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Fri 9th Apr 2021, 06:39

W6TZI started a thread 6 band dipole antenna in Antennas

6 Band Parallel Dipole Array Three years ago I put up a 15/17 meter dual dipole array, simply a coax going to a 1:1 balun then to the dipoles. The dipoles were separated by 6", were 32' above ground, and flat topped using ropes and pulleys attached to other structures. The SWR was 1.7:1 on both bands and the antenna worked very well. To maximize the use of space I took the 2 band antenna down and replaced it with a 6 band version which covers 6, 10, 12, 15, 17, and 20 meters. A folded dipole is used for 20 meters, the rest are full size dipoles. The dipoles are made of cheap and light weight 450 ohm window line, 2 antennas per strip of window line, and the antenna lengths are calculated using the formula 468/f mHz 468/18.1 = 25.85' = total length of dipole for 17m. There is a left and right side to a dipole so 25.85/2 = 12.9' so 2 each 13' pieces of ladder line will make the 17/10m dipoles, another 2 each 13' pieces will make the 20/6m dipoles, and 2 more 13' pieces for the 15/12m...

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0 replies | 137 view(s)
Wed 7th Apr 2021, 14:04

N3FKV replied to a thread Username Change in Username Changes

I asked this same question when I got a vanity call and never got a response or a change. WR5RW

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1 replies | 231 view(s)
Sun 4th Apr 2021, 04:22

brandon lind replied to a thread What to drink after you get your Extra license in Exams & Training

I only have my general license in radio, but I do have an extra license for drinking. I keep it wrapped around a finger on my left hand! Just kidding, she's amazing. Congats on the new license!

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3 replies | 419 view(s)
Sat 3rd Apr 2021, 02:36

WZ7U replied to a thread What to drink after you get your Extra license in Exams & Training

Pretty sure it was a Coke Big Gulp®, but it was long enough ago now that I can't be completely certain.

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3 replies | 419 view(s)
Fri 2nd Apr 2021, 18:32

N1XTY started a thread Username Change in Username Changes

Hello, I upgraded to General and my new call sign is KF0EZB, please replace my old username of N1XTY with my new call. Thank You Doug KF0EZB Lewis

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1 replies | 231 view(s)
Thu 1st Apr 2021, 20:36

gnuuser replied to a thread What to drink after you get your Extra license in Exams & Training

Jack Daniels Tennessee apple! Good Stuff:glee: https://drizly.com/liquor/whiskey/flavored-whiskey/jack-daniels-tennessee-apple-flavored-whiskey/p97260

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3 replies | 419 view(s)
Tue 30th Mar 2021, 20:13

WB0HYQ replied to a thread Handheld Radios VX-170 in Yaesu

This has been my experience as well. One of life's unsolved mysteries I guess. Bill

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4 replies | 361 view(s)
Tue 30th Mar 2021, 19:59

K6CPO replied to a thread Handheld Radios VX-170 in Yaesu

Just to be sure, I plugged my FT-270 into the charger after I made my last post. Sure enough, when I went into the shack this morning, the red light was still on, even though the battery was charged to a full 8.8V when I turned it on.

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4 replies | 361 view(s)
Mon 29th Mar 2021, 17:02

WB0HYQ replied to a thread Handheld Radios VX-170 in Yaesu

I have no idea why I said "store" instead of "save." You are correct. It seems odd that after all the bells and whistles added to this rig, they wouldn't have an "end of charge" indication. I would imagine I won't use 80% of the functions on this one. Great little handheld for when I'm away from home or car. Bill

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4 replies | 361 view(s)
Sun 28th Mar 2021, 19:11

K6CPO replied to a thread Handheld Radios VX-170 in Yaesu

You should be fine continuing to charge the radio the way have been doing. Are you sure that flashing message doesn't say "SAVE?" If it is SAVE, it means the battery saver is active and you can pretty much ignore it. A lot of the older Yaesu radios are like this. My FT-270R (the successor to the VX-170) and FT-60R are both like that. You can shut if off if it bothers you. See Item 37 in your SET MODE .

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4 replies | 361 view(s)
Sun 28th Mar 2021, 11:25

Tempstar replied to a thread Hostility in the air in The Junk Box

Please just always ignore assholes. I pranked one of the purists at field day a few years ago by using a UV-5R on the talk in frequency. He was one of the blowhards that thought Baofengs should be banned from use because he could tell one a mile away. I told him I was on my Kenwood hand held and he told me I had a great signal and great audio. I walked around the corner while talking to him on the UV-5R and several of us had a great laugh when he looked up and I was talking to him on a "POS" radio. My advice to Tony is to keep trying. Most Hams are good people.

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5 replies | 672 view(s)
Sat 27th Mar 2021, 21:36

WB0HYQ started a thread Handheld Radios VX-170 in Yaesu

I purchased a barely used VX-170 last year. Very happy with it. There are two nagging things I cannot figure out. Even after pursuing the manual completely, there is no mention of two things: 1) When connected to an external power source, the red light comes on. Does it ever go out when the battery is charged? Does it turn green when charged? Or, do I simply have to trust the battery is charged after 24 hours? (currently, I am pulling the charge plug out after 24 hours.) 2) There is a constantly flashing message on the LCD screen of "store". No matter how many times I store the current repeater freq into a memory, this "store" keeps flashing. I cannot make it go away. Any advice here? Bill

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4 replies | 361 view(s)
Thu 25th Mar 2021, 21:08

gnuuser replied to a thread Help getting on air in Amateur Radios

if your limited in space a spiral mag loop antenna would work well. but a pixie radio is extremely low power! 1/2 a watt on full power. chances are you may not make a contact with it but it depends on who hears you, you need to be licensed to use the amateur radio, and you need to make sure the frequency you are using is within the scope of your license for instance 7.23 is in the extra class license and a tech cannot use that frequency here is a website for the spiral loop antenna. www.nonstopsystems.com/radio/frank_radio_antenna_SM0VPO.htm

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1 replies | 363 view(s)
Thu 25th Mar 2021, 20:58

wa2ise started a thread What to drink after you get your Extra license in Exams & Training

https://www.meijer.com/content/dam/meijer/product/0008/06/6095/60/0008066095605_8_A1C1_0600.png

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3 replies | 419 view(s)
Mon 22nd Mar 2021, 21:15

5B4AJB replied to a thread Hostility in the air in The Junk Box

Could be, you didn't have a CTCSS sub-audible tone set on your transmitted signal and you were not making the repeater?

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5 replies | 672 view(s)
Mon 22nd Mar 2021, 20:28

K4CQO replied to a thread Hostility in the air in The Junk Box

Hi Tony, Sorry to hear about your experience -- that is not acceptable! I suggest that you try to find a club in your area, and they should be able to help you get connected to the correct places and at the correct times to get contacts. I am not sure where you are located, but in the US there are lots of clubs that can provide a lot of help with people getting on the air. These forums are also helpful to get information. There are web sites that have repeater locations and that is where I would start to see if there are other repeaters around that you can connect to. You may be able to find a repeater that has better groups on it -- and you may find one that has a net on it that has helpful amateurs on it. I hope that you do not stop, but totally understand how you feel about what happened to you. What you experienced is definitely not typical -- and I hope that you persevere in the hobby and find a group that will help and are like the ones that I believe are part of the hobby -- and not the ones...

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5 replies | 672 view(s)
Mon 22nd Mar 2021, 17:51

chris_debian replied to a thread Hostility in the air in The Junk Box

Hi, Tony. Thanks for bringing your situation to the attention of this forum, and the wider community. Behaviour like this that you have experienced, is unacceptable, in any country in the world. The best thing to do when this behaviour happens, is to ignore it and not to respond to the idiots transmitting. Unfortunately, stupid, bullying, malicious people can be found everywhere in society. Please do not think badly of our hobby, because of your recent experience. All are welcome in amateur radio, regardless of sex, gender, race, religion or ability. The way you are conducting yourself on your radio, is the right way to behave. If people don't have a call sign, they shouldn't be broadcasting on most frequencies, certainly not the Amateur frequencies.

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5 replies | 672 view(s)
Sun 21st Mar 2021, 22:25

gnuuser replied to a thread Hostility in the air in The Junk Box

baofeng radios are considered junk by many Hams but not all of them. they tend to be noisy signal wise, but that does not excuse their behavior. its been a game to many now to purchase the cheap radios and use them illegally usually not legal radio operators anyway hence them not giving their call sign as they are supposed to. you also get elitist 's who think you cant get on the air without spending thousands on radio equipment and ignore those with a weak signal. we cannot weed these turds out without mass compliance of the operating community. ham operators can locate these operators and report them to the fcc but that's all they can do. most ham operators are courteous and helpful (at least the licensed ones)

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5 replies | 672 view(s)
Sun 21st Mar 2021, 15:12

TonyCole started a thread Hostility in the air in The Junk Box

Hi! I'm making this post because of how disheartened I am at everything after a terrible situation that has happened. I got my license around July 2020 after getting all excited about the hobby. I got myself a Baofeng UV-82 (which given where I live and my monetary situation, was not cheap), and have been trying to make contacts since. I only ever managed to talk to two people on the radio since then, by tuning on local repeaters. The first one wasn't so bad, it was someone on Echolink connected to the nearest repeater. He did just vanish at some point during the conversation, but I was super excited about my first QSO anyway. Still, all the time with NO contacts except for that one was very, very disappointing to me. It was about one month ago, maybe three weeks, that I started suspecting there _were_ people around me listening, and I was just being ignored. That thought came to me when I heard someone on the repeater, and tried to talk, but got no reply despite knowing I did transmit (as the repeater...

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5 replies | 672 view(s)
Sun 21st Mar 2021, 14:51

TonyCole started a thread Help getting on air in Amateur Radios

Hello! I bought myself a pre-assembled 40m Pixie radio kit. I also have a hold of a Voyager Hvt-400b antenna (as I live in an apartment and have absolutely no space for any outdoor antennas). I know that this type of mobile antenna needs grounding if I'm to use it as a base station, which I plan to do. I'm just not sure how to accomplish that. Could I use the power outlet's ground cable for it somehow? In addition, I've tried running a cable from the outlet to the base of the antenna's connector (which I'm clueless about and is probably wrong) and all I could hear was some _really_ loud static on the radio. Could my grounding issue cause this? I hope I at least can get it to work somehow. Or am I doomed due to not having enough space or equipment? Thank you.

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1 replies | 363 view(s)
Sat 20th Mar 2021, 05:11

WZ7U replied to a thread What is the longest range handheld and base station? in Amateur Radios

Range isn't a factor you can usually just randomly assign to a particular radio style. Having said that, handhelds are easily categorized as short range equipment due to the nature of their antennas and effective radiated power. A 'base station' by definition gives the potential for massively improved, stationary antenna systems as well as the capability to create more effective radiated power - the difference between battery power and mains power comes to mind. Frequencies desired also play an important part in determining range. HF bounces off the ionosphere more reliably and for greater distances generally than VHF and higher. Now, if you're using the moon to bounce a signal off of, the whole distance thing gets tossed on its ear. Edit - Time of year can enhance certain bands as well. Equinoxes are known for enhancements and winter in the Northern hemisphere makes for quieter low bands due to less lightning activity.

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3 replies | 527 view(s)
Wed 17th Mar 2021, 16:54

KD9KVS replied to a thread What is the longest range handheld and base station? in Amateur Radios

Building on what has already been stated, I would ask, who or how far would you like to reach? If your goal is just to transmit as far as possible, consider obstructions, tune your antenna for the frequency you will be using most frequently, and get it as high as possible with a low loss feed line. Make sure it is a variable power unit so that you can throttle back and use the least amount of power needed for the qso. Just the first couple things that came to mind. I hope that it helps.

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3 replies | 527 view(s)
Wed 17th Mar 2021, 01:13

gnuuser replied to a thread What is the longest range handheld and base station? in Amateur Radios

please read the instruction manual or go to the website for the information. as far as the longest transmitting units , it depends on the wattage, antenna height and what land features may obstruct the signals. and it also depends on the efficiency of the antenna and how well its tuned

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3 replies | 527 view(s)
Wed 17th Mar 2021, 01:08

gnuuser replied to a thread Bayofang UV5R longest range handheld and vehicle antenna? Abbree 42.5-Inch? in Antennas

length of your antenna must be a resonant length unless you are using a tuner with the uv5r too big an antenna will overload it a 2 meter 1/4 wave antenna is roughly 19 inches long 1/2 wave about 38 inches long typically your range radio to radio can be between 10 and 30 miles depending on land surfaces line of sight distance however is dramatically farther look up the arrl antenna guide it will give you detailed information on antennas.

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1 replies | 470 view(s)
Tue 16th Mar 2021, 22:13

Vette08 started a thread What is the longest range handheld and base station? in Amateur Radios

What are the longest transmitting base station and handheld? How much further will a base station transmit than a handheld. I have a UV5R and am mostly concerned with ability to transmit and receive as far as possible. Thank you.

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3 replies | 527 view(s)
Tue 16th Mar 2021, 22:10

Vette08 started a thread Bayofang UV5R longest range handheld and vehicle antenna? Abbree 42.5-Inch? in Antennas

I want to keep my UV5R for emergency use. I figure it might save me if I break down in a no signal area. What is the longest range vehicle and hand held antenna? Is length the key to longer range? I am looking at the Abbree 42.5-Inch. I have a giant Wilson whip in my trunk for my emergency CB. I am willing to go as long as possible for the car.

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1 replies | 470 view(s)
Tue 16th Mar 2021, 00:22

brandon lind started a thread Bitcoin in The Junk Box

Unrelated but important. I heard rumor that china is banning bitcoin mining for environmental reasons (they do 65% of mining). The price is dropping FAST. Same with etherium. Maybe I allowed my emotions to pull me out prematurely, maybe not. If you are in crypto, you may want to get on the exchange and pay attention. I got into crypto a week ago, that's all the gambling education I needed for a while!

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0 replies | 539 view(s)