Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

Good to know. I had read a report from N5MUD with his experience in trying to get a 1/4 and 5/8 antenna to work on his tiregate of his Toyota FJ40. Couldn't do it, SWR too high, thus the 1/2 wave. Assumed the Taco would be similar.

So what antenna are you using a Diamond or Comet like these? http://www.aesham.com/antennas-mobile-vhf-uhf-multi-6m-2m-70cm/

 

This one mainly because it was 1/4 wave on 6 http://www.aesham.com/nmo/diamond-antenna-cr-627bnmo/ The radio had 10 meters also but 10 meter FM repeaters are few and far between so I figured I would rather have a 1/4 wave on 6M we do a lot of simplex on 6 FM (52.525). He must of had other issues pretty much any antenna should have worked for him I could see a problem if it was a fiberglass roof.

 

So I think I settled on a mobile rig. Anyone running the Kenwood VM-71a? Reasonably priced right now for a dual band and I like the fact it has the echolink feature built in. I plan on using it with my local echolink enabled repeater to connect to other echolink repeaters around the country.

 

Not familiar with the VM-71A Guess it has DTMF memory for the repeaters? We use echolink on our club system it's linked to the internet from one of the members house and we just TX on the repeater split. Everyone can set up echolink with their own access codes so I guess you would have to know what they were. We have preprogramed codes in the memory dial for linking to other repeaters. I guess with sysop mode in the radio you could tailor your codes to match the repeater but that doesn’t mean it would work on others. So I guess I’m a little confused about the echolink feature. There are a lot of guys out there that access echolink with a smartphone G4 link to get into their home system. You can’t go wrong with any of the big 3 radios so just chose the one that has the features you like and ease of operation a complex radio with many features is easy to screw up by pushing the wrong button and often the only way out is to just pull over and get the book out.

 

I thought i'd share some of the first testing of my pneumatic mast idea with the Ham's of T.W. this will mount along my bedwall eventually.

http://youtu.be/BiIXcIePeTQ

 

Nice. I did one years ago with a wiper motor. I would suggest some type of drier system for your compressed air one of the ARES vans around here had a pneumatic pole like the TV stations have with out a drier they put it up and had to leave the van and come back the next day after the sun was on it to get it back down. Yep the moisture froze in the mast.

 

Yeah I should probably look into that. Luckily it doesn't get below freezing for long where I'm located, but water can definitely be an enemy with the pneumatics.

 

SMC, Clippard and Parker all make Pneumatic devices geared for extreme weather and duty.

http://www.parker.com/literature/Pn...er - P1D-X Series - Catalogue PDE2662TCUK.pdf

 

Very nice cylinders bet they are pretty pricey. They still have to have low moisture air though in below freezing weather and to meet cylinder contamination standards.

 

Looking to upgrade from the CB world to the Ham world in a bit, but was curious about something.
Due to the nature of my job, I had to pass the FCC Element 1, and Element 7 exams. Does anyone know if one, or both, would qualify me for a Ham license?

 

They do not count towards your Amateur License. For your Tech license, it is supper easy. Grab a book, or online study guide and you will be good to go. There are several online practice tests out there.

 

Less folks on the Amatuer bands but the BS is not there like on CB, I'm new to ham and you are going to like the 2 Meter and 440 Mhz bands for the reliable communications.

The Technician License does not require too much studying and gives you priveledges on these two bands mostly. To use the HF bands you need the General License. I am leisurely studying for the General myself and look forward to the longer range contacts that are more "the magic" of Amatuer Radio. You can get a lot of entertainment with a simple rig, or spend as much as you like. (Kinda like off-road trucks!)

 

This system I am working with is mostly all Clippard parts. I customized this one with rod wipers to help keep the daily grime from destroying my seals. I have to say... they are an awesome company. Clippard answered every technical question I had with immediate info to support the application.

It has been more of a challenge to get the linkage and other parts correct to accept the air system with drill presses and grinder cut-off wheels... I had SMC valves on my ranger as well.. which never failed over 7 years. Not familliar with Parker products, but another great one is Bimba. I've not tested their products, but they appear to be another standard of the industry with good quality.

 

The cylinder itself was 37$ custom fitted, so I cant complain for its awesome quality. BuT...definitely....the problem in the cold will be the moisture. I do not have a de-humidifier on my system, but the air filter has a drain which will stay inside the cab with the accumulator and valve. It's such a small volume that I will not have to worry about crazy water accumulation. I'm looking atabout 6 seconds of compressor time to reach 105 psi. Very minimal volume. I can definitely see how it could fail in very cold temps, hopefully we will not see much more of that given it will be in the high 60's Sunday

 

Lucky you it was -3 this morning and has been below zero more times this year than I can remember!

 

RF Noise!!! Damn you Griffin Technologies!!! Bastards!!! A while ago I bought

a USB dual port 12v charger for my smart phones. Well it turns out these things are so RF noisy that 2 meters is almost unusable!!! It raises the noise floor like +20 dBm!

Griffin Technology burn in hell. Sadly it took me much longer to trace out the cause of the interference, thus my frustration. I am very happy I found the source though. For all of you following this thread, be forewarned of devices such as these. They probably are not all RF noisy but they could be so be warned!

 

Yep there is no effort to abate noise in that sort of cheap crap. I spent 2 days trying to deal with noise (in the house no less) all of it around 147MHZ, plastic case Linksys switch replaced it with an older metal one I had, no more noise. It's getting worse with all the junk from China I have spent a good deal of money on chokes just to keep HF out of the computer speakers. I live in the middle of no where Maine and have no neighbors with in a 1/4 of a mile I feel for you guys in a housing development not only do you have to deal with your neighbors junk you have to deal with your own stuff getting into their junk! Your stuff maybe perfectly clean but their TV's,sound systems etc have no provisions for RF rejection. The ham is sort of off the hook because if you read the sticker on the back of their equipment is says "must except interference " how ever it is your duty as a neighbor to help correct the problem.

 

Just past my element 2 & 3 exams this past Saturday. Now it's time to hurry up and wait. But in the meantime I get to start shopping for the goodies.

I'm thinking I'm going to start w/ a HT but I will be primarily using this as a vehicle comm and not in the house. Any advice is welcomed.

Thanks

K?7???

 

You can start with an HT and a good antenna on your truck you'll be surprised how well you can do with 5 watts and a good antenna. Most HT now come with SMA antenna connections so you will need an adapter to mate up to your antenna

$43 PL259 USA Made PL-259 Improved Double Shielded RG-58u for FireStik Antenna K-8A 18-Foot Single CB/Ham Coax Cable

PL259. Once your hooked then get a nice mobile and plug it into your antenna there is all ways a need for an HT.

 

I'm running the TM-V71A. I'm really happy with it.