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Alaska CB & HAM Radio BS thread

Discussion in 'Alaska' started by SnowroxKT, Feb 1, 2017.

?

What type of radio do you have?

  1. CB

    8 vote(s)
    50.0%

  2. Ham

    2 vote(s)
    12.5%

  3. CB and Ham

    4 vote(s)
    25.0%

  4. none, I want to get stranded

    2 vote(s)
    12.5%
Page 4 of 5
  1. Feb 21, 2017 at 4:20 PM
    #61
    ffirg

    #61
    ffirg Well-Known Member

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    mike
    Anchorage, Alaska
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    I need to put an swr meter on mine and get a new antenna that I can keep grounded better.
     
    ffirg, Feb 21, 2017
    #61
  2. Feb 21, 2017 at 4:30 PM
    #62
    SnowroxKT

    #62
    SnowroxKT [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, tuning the antenna would really help the SWR come down and get better distances out of it.
     
    SnowroxKT, Feb 21, 2017
    #62
  3. Feb 21, 2017 at 4:38 PM
    #63
    ffirg

    #63
    ffirg Well-Known Member

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    I tuned it when I installed it but I think my mount has rusted a bit and I'm not getting a good ground anymore. I want to switch to an antenna with a separate ground wire rather than relying on th mount for grounding.
     
    ffirg, Feb 21, 2017
    #63
    SnowroxKT[QUOTED][OP] likes this.
  4. Feb 24, 2017 at 10:09 PM
    #64
    crazysccrmd

    #64
    crazysccrmd Well-Known Member

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    I'm planning on a remote faceplate radio mounted below the mirror. It will let me have the radio in an easily visible spot but be able to detach and toss in the glove box or center console so it's not so obvious I have an expensive radio all the time.

    IMG_0185.jpg
     
    crazysccrmd, Feb 24, 2017
    #64
    SnowroxKT[OP] likes this.
  5. Feb 25, 2017 at 8:11 AM
    #65
    SnowroxKT

    #65
    SnowroxKT [OP] Well-Known Member

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    6" lift 40s
    I opened up one of the Anchorage repeaters with my stock radio, just ran it on high Tx power! It wouldn't reach it on low power.
     
    SnowroxKT, Feb 25, 2017
    #65
    ffirg likes this.
  6. Feb 25, 2017 at 10:26 AM
    #66
    ffirg

    #66
    ffirg Well-Known Member

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    Which repeater?
     
    ffirg, Feb 25, 2017
    #66
  7. Feb 25, 2017 at 12:42 PM
    #67
    SnowroxKT

    #67
    SnowroxKT [OP] Well-Known Member

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    6" lift 40s
    KL7AA I think, its the 146.940MHz one.
     
    SnowroxKT, Feb 25, 2017
    #67
  8. Mar 3, 2017 at 10:24 PM
    #68
    SnowroxKT

    #68
    SnowroxKT [OP] Well-Known Member

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    So I went to the KL7AA club meeting. Lots of old guys lol.

    Few things I thought you might like to know Mike @ffirg (and maybe others)
    -they are going to try and lease the old FCC building on Raspberry Road right as you enter Kincaid Park, this would be the new clubhouse
    -New website in the works since current site is rather dated
     
    SnowroxKT, Mar 3, 2017
    #68
    ffirg likes this.
  9. Mar 3, 2017 at 10:31 PM
    #69
    crazysccrmd

    #69
    crazysccrmd Well-Known Member

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    Had to delay until the April test date. Studying for my real job took up all my free time leading up to this weekend's test.
     
    crazysccrmd, Mar 3, 2017
    #69
    SnowroxKT[OP] likes this.
  10. Mar 4, 2017 at 11:13 AM
    #70
    ffirg

    #70
    ffirg Well-Known Member

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    $$$
    Their website sure is dated haha.
     
    ffirg, Mar 4, 2017
    #70
    SnowroxKT[QUOTED][OP] likes this.
  11. Mar 4, 2017 at 11:57 PM
    #71
    SnowroxKT

    #71
    SnowroxKT [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I tested the stock antenna that came off of my BaoFeng UV-82HP I just bought a couple weeks ago, stock antenna is pretty bad for APRS freq. Much better for the UHF spectrum. I will try and run APRS off of my HT until I can get a decent mobile unit either this year or next, but I'm not expecting that far of a Tx or Rx distance with it.

    I will post screenshots of my results from one of our network analyzers at school Monday. By using the network analyzer you can see how bad the impedance mismatch is between the 50 ohm ideal and the actual impedance of the antenna at a given or sweep of frequencies. This mismatch is what causes standing waves due to reflections that happen in the antenna and cables, leading to the more common SWR--the standing wave ratio. Anything above a perfect 1:1 means you are heating your cable/antenna and wasting energy when transmitting, and receive quality goes down too.

    TLDL the stock antenna sucks for VHF and is better for UHF
     
    SnowroxKT, Mar 4, 2017
    #71
    ffirg likes this.
  12. Mar 5, 2017 at 1:00 PM
    #72
    ffirg

    #72
    ffirg Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, I'm so out of the loop on this thing haha. I really only see myself using simplex comms anyway. But that's also because I have no idea what I'm doing with repeaters and whatnot.
     
    ffirg, Mar 5, 2017
    #72
  13. Mar 5, 2017 at 1:37 PM
    #73
    SnowroxKT

    #73
    SnowroxKT [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Yeah I want to figure all that advanced stuff, but currently haven't even used my radio to talk to anyone lol.
     
    SnowroxKT, Mar 5, 2017
    #73
    ffirg likes this.
  14. Mar 6, 2017 at 3:20 PM
    #74
    SnowroxKT

    #74
    SnowroxKT [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Okay as promised here is the data from our network analyzer.
    These are showing on a Smith Chart. Closer to the center is the best and represents a SWR of 1:1, halfway out of the center to the edge is a SWR of 3. The lines show a sweep of frequencies, the full VHF and UHF frequencies shown on the bottom of the antenna.

    VHF Spectrum, the marker shows 144.390 MHz, or the APRS freq.
    Swept from 136 MHz to 174 MHz
    VHF.jpg

    UHF Spectrum, swept from 400MHz to 520 MHz
    UHF.jpg
     
    SnowroxKT, Mar 6, 2017
    #74
  15. Mar 20, 2017 at 1:33 PM
    #75
    SnowroxKT

    #75
    SnowroxKT [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Tried running APRS on my baofeng on Saturday, forgot to turn VOX on. :anonymous:
     
    SnowroxKT, Mar 20, 2017
    #75
  16. May 5, 2017 at 2:13 PM
    #76
    crazysccrmd

    #76
    crazysccrmd Well-Known Member

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    Third month in a row now that I'll be working on the Saturday the test is on.
     
    crazysccrmd, May 5, 2017
    #76
  17. Jul 10, 2017 at 12:21 PM
    #77
    crazysccrmd

    #77
    crazysccrmd Well-Known Member

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    Took the test Saturday and have my call sign already. The club and FCC work quickly.

    KL4NB
     
    crazysccrmd, Jul 10, 2017
    #77
    SnowroxKT[OP] likes this.
  18. Jul 10, 2017 at 5:01 PM
    #78
    SnowroxKT

    #78
    SnowroxKT [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Right on!
     
    SnowroxKT, Jul 10, 2017
    #78
  19. Jul 21, 2017 at 11:04 PM
    #79
    crazysccrmd

    #79
    crazysccrmd Well-Known Member

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    Bought and installed a Kenwood 710G and it's been awesome. APRS tracking and messaging works great. Voice range is good and transmission quality is reported to be very good. I'm using a small magnetic mount antenna on the roof right now and will eventually upgrade to a 40" mounted on a hood bracket mount once I figure out what antenna to buy.
     
    crazysccrmd, Jul 21, 2017
    #79
    SnowroxKT[OP] likes this.
  20. Oct 20, 2017 at 1:30 AM
    #80
    crazysccrmd

    #80
    crazysccrmd Well-Known Member

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    crazysccrmd, Oct 20, 2017
    #80
    92PathSE likes this.
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