marcspaz

Kinda makes my head hurt.

It's truly a wonderful thing about antenna design, isn't it?

Dude, are you just messing with me? I think I'm being trolled by Alex... at 3AM. LoL

100% incorrect. S-units define received voltage at the receive front-end. 1 S-unit is equal to 0.20 μV (-121dBm). Also, a discriminator circuit converts FM signals to AM and extracts the information from the AM envelope. If there isn't enough detected deviation or inconsistent receive of the deviation, the discriminator cannot create a proper AM envelope, thus cannot extract the information.

There is nothing to discuss in a new thread. If you think that quality of a radio signal being received can't be described by readability and signal strength on a sliding scale and that signal strength doesn't directly impact readability because someone is using frequency modulation instead of AM or SSB, you have said everything I need to know about your understanding of electronics.

That's because it doesn't matter what is attenuating the signal (other than the curvature of the earth), you still have to quadruple your power to increase your signal by 1 S-unit. I know that you are already familiar with this, but I will explain for the new people. There is a standard in radio communications about intelligibility of radio communications. It is called the 5/9 scale. 0 to 5 for voice clarity and 0 to 9+ for signal strength in s-units. It is said that while a 2/1 signal provides partially usable comms, the lowest "reliable" communications happens at a 3/2 (or 32) and the best is a 5/9+ (often called 599, 59+20, 59+40, etc.). If you are transmitting a 15 watt signal and I can tell you are there, but I can't make out what your saying or enough of what you are saying, I am probably receiving you at 1 s-unit or less. You are going to need to add at least 2 S-units before there is a chance I can make out about 60%-70% of what you are saying. You would really want a full 3 s-units for conversational communications. That translates to jumping from 15w to 240w. If you are truly fringe and your signal is attenuated by trees, buildings, etc. to the point that we can't talk, adding another 5 watts isn't going to do anything. Jumping to 45w-50w still isn't going to make it so you can have a conversation if I can't make out anything you're saying at 15w. I did a write-up about this in 2019 -

I was thinking this myself, but held off on posting. I have done mounts with items I shared, but they were for MCV's and portable outdoor setups. They are a bit unruly in a classic POV install. There are a few people in here with some great understanding on how power impacts performance. Some PE's and EE's (active and retired). There have been many write-ups about how power impact range and performance. The reality is, unless you get a cable that is complete trash and the connectors aren't terminated correctly, you are going to be hard-pressed to detect (without precision measuring tools) between 5w and 20w... or 20w and 80w. Depending on terrain and the other radio in the communications path, you may start to notice a difference 5w and 80w To give you a real-world example, I normally have a 50w radio I use in my Jeep. It puts out 46w actual. My jeep is broken, so I put an antenna on my Ram and just hookup a 5w HT to it, which actually output 4.1w. There is no noticeable difference in how far I can communicate. I get about 26 miles away from my local repeater, regardless of if I use the mobile with 46w or the handheld with a mobile antenna and 4.1w. Checkout this video. If you're on a smaller budget, this is a quality setup to use. https://shop.motorolasolutions.com/antenna-mounting-kit/product/0180300B02?gclid=Cj0KCQiAi8KfBhCuARIsADp-A57XNGO25cd1opmbSPPzSQVJvX0iIZ1gXkz4TJBk36t3Hh_xzWtzEiwaAi6iEALw_wcB If you have a few more dollars for the budget, I would recommend this... https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-009384 If you don't want to drill holes in the roof, I personally use Comet and Diamond complete mounts, like this... https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-006519

Is this for a mobile install? What NMO where you going to buy? They are pretty standard... but there aren't too many that I am aware of that you can connect LMR400 directly to. You may want something like this. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLMHJ338/ref=sspa_dk_detail_4?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0BLMHJ338&pd_rd_w=rmjiK&content-id=amzn1.sym.88097cb9-5064-44ef-891b-abfacbc1c44b&pf_rd_p=88097cb9-5064-44ef-891b-abfacbc1c44b&pf_rd_r=Z692ND5PVAJ7M99DKEJC&pd_rd_wg=JaTt0&pd_rd_r=bf38e4e0-6457-4b78-aeaf-f3229a8dd933&s=pc&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExREVHQ1daWFZYOEkzJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUExMDE1NjEyMkRUMVA5OThLTjFONiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUExMDIwMjIzM0RQSVFJUk9DN1FQTCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbCZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU= These are great PL-259 connectors. https://www.amazon.com/PL-259-Connectors-Adapter-Connector-XRDS-RF/dp/B07V4RJS64/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3O4FEIU6300NT&keywords=PL-259+Connectors+Male+UHF+Type+Attach+Adapter+End+Connector+LMR400%2FRG8%2FRG8U%2FKMR400%2FBelden+9913%2F7D-FB+Pack+of+2+by+XRDS-RF(NOT+for+TV)&qid=1676695065&sprefix=pl-259+connectors+male+uhf+type+attach+adapter+end+connector+lmr400%2Frg8%2Frg8u%2Fkmr400%2Fbelden+9913%2F7d-fb+pack+of+2+by+xrds-rf+not+for+tv+%2Caps%2C78&sr=8-3

@WRUA262 ?

Assuming the photos are a true representation of V1 and V2, that is not a "full redesigned radio board". 2 parts worth about $0.23 and 2 solder jumpers on the same board (RDA2300 UHF v1.5, dated 2021/10/13). 1 additional capacitor, 1 added resistor, 2 solder jumps.

Randy is a straight shooter. If its good, he will let you know. One of the things I like about his videos is, when it comes to the gear, he just tells you how it is. He doesn't play favorites or fluff a product for a vendor because they sent him gear.

I agree, its a possibility. I didn't really think about that. It is a good practice to follow. I am looking forward to this! Even if it doesn't make the video, any chance you will put it on the Tiny SA and see how the signal looks? I'm curious, because a lot of people trash BTech / Baofeng radios, but most of the units I put on the scope are cleaner than any of my UHF ham radios at 2x to 4x the price. It's good to know if the build quality is there in a more affordable radio. Especially if someone is on a budget and trying to make good choices for the money they have.

I wish you the best of luck, but it's a solid pass for me. I bought the V1 when it was released and did a review of it. I loved some of it and hated some of it. In the end, I didn't recommend it. After looking at the v2, it looks like the same radio with a new part number. Plus, I am not sure how much I trust a radio when the manufacturer had to put the following 2 items in the "Getting Started" section of the manual... I mean, they catch fire so often that how to avoid it and how to deal with it when it happens is in the manual? Not a confidence builder, to say the least. If the unit emits smoke or an odor, you should immediately cut off the power supply. Then send the radio to the nearest service center or dealer. Do not operate the mobile transceiver on high power unless it is necessary...

I do remember chatting, now that you mention it. I have to do some work on my Jeep on Saturday, but we can always meet up in Gainesville or Haymarket sometime Saturday or Sunday and check it out. I can toss some tools, meters, and spare equipment in the truck, too.

My daughter lives in Preston, Connecticut. I am visiting her every month (up from VA). There is not much going on in the area, unfortunately. I have been thinking about putting up a repeater in/near the Norwich area or possibly closer to the CT/RI line... but I have been slammed and haven't found much time for testing.

@WRVS497 I would want to hear a recording to see if its at an unusual level, but what you are describing is SOP for mobile operations. Unless you are within a couple of miles (or closer in many instances) of the repeater or another simplex station, you are going to have static and popping on transmit and receive. Dust and other pollutants can become statically charged when they rub against one another. They collect on the surface of our vehicles and our antennas. Driving can cause dust static. It never goes away until you stop, which is when the static stops. The perceived loudness usually increases with speed. Also, as you drive, there are 'things' (trees, buildings, hills, even people in some cases) that are moving in an out of the radio path as you drive, changing the receive level of the signal. Plus, if you have a whip antenna, the wind is moving your antenna all over the place. That changes the direction or focus of the antenna's receive and transmit pattern/path. Imagine putting an flashlight on your antenna and going for a ride. Think about how the light beam would be moving all over the place as the antenna moves. That is a good, but over exaggerated example, of course. These are just a small sample of what can cause noise while driving... there are many others, including noise generation from your vehicle itself. If you don't hear these things when you are stopped or when you are driving close to the other radio, this is because the signal strength of the desired signals has gotten to the point that they significantly overpowered the random noise signals.

2dB of loss is almost nothing in the GMRS world. You would have to lose 6dB before you even see a difference on a properly calibrated S-meter on your radio and I would be willing to bet money you would never hear the difference while you are having a conversation. In a situation like yours, I would be more upset about the connectors you added 1 foot from the magnet, that is now beating up my paint job while I'm driving around.

If you are mobile, actively in motion and hearing pulsating while receiving a signal, there is a very good chance you are simply hearing what is known as picket fencing. As we travel, especially in cities and wooded areas, 'things' between you and the station you are hearing actually cause a shadow, causing a pulsing of the received signal. It is especially common with handheld radios while using an external antenna. When you transmit, people on the other end will also hear your transmitted signal pulse, as well.

Are you using both of them in a mobile application, as base radios, or both?

To to be sure no one else reads your post and trashes an antenna or cable... No.. you can't trim a base-loaded CB (HF) antenna to use on GMRS for more reasons than I feel like typing. Antennas with a coil and/or capacitors have a very, very narrow usable frequency response. On the wide side, it would be 3 or 4 MHz. On the narrow side, it may only be usable for a few hundred KHz. There is no way you're jumping from 27 MHz to 465 MHz (approximately the center of GMRS). Also, there's no reason someone can't use RG58 cable in a mobile installation. Most mobile applications would only experience about 1.5dB of losses due to the cable. Basically, that means 20w out of the radio would be 14w to the antenna. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

That's a good looking setup, for sure. I have been thinking about something like that for my Ram 1500. I don't want to drill any holes, and I have seen a few styles like this floating around. Looking forward to seeing the final results.

I have no idea what I just watched. LOL

CB is still on fire in the DC metro area as well as down in high-traffic areas of Florida. Have to say though, many of them sound like they would fit into the 50+ YO demographic. I have a couple younger friends of mine who own their own tractor and they all seem to have zero interest in radio. Only one of them has a CB, and he said it's only because 1 very old-school depots he goes to frequently still uses them for traffic control and to call tractors in to a specific bay when it's time. I've been on GMRS daily for years. I only talked to 1 truck driver, and that was on a repeater back last summer. He said he was regional and was looking for repeaters to use as he traveled throughout the area.

When you go in the menu, there are options to calibrate the frequency display (0.1KHz increments) and the power measurements. They are VHF, UHF, low power VHF, low power UHF, adjustable in a plus/minus percentage of the base reading, up to 100%. I can't help you on not wanting to spend money on a device to calibrate against. Everything that measures, requires calibration at one point. The cheaper the device, the less accurate and more often the issue of calibration occurs. My best advice is, buy a much more expensive, quality meter that is known to be accurate from the manufacturer and doesn't require calibration often (maybe after a few years or after a drop/impact/etc.), or don't worry about it and just use what you have as a binary device. Have to warn you though, you're going to spend several hundreds of dollars ($400-$500+), but still won't completely get away from the need for calibration.

^^^ This! have mentioned this a dozen times if I mentioned it once. The Surcom SW-102 is a user-adjustable tool that needs to be calibrated. I have had to re-calibrate mine 3 times this year. Even if it was accurate out of the box, that doesn't mean its still accurate. That doesn't really mean anything. I'm not being a smart@$$ when I say the closer to zero you get, the more accurate the meter is. Also, I just did a test of my radio using a Surecom and shared the video. The Surecom was out of calibration after I had calibrated it at the end of last summer. It was misreading a 101w radio as 78w. It also had a bad SWR reading on my dummy load (result of bad power reading). I had to calibrate it with proper tools (or you can use known good meters to compare) so I could use the digital meter in the video, to provide accurate results. The reality is, the fact that you get the same results on the antenna and the dummy load leads me to trust the results even less.