SteveShannon

Congratulations!!

I disagree. In the words of Thomas Edison, you learned what doesn’t work. That’s a success. I agree with the plan for controlled experimentation. I wish you lived next door so I could hand you my antenna analyzer for a day.

Hi Anubis. Welcome to the forums. Simply push the push to talk button, pause a half second, and then say whatever you want to say. You can say “this is wslq868” first if you want, but it’s certainly not required. And don’t say it each time you talk. Just every fifteen minutes or when you finish the conversation. And a lot of people never do say their call signs. Basically it’s not much different than talking on the telephone except that you take turns transmitting. The most important thing is to just get on the radio. You’ll pick it up in no time.

Google commercial radio companies in your area or contact an electrical contractor and ask if they have LMR experience.

What you’re doing is certainly the way most of us do it, even with an antenna analyzer. We locate the frequency of the dip on the SWR sweep screen of the analyzer. The lower frequencies are to the left and the higher ones are to the right. We cut (or in some cases we fold* over) the wire to make it shorter if the frequency of the dip is too low and we have to lengthen the wire somehow once we cut off too much. An antenna analyzer allows us to easily test the SWR over a sampling of 200 or so evenly spaced frequencies and then display those samples so we can graphically see the performance of the antenna. So we can sweep the antenna, record the center frequency of the dip, cut a little bit off the antenna and sweep the antenna again. This will tell us (more or less) the frequency change per cut length. When I first started with my EFHW antenna I made a spreadsheet that would calculate the length that I would have to shorten the antenna in order to achieve the frequency I needed. Unfortunately, antennas are less simple than that; my spreadsheet got me into the ballpark but I quickly learned about antenna rule 2, everything affects everything. You can measure the crap out of the antenna on the ground, cut it to a length measured extremely precisely, and have it look perfect until you lift it into the air and the SWR dip suddenly changes frequency. Also, you’ll quickly find that just because a piece of wire that has a dip that goes all the way down to 1.0:1 at 459 MHz, when you shorten it to shift the dip to 462.550 MHz the lowest point on the dip might only go down to 1.4:1. Those are numbers I just made up but what I’m trying to say is that perfect SWR might only be achievable on frequencies that don’t interest us. *For a bare wire antenna, folding the wire over theoretically has the same effect as cutting, but can be undone if you go too far. For insulated wire it’s not that simple. Folding over ten inches might only have the effect of cutting off three inches. So don’t assume that you can cut off the entire section that you folded over. I like the fact that you’re trying all of these different things. That’s the best way to learn. Using disks to support the radiator of the antenna is a good idea. You could also tape it to a piece of Kevlar cord stretched between the endcaps. I’ll be really curious to hear if the pvc pipe and foam has affected the SWR.

Get one of the cell phones that uses satellite communications when regular service is unavailable. Back it up with one or both of @OffRoaderX recommendations. Do not rely on GMRS to contact emergency services. You can’t use it in Canada anyway and you can’t get to Alaska by land without passing through Canada.

Did you add the Great Stuff in small quantities or all at once? When we add it into large rocket nosecones we typically use the two part foam because the can foam depends on atmospheric moisture to cure. I think you should be fine with the length and diameter you’re using. I think you will see a change in SWR. Embedding the wire in foam will probably reduce the velocity factor, which has the effect of making the antenna electrically longer. But whether it will be better or worse is yet to be seen. The first rule of antennas is that any antenna is better than nothing. The second rule is that everything affects everything. You’re kicking butt!!

Are those the measurements for the insulated 12 ga. version or the uninsulated, or both? Is the width measurement an inside measurement or center to center? I know your earlier post said metal to metal, which I think probably means an inside measurement. Same question about the connection point.

1/16” is close enough. I might also build a similar antenna using copper tubing. I’ve got some half inch stuff around here. The larger diameter should result in wider bandwidth.

Sorry, I meant an antenna analyzer or a NanoVNA. You connect it directly to the antenna and it graphs various properties of the antenna over whatever range of frequencies you specify. They’re really handy to have around. I’ll try to build the same antenna as you sometime this weekend and run the analyzer on it.

Insulated wire has a different velocity factor than bare wire. An analyzer would tell you for sure but I suspect you could shorten the insulated wire a little more.

I don’t know if I would even try to tune it below 1.2:1 or 1.4:1. You’ll never hear a difference. It’s just not worth chasing. I thought you said the ratio was 1:2, not 1.2:1.

In the metals section of well stocked hardware stores there are sometimes small brass tubes. If you buy a piece that just slides onto the wire you’re using you can slide it longer or shorter to tune your antenna.

This is very important.

Because the beginning and ending of the digital bit patterns are synchronized to your clock.

MURS would also be a good unlicensed option for a church.

Yes, if you hear the signals your radio is receiving them, but it appears unable to decode them. If you’re not seeing anything in the decoded messages, check your computer clock. It has to be set precisely. You’ll want to link it to an internet time source. Also, what does the waterfall in the secondary screen of WSJT-X look like? If it’s busy you should see it light up all the way across. If not, check your filter width. I make sure I have no filters on when receiving FT8. Then, what does it look like in the list of heard stations on the left side pane in WSJT-X? You should see a relatively steady scrolling list of messages. Depending on how you have your colors set up you should see CQ calls in the left pane. Double clicking on a CQ should result in your station responding to that particular CQ. Finally, how is your transmit power set up? I set my output power on the radio fairly high, but then I use the Power slider on the right hand side of WSJT-X to limit my output power to something like 45 watts.

Use Messi and Paloni connectors. They aren’t inexpensive but they don’t require solder for the braid. The center conductor is still soldered. Or switch to crimped or crimp/solder connectors. If you do this you must have a good ratcheting crimper and the right crimp die. I use a Klein brand crimper and die set. This has become my preferred method:

Unlike a home based ham station you do not need to bond a battery powered mobile or portable station to the service ground. If lightning appears, do just what you did, pack up and leave. If it surprises you and is close by, leave your radio and antenna and get in your car, better to let the radio and antenna be destroyed than risk injury or death by attempting to save it.

There’s no such exception in the current rules. Church members may not operate under a non-relative’s license, unless the church has a grandfathered license.

I can’t take any credit; I just googled it.

160 m is 1.840 MHz.

It was local, the Butte-Silver Bow Community Foundation. We have several local foundations. One requirement that’s common for all of them is that we must be a 501(c)3, with the IRS letter to show for it.

Ahhhh, I see. Yeah, I have to set up my Digirig for my ft891 someday also. When you do get to the ic7300 this site has some written settings that might help: https://k5tmt.com/2019/09/07/wsjt-x-settings-for-the-ic-7300/

Yes! We applied and received a nice grant for our repeater last year and the foundation told us to be sure and put in for another this year.