kidphc
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Posts posted by kidphc
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3 minutes ago, KAF6045 said:
Might be difficult to detect, given that FM itself is sort of "doppler" -- the frequency is deviating around the center (tuned) frequency to carry the voice signal.
Now... AM (old CB with a 10ft 1/4wave whip bumper mounted) I could see doppler, as the carrier frequency is moving around (along with the side bands) it would show as a tuning error. SSB it would show as a change in voice pitch (as the offset from tuned frequency determines pitch, and if the sideband is moving en-bloc, the pitch will move with it)
Ok. Don't think I have heard that. Or did I on 10m/11m i am messing with the clarifier a lot so could be the sideband shifting.
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8 minutes ago, WRUI842 said:
I am located in close in SE Portland, Or. I am starting to get my feet wet in the GMRS world. I have so many questions on the subject and do not know how to get the help I need. Online help?, a mentor close by?, or Club? Any suggestions?
Here is one of the best way to start. Start asking away.
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1 minute ago, Sshannon said:
Wow! You deserve an award of some kind. I could feel your pain. That also convinced me to use magnetic mounts on my 4Runner.
Mag mounts can work really well. I hate the rust spot it left on my Suburban after 2 months of use. Not to mention the pinched coax.
Personally, I say drill the hole. If in doubt, drill from the inside. It is harder to get accurate measurements, so it might no be centered properly but atleast you won't have my problem. I got lazy and paid for it.
If it works for you and you are ok with the compromises. Then you do you and blank out the nay sayers.
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More updates. GMRS related this time.
I was about to pull the trigger on a Wooxun 1000g. When a buddy said "Nope, how many radios you need". I was promptly n 24 hours handed 4x Motorola CDM1250 pre-configured for GMRS, new brackets, new hand mics, new power lines, new NMO with Motorola 162-174 1/4 wave antenna and a link to the CPS v12.05. Which began a hunt for the remote kit, remote head wiring and programming cable, thank you flea bay for 2 of 3. He turned me onto a retired fireman buddy (Thank you Mr. Keuchler). Whom had 2x original remote head kits at a great price. 2 days later they were in hand. Then began the procrastination and got side tracked looking for a EDC hand held.
Welp back to the truck.
Radio brick is mounted to a molle panel on the back window. Wires being routed and tucked behind as much stuff as possible.
The radio head I chose to mount below the AC controls. Looks tight but I have a clear view when the truck is in drive. Originally, I had planned for the head to be above the FTM400XDR, but due to the chunkiness of the head and associated bracket I nixed the idea. The magnet mic was removed from the AT6666 (which I still need to install) new holes were drilled into the molle panel and the FTM400XDR mic moved to the new location. Not sure if I am a fan of this Motorola mic, its a bit big for my hands. I will have to look for a replacement. Other then that I might end up fabricating an L mount (again connected to the molle) to get the radio higher and more solidly mounted.
Onto the fun part... F was it fun, no it wasn't. A 30 minute job turned into 2.5 hours of OMG WTF. After measuring 6x times from the edge of the sunroof to the end of the hatch. Moving the cross bar on the roof rack to a location I marked the pilot hole Took a deep breath, and started. Why all the measuring I was trying to avoid a cross beam roof support. Well as you tell by the long winded story, FAILURE. It went from smiles to cursing in seconds, as the drill slow down, with a lack of patience I got the pilot hole through the edge of the cross beam support, YES!!!!. NOPE.... Right through the dome light, which is held on to the liner and roof with sheet metal though a different support. OH MY F GOD, you idiot. I hadn't removed the headliner, due to that being a 3 hour affair by itself, can we say Toyota overbuilt this truck in all aspects.
I had to grab a 90 Degree pneumatic drill and bore the hole out from underneath, then clip away some of the support mount to get a flush clean contacting with the NMO. Little did I know the back half of the roof has slope towards the rear, so the antenna when mounted looks crooked (antenna is bent a little so doesn't help) in combination with the forward cant of the 11m antenna looks terrible. No photos of the install, just too embarrassed and not my proudest nmo install.
On the way to replace the Larsen 2/70sh. Are 2 antennas, Laird Technologies 450-470 1/4 wave and Laird Technologies 5/8 over 5/8 B4505CNS. I may consider a Laird Technologies B4502NS 1/2 wave, since the 1/2 is about 10" and the 1/4 is about 6" vs the 31 odd inches of the 5/8.
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I have always wondered if the swr on the Comet 2×24sr was better then the 2/70b because of the fact the engineers took the antenna bending at speed into account. So a static swr test would show a better swr on the 2x24 then that where the 2/70 would perform better (compared to itself) with a dynamic load.
I have seen people claim that with a flexible antenna you can experience doppler effect from the antenna wagging in the wind. Personally, never experienced and fading in and out not even on a 7ft long mobile antenna. But who knows.
2/70sh is not cutting it in certain areas. I think it may be a signal shadowing more the multipathing issue. New properly pre-tuned antennas should be here today.
The repeater in question is in Wheaton, Md over 100' off the ground, is on a water tower. It has performance the rivals or exceeds several 2m ham repeaters in the area and is down on power even comparatively, due to power caps in their respective services. Not the repeater or ita gear (old commercial repeater hardware, it was built the way it should have been.)
I know the Mormon Temple, corresponding dip by it on the highway poses an intresting rf issue. Since point a (repeater) to point b the Temple sits between the two in almost a straight line, closer to point b (the highway). Recieve can be spotty but obviously transmit goes from scratchy to garbage to nada, as expected.
So the question was posted for more of a study of reality vs theory, in this case internet hearsay vs reality
When I get the proper 5/8th and 1/4 wave gmrs antenna I will report back.
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So a longer antenna should experience less.Picket fencing is not caused by the antenna movement. It's caused by characteristics of the terrain and the speed of the vehicle, compared to where the receiver/repeater is. Weaker signals are more susceptible to it because there is not enough energy to scatter enough signal to overcome shadowing from trees and buildings. It's a power/line of sight issue.
Trying to figure out if I want to use a 1/4 wave or a 5/8 over 5/8 on the roof. Put side of the 9" vs 31" lengths.
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Any answer is more insight then no answer.Not exactly the answer to the question you asked, however:
In my experience 11" BR-178 (which is 5/8) picket fences about the same as 31" BR-170 (which is 5/8 over 1/2). I do not see a difference in picket fencing, I do see a difference when stationary. 31" is tiny bit better.
Started wondering if picket fencing wouls be higher on the longer antenna due to it whipping around more and adding to the mulipath issue. Or even if the higher gain can cause issues with the ability to capture more signal, due to the surface area.
But your response would say that neither really would be a differential that contributes.
Thank you for your response. Curios what other operators have experienced.
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I read something that said that 6db antenna for 450-470 at about 31" picket fences more then a ¹/4 wave which is shorter and flops around less. Therefore exhibits less picket fencing.
Anybody have input or real life experiences?
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2 minutes ago, KAF6045 said:
Interesting... My copy claims to be v2.05, but I can't find that quoted text... Or am I misinterpreting your statement (ie: the quote came from somewhere else, and is in contradiction with the CPS)?
Originally couldn't find it. Then edited the post to reflect that I had found it and where. Unfortunately, the edit tab doesn't have the option to change font like a normal full reply. I'll change the original post again with strike through font.
EDITTED: THIS STATEMENT IS NOT TRUE AND FOUND THE SETTING: Under Optional settings "work mode" tab in CPS v2.05
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Just now, Lscott said:
By any chance did you forget to enter the "secret" password code to set the mode? It's in the second of the two photos. Also if you look at the text file for the at_options app you'll see the same code just before the lines for the various modes listed for the different D878 models. There is a different code for the D578 series.
Nope didn't want to publish something that is everywhere if you look hard enough. Anytone has been making changes to keep the FCC happy. I believe this is one of the things.
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1 minute ago, Lscott said:
I don't believe I have ever used the "AT" option exe to change the mode. I just programmed the radio with it set through the CPS. I just updated the firmware, V1.27, and rebuilt the code plug. Nothing unusual when I programmed the radio and the code plug was built for the expanded RX and TX range. Maybe somebody else can share their experience.
Couldn't change mine without the utility. "out of band" when I tried to upload. May have been a firmware change.
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6 minutes ago, Lscott said:
Strange, in V1.27 I recently installed for the original D878UV model.
Yeah, the CPS will show it, but it will not physically change it on the radio. You need the AT option exe to make the physical change on the radio. The model information in CPS only lets you change the CPS to program it for that mode.
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As far as receivers..
The THD74 beats out the Anytone. I am not shocked though.
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16 hours ago, KAF6045 said:
I've browsed it before -- but it never mentions if there are any differences (with regards to opening up the bands) between the 878 UVII and the 878 UVII Plus. Granted, the Anytone manual for the series indicates both use the same firmware -- but at the price point of the unit, I'm a bit paranoid.
Don't have any interest in mode 14; I have a Yaesu VX-8DR with flea-power 220MHz (FM of course), Kenwood F6A with reasonable power levels on 220MHz, and a Kenwood D74A which also has reasonable power on the band, and D-STAR...
I think if the firmware is the same there is really no difference between the 878uvii and 878uvii +. It is interesting to note they bother to get it recertified. So what ever it was there was a change beyond the memory I think.
With mode 14, I had no interest in 220. Even on the 878 series the power output at max for that band is reduced to Medium. It was more to unlock the radio for out of amateur band transmit as well as not to have the radio locked down to professional mode. Most of the commercial modes allowed up to 480Mhz.
EDITTED: THIS STATEMENT IS NOT TRUE AND FOUND THE SETTING: Under Optional settings "work mode" tab in CPS v2.05
"There is no professional/amatuer mode selection in the CPS any longer. So the only choice is to choose a mode that is already preconfigured to amateur mode or lose the Front Panel Programming."" -
1 minute ago, KAF6045 said:
I've not tried to unlock my 878 (newest model UVIIPlus?-- I'm not sure the third-party software is compatible with it). The Tyts (I also have the UHF-only MD390) weren't, from what I can tell, locked to Amateur -- I did stick GMR on both, along with MURS and some Maritime channels on the MD-2017 [if I ever visit the beaches]).
878 god page gobs of info.
Quick link to fix the "out of band" error ****cough *** Cough*** Fixes the problem you have with in the first part of your message. PM for the password if you can't find it. **hint Model number only with #, at least for the 878
Verified compatible with CPS v2.05 from anytone and RT systems 5.00.67 for the 878. Yes, I have both. No RT system will not do all the free CPS will do, so don't uninstall it. Just found it easier for channel changes then the original CPS.
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Just now, tweiss3 said:
I have the 878+, from what I understand, the only difference is number of channels and number of contacts. I know it's controversial, but nobody needs the entire DMR-ID database in their radio. I stopped using the contact list all together, with the exception of 5 individuals.
Some minor changes i believe like contact list/dmr list size increase and APRS capability increase (receive/decode and TX instead of TX only.
Wonder if there were any other hardware changes.
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Just now, tweiss3 said:
Gland you are enjoying it. For the money, it does appear on paper to check all the boxes. I was not impressed with the analog capability, and often experienced front end overload. It was even replaced by bridgecom with no improvement.
Digital monitor mode is more of a gimmick feature, not that it doesn't work, but I never had the need for it. I've always felt if you need that feature, you didn't do your recon work before hand. It also doesn't do proper DMR roaming, which both Kenwood and Motorola do very very well.
I too spent too much recently, but I'm going to end up spending a bit more this weekend, hopefully to finish this permeant repeater install at the house.
Weird since it seams to work fine with the standard rubber duck it came with. The nagoya 771 and signal stuff antenna showed marginal improvement.
It is sitting under a desk in a concrete/cinder block/ steel building 40 feet from the window and it is receiving GMRS repeater about 10 miles away and a 2m repeater 18 miles away no problem. Haven't really tried simplex. Of course I can't get cleanly to either repeater unless I am outside and about 60 feet away from the building which is 2 stories high with a commercial steel flat roof.
You have an 878uvii+ or one of the other model?
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The 74a is worlds better then the 878 series. With that being said new it was also twice the cost.
Bridgecomm said it best if it was in the class of a thd74a with a full tnc it would cost almost as much. Which I agree with.
Can't say anything about reception on digital. Still learning the wonderful world of dmr. With pi prices the way they are I am just saving up for an open spot 4 pro.
Wanna trade? J/k.
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So I ended up with an ANYTONE 878uvii +. It is built more like a commercial radio then like an amateur radio. It does show this most apparently, in the programming and some feature sets. Don't mistake it for an APX, XTS, Unity or anything in those class of radios. By amateur ht standards she is a heavy radio.
Nice little radio. Minus the two following features that I don't agree with.
1. Not a true dual VFO. It is more like a since VFO radio with a dual watch feature. The dual watch being the sub-channel. I think this is where a GD-88 wins out.
2. The APRS... OMG the APRS is fustrating.
- After contacting Bridgecom, you need to have an "APRS receive channel". Confirmed it will only hear packets when the sub-channel is set to the APRS RX channel. However, if that channel is in say the sub channel (fake VFO 2), guess what it won't auto TX packets. It will however, TX a beacon whenever manually.
-- Only found this out after hours of testing and contacting Bridgecomm.
The bluetooth rocks... Now I want all my radios to have a true bluetooth option, not with dongles and crap that don't work with half of the headsets out there. Only con here is that when pairing, it doesn't show friendly device names but rather the mac id/serial id.
Compared to the BF8HP its world above it in reception, clarity and Front Panel Programming. I swear by the butts of pants meter, it hears better and gets out better.
If you pick one up for an all around use radio, I believe like me you will be happy. Unlocking, the radio to use out of band, well was easy once I actually figured it out. Hint, you need a separate piece of software to do it. Also, do not start programming till you unlock, the CPS wipes everything out to start out new. If you don't you may get the "out of band" error message when trying to upload.
When compared to the options available, it hit the marks as far as cost and features. Would of loved a mars/capped THd74a, but now a days they are fetching close to 3x the price of this radio for a used clean example. Which is right with a little luck is around the price of the Harris Unity, and still 1/2 of an APX7000. I was gifted a XTS1500, starting to play with that so it will be interesting to see the differences between a near 8 year old commercial radio and a new ham/business radio.
If there are any questions please feel free to ask. I will try my best to answer them.
Thank you to all that contributed to the thread.
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10 hours ago, Coffeemaker said:
I have an old rat shack CB swr meter, but they are reported not to work well on UHF. So, I bought a Surecom SW-102. Connected to my Wouxun KG-905G, I get an SWR of 1.00 to a Midland MXTA-26 antenna on the roof of my SUV on all GMRS channels, and about 5 watts. Is that believable? I get 1.25 to 1.33 and 4+ watts on the repeater channels. Darned Good.
I've never seen 1.00 SWR. I have a Firestik CB antenna with sloped ground radials in my attic that shows 1.02 -1.03 after several trips to tweak it and I thought that was amazing.
1.0 is what you are shooting for. Anything below 1.5 hell 1.7 is acceptable. Just a tad more power loss on transmit. Will you notice difference? NAH.
Normally, if I can get an antenna system to get around 1.2 I close my eyes and forget it all happened. No need to be OCD about it.
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Have a friend who is heavily into commercial gear (knows more then some of the radio managers for the government agencies). Can't get a job because doesn't have the accredited/documented experience. He's a God in my book and a crazy resource.I would caution the OP and anyone else on the Harris XG-100P radio for hobby use. While multi-band, there is very limited support for this discontinued model. Getting the Radio Programming Manager software, parts, and accessories can be an issue. Cool factor wise, you can't beat it by much, unless you have a full blown military AN/PRC-152 though. They are available for about $1000-1200 on the auction sites, but getting that software to program one radio is not worth the effort in my case. (I have RPM12 for one Harris XG-100P bought as a demo unit).
+1 on those mentioning the Anytone 878 series, that is a lot of radio fort he buck, as long as it is known to be a much cheaper alternative than a Motorola (or Harris) or any other commercial radio. My own 878 is the Anytone AT-D878UV Plus with GPS and Bluetooth. It does not have some of the more recent features that have been added to newer models, mine having the blue button on top.
$2500 can get a lot of radios, or one really good one, if you can find someone trying to offload an APX8000 radio for that price. Good luck OP in your search.
So getting the software not a problem. Hardware like programming cables ris boxes etc, he points me to fleabay..
He had the harris at dinner, the other night. That is what piqued my intrest.
I have been wanting to upgrade my edc ht. The commercial radios had almost everything I wanted and the durability and quality. Plus the cool factor.
Ended up ordering the 878uvii plus. As my daily edc an upgrade from the bf8hp, which isn't as crappy as you would think it would be for the price. Only missing one feature that I wouldn't be surprised if they made a 989 or 878 uv3. Which is true dual recieve. Which would probably put in the id52a/ft4dr price range.
Found a harris falcon (knock off turns out) basically a uv5r in a case with mcu for 300. Friend of course goes Fake immediately, your price is the normal price used. Turns out it was made for milsim airsoft.
Bonus found a kydex 90 degree flip holster for the radio. I love that style of holster. Durable to take bumps and bangs (rubbing against tree stumps and rocks when hiking etc.
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My x200a (about 8ft long 2m/70cm ham antenna) is in my attic. Averages out bout 60 miles or so on repeaters, havent tried further. On simplex it seams to get about 20 miles or so.I would love to set one up but my HOA will s*** themselves if they see an antenna on top of our house. I am looking for alternatives to place the antenna. Thinking about climbing to the top of an oak tree and mounting it at the top then digging a little ditch to run the cable to the house. Any ideas from people with similar situations?
Roland that I was speaking about earlier, has a tower that is part tree. I have to see pictures, cause I am a bit confused. But I believe he put steps on a tree and then mounted a tower to it. Pretty much everyone in the va, dc and parts of pa, have spoken to him. Commercial antenna 100ft up with the help of M.W. It has some crazy reach.
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The buddy in Annapolis and I talk on wheaton every night around 6. Keeps me company on my commute home. Roland2 is a bit worried about Roland1 (back in the hospital for complications after recovering form Covid).
I was talking to M.W. about that a few days ago. I have a friend who owns a 300' commercial repeater in Ashburn, VA. I am going to see if I can introduce the two of them to see if we can help get better coverage out past Fair Oaks, heading north and west. The site owner can be very hard to get along with. Especially when he provides free tower space to volunteer organizations. Hopefully he will be respectful to M.
I thought you were suppose to meet up with M.W. about bull run. /shrug.
Ashburn would be an incredible location. I hope this pans out.
The Baltimore guys are hosting a meet and greet. I imagine M.W. will be there and so will Roland (keeps reminding me about it). I am going to try to make it.
Gmrs meet up american legion post 109 butus md. 1:30-4:30
It wasn't me talking about shakes....lol
Maybe we can meet on air. Wheaton makes it to Annadale. My mobile to Wheaton not so much. So it will be tough since we are just a hair apart. Might be able to do it on 2m repeater. Gmrs is not as good setup mobile or base. Base in Rockville is a 20g (20w) using a n9tax slim jim converted to blade antenna mounted 2 stories up in the house. Ok, but nothing like the x200 another 10 feet up in the attic.
Sorry to all for the cryptic message. It is to respect the repeater owner. None of us want to get on his bad side. If you access any of the repeaters for a month you will understand.
×** if you want access pass us info privately. We will be more then happy to pass it on. He does check on you (license etc. And monitors the repeaters. Plus if you are an ass in the air we will tell him.
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Antenna length (gain) picket fencing.
in Amateur Radio (Ham)
Posted
Not like that unit has the best clarifier. Hell even find neutral on it was spin all the one way then other and try to find the middle. Kinda wish it had a center detent. Crap I wish all of the controls gain, power and squelch are all had detents. Far cry from the Ft991a at home.
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