To do the legally, you need a license, unless its a life threatening situation. Yep... it's happening now. LOL

Sorry for the double post... but I am sure this may have something to do with it, too. LOL Not gonna lie, I'm not even mad about it. hahaha

Man... I want to go to Merus so badly. I have been trying to get to Moab and to the Rubicon for 2 years, but money isn't working out. Maybe next year and I can add Merus to the list. A huge majority of the offroad community has moved to GMRS and FRS. I have 3 friends that have been to Merus who have told me there is basically no cell coverage in a huge area of the park. CB is rapidly going to the wayside, so making sure customers have the proper safety equipment, including a radio, makes a lot of sense.

@labreja one tripod is the MFJ-1921, which is 6.5' tall and has an 8' diameter base. That one is holding most of the weight. The other is an MFJ-1919, which is 4.5' tall with a 6' base.

This is kind of fun. Today, I made a new setup for operating in the field. I assembled two 25' masts from a 31' mast and a 19' mast, and strung the main element of a homemade OCF 80m antenna between them. The small element tapers off on a slant, with a rope staked in such a way that the end of the short element is about 5' off the ground. Both masts are also setup to receive vertical VHF/UHF antennas. So, I can work Amateur HF, VHF/UHF and GMRS all from one massive setup. I plan on putting this into operation for a 24 hour race I am doing communications for. I'll probably be up for 30 hours with at least 26 of them on the air. So, I'll find out just how good of an 80m NVIS and 10m-20m DX antenna this setup is. If it works well, this will be my Field Day setup. I'll shoot some pictures and video from the race to share later.

A GMRS repeater in F'burg sounds like a great idea. There are no public access repeaters that way, that I am aware of. Of you want to get more than a couple of miles, you're going to want one. Glad to see you get yours out to 12 miles. I'm on the Manassas/Woodbridge line with mine 35' up and struggle to get about 8 miles out of it. My land is down in a hole. I really need a 150' tower to get anything worth running full-time.

I was going to do the test today, but it's raining. Have to see if I can do it tomorrow.

I can't afford to run 220-240 to my shack. Maybe some day.

There are 2 repeaters around here that have solid, uninterrupted coverage for a 30 miles radius and the scattered covered (50% to 70% covered) for a 90 mile radius. Keep in mind that repeaters like this have the coverage they do because they are going to be up on a hill or mountain with an elevation advantage of over 1,000 feet compared to the coverage area. When an antenna is only 30 to 50 feet off the ground in a relatively flat area, you are only going to get about 5 to 8 miles. Moving up to 300 feet might bump it to 25 or 30 miles, depending on the rest of the terrain.

I agree on the definition. I have to say... I am a power junky. So, I will always take more power. It just seems like a no-brainer. I have a 1,000w amp at the house for a reason. ^^^ This is fantastic!

That is a distinct possibility. I have experienced that on VHF. I was talking to a buddy of mine on 147.525 while I was driving out on a country road. He started to drive through a busy commercial area with tons of neon and florescent lighting, as well as high voltage lines and every other type of noise you can think of in a busy city at night. He said my signal dropped out due to RFI. I could hear him perfectly, though. I bumped my power from 50w to 200w and he could hear me, but it was still tough. With him at 50w, he was full quiet on my end. I haven't really played with UHF in an urban area beyond local crossband repeat, but I have to assume it would be similar.

That would be pretty cool to see, too. I have an MFJ-802BX. The manual says I have to be at least 10 feet away with the sensitivity all the way down, to start, but I have no idea how far away I can get. It should be plenty sensitive enough for what we want to test, though. My wife always tells me I'm way too serious. I initially missed the satire... but I definitely appreciate it! LOL

Oh, I'm not fighting, just having a discussion. Thats probably why it looks like I'm bad at fighting. LoL I'm not disputing your technical point that more power equals more penetration or improved range. That is just matter of fact. My contention is more a matter of the significance of the improvement. That said, just to be friendly and see if you are correct or not, I am 100% willing to go in the woods behind my house with a radio and a field strength metere to conduct an actual measured test of the situation you are describing. Now, if you just want to have an exercise in rhetoric rather than discover usable and actionable information, then I'm not goto do the test. @everyone... if anyone wants me to do the test, I will, but I have no interest in doing it for my own sake. So, if anyone wants it, just let me know.

Unfortunately, I have found that in real-world applications, what you are claiming doesn't happen. I spend a tremendous amount of time in the woods while offloading, assisting the Marine Corps Community Services with running events, and camping. Most of my friends and peers have 5w handheld radios for the stuff we do. I have an 8w handheld. We have never had a situation where we crossed a threshold to where I couldn't hear them, but they could hear me. I have all the proper tools and equipment to test this. I'd be happy to go out into the woods tomorrow and do real measurements and tell you what the scientifically measured truth is, if you're interested... but I don't think you are going to like the answer.

@KAF6045 It takes 6dB to increase 1 S-unit... going from 2 watts to 8 watts... but your point is still very valid. 2w compared to 5w, its almost no change with regard to range or readability. @Blaise As far as voice communications goes, I would absolutely say it is negligible, but that's only because at almost midnight I can't readily think of a word that represents something less than negligible.

The only thing I would add to what Steve mentioned is that 50 watts will help overcome antenna cable losses while transmitting. If you are barely receiving a signal from someone using 20w and you're feeding a coax that reduces your 4w-5w handheld signal down to 1.5w or less into the antenna... that other station isn't going to hear you. So, more power and a good antenna would be a good choice.

Yeah man, no doubt. I worked a station outside of Moscow at 1:00 AM ET on 20m. Worked South Africa at 8:30 PM on 10m. Very happy with that.

Very cool! That's a good number of countries. I was being lazy one night on the radio in VA, tuning up my audio. I didn't feel like doing the extra work of running the dummy load, so I turned my power all the way down, which is 0.4w. While I was doing my audio testing, I was using my call sign and saying things to make the adjustments. When I let the key up, I guy from Ohio came back to me saying he had a great copy on me and the audio sounded really good. He asked what mic I was using... ended up chatting for about 10 minutes, to Ohio, on 0.4w. It was mind-blowing.