gortex2
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Posts posted by gortex2
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Yup he is pretty firm on his price. We were able to get a donation to help out and get it.
May be worth grabbing a 4'x4' sheet of 3//4 plywood to throw on the ground first and screw or bolt it to it. Then throw some blocks or something heavy on it ? I had spikes pounded in the ground on all three when ours blew over. They were about 16" long but the ground was mostly sand and didn't help much.
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Nice setup but watch the Tripod you have. I tried similar setup for our SAR team in the past and it didn't last well in some wind even with guy wires up. We since switched to a military style mast kit we found here -
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTENNA-TRIPOD-29FT-ALUMINUM-PORTABLE-TOWER-MAST-KIT-NEW/361384099911
It is night and day better and faster to set up that what we had before. It cost a bit more but in the end it was worth it. The selling point of the tripod is the custom "tripod" adapter he ships with it. Here it was last summer in the national park. This was hooked up to a mixed mode Quantar for an event we handle comms for.
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I actually run both on my F150. The only benefit of the 4503 is size. It works well on my local trunking systems but no antenna will work there. For GMRS its ok when on some repeaters, but simplex is junk. I since have put the 1/4 wave back on my GMRS mobile and am very happy with it.
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As others have said, just buy 3 NMO mounts with pre-attached cables. I like the larsen as it is crimped on vs soldered and a bit better for places that are out in the elements.
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Id like to see more on the linking stuff. As you said fixing the out dated repeater listings is a large task. I tend to come here only for GMRs stuff which i like. Most of the other online forums for radio stuff is all over the place. I know this is mostly GMRS so i tend to come here daily.
One thought i did have and maybe its been done but a spot on "license" encouragement would be nice. I wish places like midland would do thia also but they want to sell a product and not deal with this. having a page spelling out the reasons and how to get a license, with a link to start would be cool.
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Welcome.
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Looking at this to resolve my concerns for a ground plane on UTV side x side. https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/laird-technologies-mbc-1649. The one with SO-239
Instructions say cut radials to 8" for 406 - 512Mhz but using this calculator it comes out to 6.25" or so. Either way has to be better than little to no GP.
I have a good visual on how to install on the kayak rack above the double plastic roof. And I expect to get some grief on the trail from the non-believers.. beam me up.. but it should hopefully maximize GMRS performance.
Critique away please.
I actually used on of these directly thru the plastic roof of a UTV. It worked well on UHF. Tried similar on a VHF install and while it worked OK, I was a bit more challenging to install. I run one on my motor home ladder mount now with a quaterwave antenna for my on board repeater.
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Definitely VHF. They may of licensed UHF for a control link of some sort over time. I had a few construction companies that did that when they were on lowband. a local UHF repeater was installed at the building and was tied into the lowband base radio. This allowed guys in the shop and yard to talk to the trucks on the road via portable radio.
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Also run a FCC search for the coordinates. You mentioned the license was cancelled. Back in my shop days we did a lot of LMR and a few times would add a site like this to our license especially if we had a chance to sell other on the system in a fringe area. Once you determine there is nothing connected to the antenna and it is indeed UHF find someone to sweep the antenna for Return Loss and DTF to verify the line and antenna is good. Once that is determined and a deal can be made with the owner, then start assembling your parts for a repeater. As I have said other times if you do build the repeater yourself image is every thing. Most customers/site owner dont want to see mobile or portable radios wire tied to a sheep of metal or power supply. Make it neat. Quality jumpers for the duplexer with no adapters and you will have a decent repeater.
Site lease/costs is a big unknown. Do some research and talk to the owner. A lot of times you can work something out especially if its a local agency. If its American or Crown walk away as your going topay many thousands a year. When our SAR team first put a repeater online we worked out a deal to mow and maintain the building at an old tower site in exchange for rent. Worked great for years.
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Antenna in the picture is VHF. You would need to swap the antenna before doing anything.
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Superflex is great for inside stuff and jumpers. Thats what its normally used for. Rarely do we run it up a tower, but it would work. On most projects LDF is run on the tower then the FSJ from the bulkhead to the equipment racks. I have all my duplexer jumpers built out of FSJ.
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The 221 is a rock solid performer. I have many of them in SAR and also for GMRS. Other than one display that went bad on a 4 wheeler they seem to tick away.
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I installed a back rack on my new JT as its a soft top. It has the bracket also. It works OK, but not as good as my F150 with a drilled NMO with same 1/4 wave antenna. I mostly talk simplex and it is noticeably different although both sweeps show the same on a VNA. Its the only solution I have on the JT so it is what it is. I would prefer a roof mount NMO. In regards to the NMO mount get the good sealed mount. I run the Larsen thick mount as the standard NMO wont fit the steel plate. I got mine from antenna farm - https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/larsen-nmokhfcxthk-1161
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While shrink tubing is waterproof itself, water can wick in through any exposed ends. So, should you ever have to remove the antenna, you might wish to reseal the connection by smearing some silicon caulk inside the shrink tube before you heat it. Or, try something like this adhesive lined shrink tubing.
The heat shrink I got is the stuff with sealer used for underground well lines. The glue is pretty tough. I have used it in the past and it works really well. Made by T&B. Hopefully mine is only up until spring and i start my tower install.
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Only 1 question... rodro123 lives in Wisconsin, where there is actually winter. Being metal and a lot of nooks and crannies I'm wondering how the DB404 will perform with snow/ice/wind loading?
I lived in upstate NY (Tug Hill area) for most of my life. All my NY GMRS repeaters run this antenna and all my SAR repeaters run the DB224 (same design) and never had an issue. I have one antenna that is about 20 years old and yearly PM checks are always fine.
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I just ran into this on my Diamond antenna I got for my APRS Digi. I went to Home Deport and purchased heat shrink that would fit over the center section and put that on. It shrink well and did not appear to affect the SWR at all. My hopes is to never remove the antenna unless its being replaced.
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Vertex Standard, Motorola and Yaesu are all the same company.
That is not 100% accurate. Motorola Solutions purchased Vertex Standard. Since then all amateur was sold to Yaesu and spun off off Motorola. Motorola does not have any amateur radio equipment branded by them or Vertex.
To the topic on hand. I have had multiple ICOM radios over the years and SAR in NY still uses man of them the F6021 is based on the old F221. It is a solid performer and is a goto for SAR folks due to the price and reliablity. Scan is a bit quirky to get set right but once done it works well. I use the serial cables on all my ICOM stuff, but i know a few folks have had good luck with USB.
I prefer Motorola gear for my GMRS and the last radio I purchased was the CM300 for my fathers truck. It is small like the M1225 but new. USB programming cable.
YMMV
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The DB404 has always been my go to antenna. I run the DB408 on all my repeaters. I actually have 2 DB404 in my garage i use for portable repeaters when needed. They hold up well. YMMV
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Not to drag this topic further into further CCR bashing there is one important item to consider. The desire to get into radio is something many dont do any more nor have any interest. So the good thing is some people still want to. The issue with the Baofeng or any CCR is the performance as many he mentioned. The performance can impact the users "taste" of the hobby and many times they loose interest cause it doesn't do what it should. I have had this happen in the SAR world and also Amateur world on top of my GMRS repeaters. 90% of the folks that buy those complain they can't hit the repeater or are so broken up and unreadable more folks tell them its junk. This causes them to loose interest and leave the radio world.
For me I started grabbing cheap good radios when i have extra cash and leave them sitting. When i get a person who wants to use a baofeng I hand them one of these and let them use it side by side. Normally 2 days later I get "hey can i buy this from you". There is alot of good radios out there dirt cheap that works well for GMRS. I recently picked up 6 HT1000 portables for $50.00. Threw some $20.00 batteries on them and programmed up for GMRS. I have one left in the box.
If your truly interested in radio get a reputable radio or your expectations will not be met.
JMHO
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This has me thinking on a simplex repeater.
This is a store-forward unit.
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AS a few have said I'd look to increasing the performance of the current repeater. A good pre-amp and filters will go a long way. I am fortunate that I run a split antenna on my repeaters thru a combiner and multi-coupler. That allowed me a DB408 on RX and a DB404 on TX. The 408 gives me a bit better RX then adding in the pre-amp and filtering I have portables that can get in but can't hear the system. Its all about balance. I'm glad to see you have your power at a low level. Many think more power the better but thats not always the case.
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So in theory yes it would work and I have done similar for SAR work. In actual use it didn't work well at all. Most simplex repeater modules receive the audio, record it then re-transmit the audio. The issue we ran into is that delay time. If in an area where others can't hear the input of one use they don't know you are talking and you don't know if they are due to delays. While it did work ok for general messages "CREWS REPORT TO COMMAND" it was almost useless for routine conversations and use. At the end of the day we built a small pelican case 5 watt repeater that does what we needed.
Guess it really depends on your needs. If you plan to have conversations I don't think its efficient. If its for a "i need help" scenario then its probably going to be OK. The other possible solution would be to put a small but efficient repeater at your future in laws house. Done right its not going to look bad and would work well.
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As other stated it depends on the use. For a antenna used as a control point i have had great luck with the PCTEL Fiberglass sticks. I run the MFB4600 on my motor home and also at home. If your talking to mobiles or another base only then i use my DB404.
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New Portable Repeater Antenna Setup Is Done
in Amateur Radio (Ham)
Posted
Thats the same guy that we got the entire kit from. I actually looked to just get the tripod then buy the tubes ouself. After talking to him about our idea it was apparent I could save some coin, or just buy a bag that has everything needed. He actually cuts all the aluminum poles so they slide thru the tripod and finishes the ends. Yes you could use poles with the ring on them but its slick as slick to just keep adding poles to the bottom and push it up. All his stuff comes in a bag that can be carried by one person up a mountain and setup.