kidphc
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Posts posted by kidphc
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Same location, same mount, same antenna, and same car.Ok, so. Here is where I went with it all:
- KG XS20G
- Comet 2x4SR antenna
- Gamiviti fender mount antenna (could not make center of roof work for my use)
Over the weekend I got it all hooked up and running on my Land Cruiser 100. Metered it last night and got 1.80 SWR at 24.43 watts. I'm pretty happy with that!
IMG_2162.HEIC
Moved from a massive metal ditch bracket/antenna mount. There was way too much rocking of the mount with the Comet, combination wind load, stiffness and weight. Wasn't a problem with the 2/70b.
Only thing I noticed is a hair more deafness , and a bit more picket fencing at some locations recieve/transmit at gmrs frequencies.
Great antenna if you need combo 2/70/gmrs. Location of antenna usual so so so performance.
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For a bicycle although not cheap I would look for something with Bluetooth and a remote ptt (so you don't have to use vox and have everyone hear you puffing on a hill.)hmm decisions decisions lol...part of me says to go with the Wouxun then and give that a try with the NA-771g, i do like the bigger display it seems to have, the larger battery seems like a plus for me as well, i also want to put a Retevis walkie talkie shoulder mic 2 pin on it as well, so i think that should work so when im out bicycling i can use that well keeping it on my backpack
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On 6/11/2022 at 9:34 AM, WROZ250 said:
BTW, you're not likely to get 1W with the CCTs (Cheap Chinese Transistors) it comes with (more like 200-300mW). If you search around the web, there are a couple of articles on replacement transistors that will give at least 1W if not a bit more.
Serious QRP there. I would probably be throwing it at the wall in about 5 minutes of use.
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2 hours ago, axorlov said:
I do not have real experience with 1/4. I do with 5/8 (BR-178-S) and 5/8 over 1/2 (BR-170-S). The longer the better, obviously. The difference is clear. The experiment we did was to put operator 1 with TK-3170 on the porch in the 1-2 story suburbia, and operator 2 is driving around on Dodge Durango with 5/8 on the roof. When the signal in either direction becomes borderline acceptable, stop and change to 5/8 over 1/2. The improvement is clearly noticeable on both ends. However, improvement is outweighed by the 31" of the BR-170. The BR-178 is only 11". The roof of Durango is exactly 6' from the ground, with another 11" I sometimes wack the ceilings in really low garages. I consider hit a hi-five from the parking structure. Also, the "-S" version helps, it is with the spring, more flexible than just a rigid whip. And 9" is a plenty for a ground plane.
Kind why i am asking. Tired at times of the song of our people, antennas twacking off of everything. I was just wondering if there was a huge difference between a 1/4 and 1/2. Barely any dbi change. But yes longer is better, that I get. Just wondering if it was worth the twanging.
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i wouldn't expect to be able to. Most chinese made gear actually everything now a days pretty much everything is not made with upgrades in mind. Your best bet is to check with Midland to see if it is even possible with replacing the entire main board and installing a new flash rom with the new firmware.
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1/4 vs 1/2
So lets talk real world experiences. I live in the rolling hills of Washington D.C. Rarely, caravan with other GMRS/Family, although it does need to stay a consideration in choices.
My Landcruiser well, is just tall enough that hood mount and trunk mounted antennas are twanging a bit. i plan on mounting a nmo for a GMRS antenna ,to the back 1/3 of the roof. Should have about 9" of ground plane behind the antenna.
Has any noticed any really differences between a 1/4 and a 1/2 wave? I think the 1/2 wave should be short enough that the antenna is not whacking everything under the sun. 1/4 should extend just above the roof rack. 5/8 over 5/8 not doing it. I do have experiences with mobile antennas but most were going from a 1/4 to 5/8th over 5/8ths, so coverage was pretty drastic, especially on 2m.
Prime concern is picket fencing both on simplex and with repeaters. Hence, going to the roof on this one versus the hood and lip mounts for the other antennas.
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How do I get a repeater that is showing stale in the maps to show as current?
For example, locally Alexandria GMRS repeater is showing stale and was last updated 12 years ago. A comment was left 5 months ago and I added a comment to try to get it to show in the current listings. However, it only shows up when I select "show stale repeaters". It is very much up, in use and has excellent coverage.
Just wanted to be able to keep it refreshed so the information was available for new people.
If I remember the correctly, the old maps had a last heard check box. Anything like that or how do get the list to reflect currently available repeaters outside of having the repeater owner refresh the information?
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1 minute ago, marcspaz said:
@kidphc I have one of the inexpensive surecom units and it is extremely close in accuracy to my very expensive commercial meters. I would use it with confidence.
I just REALLY DON'T need it. The chinese stuff are decent for the price, I just don't expect reliability over the long term, you know you get what you pay for. Not like I could not take mild steel and make the ground plate myself for the NANO VNA, which might be another project to add to the list.
I have a different rabbit hole I am working on outside of the DXCommander antenna. Which is I was basically gifted by some of the local Gov/Commercial friends 4x CDM1250's. Need to acquire the cables, software and terminology, which looks like it could be a pain. Only because I know nothing about the radio or software.
Still working on setting up my new to me Landcruiser. Really want to do a fun run to an ORV park with you and your son.
Enough of me derailing the topic.
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8 hours ago, marcspaz said:
Why would you say this?
I think because as you know it can be difficult to get a repeatable reliable number.
Although watching Offroaderx/Notarubicon's videos on the surecom units I might pick one up for ht testing. He show cased one with a ground plate adapter.
For the OP.
Get a decent mag mount if using mobile you will get better range. If you are stationary, then a nice slim jim like N9Tax's (if you want pre built) thrown up a tree with a leader line will work. I made a fake blade antenna inside the house by using wiring track, fastening the slim jim (N9Tax's version) inside and stuck it to the wall inside. Connected to an Anytone 779UV i get reliable connections to a friend's repeater on a commercial site (approximately 6 miles, through rolling urban hills) . It wasn't doing it reliably with an HT and the 771g from indoors.
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Never asked if it was a soft top or hard top. Another option would of been to mount the antenna inside. Definetly, not ideal, but the fiberglass and soft top would of been some what transparent to the rf.
Hopefully, (kinda expect) it's not mounted to moving glass. Which is a no no.
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They work. Lot of hams don't like them. Why you are going to waste energy transferring between the inductive coils. They don't work well above 800mhz, not a problem for gmrs.
Sadly, as far as I can tell, there is no way to determine the identity of the manufacturer for Tram-Browning antennas, much less contact them. That's actually what got me interested in going down this path. Most comments I've gotten about these antennae are highly negative, and in the vein of, "You're losing 50% of your power just getting through that glass.", "That 25% tint on your window is eating up your transmission power", "Incoming signals will be so attenuated you'll lose half your range", etc...
I opted for through-glass because of the low cost and extreme ease of installation, and they *seem* to work quite well, if you can get them tuned (which does seem to be quite a challenge), but I'm just wondering about the veracity of those claims...
If it works be happy.
They only way to know is to use it and get reports. You really won't know the differences till you throw a mag mount on the hood or roof. Then you'll get a better idea of the differences.
I went from a through the roof nmo to a hood hinge mount. Were there noticeable differences? Yes. More picket fencing a bit loss of range, (some repeaters I can't even hit in certain locations). Was trade off acceptable to me? Jury is still out.
Don't sweat it too much.
I looked a the Larsen glass mount to get idea of losses, even they don't publish them. They tend to publish almost all their spec some where or another.
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Actually, a field strength meter with be awesome. You can set up multiple test and remove variables to get the answer. Knowing the gain of the antenna, coaxial losses etc. You could derive a formula.There’s probably a way with a field strength meter, but I that’s beyond my experience.
Is there no way to remove the antenna element from the other half of the coupler?
I doubt that the losses are great there anyway. There’s no heating, right?
In conjuction with the swr meter, you could get some more of the values.
Unfortunately, the swr meter is deriving power and swr readings using some calculations. But really are only good to see if you have a resistance mismatch for the tune circuit ( radio, antenna, feedline). It however is better then nothing.
Glass also is unfotunately, has great thermal and magnetic insulation properties (emf and ir for instance). Magnetic forces can make its way through, they have to be strong enough though.
Easiest way to calculate the losses is to ask the manufacturer. Hopefully, they will be forthcoming.
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I would say the Wouxun KG-1000G is a better option and cheaper. It is the sister of the Wouxun KG-UV980P (which is the ham 2m/70cm version. The UV980P can be unlocked, haven't found the files for it. The KG-1000g no one has seamed to unlock it yet. Hell the 2x Wouxun KG-1000G can be configured as a makeshift repeater using 2 antennas (you would need to space them appropriately), the PC cable. One is set to receive and the other to transmit.
Personally, I would research ammo can SHFT ham or ammo cam SHFT gmrs radios. These guys have setup systems that use lipo, solar or generator power to quick deploy. Kinda like this for a quick $$$ commercial unit https://shack-in-a-box.com/. Better yet make your own.
As far as antennas quick slim jims and jpoles come to mind, like Ed Fongs antennas. You could use a slingshot with mono filament (fishing pole) to quick deploy the antenna up trees. Crap even tethered helium balloons could hold up the antennas. On flat terrain a pushup pole with tripod could elevate the antennas.
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Avoid the troll.Move on.So which part of "I turned it all back on" did you miss exactly??? Not to mention the several times I specifically said I OVER REACTED. Guessing you missed that too.
And how many repeaters have YOU put on the air up to this point.
"When you learn to separate greater good from personal hurts - world will change towards better future."
Dude, this is GMRS. We ain't out to change the world here... it's just some radios. You drop some higher calling crap like that and talk about MY ego. Right. But that is pretty funny... I did get a chuckle out of it.
Your equipment, your time, your money. You react how you please.
Generally, speaking this is why we can't have nice things. Look at gun contol and the arguments. Don't waste your brain cells or a moment on it any further.
Like he said YOUR resources. He is entitled to his thoughts. Just proceed to ignore, you are giving them power otherwise.
Just document the jerk abusing the repeater and send it to the fcc. Shutting down the repeater when you heard him absolved you of your responsibility after your ignored request. Yes, you are responsible for the repeater, but can't contol everyone using it.
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How's about fabricating something that will mount to the spare tire or even a hood bracket? I usea ditch light mount to mount a pod and an antenna. Another ditch light mount on the driver rear hatch to mount another antenna. You could always also find a flag pole mount (used for sand dunes) as a basis.
At least you won't be scratching up the hood to mount an antenna on/off.
Also could be left semi permanent just routing the cable and using a bnc adapter to connect to handset.
Personal favorite:
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/gmrs-wouxon-kg1000g-installation.33535/
Other ideas.
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/antenna-mount-for-cb-gmrs-ham.24936/
https://www.google.com/search?q=bronco+antenna+mount&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjRmunoqvj3AhXln3IEHYiiByYQ2-cCegQIABAC&oq=bronco+antenna+mount&gs_lcp=ChJtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1pbWcQAzIECAAQGDoECCMQJzoECB4QClDqGlj2ImDPJ2gAcAB4AIAB1gOIAawIkgEHNC4zLTEuMZgBAKABAcABAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-img&ei=-OmMYtG-F-W_ytMPiMWesAI&bih=634&biw=360&client=ms-android-att-us-rvc3&prmd=sivn#imgrc=xsm-C6R-9CQpmM&imgdii=sGNHyz8TJOftXM
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Kinda sucks.
I feel for you. Only takes one bad apple to spoil it for everyone.
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Yup.That's something the FCC can't just wave a magic rule change at. Frequency allotments and sharing between countries are set in treaties and only the Senate can change the treaty which allows the FCC to change the rule.
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27 minutes ago, kidphc said:
Nah.. would rather have my ham repriocity then anything I would gain from GMRS over any change.
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Actually, did more research shocking. Looks like sometime around 2004 Canada reclassified their FRS/GMRS into FRS/GMRS/GMRS-M. GMRS-M seams to mimic the MURS. Although our MURS is on 151-154 MHZ.
Short is our CH19 is their CH9. Which is allocated to GMRS. I guess the FCC is slower then I thought. Being lIne A and C really are only now a consideration for the 467 side of the repeater pair. Since they decided to drop the 467 MHz (8)pairs for GMRS repeater use and no longer made them available.
/sarcasm shocking the FCC hasn't updated the rules on the US side for LineA/C /sarcasm
Canadian 462/467 Spectrum Permit License Exempt
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On 5/15/2022 at 8:48 PM, DanW said:Channel 19 is a no brainer for the reasons that have been hashed over and over. KISS method. Simple. Simplex. 19.
And the Canadians are now able to use channel 19. So if 12,000,000 people petition the FCC, I'm sure they'll get their attention and can scratch the agreement. Then everyone will be happy.
Let's see how many signatures we can get in that border zone and get that changed.Nah.. would rather have my ham repriocity then anything I would gain from GMRS over any change.
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True. It's the ones that don't know about line a and c. Read the internet or watch clips from influencer and are unaware they just violated a international treaty.And 300+million can use it on 99% of the highway miles through the US. And then there's the little thing that the agreement is moot because Canada doesn't appear to really restrict its use anymore.
It is our job as a community to watch out for it as a whole. How many times are the same questions asked? It is the nature of the hobby. Not like gmrs actually requires a test.
As someone who use to cross line a to visit in laws on a regular basis pre covid. Thos frequencies are very much in use, by public safety and other services.
So it behoofs us to use a frequency that is ok to use for the entire country.
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- WRPC505, SteveShannon and JarrGen
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Seems like a nice radio.
Wonder if they will put firmware update out for the v1.
Personally, I have 2x of the v1s and they do the job. So I won't be upgrading. Now if they charge me like $15 for a firmware upgrade (which I hope they have but don't charge for) I would consider it.
They radio it is based on always has been rock solid for ham use, for at me atleast.
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Swr works on any antenna.
It really doesn't tell you if the antenna is resonant or not.
Low swr doesn't always indicate the antenna is efficient or resonating where you want it to. However, it is easiest way to get to resonance.
The unity gain (most phantom/low profile style antennas) antennas are usually designed well with low swr to begin with.
Nmo antennas may or not be tunable. The base usually has a coil. This is used to electrically make the antenna longer. Without knowing the coil type and other variables you can't/may not be able to realistically ever get it tuned.
You should talk to your ham friend to guide you in tuning it.
Many hams have a crap ton off old whips because when chasing low swr, we tend to over trim. Sometimes rendering the whip useless for the band we where chasing.
Learned the hard way tuning a nmo cb whip. Wasted alot of whips before realizing the nmo(coil) was coupling with a near by structure. Completely, throwing off the swr readings. I was 2:1 on my truck bit when a buddy tested it on his truck it was 6:1 vswr.
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Wattage limit via cigarette lighter plug?
in Technical Discussion
Posted
If that happens I would be more worried about the Fusible links going up in smoke. Unfortunately, cigarette lighter plugs tend to be 12 gauge or less on the back side.