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Posted: 10/12/2024 5:02:25 PM EDT
[Last Edit: The_Like_Button]
[#1]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Frank_B: Congratuations!  Now let's get you on the air!How about we start with an HF antenna? Can you post a sketch or bird's eye view of your property showing boundaries, buildings and trees along with approximate dimensions? That'll give us an idea of what type of antennas are practical and where they can be fit. It would be a good idea to reserve the antenna you have for emergency use and make one for permanent use. Put it up, try it out, adjust as necessary then use it for a short time and put it back in the box. For a permanent antenna, there are several types and configurations, all of which are (relatively)easy to make and tune. Dipoles Inverted Vee Fan Dipole End-fed antennas More on end feds End fed antenna kit with instructions Vertical antennas ETA: DX Engineering stocks antennas and DIY antenna components: LINK So does Ham Radio Outlet: LINK There are several others, too. I’ll get on of my kids to sketch up my place, but we have 2 1 acre pastures and then about 1.5 acres of pasture and animal pens around our house. Rest of the property is wooded and quite thick. HF antenna wise, I have a Chameleon 8010 End Fed Sloper and an Aetherwave Low Power 4010 End Fed. For my Handheld I have a Signal Stick, a N9TAX 16’ slimjim and a Ed Fong J Pole and ordered one of his TBJ-1 antennas for the house. Plan right now is to build a 2m/70cm Mobile unit just like my G90 or try to find a Yaesu FT857D and condense down into one single portable system. Once I do that I’ll either build or buy a Yagi so that I can go up into Shenandoah National Park to some of the ridges and shoot back down the valley towards my house to make direct contact attempts. May also dabble with some other options as time goes on. Decided to go full on down the rabbit hole after passing my exams and ordered a mobile cw key from Germany and now I’m just looking for a cw trainer. Figure after I pass the Extra I’ll learn morse. |
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Posted: 10/12/2024 5:21:49 PM EDT
[Last Edit: piccolo]
[#2]
Rest of youse guys go easy on him.
He's looking into basic emergency communications. Give him a break! He doesn't need JT-65, PSK 32, Slow Scan Television, Olivia (Newton John)! He needs basic ECOMM. Lay off the poor bastard! Let him get his feet wet, master phone and maybe CW and then once he's got the basics and the hook is set we can rat pack the living shit out of him!  Oh yeah, OP we got a Tuesday night 40 meter net. Once ya get started give us a shout! 
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Posted: 10/12/2024 5:37:44 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By The_Like_Button: I didn’t only because I was on a time crunch with family activities. The HamRadioPrep app made it idiot proof to pass. Went through each lesson and made notes in the items they outline in blue. Then I went through each quiz and wrote down the questions I got wrong. Got to the practice tests and did the same thing until I was getting 93-100%. Went from 0 to General in a weeks time. It’s really not that hard to get the license the challenge is being able to do something useful with it I’m sure. Congrats on passing the tests! That part highlighted in red is where I'm stuck at. |
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Posted: 10/12/2024 8:04:43 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Frank_B]
[#4]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By The_Like_Button: ....ordered a mobile cw key from Germany and now I’m just looking for a cw trainer. Figure after I pass the Extra I’ll learn morse.  Fantastic! Over 99% of my operating is CW using 50 Watts or less into a dipole antenna. I don't even have an amplifier, CW is a natural for low power and simple antennas, and I think most of the SOTA operators use the mode.As for a trainer, you'll have to rely on others' input. I learned it back in the early '50s using a book, the occasional classes our radio club conducted, and the W1AW practice transmissions. Now the ARRL puts the practice sessions on the Internet, available HERE. Your radio probably can be used as a code practice oscillator by turning off the break-in feature. It'll still generate the tone, but won't put out any power. The best way to learn CW is by doing short, ~15 minute sessions once a day if possible to prevent burnout. I taught my wife this way and within about 3 months she passed her Novice 5 WPM test. She also used cassette tapes and played them going back and forth to work. |
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Posted: 10/12/2024 8:29:57 PM EDT
[#5]
Congratulations on passing! Now is when the learning really starts. I am a big fan of making your own antennas. It's really easy, and gives you greater understanding of how they work. I worked 70 countries with a G90, and a home made end fed halfwave antenna. Checked into the net regularly with the same set up. I now use 60-70w with the Xiegu amplifier, and it seems that everyone hears me just fine on the net.
In regards to an all in one radio, my personal preference is to keep them separate because if you lose hf or v/u, half your radio is useless, and if you can't fix it yourself, the whole radio has to leave for repair. |
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Posted: 10/12/2024 9:08:57 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Frank_B]
[#6]
Another thing to consider is that with all those feature crammed into such a small box, the ergonomics is going to be a real PITA to work with.
Separate rigs for HF and VHF/UHF is the way to go. Regarding power, to change the received signal one S-unit, the transmit power has to be increased or decreased by a factor of four. The difference between 20 and 100 Watts is only going to be a roughly 1-1/2 S-units. At times, such as when the signal is very close to the noise level or when there's a pile-up of stations, it will make a difference. But in day-to-day operation it's usually not that much of a problem. |
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Posted: 10/12/2024 11:34:31 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Frank_B: Another thing to consider is that with all those feature crammed into such a small box, the ergonomics is going to be a real PITA to work with. Separate rigs for HF and VHF/UHF is the way to go. Regarding power, to change the received signal one S-unit, the transmit power has to be increased or decreased by a factor of four. The difference between 20 and 100 Watts is only going to be a roughly 1-1/2 S-units. At times, such as when the signal is very close to the noise level or when there's a pile-up of stations, it will make a difference. But in day-to-day operation it's usually not that much of a problem. A couple of notes from my experiences. The FT-991A has become my preferred backpack portable rig. I’ve actually found it to be more simple than discrete transceivers, not to mention more capable. Also, current draw and power output don’t seem to be linear. Dialing down to 25 watts from 100 watts I’m seeing a peak current draw if ~9A instead of ~14A at 100w. There is battery life to be saved there, but if I’m calling in the blind, it’s at 100w. |
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Posted: 10/13/2024 12:04:39 AM EDT
[#8]
For Field Day and/or POTA, you may want to consider a power station. I've used this one to good effect (Pecron 1500LFP that has a 12V 30A XT-60 output for direct to radio power):
 
I've also tried out a 600W folding solar panel. It's a beast at 28 lbs. but it does put out the power. Between the 1500Wh power station and the 600W solar panel, I can keep a 100W radio functional 24/7. |
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Posted: 10/13/2024 4:40:49 AM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By planemaker: For Field Day and/or POTA, you may want to consider a power station. I've used this one to good effect (Pecron 1500LFP that has a 12V 30A XT-60 output for direct to radio power): www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKWTHM8K I've also tried out a 600W folding solar panel. It's a beast at 28 lbs. but it does put out the power. Between the 1500Wh power station and the 600W solar panel, I can keep a 100W radio functional 24/7. I got a deal on one of the power stations Harbor Freight sells and the matching 100w panel and I’ve got a pair of 100ah Dakota Lithiums I can steal out of my hunting/fly fishing camp gear if I need them. Just have to wire up sole Anderson jump cords. |
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TN, USA
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Posted: 10/13/2024 12:06:53 PM EDT
[#10]
Congrats!!
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AL, USA
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Posted: 10/13/2024 12:22:46 PM EDT
[Last Edit: HgMike]
[#11]
Congratulations OP!! In a very similar situation as the OP. Been messing with GMRS radio since 2019 but the floods opened my eyes to getting into amateur radio seriously. Using Ham radio prep I'm all set to take the technician and general test at the beginning of next month. Also was able to get my brother and father into it as well. Now I'm looking for a mobile rig for the truck and then to follow it with a base station at the house. I'm hooked already.
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Posted: 10/13/2024 7:55:39 PM EDT
[#12]
Congratuations! Now let's get you on the air!
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Posted: 10/13/2024 8:23:05 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HgMike: Congratulations OP!! In a very similar situation as the OP. Been messing with GMRS radio since 2019 but the floods opened my eyes to getting into amateur radio seriously. Using Ham radio prep I'm all set to take the technician and general test at the beginning of next month. Also was able to get my brother and father into it as well. Now I'm looking for a mobile rig for the truck and then to follow it with a base station at the house. I'm hooked already. Be very careful of your expectations. Ham radio is what it is. It is NOT a miracle cure. IT IS WHAT IT IS. It is ONLY another too to work with. I just made contact with a station in Nauru, an island in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes I can't get someone 40 miles away. OTOH in an emergency you could probably raise someone in, say, CA to have them call home for you. |
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AL, USA
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Posted: 10/13/2024 8:40:26 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By piccolo: Be very careful of your expectations. Ham radio is what it is. It is NOT a miracle cure. IT IS WHAT IT IS. It is ONLY another too to work with. I just made contact with a station in Nauru, an island in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes I can't get someone 40 miles away. OTOH in an emergency you could probably raise someone in, say, CA to have them call home for you. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By piccolo: Originally Posted By HgMike: Congratulations OP!! In a very similar situation as the OP. Been messing with GMRS radio since 2019 but the floods opened my eyes to getting into amateur radio seriously. Using Ham radio prep I'm all set to take the technician and general test at the beginning of next month. Also was able to get my brother and father into it as well. Now I'm looking for a mobile rig for the truck and then to follow it with a base station at the house. I'm hooked already. Be very careful of your expectations. Ham radio is what it is. It is NOT a miracle cure. IT IS WHAT IT IS. It is ONLY another too to work with. I just made contact with a station in Nauru, an island in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes I can't get someone 40 miles away. OTOH in an emergency you could probably raise someone in, say, CA to have them call home for you. I appreciate the advice. Comms rarely work when you need them, but I enjoy new hobbies and having a box full of tools lol. |
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TN, USA
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Posted: 10/13/2024 9:10:27 PM EDT
[#15]
Eh don’t misunderstand. Skipping your signal around to random places on the other side of the planet isn’t reliable.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t make very reliable comms within a few hundred miles. |
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USA
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Posted: 10/13/2024 11:20:36 PM EDT
[#16]
Based on your gear selection there’s no way you weren’t watching ham radio YouTube channels before the hurricane or you binged watched a lot in a short time 😂
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Posted: 10/14/2024 2:10:15 AM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By smeeg: Based on your gear selection there’s no way you weren’t watching ham radio YouTube channels before the hurricane or you binged watched a lot in a short time 😂 Binged a lot of Tech Prepper and some SOTA channels on the way home once got cell coverage back. |
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CT, USA
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Posted: 10/14/2024 4:31:41 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By The_Like_Button: Passed and on my way home. Missed one question on tech and 3 on general. Will start studying for Extra this week. Great job, congrats!! |
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Posted: 10/14/2024 5:55:56 AM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By taliv: Eh don’t misunderstand. Skipping your signal around to random places on the other side of the planet isn’t reliable. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make very FIFY |
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Posted: 10/14/2024 6:44:03 PM EDT
[#20]
Forgot today was a fed holiday. Maybe tomorrow I’ll get a callsign and I can get on the air.
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Posted: 10/14/2024 8:28:41 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By The_Like_Button: Forgot today was a fed holiday. Maybe tomorrow I'll get a callsign and I can get on the air. |
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USA
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Posted: 10/14/2024 10:21:29 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By The_Like_Button: Binged a lot of Tech Prepper and some SOTA channels on the way home once got cell coverage back. Check out oh8stn  Grid Down Emergency Communications | Disaster Preparedness |
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USA
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Posted: 10/14/2024 10:50:26 PM EDT
[#23]
not trying to be an ass, but who you gonna call on that thing in an emergency? I think it may be more of a comfort item in reality. Not like you have a squadron to come bail you out, mobile HF 911 isn't a thing.
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Posted: 10/15/2024 7:00:05 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Mach]
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By taliv: Eh don’t misunderstand. Skipping your signal around to random places on the other side of the planet isn’t reliable. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make very reliable comms within a few hundred miles. exactly, You absolutely can make reliable comm within a few hundred miles or more. I do it all the time. It is the most reliable part of ham radio. You just have to understand time of day and have enough options on 160,80,60, and 40 meters including digital modes and or CW when regional propagation sucks |
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KY, USA
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Posted: 10/15/2024 8:36:10 AM EDT
[#25]
Planemaker, can you please advised how to tied into the Pecron unit?
Sounds like you used DC and didn't have to use an AC plug in socket. I'm building my first Uhf/Vhf mobile unit (Yeasu FTM-200DR) and am interested in your Pecron setup. Been using a HT as a new Tech and am studying for my General now. Thx 73 |
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TN, USA
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Posted: 10/15/2024 9:09:52 AM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Mach: exactly, You absolutely can make reliable comm within a few hundred miles or more. I do it all the time. It is the most reliable part of ham radio. You just have to understand time of day and have enough options on 160,80,60, and 40 meters including digital modes and or CW when regional propagation sucks I haven’t even needed anything but 40m and js8call. Slow, but Works every time. |
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Posted: 10/15/2024 10:59:30 AM EDT
[Last Edit: The_Like_Button]
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By gaspain: not trying to be an ass, but who you gonna call on that thing in an emergency? I think it may be more of a comfort item in reality. Not like you have a squadron to come bail you out, mobile HF 911 isn't a thing. @gaspain No you are, but let’s address all of that. Looking at what just witnessed in NC, ham was the only thing working when all the cell towers and emcomm systems went down when the power not only went off, but entire firehouses were washed away. Independent ham licensees and the unlicensed created their own net and were directing comms traffic in and out of the most remote towns as well as interfacing with Cajun navy and samaritans purse who were operating helos delivering supplies and evacing critical individuals, those on oxygen some newborn and some severely injured who couldn’t get out otherwise. The government led ARES ham network failed in this case. There’s still a lot of disagreements about why that happened. Those who have spoken up say they weren’t mustered and they’re trained not to self deploy. That’s a bullshit excuse in my book, but typical with government training. The nets that established and worked were homegrown and they saved a bunch of lives in the early hours and days of the disaster. Also depending on the repeater setups in an area you could actually use a digital mode to call 911. Before you take a dump on things, you should probably do a minimum amount of research and have a basic comprehension of how something works. |
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NC, USA
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Posted: 10/15/2024 2:11:51 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By gaspain: not trying to be an ass, but who you gonna call on that thing in an emergency? I think it may be more of a comfort item in reality. Not like you have a squadron to come bail you out, mobile HF 911 isn't a thing. Preach it. I live in Asheville, and am still patiently waiting for the water system to come back on line. Thank goodness for Septic and a swimming pool of water. But I digress. Unless you have a particular person to contact, Amateur Radio is just a hope. And if you think you are going to contact that person hundreds of miles away on hf with anything even halfway sometimes you are going to be horribly dissaointed. If I was not self sufficient, anything less than a commercial satellite setup AND A PARTICULAR PERSON TO CALL FOR RESCUE, is a toy. I have been a ham since 1978, and a extra class since 79. I hold a "first phone" (1979) with ships radar endorsement (1980). I have run a shortwave relay station for the NAVY, and run a Intelsat earth station. I use a spot device when I need to communicate. You should to. Rege |
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NC, USA
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Posted: 10/15/2024 2:28:54 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By The_Like_Button: @gaspain No you are, but let’s address all of that. Looking at what just witnessed in NC, ham was the only thing working when all the cell towers and emcomm systems went down when the power not only went off, but entire firehouses were washed away. Independent ham licensees and the unlicensed created their own net and were directing comms traffic in and out of the most remote towns as well as interfacing with Cajun navy and samaritans purse who were operating helos delivering supplies and evacing critical individuals, those on oxygen some newborn and some severely injured who couldn’t get out otherwise. The government led ARES ham network failed in this case. There’s still a lot of disagreements about why that happened. Those who have spoken up say they weren’t mustered and they’re trained not to self deploy. That’s a bullshit excuse in my book, but typical with government training. The nets that established and worked were homegrown and they saved a bunch of lives in the early hours and days of the disaster. Also depending on the repeater setups in an area you could actually use a digital mode to call 911. Before you take a dump on things, you should probably do a minimum amount of research and have a basic comprehension of how something works. What actually worked was the local FM radio broadcast conglomerate put all 10 stations on simulcast and opened up for call in traffic. Within a few hours a good picture of what happened was out, many people never lost power or communication. Within a day reports were relayed about what gas stations and grocery stores were open, with a emphasis on cash only or credit . What did not work was calling 911. The Asheville city and Buncombe county governments have been hindering in recovering from this . Storm preps: IMMEDIATE SHELTER Water Food Ca$h More water. Somewhere to poop. Rege |
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Posted: 10/15/2024 3:17:58 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Gamma762]
[#30]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Asheville-Hippy: What actually worked was the local FM radio broadcast conglomerate put all 10 stations on simulcast and opened up for call in traffic. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Asheville-Hippy: What actually worked was the local FM radio broadcast conglomerate put all 10 stations on simulcast and opened up for call in traffic. Exactly what happened here when the derecho went by near me, was incredibly useful. There's also a great psychological crutch to have something to listen to in a disaster. I was really disappointed that WSB or another blowtorch AM station didn't do something like that. I would disagree that amateur was useless. Both the Mt Mitchell repeater and HF nets were very active and sounded quite involved in lots of people getting help. ARES took over the HF net and made it pretty useless but the repeater folks told them to get lost. Originally Posted By Asheville-Hippy: Unless you have a particular person to contact, Amateur Radio is just a hope. That's why there are nets, so that you have someone to contact. They were quite busy. Maybe they didn't help you, I dunno, but they were helping a lot of people. It's a tool in the toolbox. |
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Posted: 10/15/2024 3:37:20 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Asheville-Hippy: Preach it. I live in Asheville, and am still patiently waiting for the water system to come back on line. Thank goodness for Septic and a swimming pool of water. But I digress. Unless you have a particular person to contact, Amateur Radio is just a hope. And if you think you are going to contact that person hundreds of miles away on hf with anything even halfway sometimes you are going to be horribly dissaointed. If I was not self sufficient, anything less than a commercial satellite setup AND A PARTICULAR PERSON TO CALL FOR RESCUE, is a toy. I have been a ham since 1978, and a extra class since 79. I hold a "first phone" (1979) with ships radar endorsement (1980). I have run a shortwave relay station for the NAVY, and run a Intelsat earth station. I use a spot device when I need to communicate. You should to. Rege You live there, I was only there helping to search for buddy’s parents. My Garmin inReach wasn’t connecting most of the time I was there. Once we got up into the smaller communities working our way towards their place, the guys with us with ham radios were still making contact. That pushed me to add it to my tool kit. For day to day use, satellite messenger may rule supreme, but hitting SOS on my in reach wouldn’t have done a thing to save me either. Being able to communicate and organize that’s a valuable tool to have. |
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Posted: 10/15/2024 3:38:33 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Gamma762: Exactly what happened here when the derecho went by near me, was incredibly useful. There's also a great psychological crutch to have something to listen to in a disaster. I was really disappointed that WSB or another blowtorch AM station didn't do something like that. I would disagree that amateur was useless. Both the Mt Mitchell repeater and HF nets were very active and sounded quite involved in lots of people getting help. ARES took over the HF net and made it pretty useless but the repeater folks told them to get lost. That's why there are nets, so that you have someone to contact. They were quite busy. Maybe they didn't help you, I dunno, but they were helping a lot of people. It's a tool in the toolbox. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Gamma762: Originally Posted By Asheville-Hippy: What actually worked was the local FM radio broadcast conglomerate put all 10 stations on simulcast and opened up for call in traffic. Exactly what happened here when the derecho went by near me, was incredibly useful. There's also a great psychological crutch to have something to listen to in a disaster. I was really disappointed that WSB or another blowtorch AM station didn't do something like that. I would disagree that amateur was useless. Both the Mt Mitchell repeater and HF nets were very active and sounded quite involved in lots of people getting help. ARES took over the HF net and made it pretty useless but the repeater folks told them to get lost. Originally Posted By Asheville-Hippy: Unless you have a particular person to contact, Amateur Radio is just a hope. That's why there are nets, so that you have someone to contact. They were quite busy. Maybe they didn't help you, I dunno, but they were helping a lot of people. It's a tool in the toolbox. Yep to the net thing having someone to pass info. I was on an offgrid fishing / drinking trip with my brothers in the wilds of Maine in July and severe came through. We had no cell, no radio reception, no internet, no electricity. I had set up the FT-891 with a battery and 135 ft HWEF as high up the trees the day before, about 15 feet on overage. When the hail and lightning and rain stopped, I turned on the radio and found ECARs Net on 40 meters. I explained our situation and approximate location and asked if he could pass info on the NWS forecast and describe any weather headed our way on the radar summary. It was awesome as we were about to head out on the water for the day fly fishing and didn't want to get caught out in a repeat of that storm. |
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AZ, USA
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Posted: 10/15/2024 8:38:55 PM EDT
[#33]
Depending how deep you want to go with this.......... Flexible comm guys are very valuable.
Consider a starlink terminal. Up to you if you want to pay for it continuously, go on a Roam plan where you turn it off and on, or count on big daddy Elon to light it up for free inside a disaster area. Satellite internet PTT over satellite (MSAT, Iridium, etc) HF radios VHF/UHF LOS radios I provide comms for a lot of customers (public safety, gov/mil contractors, mining, manufacturing, oil/gas, etc), many of whom cannot be without comms (either local, regional, or wide area). Radio and Internet are critical. If you really want something usable, consider getting licensed for nationwide intinerant business frequencies. Useful if you integrate non hams or other NGOs into your operations. Flexible comm guys are very valuable. Welcome to the Hobby. TT |
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Posted: 10/15/2024 9:53:40 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By BearPiper: Planemaker, can you please advised how to tied into the Pecron unit? Sounds like you used DC and didn't have to use an AC plug in socket. I'm building my first Uhf/Vhf mobile unit (Yeasu FTM-200DR) and am interested in your Pecron setup. Been using a HT as a new Tech and am studying for my General now. Thx 73 The e1500LFP has a 12V 30A XT-60 output port on the front side. It's supposedly a regulated 30A output. I just used an XT-60 to Anderson PowerPole adapter that I made and plugged the radio in directly. Seemed to work OK. Supposedly on their huge new e3600LFP, if you have the AC output also turned on, the inverter has a pretty good bit of RF noise. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with the 1500. Of course, in this area, there's lots of crappy power lines and other sources of RF noise so it doesn't make a lot of difference here.  Good luck with your General! |
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Posted: 10/15/2024 11:42:44 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By TampaTyron: If you really want something usable, consider getting licensed for nationwide intinerant business frequencies. Useful if you integrate non hams or other NGOs into your operations. Almost impossible to get FCC to issue those now, they want specific states or areas only. Unless they've changed again. |
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Posted: Yesterday 8:58:28 AM EDT
[#36]
Congrats OP for getting up your tickets!
Also impressed with your purchases. Maybe later, when your checkbook cools off, consider a HF mobile antenna; turns your vehicle into a “rat rig”, Albeit, limited/compromised, performance wise, you’re pretty much always setup and ready to get on the airwaves as long as your with/near your vehicle. I’ve hit as far as Spain, 5x9 +20 with my Ft891 and ATAS120. I’m an expedition/vehicle style camper nowadays; I can have comms going in the background while setting up, especially if I get to a site late/in the dark, then wait till daylight next day to throw wire in trees or erect a vertical. Again, big congrats. |
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Posted: Yesterday 10:06:38 AM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By TampaTyron: Consider a starlink terminal. I recently purchased a StarLink Mini and am pretty impressed with it so far. When my DMR hotspot finally arrives from China, I am going to try DMR through it. If that works well, I am kicking around the idea of putting together a small crossband repeater and uplink it through the SL Mini using an STM32_DVM or similar. Stick it on the highest point convenient and run it off of lifepo4. The team can talk to each other locally and also to Fusion or D-Star or DMR depending on how things are configured. |
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SC, USA
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Posted: Yesterday 9:44:18 PM EDT
[#38]
I can hear the 145.190 Mt. MITCHELL repeater in a good spot in my house. The net controls were doing very well from what little I listened to. They were taking information and requests from people in the disaster zone. There were several guys sending information that were using a handle to ID. Their communications were processed by net control with no BS as those guys were in the badly damaged area.
I didn't realize that "regular people" had programmed amatuer radio equipment in their possession for disaster operations. People say they are doing this, but this is the first real world situation that I've heard about emergency communications using any method available. It is a topic of discussion here that usually get locked after a few days. Notes: Radio Amatuer Civil Emergency Service (RACES) is government controlled. ARES can be but is usually not. The SCHEART.US statewide repeater system in South Carolina was funded by government grants. Available to everyone unless something like Hurricane Helene happens and net control is set up at the state EOC in Columbia. They will ask you not to ragchew during these events. Just about all the other repeaters are club or privately owned. However, providing emergency communications for NGOs and other non-governmental agencies can be a condition for having access to repeater sites with backup power owned by local governments. |
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Posted: Today 6:17:11 AM EDT
[#39]
Last pieces trickling in this weekend. Picked up a giga parts POTA carbon fiber mast and a couple single band dipole antennas 20m, 40m, and 80m. Planning on taking the family down to see my sister in VB next weekend and planning to try my first POTA activation at Ft Monroe.
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Posted: Today 9:50:16 AM EDT
[#40]
In my experience when playing with masts, carbon fiber works great for slopers, but for verticals, they interact quite a bit with tuning, and I suspect the radiation pattern as well. I think the amount of actual carbon fiber in a particular mast makes a difference in how well they work. They can make you say bad words when the antenna won't tune.
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OH, USA
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Posted: Today 12:06:30 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By lorazepam: In my experience when playing with masts, carbon fiber works great for slopers, but for verticals, they interact quite a bit with tuning, and I suspect the radiation pattern as well. I think the amount of actual carbon fiber in a particular mast makes a difference in how well they work. They can make you say bad words when the antenna won't tune. Needs a +1. I'd consider setting wire up in an inverted L configuration, use a tuner to match it and several wires of different lengths as a counterpoise/ground plane. |
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AZ, USA
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Posted: Today 5:23:14 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Gamma762: Almost impossible to get FCC to issue those now, they want specific states or areas only. Unless they've changed again. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Gamma762: Originally Posted By TampaTyron: If you really want something usable, consider getting licensed for nationwide intinerant business frequencies. Useful if you integrate non hams or other NGOs into your operations. Almost impossible to get FCC to issue those now, they want specific states or areas only. Unless they've changed again. Agree that they have been much more of a pain to get. However, you can bypass most of that with a good relationship with your FCC coordinator (read that as in sending a lot of business their way) and a justification letter (hint: look up other people who have what you want and "borrow" their justification language). We do about 12-15 new FCC licenses a week and about 10 modifications on top of that. A lot of them are nationwide construction, video production, survey, etc so they have legit reasons. There are only 5-6 nationwide low power VHF and 12-15? nationwide low power UHF (I dont recall the number as their are low power simplex, low power repeater, and high power repeater nationwide). For my personal radio uses, I use MURS, FRS, GMRS (licensed), and I have a agreement with 2 nationwide radio rental companies to use thier freqs as an agent of them. In an emergency, use whatever you need. Anyone who gives you a hard time is a toolbag. However, for the day to day practice and getting a feel for the use/capability of your equipment, you should really be licensed and operate reasonable inside thos parameters. That being said, I don't recommend P25/DMR with AES on FRS or MURS. I certainly cannot recommend P25/DMR with AES on NIFOG Interop channels. But, I understand it though. TT |
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