kidphc
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Posts posted by kidphc
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Then leave good enough alone before you regret it.Here is the challenge with trimming. The measurement starts at a coil. That alone is complicated as the measurement looks like it starts at the outside edge of the wire diameter just below the 85° bend. If the coil rotates then that length moves a little and angle changes to 90°. I had to measure in mm as I don't have any tapes that break down to 1/32".
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Normally you can't trim commercial antennas that long. They are pretuned and colianear style antennas.When trimming antenna, what results would say "don't go any further.
I would probably use the high power channels as well as repeaters. Zach
If let say a cb antenna, you read the bottom channel swr and top. Bottom is higher then top then usually too long (trim). If top is higher then bottom the (then too short, extend, If not possible stop immediately). You can't length many antennas without replacement of the whip.
Normally, I tune so the middle has the lowest. Remeber most vswr curves are v in shape.
When vswr starts climbing around where you were wanting the curve to be the lowest you stop.
Very important to go slow and small changes.
Many hams have piles of whips where they went to far and trimmed too much.
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Depends on how easy it is to tune. Personally yes. Also depends on what channel you will be using the most.Got it up and running!! So I had two of my soldered connections in line lol. On high power channel the swr showed 1.54 : 1. On low channel it showed 1.03:1. Would you even bother trying to improve it? I am not finished complete install yet. I have to put up one more brace and run grounds and snug up some screws so it has to come down one more time any how. The antenna is in three pieces and I stopped a quarter or just under on each segment or so I thought.
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Another update.
Had to tack weld a support for the upper L of the bracket to control really bad rocking. I also tack welded the mount to the hood hinge bracket to stop it from the constant tilting back after a whack.EDIT: to add image of the welded support
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Have a fender mount from Walcott for the 02 burb. I've had to tack weld a support and tack weld it to the mounting location. The type I am using mounts to the hinge location.I have a few options being delivered, cant quite decide on how I am going to install the GMRS. The truck is less important than the camper having a really good base station in it, so I also dont think I am going to drill any holes. I got one of the fender mounts from Rugged Radios to try. We'll see how that goes.
AA
Keeping in mind the support was due to the usage of a 10m hamstick (70"). When the 4 foot antenna it was fine. The 70" would rock side to side and when it whacks a tree cause the mount to tilt backwards.
Should of bought the other hood mount further down the hood. Would of stayed squared, but had the rocking.
Why 70", close to 1/4 wave 1st. 2nd didn't want 100 wants blasting me in the face. 3rd 3/4 of the antenna is above the roof line plus with the hamstick it is top loades.
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Well got some things accomplished today before the rain hit. FINALLY, made it all the way through the wall. I was off a good inch in a half from where I was guessing it was coming through. I put the mast up to decide on height. I think the top of the mast will be at 21". That will leave me some reserve if needed. Since the chief household engineer required the mast to blend in, I painted the mast in three areas to somewhat match the shingles, siding in the middle and brick at the bottom. Swr adapters come tomorrow so I can put connectors on and finally start testing swr.
I have two questions. When testing swr does the antenna have to be at altitude or can it be upright at ground level?
Secondly, thinking more about going ahead and doing the truck install and if I did I think I would cut the pl 259 off and replace it after I get it routed and then put on a new one. The coax is the thin rg-58 a/u . Can someone give me a link for the proper 259 fitting I need to put back on if I do cut it off?
Thanks in advance
Tune at final location. Yes, lots of up and down. Interactions with environment will cause affect tuning.
So239 = female
Pl259 = male
Your options are to crimp or solder.
For crimping you will want/need a crimper, cutter. You will need to know what size coax you are using. The $8 cutters take adjusting to get right, so I recommend you test the cust on scraps. If turn it the wrong direction is that the blades will chip and the cutter is useless. You can buy the times microwave cutter. Much nicer but $100, and you have to buy one for each cable size.
The ferrules (part you are crimping). Are the only real differences between cables. Order extras (ferrules connectors) in case you get a bad crimp.
Soldering have a good iron. It takes quite a bit of heat, especially with larger or well shielded cables.
My recommendation contact a ham club or a ham. Buy the ferrules. He'd probably do it for free to meet a radio guy.
Edited because I am home now.
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Your summary sounds about right.So Ive been working on installing the radio kg1000g in my house as a base station first. After this I will get it installed or install it in truck so I can go back and forth with it.
First thing I accomplished was putting together a box on the outside wall where the surge protection is located and ground plate will go directly to ground as will antenna.
Last night I mounted the box and planted the base of the mast in the ground and checked it for plumb and also have ground rod in.
I decided I would use my radio in my reloading room so I can listen to it while loading which is actually getting less and less these days. The only time I wont be able to is when using electronic scales to measure powder. The EMF would kill those scales. I dont even take my cell phone when loading for match shooting.
Ok so now I just have to drill a hole through the wall into the top of the wall in the basement. Its a walk out basement so this location is a couple feet above grade. I chose to use the level of the gas line at the other end of the side of the house to get an idea where this would come through the wall. Ok seems straight forward. So I got out the extension cords and my hammer drill and went to work. By the end of the first evening I quit after drilling a 6" deep hole. I could not find my long drill bit. No problem, Ill stop by the hardware store on the way home and pick up a couple masonry long drill bits. So at the end of evening # 2 is when I had the junction box up and the mast base set and the hole..... well it was as deep as the long bit would take me and still was not through the wall. I dont like to work while frustrated so I stopped for the evening. However I went around to garage to get a better measurement of the thickness of the brick and poured concrete on inside of brick. Looks like I was about an inch and half short of going through. If I could tell exactly where it was I could drill from the inside but I couldnt tell for sure where it was inside a three inch area. So I ordered an 18" masonry bit that will be delivered Saturday. Meanwhile I work on setting up mast and getting measurement of coax to junction box and get connectors on and do some swr testing and trimming. The chief household engineer wants the mast painted to blend in with the outside wall and part of the mast above the gutter painted shingle color. Hey if the chief is happy Im happy
It almost never fails when I think through an entire project and order everything I will "need", there is always that THING that trashes my plan.
I add multiple trips to the hardware store into my estimate for any type of renovation.
I like your approach trying to do it right. Hope you have some sealant and maybe a plastic shim, to keep it sealed and the coax not rubbing against bare concrete. It can be as bad as a sharp razor blade. Keep it up!
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Nec wants you to bond to the house ground. Remeber, even it is grounded to the rod the max potential might be higher then the the other ground. Path of least resistance, guess where it going to want to go.
Secondary, you can cause a ground loop although not bad at uhf/vhf. Try avoiding it.
I think spacing between 8' rods is 16 feet.
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Anything in the path and near path should be replaced. Near field strikes can cause huge emp surges.
Highly recommend checking appliances and such. They could of been damaged. Not sure if homeowners insurance will help when gear isn't properly grounded, AKA antennas.
On a note to try and help you feel better. Even if you had properly grounded it, it wouldn't have mattered for a direct strike. Grounding the equipment is to bleed of static buildup ( could have been the cause of the strike) and for near lightning strike damage. Hence, why hams rush to disconnect equipment as soon as a bad microcell enters the area.
Keep in mind the damage may have been minimized if grounded properly commercial repeaters get hit all the time. Although the antennas are usually obliterated from direct strikes.
Even in a car accident you should have insurance replace your gmrs/ham/cb radio circuit boards can develop micro cracks and such. Which develop into erratic behavior.
It isn't the massive amount of voltage doing all the damage. The gigantic rise is what really destroys everything. Inside of cables and such that do survive can have parts of it vaporized internally.
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some options.
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Military surplus antenna mast might be sturdy enough for the yagi, unfortunately won't work in the size department.
Spiderbeam makes wonderful but pricey fiberglass push up mast. Weigh the yagi before you call to see if it can support it. Keep in mind with a fiberglass pushup pole you don't have to use all the sections just up too the highest strongest section you can use.
A drive on pedestal mount for the mast may speed deployment up quite a bit.
Sounds like satelite phone or a mobile starlink (for wifi calling) are right up you alley. Minus the $$$.
Ever thought about your ham ticket? Aprs with the use of smsgate allows you to text and email via winlink. Limited yes, but better then nada.
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Fiberglass tends to be lighter and more compact.
The yagi is going to want to be on a metal pole.
Recommendation.
Roll up slim jim, sling shot, fishing line and sinkers.
You shoot the weight up as high as you can get into a tree. Then pull up the cell repeater antenna and the slim jim.
Of course only works when you arent in the middle of the desert.
Why the yagi?
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If you are consistently getting 80% or higher on practice test... just go take it. You'll do fine.Thanks guys, that is very helpful. I did not want to order a radio if I did not pass. That is my motivation...
We are doing 3 lessons a day within 10 topic session and now we know a better way to study to help grand daughter as she does not have life lesson to draw from... Makes for fun conversation and she enjoys the stories to why this or that. So it has paid of as we both are getting 80-90-100% on the quiz. Now if we can remember that on test day at the end of month. So after lessons and quiz we will take the mock exam just to see how we are doing... Then start over with the 10 topics study to raise our scores.
It's not like people are going to say omg.. you only got 75٪... we will never know. All the fcc cares about is pass or fail.
You both got this.
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That is exactly why I was thinking vertical with a inverted v mounted to the tower. Can switch between antennas.The multiband verticals supposedly work well (Hustler & Cushcraft), but you need to have a minimum of 32 ground radials. If you mount it on the roof of your metal building, it might make a good substitute for the ground radials, but they are 25-32 feet tall, and would need guy wires, and tuned for each band as you assemble/install the antenna. Also, verticals tend to have a higher noise floor.
Dipoles (fan or single band) or EndFedHalfWave would be a more efficient choice. A 80m thru 10m is 134 feet in length, and a 40m thru 10 is about 64 feet in length. They can be installed parallel to the ground at 30', or as slopers and inverted "V".
Or better yet forget the vertical and go multi element yagi rotator and an inverted v.
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Any vertical should work. To get resonant bands with a tower you could run a fan dipole, or any number of wire antennas.
Only time you would need a tuner is if your system is not impedence matched.
Even then I would recommend an auto tuner.
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Not hard to route the coax. Just a little problematic if you have curtain airbags and such.Was just about to drill antenna hole then started looking for ways to run the coax back up front. It was at this point I decided to have a pro install done. I know it's not the same but they have done some good work when they replaced my factory radio.
Now the house... I got that.
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I have heard (but have not researched to confirm) that some insurance companies...
Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM
Speaking of insurance, I need to find out what waivers I need for my mobile radios in my truck.
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Is this what you are talking about?
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-ucgc-z
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No. It can take a week or so if they file electronically. If they do it manually could be a wee bit longer.Congratulations... I have a question... My Grand daughter and I will be sitting for our Tech exam end of this month... do they give you call sign after you pass and they plug in your FRN number and score in the system OR do you get an email or mail and how long does it take.
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Sorry. Rather that then cussing pounding it and wishing you had the hammer drill right? Might as well pound some more in, not.This is what it looks like when you rent a hammer drill for the weekend and then turns out you can shove it in the ground bare handed with a couple light taps with an actual hammer. Can not explain it
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17 hours ago, AdmiralCochrane said:
Yeah, I am super happy with it. Bought it second hand and got the trigger when it was on sale. Took a while to find the right pellet and a lot of practice to get that good with it. I don't need anything else for home practice. I hang the 1 ½" juice and tea bottle caps on chain and wack the heck out of them, very satisfying.
Almost all pellet guns require some testing to find "the" pellet. Even some of the choked ones. Keep with it can be very rewarding with a springer when you master it. Me, I avoid break barrel and springers if I can. Hate to have to relearn how to shoot.
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Yup. Did it last night on my ft991a.For what it's worth, last night I turned my IC-7300 to 27.185 AM and it does receive CB well. I think any real HF radio will tune to CB for listening without an issue.
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Terrible.. you are on the beginnings of buying something like an fx impact ot auschund now.... j/k..Just a Crosman Phantom break barrel for me, all I do with it is trigger practice. With the aftermarket trigger and the right pellets I can consistently hit a 1 ½" target from 44 yards (my back step to my target back stop in front of the neighbor's fence). It did take some time to learn the open hand front grip for springers.
Yeah, break barrell springers are tough because of pellet seat constitency and artillery hold. Actually, impressed if you are grouping 1.5" at 44yrds with the gun.
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I pump she shoots. Really 1322 was just a pinker where I did not have to use the hpa tank or co2.Awesome man! Great airgun porn. The 1322 could be little hard to pump for a girl, no? I have blisters on both palms after 100 pellets from 1322.
Personally, it cuts my right hand behind the thumb. Since I grab the grip when I pump. Hoping the tippman stock is strong enough to be used as a lever.
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Equipment List (will be adding to)
in Technical Discussion
Posted
Understand, everyone can hear you. You will not hear them if the tones do not match.
Think of it as a squelch that only opens when the tones match.
Now you know why everyone says the antenna is more important then the radio.
Uhf/vhf is mostly line of sight. The higher up you get it the more likely it is able to see other antennas over mountains and obstacles. Going from a 1/4 wave magnet mount on my truck to a 5/8 over 5/8 I went from 8-12miles to 23-40 miles. Going from a ht with the radio to my ftm400 now I can hit repeaters some 30 miles away easily. The x200 (8ft 2/70) 30+ feet in my attic. I am hitting repeaters close to 90 miles away (different band with ham repeaters).
Congrats. You are reaping the rewards of your work.
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