marcspaz

That looks great! I'm sure it's going to work a lot better. When using it (and testing) try to keep the antenna and tripod about 24 to 28 inches away from other objects for best performance.

Now that I have looked at the picture on my PC instead of my phone, I will say you should move the mount all the way up and remove the camera mount and adjustment handle. That will impact your SWR and antenna performance. Make sure there is nothing next to the antenna.

I can't really answer the tuning question. I'm not familiar with that antenna... though the adjustment sounds like it would be okay. I can tell you that there is nothing to be concerned about with the camera tripod mount. I used to do it all the time and performance was not impacted. If you take it outside, just make sure you hang a sandbag from it so the wind doesn't blow it over.

I have never owned one... so I did not know this. I am really surprised they have people adjusting them... unless the target customer is more technical rather than Joe Q. Homeowner.

Never mind. I'm a dumbass. ----------------------------- I have a question... why are you going to try to tuning it? It's a stacked 5 phase element high gain antenna with the center frequency being very close to GMRS frequencies. Due to being a stacked phased element antenna (5-1/2l), if you cut the top or bottom, you are only adjusting one element and throwing the phasing completely out of whack, causing massive issues with receive and transmit, regardless of what the SWR meter says. You can't even adjust all 5 elements because the LC network of the antenna is tuned for factory resonance. I would just leave it alone.

Oh, wow! Yeah, I did not see that post. That seems very sketchy, even if it's a private business. I fully agree with you in that context... I appreciate the info. No worries. I'm glad we were able to figure out the disconnect. It was a harmless mix-up on both our parts. I'm glad everything stayed civil while we discussed the topic. I know it seems like a strange thing to say, but that doesn't happen often when people are in disagreement on the internet (pretty sure I am guilty of that myself, recently) . It makes it much easier to continue to enjoy the conversation.

@WRKC935, I think I am missing something. You keep mentioning something the OP wrote, but I don't think I am reading something correctly. What post are you referring to? Also, you keep implying that the governments aren't allowed to integrate ARES/RACES into their emergency response plan, provide hardware, resources or access to resource. However, that is not the case. The process that is in place that allows ARES/RACES to exist and function along side the government is codified in many states Also, ARES/RACES gets its jurisdiction/authorization directly from the the FCC under the Part 97 rules. We are individually federally certified by FEMA and DHS as well. We train side by side with federal, state and local government. This isn't some setup where hams just kinda BS their way into a government Emergency Management team. As far as incidents happening, I can tell you that my team has been activated several times since I have been working with ARES/RACES. There are several states that I have worked in where we needed portable repeaters to service an affected area. We also need things like NVIS to talk from an affected area to 100+ miles away, to the State Emergency Operation Center, as part of the logistics branch of the Incident Response team. We cross technological boundaries, setting up portable networks for data, video and voice traffic for all agencies in a multi-agency response, allowing everyone to have common platforms. The stuff we do (ARES/RACES in conjunction with local, state and federal government) is 100% legal, above board, and just as accountable to the People as the government agencies we serve. In fact, the Shared Resources High Frequency Radio Program (which incorporates non-government entities into government communications operations) was approved by Ronald Reagan and other leadership in the Executive Office of the President in 1988. My team in Virginia even trains as often as 6 times a year with the US Marine Corps. Unless I am just completely misreading your posts, that's why I keep disagreeing with what you're writing.

Okay... I'll rephrase. The two groups that founded and drove ORI are now both defunct. I will definitely agree that there are owners who still honor the spirit of ORI, for sure, but I said it failed because the 2 groups are gone and no one is formally driving the initiative. Hopefully that makes a bit more sense.

It's called the Open Repeater Initiative. It failed. There was a nationwide group of repeater owners who participated with the Open Repeater Initiative to set their ch20 pair (462.675/467.675) to use tone 141.3 (known as 4a). The idea was, to make the repeater open to the traveling public through common knowledge. If you found a repeater on the rCH 20 pair with a 4a PL, the assumption was to be that you don't need special permission to use that repeater.

Did the vehicle need to be jump-started or did the battery deplete to below 11.8 volts? Other recommendations above are good, too.

I actually use a wide footprint to tolerate high winds. You can bring them in and reduce the footprint, but it will reduce total tolerated wind speeds. There is some math that can be done to find the critical angle if you want to go that route. I don't have any issues with a ground plane. All of my vertical antennas have built-in ground planes in the mount or are half wave antennas that don't need a ground plane. So, the actual ground quality doesn't matter. It does play in if you try to use a dipole for HF, though. I have seen some creative engineering... and I aways ask "if it works, was it really a bad idea?" LOL Yeah, I was thinking pulling the seat and putting a short mast (5', maybe) and rotor would be good. Not to mention you can climb up there to work on it easily, which is awesome.

That's a good looking tower. Have to be honest. I have access to a couple of commercial towers at 300'+ and at high ASL locations, too... but I still get jealous. I wish I had the land and the money to put one up behind my house. LOL Not gonna deny corruption exist, but in your previous post, you make it sound like corruption is SOP for Hams and government relationships.

@WRKC935 not trying to start an argument... but It will probably turn into one. I don't think any of what you wrote is even close to accurate nor good advice. Nothing says any government agency must enter into a contract or MOU or deny entering into a contract or MOU with anyone. The pricing method you listed on tower leases is completely wrong. Most governemnt agencies already charge to have Amateur Radio towers or equipment on government property unless there is an MOU or contract to support that agency and those agreements includes land/property use. I can promise you that there is ZERO chance the owner or management team (if government agency) of a water tower doesn't know what Hams are doing on their property. Public Works facilities are highly monitored and heavily restrict access. Government agencies, public works, hospitals, etc., don't just let you claim to be ARES/RACES and let you put up whatever you want. There must be proof of association, a contract or MOU to provide a specific service must be executed. Training and testing will be conducted regularly. Depending on the agency, people involved need to get cleared for a Public Trust or possibly some type of addition security clearance, etc. I think this gets to the root of your post. The reality is that when no one else can communicate, Hams can, and that is why the government commits to MOU's and contracts relating to training and support. Thankfully, Honor has its privilege. My guess based on all the rest of your post is that you're jealous?

You can't put the number in both unless you set it to cross, which really isn't needed. If you only want to hear repeater traffic, just set the type to TSQL and add the number to the ToneSQL field. If you want to be able to hear everyone on the channel, including simplex operators, set the type to Tone and put the number in the Tone field.

If you just stick it in a tripod and don't use guys, in low/zero wind it will hold about 5 lbs max at full extension. It will not hold much weight at all. In fact, I was up on Flagpole Knob when some 40 mph winds came through and damn near folded it in half. Now, if its guyed with a good tripod, It will easily hold 25-30 lbs. I use 3 tiers of guys with one set at the top 5 inches. The guys keep the mast straight under the load for max weight capacity. I have had my 10' vertical in 80-90 mph winds. The top of the antenna was moving all over, the the mast didn't budge. The two heaviest loads I have run while fully extended is (1.) a mono-band 20m hex beam with thrust bearings and a rotor at the base, and (2.) a 10' tall 2m repeater antenna, 20m dipole and an 80m inverted V with a balun and choke. That second setup was in a massive overnight snow storm we had during Winter Field Day a few years ago.

Wow! That's actually really neat... but I personally wouldn't spend that much. The platform is only 17' high. The shooting rail is the part that is at 20', and the rail doesn't look like it would hold much weight. You will almost double your range on flat terrain, but we are talking about going from 3.1 miles to 5.9 miles. I bought this instead.... https://mfjenterprises.com/products/mfj-1906h?_pos=25&_sid=bfd1eb1e0&_ss=r I get about a 9 to 10 mile radius (in flat/level terrain) with my antenna on this. A tripod, ground stakes and guy lines, I spent less than $280. I designed it to be portable, but it can be a permanent setup with zero concerns... in fact, right now and for the past 3-4 months, it's actually behind my house in the woods being used to hold up my 80 meter HF antenna.

Looking good.

For sure. We are only a year and a half into the new solar cycle and expected to peak in about 3 years. I have see some SFI number in the 180's recently, though. I'm optimistic this cycle won't be as bad as the predictions are.

During solar minimum, 10m with 100 watts, I've worked most states and 8 countries... mostly mobile. As the solar cycles move to maximum, you can work the world on 10m with just a few watts. Actually, during the last solar cycle, one of my 10m contacts in Ohio was with only 0.5 watts out of my IC-746 Pro. I also worked Mexico with 0.5w with my IC-7300.

QFT!

If you get out of major metro areas like DC, Tampa, LA, etc., there is almost no traffic on CB. The problem is, I live in the DC metro and occasionally in the Tampa area and a vast majority of users are Truckers and local infrastructure construction crews, and they are constantly using the most horrible language, threatening each other, and generally making it impossible for someone to have a conversation.

CB turned into an RF trashcan. I really hope that doesn't happen to GMRS.

That was actually one of the things we complained about when we called. I was worried it would seem kind of petty. There are 8 cameras that are very visibly on the outside of the house. One of them I had in plain view at the front door for 2 years. There are also 2 signs saying there is video recording/monitoring taking place... the bladed edge of one of them can be seen in the video. Sadly, this kid just doesn't care. I ordered an inexpensive frequency counter to use while offroading, oddly enough. It's a Surecom SF401 Plus. I have a commercial grade Sony Tektronix SA and an MFJ frequency counter that works surprisingly well, too. They aren't practical to use when offroad and don't exactly fit the need. A few times a year, I take fairly decent sized groups of new offroaders out into the mountains for their first or second trip ever, and some training on how to do recoveries and navigate the trails. There is a regular problem with the with the new people that we go offroad with. They buy bubble pack radios and never know what frequency they are on or what tone they are using. Like the Surecom SWR meter, the Surecom SF401 Plus is able to be calibrated by the end-user which means its capable of being "close enough" for the task... but along with the frequency, it decodes CTCSS/CDCSS encoding. So we can eassily get everyone's radios working correctly when out on the trails. I was thinking about a PO Box... but I have been working from home since 2016. So delivery at work still ends up on my stoop. LOL

I like the idea. I have been trying to help. The area's I have homes are flooded with repeaters. Multiple friends/acquaintances of mine, as well as several clubs, have put up so many repeaters in Northern VA, that there are 2 or 3 on every pair. I am still trying to get some more deployed. I do have one up at my Virginia home that has about a 15 mile radius. I am also looking at putting up several repeaters in a park in Schuylkill County PA and New London County CT on property that belongs to family and friends.

Amazon Prime Home Delivery FTW! If you buy inexpensive electronics from Amazon and it doesn't work correctly, don't automatically assume it's cheap Chinese electronics... you may want to check your video footage. This 'was' a sensitive piece of electronics... RF Frequency Counter. The second one I bought in a week, because the first one didn't work correctly on delivery either. hmmm... I wonder why. At least Amazon gave me a refund.