New Ham

[WRTC928]

15 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

I have a couple of Comet 2x4SR antennas. They work well for 2m, MURS, 70cm, and GMRS. SWR is below 2.0 on the 1.25m/220 MHz band too. Though I have not tried using the 2x4SR on 1.25m yet.

It is also a popular antenna for EMS and public safety volunteers as it works well for them.

I had the same experience with the 2x4SR. SWR was (IIRC) ~1.5:1 on 1.25 meters and lower on all the others. Unfortunately, the local 1.25 meter repeater is as dead as disco. I can trigger it and get its automatic ID, but I never get a response from a live person, so I don't know if the antenna actually works well in that band.

I'm studying for my General license mostly so I can use and become familiar with HF modes of communication before any sort of disaster occurs. Repeaters are good, but after Hurricane Helene, only one or maybe two (IIRC) repeaters were functioning in the affected area. It's not hard to imagine a scenario where all the repeaters within range of me are rendered inoperative for some period of time. Before that happens, I want to have HF equipment and know how to use it. I'd like to be able to get a signal out at least a few hundred miles. I probably won't get much excitement out of just "making contacts" but I could be wrong.