SteveShannon

First, I never said I was extremely happy with 2.5:1. It’s just not the kiss of death that being anal might make you think. Here’s why: The 18% that is reflected is not lost. That power reflects back from the antenna to the radio where it reflects again and goes back to the antenna. This time 82% of the reflected power goes into the antenna and 18% of the 18% reflects again. It does that over and over until all the power goes out the antenna or is attenuated by the cable. Attenuation in your cable often has a much greater effect than having an SWR greater than 2.0:1.

And DTCSS.

DCS is exactly the same as DPL. Motorola just called it DPL. Change your radio so it transmits with 156N. Leave tones off for receive until you know you have transmit set correctly. That way you’ll hear everything on that frequency.

Way too much is made of SWR below 2.0:1 (ref. power 11%) or even 2.5:1 (ref. power 18%). Unless you have lossy cable the power ends up going out of the antenna anyway because that reflected power is reflected again at the radio and goes back to the antenna where the greatest portion goes into the antenna.

Try creating a new folder in documents and save it under a different name.

Just some things to consider: Byrd 43 wattmeters are an expensive and desirable product. Yet they only advertise +/- 5% accuracy. And that’s with slugs tuned to a narrow frequency band and specific to a limited power range. Most hobby SWR meters (Daiwa, Comet, Nissei, MFJ, etc.) claim +/- 5 to 10%. I don’t have an SW-102, but I have nothing against them. In fact i really like the built in frequency counter. I have seen posts on this forum going back a couple years (but not recently) by people who were getting significantly incorrect power readings, to the point where they thought their radio was malfunctioning. I’m a hobbyist, not a pro. I buy things because they’re fun to use, convenient, and good enough. I think that as long as a person checks his/her SW-102 against some known values it should be just fine.

What would you like to do with it? What did you have in mind when you bought it? Do you have a buddy or family member who has a radio? Are you hoping to get onto the airwaves so you can hear other people and then contact them? Help us understand what you want to achieve. Someone is sure to have some helpful advice.

Marc Spaz is one of the nicest guys on these forums. He never beats his own chest or blows his own horn. And he does have some serious technical skills. So when someone who has been here for months attacks him as posting something that’s “not real” and does it in a way that simply reveals his own ignorance, it’s a chickenshit move. Then you doubled down on it as if you were somehow an expert. You owe Marc a sincere apology, not “got a little silly. Sorry folks.” Learn from your mistakes and move on. Perhaps seek counseling. If you make an honest attempt at an apology and don’t act like that again the forum members will get over it quickly. But, I owe you an apology also. I made fun of your name. That was a cheap shot. It was mean-spirited of me and completely unacceptable. I apologize for that. Steve

Two days ago you didn’t know how to waterproof your coax connectors and today you’re lecturing Marc Spaz on receiver sensitivity measurements. You posted a picture of a radio installation that looks like what Randy discarded last week. (Edited to remove mean-spirited attempt at humor.) In any case you’re just one more wannabe on the ignore list.

I don’t know if the chipsets used in those hotspots support analog and I don’t know if the RF stage can be adapted to GMRS frequencies. If they do, then possibly it could be done.

What metrics do you use?

The description at DX Engineering says: Times Microwave Coaxial Cable Hoisting Grips Times Microwave Coaxial Cable Hoisting Grips provide an effective method for lifting coaxial cable to the top of a structure, where it may then be tied off to support the cable's weight. Cable hoisting grips will not crush or deform the cable being lifted, but easily release the cable when desired. They are available in several sizes to hoist a multitude of cable types. An excerpt from the manufacturer’s instructions are included below. They say something similar in their description.

That’s why i buy kits with multiple variations. So now I always have 48 that I’ll never need.

I thought it had a good beat and I could dance to it.

Chessy68, Randy (@OffRoaderX) has put together a metric buttload of videos about almost entirely GMRS radios. They’re available under the name “Notarubicon”. Not everyone appreciates his humor, so if they don’t appeal to there are many others. Welcome to the forum!

Both of those hotspots are designed to join to a pre-existing network. For DMR that’s the Brandmeister network. There are also networks for YSF, DStar, NXDN, and P25. All of those are networks designed around digital voice modes. The hotspots expect to receive and transmit digital data, not analog FM. My hotspot wouldn’t know what to do with analog FM. Currently GMRS is analog FM.

Not necessarily. The repeater might have 50 watts of RF power and a great antenna on a tower.

Rain in antenna connections is a fairly common occurrence if the connections aren’t waterproofed. PL-259/SO-239 connections are not weatherproof. Worst case you might need to replace the cable or at least shorten the cable to get rid of damage caused by moisture in the dielectric layer.

If your computer blocks YouTube that’s a configuration error in your security settings, nothing to do with @OffRoaderX.

You need either a “barrel adapter” with an SMA female on one side and SO-239 on the other, or a jumper cable with a PL-259 on one end and an SMA female on the other. Eventually you’ll have every combination of adapter ! Here’s a kit that might help get you started: https://a.co/d/1Bzh3h4 Don’t worry about what wrxp381 says he has never felt the need to do. He says that sometimes, but his “needs” are irrelevant to your question. It’s nice to know the output of your radio and it’s simply not true that you can’t test SWR with a handheld. He may have meant that testing the SWR of a handheld’s antenna doesn’t mean much and I would agree with that.

Hi Leo, Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on navigating the FCC licensing site. You’re right that it is not easy. It can take a few days between the time the FCC issues your license and the time the bulk download is done for this site. It will eventually happen though. If some people here seem like jerks you can add them to your “ignore list.” Then you won’t have to see their posts. If there are repeaters preprogrammed in your radio they’re probably just there as examples. Or it may just be that they’re the eight established repeater channels that have the offset programmed in but are waiting for you to program the correct CTCSS tone or DCS code on transmit. Again, welcome!

You really don’t have to buy another antenna. An SWR of 2.5 isn’t really very high and isn’t going to cost you much. Most people don’t understand how little an SWR of 2.5 means. As an example, the SWR in your cell phone may be around 4 or 5. Just try your antenna and see if it works for you. At an SWR of 2.5 82% of your power goes out of the antenna without being reflected, but that other 18% is reflected back to the transmitter where it’s reflected back to the antenna again. Then 82% of that portion is radiated and 18% of the reflected power is reflected again. That happens over and over until all the power goes out the antenna or is absorbed as loss by the coax cable.

Yes; it’s just fine to put a Yagi on a metal mast.

Yeah, nothing is ever perfect, but as a relatively new ham I’ve been more impressed than I feared after hearing the negative comments.