tweiss3
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Posts posted by tweiss3
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Who wrote the software?
I was looking at that. I can't find that software offered by Midland anywhere. I wouldn't download it from someone's Dropbox that I didn't know.
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I checked that setting and it was set at 2 so I will change that to 5 and see, the thing that puzzles me is on N/W setting the issue is there only when changing to W which causes constant squelch but changing back to N it stops and only on the non repeater frequencies. Also it only happens on the changed frequency not any other frequency! Thanks for your response. Mike
It's just background noise from just about anything. I had a similar issue with only select channels on my 8150 and the issue was eliminated when set to 5 or higher.
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Not to steal this thread but when I attempt to use wideband on anything except repeater frequencies and I say go to channel 6, the radio immediately puts out squelch tone. So is the 8180 only to use narrow band on non repeater frequencies? I have looked at the help files and find no reference to this situation??
You need to adjust the squelch mode. In the software it is: Edit -> Optional Settings -> Conventional tab -> Squelch Level to 4 or higher, 1 will cause you problems.
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From what I have gathered so far using the house's electrical service ground is a no-no.
And the idea of pounding a grounding rod into the ground within close proximity of the existing pole sounds like a good idea.
Thanks again to everyone who has posted in this thread. It's great having members share knowledge and smart advice to keep me from making a dumb mistake!!!
Actually, NEC requires you to bond all grounding together, antenna, house main, everything.
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From what I have gathered so far using the house's electrical service ground is a no-no.
And the idea of pounding a grounding rod into the ground within close proximity of the existing pole sounds like a good idea.
Thanks again to everyone who has posted in this thread. It's great having members share knowledge and smart advice to keep me from making a dumb mistake!!!
Actually, NEC requires you to bond all grounding together, antenna, house main, everything.
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Should meet code, check local laws though. You should probably use #6 going from the utility box to the grounding rod as well. Might as well remember static etc is going to want to follow the least path of resistance. #6 isn't even really that expensive.
Personally, I will be grounding my radio equipment to a buss bar (using copper braid, inside), using #6 that goes to a MFJ pass through to an outside DX Enginnering NEMEA enclosure, which will all be tied back to the main electrical rod. Which for me is conveniently located a few feet away.
DX Enginnering NEMEA Enclosure
MFJ Pass through
That is the enclosure I plan on using.
Thanks,
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I'm asking this here because it does also apply to GMRS, and I know there are people here that deal with the NEC often and can help translate how to apply the code. In looking into the NEC and reading a ton. My house currently has an outdated (1960s) electrical system with no ground. While it is a long term project to replace the entire house wiring, it appears that won't prohibit the installation of my shack/antenna according to the code. Attached is my sketch of what it would take to meet code. Can someone confirm this? Also, do the grounding straps from my transceivers inside get tied to the grounded utility enclosure as well?
Of course, when the indoor wiring is updated and grounded, it will all be bonded together with #6 between ground rods, and minimum of #10 inside.
Thanks!
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If you wanted super wide band usage, then a trim to SWR was a poor choice. Should have chosen a pretuned option. Typically trim to tune only have a bandwidth of 10MHz, where as wide band options with a coil can cover the entire UHF band (400-512) like the Larsen NMO150/450/758 which does a great job on all of UHF as well as VHF and the 700/800 band.
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Yep.. I used to go to Thompson Raceway Park every year for a drag race called the Buckeye Brawl. Takes about 5.5-6.5 hours to get there depending on traffic and weather. Nothing like driving a 10" pro-street race car 800 miles round trip.
I know the pain. I've driven my RX7 to Poughkeepsie, NY without working cruise control for the OCC car meet (8hrs).
Back on topic
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I'm a computer scientist and communications engineer. That last think I want to do is more digital when I'm out of work. I have a WinLink account that I have never used. No FT8, no FLDIGI, no DMR. I love warm analog static. LoL
Besides, face to face to enjoy company... not to talk shop. Familiar subjects just helps get the convos started.
Fair enough. I'm an engineer as well, spending my days in front of a CAD station. I must say, DMR does have its benefits outside of analog radio, but being that its too related to your work, it might be annoying. For me it's enough of a step sideways from my work, its a fun challenge (not really a challenge).
I agree F2F is preferred, and I don't think you and I are too far apart, however, I'm currently not traveling, for various reasons.
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I wish we all lived closer. I would love to sit down and chat with many of you. There is a lot of knowledge and experience in this group. I would definitely bring some doughnuts.
Back in the old days, we used to have "CB Jamboree" events out here in the midwest that would bring folks in campers & RVs from across the nation. Perhaps one of these days, (not soon due to Kung Flu) but one of these days someone could host a "GMRS Jamboree" for the same purpose.... get together for fun, food, and fellowship - and have a big swap meet to swap radios, antennas, parts, and bushel baskets of bull.. uh, chips.
It seems many of you who have the experience are also HAM. Are you guys on DMR, that's an easy way to get some round table discussion in a Tac channel, being we are not all close together. I'd be interested in talking with a few of you guys.
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While I understand this, starting out I did not.
I appreciate your description. It should make it easy for anyone to understand. People must understand, you cannot make energy appear or disappear. It can be lost by converting it to heat (via line loss or SWR). While many want to "squeze the most" of out their radio by getting high gain antennas, they must first evaluate their operating conditions. Cases where no gain (1db) would be ideal may be mixed use (both simplex to another radio and repeater usage) as well as high elevation changes where you drive or ride (such as here in Ohio, most of PA, mountainous areas). Places you might get away with high gain antennas include the great plains, FL, places you can see straight for miles and miles.
I would like to add, for the above reasons, if you don't want to think about it and have great consistent all over use while driving, wheeling, riding, etc, perhaps stick with no gain antennas. Remember, even if you can get 30 miles simplex, the other station must also be able to respond to you for communication to work. Even if you can squeeze that extra distance, the other party may have a no gain antenna and may not get back to you.
Keep in mind, for GMRS 1/4 wave antennas are approximately 6" (462.00MHz = 6.39", 467.00MHz = 6.32") and provide wide bandwidth and 1db gain.
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What are you looking to learn? The ARRL has a ton for great books on radio. If you want some general overviews, start with the Technician Guide. It covers enough to pass your HAM technician test as well as provides a great overview on the entirety of radio, leaning towards how it it applies to amateur radio, but the principles apply to GMRS as well. If that bites your interest, you can graduate up to the General and Amateur Extra books which get into more theory and application. If you want to learn about a specific topic, there are ARRL books on those as well, such as antennas, power supplies, etc.
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To clarify further for you guys, that 200' limit is the cutoff for requiring FCC/FAA filing and paint/lights. You can go above 200' if you want to deal with the hassle.
- berkinet and rdunajewski
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I have looked at and most likely will get the TK 8180 also looking at my Chirp software see that it is now supported. Admittedly I can not comment on how well it works but just an FYI.
I'm not sure how the CHIRP software works with the Kenwood radios, but I would suggest springing a few bucks for the Kenwood software, so you can change all the other stuff in the radios, including zones. I found my software for $15 on ebay, worth every penny.
How warm does the heat sink get (too hot for carpet or plastics?) Thinking of where to mount in a already crowded Jeep, thanks
My TK-8150 doesn't get hot enough to melt anything at 50W. I have a pop up blind in a nylon bag that rests against my radio in the trunk, has not melted yet.
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As to your question of new/used: I purchased all my radios from Ebay. Brand new this radio was just under $500 and the "H" (higher 45w transmit power) was a few hundred more.
Ebay pricing is all over the place but the cost is still WAAAAAAAY below what retail was when this model was new.
I do believe Kenwood has recently discontinued this from a sales standpoint but the unit is still on their website:
I've been looking for quite a while, and the HK models across the board are hard to find. Used Kenwood prices have been going up, but when I purchased, I grabbed my two TK-8150's from a local police auction for about $140 for both (with remote head kits included). You really have to do your research and find a deal anymore. Ebay prices are stupid. I had been looking at Ham HT's and Mobiles, and the price is 70%+ of the new price, which at that point, get the warranty, quick shipping and peace of mind.
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If you ever get to the point of wanting to venture in HF, I can highly recommend the Xeigu G90. I have one sitting on top of my still nearly new Icom IC-7300. Much to my utter surprise it actually receives better than my 7300. A contact in Atlanta could not tell when I changed from the 7300 at 100watts to the G90 at only 20 watts!
It is 1/4th the size of the 7300. It is capped out at 20 watts. It does have an excellent antenna tuning unit built in that will handle up to 10:1 SWR.
It is a solidly built unit. The entire body is pretty much a heat sink, so it stays very cool even during FT8 operations. The CW decoder works very well also. For just under $500 it is a true bargain!
I just bought a CS800D for the truck, the HT just doesn't have the VHF range I'd like to check into the morning net until I am on-top of work. I did see Jerry is also selling those G20 radios, and holy cow, that is one heck of a radio for the money. I can always do SSW in 10m locally, probably where I would start. I'm not sure I could fit a 1/4 wave antenna in the attic vertically though. I do still need some form of grounding established.
Thanks for the recommendation, because from what I see, it will cover nearly all the bases in one nice compact form.
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Wow must be some real pieces of works! They trigered a PTSD event in Jones. Takes some deep breaths you will be ok, they are only memories. lol
Went out of business, some say because of all the fires they caused. Ask any electrician, and they cringe when they hear the name. I think most of the problems were in higher voltage/industrial uses.
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OH NO!! Not an old Bulldog PushMatic! Those had to be the absolute WORST breakers of all time... right behind the Federal Pacific Stab-Loc. The last time I had to maintain one of those was at KHAS-TV back in 1999. The old section of the TV station, built in 1955, had pushmatic panels - BIG ones - with 48 single or 24 double breakers in each panel. Back then you could still get new breakers for them from Siemens. I think you can still get some today from ITE. The original Bulldog breakers were junk. Many times, when they overloaded, they wouldn't trip, just half-way disconnect, and arc, and smoke, and buzz real loud, destroying any sensitive electronics plugged into that circuit.
Junk that panel and get a Square-D QO series load center. Even a less expensive Homeline series would be an improvement in safety over the old Bulldog boxes. Check your local code requirements - some areas require newer style (and drastically more expensive) "arc-fault" breakers when replacing and upgrading old panels. In some areas, it may even be illegal for you to do it yourself. If in doubt, have a pro install the new panel, then you can install your own new branch circuits from there.
You can still get new replacement breakers, I had to get two last year. My furnace and my drier wouldn't stay on. I do have a quote to replace it, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. These boxes are the absolute worst though.
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NO HOA... You are lucky. No one said you had to start HF with a 50 foot tower and complete array with rotator and amplifiers. A good dipole, fan dipole will work up in the trees
If you are a hobby technician/electrical guy. Then shocking enough you have the skills and 1/2 the tools to home brew everything from antennas to radios. You might want to check out DIY antennas, and DIY QRP HF radio kits (not the best choice for todays conditions).
The ground, you can drive an 8 foot ground and tie it into your house electrical ground. Pretty sure your house has main ground for the sub panel or the water main. You tie into those. On the second floor you have to be-careful because your ground line to the outside can become an antenna. There are artifical ground kits, to tune out the ground acting like an antenna, not to create a ground.
If you knew CW... there is the key chain CW kit ($44 on Etsy) with a long wire, a 9 volt and a HF receiver you could be tapping CW for less then a $100.
Either case have fun, shake your notions of what can and can't be done and get experimenting.
Lucky? Or unlucky? House was built in 58, so I have the challenges of that.
The house has no ground what so ever, none to the water, none to the panel. It needs replaced, even without the radio component. I still want to talk to a grounding/lightening specialist before I finish plans on the electrical update.
I have seen some of the starter HF CW kits. Cool concept, but, again, without knowing CW, its almost pointless for me. I'm trying to see if I can fabricate one up what connects to my computer via USB, and use software for generating/decoding. Still something I'm looking into.
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Congratulations on punching both tickets at one sitting. My local club will be holding a VE session August 22nd indoors at our usual meeting place at the EOC. We may have to hold two sessions due to having to limit entry because of social distancing. Masks must be worn by all present of course.
You made a good choice for the HT. The AT-D878 is hands down my very favorite DMR HT. I rarely ever use my XPR7550 any longer due to it being strictly UHF, as well as being way too heavy!
73 and again, congratulations!
I had a BF-F8HP that I bought for listening only at the beginning of the year, before I new any better. With my few days experience, I will be keeping this D878UV I definitely, even if I don't use DMR as much. I'm able to RX signals from much farther, and hit a surprising amount of repeaters from inside my house, both Analog and DMR.
I've been listening to a barometer net on my way to work for about a month. Today, I was able to check in. Unfortunately my HT doesn't pick it up till half way through my commute, but I am able to check in and listen via the echolink app untill I'm in range. I also was able to continue listening at my desk after I got to work with my HT and it's all clear. I can also hit 3 DMR repeaters with ease.
I do think I need to upgrade the trucks mobile to a CS800D so I have VHF and DMR at 45/50W with a true antenna. I'll leave the Kenwood installed so I can swap back when going hunting and GMRS is absolutely necessary.
Looking at two antennas
in Technical Discussion
Posted
The nice thing about a Jpole is you don't have to worry about a ground plane. That being said, if you are familiar with other HAM bands, it's not much different from 70cm. Both a quarter wave whip 6" and the Jpole will work well.
In both instances, you will likely spend more on grounding than for the antenna. I have an EDfong in my attic right now that is full quiet into a VHF repeater 17.5 miles away from the house at 7w, and has no issues into a UHF repeater 11 miles away at 5W (I had a PS failure and am stuck with my HT to the antenna until Wednesday).
Height is king, get to the top of your roof with either option and good feed line, and you should be ok.