SuzukiSavage.com - The HAM RADIO THREAD

Dane Allen

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Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD
Reply #45 - 12/20/13 at 14:11:21

ZAR wrote on 12/19/13 at 19:44:42:

walterpump wrote on 12/19/13 at 16:08:24:

Dane Allen wrote on 12/19/13 at 15:46:18:

ZAR wrote on 12/19/13 at 07:49:28:

Six meters is open in the USA!

Monitoring 50.135mhz and 50.125mhz KG4ZAR EM78

How far can you get on 6 meters with, say, 50 watts?

Anyone on 10 meters? I know it's best during daytime but just checking.

EM78 - near Cincinnati, if I'm not mistaken.
I am in southern Ontario Canada, I think near FN04 but not sure.
73's

Dane my best 6 meter contact was with 9Y4D in Trinidad/Tobago. That was 2453 miles on 100 watts. Two days later I worked him again on 10 watts.

SO if the band is wide open 10 watts will take you a long way. If it's not....50 watts will get you 25-35 miles.

And walterpump..... I live about 1/2 way between Louisville Kentucky and Cinncinatti Ohio.

Awesome!! Thanks!! I am thinking about a new radio to get longer range bands but if 6 and 10 meters can cover the distance then maybe I will get a rig that can transmit one or both of those.

My wife keeps saying "great, i'm going to have one of those houses with all the weird antennas all over it" and I say "No, baby, I wouldn't do that!!" Turns out I might be a liar, Grin

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ZAR

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Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD
Reply #46 - 12/23/13 at 18:52:44

Dane I will caution that 6 and 10 meters can be fickle mistresses. Like I said before, I've talked almost 2500 miles on 10 watts on 6,and other times.... there's nothing at all unless you have some local stations on SSB or FM repeaters. With the cost of 6 meter dedicated radios you can almost buy a all-mode all band rig like the yaesu FT847 or Icom 706 and have more used HF bands when 6 and 10 are dead.

As to the age old delima of SheWhoMustBeObeyed and enough wire and tube above the house to draw contact from Mars..... one simple wire antenna can tune up on all HF bands with a tuner. That leaves the need for only a couple of antennas for 6 meters and 2 meters.

You get the ability to talk where you want and she sees only a little metal in the sky Wink

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justin_o_guy2

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Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD
Reply #47 - 12/24/13 at 09:56:03

Ive got a place & a wife who isnt against having a radio & doesnt mind an antenna. Im a shade broke right now, BUT, she is not against gettin a ham setup. I wouldnt wanna spend a lot on a radio dedicated to a small segment of the band, especially if I could get one that did more for less $$.

The thing is getting INTO that "community". I dont know anyone who has a radio, I dont think I know anyone who knows anyone who has a radio,,so, finding that radio thats been retired & is sitting in a box under a bench that someone would sell for Cheeep isnt likely to happen,,
I dont even know how to find a Hamfest kinda deal,, Id expect to see something in Spring. People get out their stuff & have a swap meet.. but where? When? Theres someone around who would help, I know, just finding that person,,

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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28884 L.A. California Gender:	Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD Reply #48 - 12/24/13 at 10:07:50 easy, find the local club. we gotta swapmeet here every last saturday of the month. 2 or 3 of those guys every time.
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ZAR

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Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD
Reply #49 - 12/24/13 at 10:27:07

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 12/24/13 at 09:56:03:

Ive got a place & a wife who isnt against having a radio & doesnt mind an antenna. Im a shade broke right now, BUT, she is not against gettin a ham setup. I wouldnt wanna spend a lot on a radio dedicated to a small segment of the band, especially if I could get one that did more for less $$.

The thing is getting INTO that "community". I dont know anyone who has a radio, I dont think I know anyone who knows anyone who has a radio,,so, finding that radio thats been retired & is sitting in a box under a bench that someone would sell for Cheeep isnt likely to happen,,
I dont even know how to find a Hamfest kinda deal,, Id expect to see something in Spring. People get out their stuff & have a swap meet.. but where? When? Theres someone around who would help, I know, just finding that person,,

JOG you can find a 2 meter radio used for around $100 that will get you started. Add another $30-50 for a 12 volt power supply and a home made antenna and you're good to go.

I've even picked up used 2 meter rigs for $25 that just needed a speaker or something small.

There are lots of guys around Tx and La cause I hear them(and talk to some of'em) when 6 meters is open.

As to hamfests, do a google for hamfests bor your zip code. That should get you some not too far from you.

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ZAR Serious Thumper Offline Rock this town! Rock it inside out! Posts: 961 Kentucky, USA Gender:	Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD Reply #50 - 12/24/13 at 10:29:41 verslagen1 wrote on 12/24/13 at 10:07:50: easy, find the local club. we gotta swapmeet here every last saturday of the month. 2 or 3 of those guys every time. Lucky you Versy! I here a lot about those big swaps out in Cali with all the old ham gear going for cheap. I'd love to make a couple of trips to them.
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ZAR

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Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD
Reply #51 - 12/24/13 at 19:48:28

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 12/24/13 at 09:56:03:

Ive got a place & a wife who isnt against having a radio & doesnt mind an antenna. Im a shade broke right now, BUT, she is not against gettin a ham setup. I wouldnt wanna spend a lot on a radio dedicated to a small segment of the band, especially if I could get one that did more for less $$.

The thing is getting INTO that "community". I dont know anyone who has a radio, I dont think I know anyone who knows anyone who has a radio,,so, finding that radio thats been retired & is sitting in a box under a bench that someone would sell for Cheeep isnt likely to happen,,
I dont even know how to find a Hamfest kinda deal,, Id expect to see something in Spring. People get out their stuff & have a swap meet.. but where? When? Theres someone around who would help, I know, just finding that person,,

JOG a good place to start finding ham radio clubs near you is www.texashams.org and www.TexasVHF.org . Also check out the Longview/East Texas Club website at www.letarc.org They may be close to you or at least point you towards a group that is.

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD Reply #52 - 12/24/13 at 20:46:58 Well,, AWWRITE! I went googlin & didnt find hoot. Ill look at that stuff tomorrow,,Thanks.
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Dane Allen

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Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD
Reply #53 - 12/26/13 at 21:57:14

ZAR wrote on 12/23/13 at 18:52:44:

Dane I will caution that 6 and 10 meters can be fickle mistresses. Like I said before, I've talked almost 2500 miles on 10 watts on 6,and other times.... there's nothing at all unless you have some local stations on SSB or FM repeaters. With the cost of 6 meter dedicated radios you can almost buy a all-mode all band rig like the yaesu FT847 or Icom 706 and have more used HF bands when 6 and 10 are dead.

As to the age old delima of SheWhoMustBeObeyed and enough wire and tube above the house to draw contact from Mars..... one simple wire antenna can tune up on all HF bands with a tuner. That leaves the need for only a couple of antennas for 6 meters and 2 meters.

You get the ability to talk where you want and she sees only a little metal in the sky Wink

Good to know, thanks!! Anyone use 40 meter? Any General or Extra out there with some advice on consistent long distant frequencies?

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old_rider Serious Thumper Offline Backyard Bill Productions Posts: 3147 flordia panhandle Gender:	Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD Reply #54 - 12/27/13 at 13:53:56 Buddy of mine says you can put an antenna in your attic, is this possible? I've got a wood roof/w shingles, I can't see that stopping a signal.
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ZAR

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Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD
Reply #55 - 12/27/13 at 19:17:19

old_rider wrote on 12/27/13 at 13:53:56:

Buddy of mine says you can put an antenna in your attic, is this possible? I've got a wood roof/w shingles, I can't see that stopping a signal.

OR your buddy is 100% correct! Many hams that live in those dang "restricted" communities use antennas inside the attic. It works for vhf/uhf and the HF frequencies both.

Another trick is to run a wire antenna just along the edge of your roof. A thin wire antenna along the roof is almost never noticed. Other "stealth" antennas for HOA restricted areas include "flagpole" antennas and ever using the gutter as an antenna.

That's one of the neat things about ham radio,there's so much to experiment with.

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old_rider

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Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD
Reply #56 - 12/27/13 at 23:37:00

Ok... the length is what i'll have to deal with... the design I have in mind is a bit.... different...

Imagine 4 or 5 sides with a ^ in the middle, about 4' tall... kinda like this:

____/\___/\___/\___/\____ in a square pattern for directional use N,S,E,W

would that work?? How long would each leg have to be? total length? and the up and down leg(s) into the garage, how long should they be? or is that part of the total length?
should a 6 meter ant. be shorter than a 10 meter?
Wire thickness? thinner better?

I'm giving this a bit of thought cause I got a little bit of time on my hands now-a-days.

Maybe I should hit a site or two and read a bit... just throwing stuff out there....

Thanks

Oh, afterthought... should the ^ lean in or out?

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old_rider Serious Thumper Offline Backyard Bill Productions Posts: 3147 flordia panhandle Gender:	Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD Reply #57 - 12/28/13 at 00:02:21 Um... local craigslist add... a good start?? http://panamacity.craigslist.org/ele/4198079829.html
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD Reply #58 - 12/28/13 at 00:41:27 I guess every manufacturer has a low point, but Ive never heard of a crummy Drake.
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ZAR

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Re: The HAM RADIO THREAD
Reply #59 - 12/28/13 at 06:50:24

old_rider wrote on 12/27/13 at 23:37:00:

Ok... the length is what i'll have to deal with... the design I have in mind is a bit.... different...

Imagine 4 or 5 sides with a ^ in the middle, about 4' tall... kinda like this:

____/\___/\___/\___/\____ in a square pattern for directional use N,S,E,W

would that work?? How long would each leg have to be? total length? and the up and down leg(s) into the garage, how long should they be? or is that part of the total length?
should a 6 meter ant. be shorter than a 10 meter?
Wire thickness? thinner better?

I'm giving this a bit of thought cause I got a little bit of time on my hands now-a-days.

Maybe I should hit a site or two and read a bit... just throwing stuff out there....

Thanks

Oh, afterthought... should the ^ lean in or out?

OR the ^ I'm not sure about but I'm thinking that they will work against each other by bouncing the signal rather than directing it. Need to do more research on that one.

A 6 meter antenna is for sure shorter than a 10 meter one,providing they are at the same wavelength.... i.e. 1/4 wave @ 6 meters is 58" and 1/4 wave at 10 meters is about 98". For comparision, 2 meters is 19.5" @ 1/4 wave.

As fore wire thickness, I like a bit larger diameter as the bigger the wire the more broad-banded the antenna. That means you can cover more of a band with lower reflected power, SWR or standing wave for you old CB'ers out there.

That's also why antennas are made with tubing. You can build a shorter antenna that will still cover a complete band with low SWR.

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