💬 OT The official Amateur (ham) Radio thread - and GMRS

[SpeedSpeak2me]

Had both those plugged in already, hilarious listening to some of the convos people on there have. Lot of older folk talking about useless crap.

Exactly! There’s a couple of assclowns that keep fucking with a different local GMRS repeater. Once they’ve been dealt with it’ll be fun to use again. Good crowd on there, Rugged 575. That repeater is a beast, excellent coverage and quality.

Suggestion, if you haven’t already, go to the FCC website and register to get an FRN (Federal Resource Number), which is free. Once you receive that just put in for a GMRS license. It’s like $35, but is good for 10 years, and no courses or testing. At least then you can request permission to use the GMRS repeaters. Gets your foot in the door on the way to a Tech license.

Tech will give you VHF/UHF/SHF, which is just fine for talking locally on amateur repeaters.

When it comes to equipment, either amateur or GMRS, holler. Odds are I’ve already researched it, and can tell you what will and won’t work. Save you the headache, time, and money.

 

[b00sted]

Hooked up my Kenwood v71a for the first time in a while. Connected to a Diamond X30A antenna that's like 15' up outside (piece of 1" conduit that I zip-tied to a fence post).

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

Hooked up my Kenwood v71a for the first time in a while. Connected to a Diamond X30A antenna that's like 15' up outside (piece of 1" conduit that I zip-tied to a fence post).

View attachment 201692

I've got the same antenna, it is in my attic being used with an SDR. The bigger (tri-band) V2000A is outside for talking. Check the frequency of what is programmed for Skywarn. If it is for DuPage it switched repeaters about a month ago. Now on the Glendale Heights AuxComm (K9XD) - 444.875.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

I've also got your radio's predecessor, the Kenwood TM-731A.

 

[b00sted]

I've got the same antenna, it is in my attic being used with an SDR. The bigger (tri-band) V2000A is outside for talking. Check the frequency of what is programmed for Skywarn. If it is for DuPage it switched repeaters about a month ago. Now on the Glendale Heights AuxComm (K9XD) - 444.875.

I have the north Waldofar (http://www.waldofar.net/waldofar_v_3_005.htm) repeater programmed in for that Skywarn frequency. But the Bolingbrook (k9bar) will run Skywarn nets as well.

It was just scanning through ~20 local repeaters when I took that pic.

If anyone wants to try and hit a local repeater or even simplex, let me know.

 

[b00sted]

I've also got your radio's predecessor, the Kenwood TM-731A.

Just looked it up - that's a pretty cool radio. Reminds me of a stereo in a 3rd gen trans am, lol.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

I used to use that and an ICOM IC-3220H. I used the ICOM about two weeks ago, just to keep it active. I just wrapped up a simplex conversation a few minutes ago. About to go make a late dinner, otherwise I'd say let's try. I like BARS since they link their 2m/70cm machine, and keep a 220 going. FRRL kind of does the same, except theirs are typically only linked during nets. At noon every weekday the DARC (DuPage Amateur Radio Club) does a Lunch Munch (Lunch Bunch?)... that is on 145.430- PL107.2. Usually goes for 30-60 minutes, sometimes longer.

Not sure where you are located, but another active repeater is SARC (Schaumburg Area Repeater Club), on 145.230- PL107.2. They have nets pretty much every evening, with different topics. They have a 70cm repeater as well. I think both are on the Schaumburg water tower.

 

[b00sted]

I used to use that and an ICOM IC-3220H. I used the ICOM about two weeks ago, just to keep it active. I just wrapped up a simplex conversation a few minutes ago. About to go make a late dinner, otherwise I'd say let's try. I like BARS since they link their 2m/70cm machine, and keep a 220 going. FRRL kind of does the same, except theirs are typically only linked during nets. At noon every weekday the DARC (DuPage Amateur Radio Club) does a Lunch Munch (Lunch Bunch?)... that is on 145.430- PL107.2. Usually goes for 30-60 minutes, sometimes longer.

Not sure where you are located, but another active repeater is SARC (Schaumburg Area Repeater Club), on 145.230- PL107.2. They have nets pretty much every evening, with different topics. They have a 70cm repeater as well. I think both are on the Schaumburg water tower.

I'm in Oak Lawn. I think my closest repeaters are W9SRC - though there's also a few smaller hobby repeaters in Oak Lawn/Crestwood that individuals run from home I think.


In other news, I got a bug up my ass and bought an Icom IC-7300. I've been meaning to get my General and dabble in HF, and the 7300 seems like a beast. Love the touchscreen/waterfall.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

I'm in Oak Lawn. I think my closest repeaters are W9SRC - though there's also a few smaller hobby repeaters in Oak Lawn/Crestwood that individuals run from home I think.


In other news, I got a bug up my ass and bought an Icom IC-7300. I've been meaning to get my General and dabble in HF, and the 7300 seems like a beast. Love the touchscreen/waterfall.

View attachment 201709

Exactly what I have. My friend bought a Yaesu FT-710AESS today from HRO. Was a better sale deal.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

For the General, look up Ham In A Day by eventbrite. It’s basically a six hour cram session to get your license. Do you learn much? Probably not. But it gets you to the next level.

Another option for studying is HamStudy.org. Online via website is free.

 

[b00sted]

Exactly what I have. My friend bought a Yaesu FT-710AESS today from HRO. Was a better sale deal.

lol, I was looking those up too. My gripe with Yaesu is that their menus are always a pain in the ass. I think the layout of the 7300 is nicer in general - how do you like yours?

 

[b00sted]

For the General, look up Ham In A Day by eventbrite. It’s basically a six hour cram session to get your license. Do you learn much? Probably not. But it gets you to the next level.

Another option for studying is HamStudy.org. Online via website is free.

Yeah I'm just gonna memorize the question pool and do a brain dump. When I did the Tech back in 2017, I didn't study for the General at all and they talked me into trying it since I was already there. I missed it by a question or two.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

lol, I was looking those up too. My gripe with Yaesu is that their menus are always a pain in the ass. I think the layout of the 7300 is nicer in general - how do you like yours?

So far no complaints, got it about three months ago. I use it for about 25% voice, the rest is data (FT8, FT4, JT65, JS8call, WSPR, WinLink, etc). I found a few tricks along the way.

In the latest firmware, ICOM introduced an FT8 preset, to make it easier to set up and configure the ALC, which is important for both voice (SSB) and digital.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

Oh, I also picked up the RTS software for programming it. The cable is just an every day USB-A to USB-B. Absolutely nothing special about it. I’m using one that’s a good 20 years old.

Internal “tuner” (it’s really an impedance matcher) is good up to 3:1. I also have an external matcher for when the internal struggles, or I am beyond its range.

 

[b00sted]

So far no complaints, got it about three months ago. I use it for about 25% voice, the rest is data (FT8, FT4, JT65, JS8call, WSPR, WinLink, etc). I found a few tricks along the way.

In the latest firmware, ICOM introduced an FT8 preset, to make it easier to set up and configure the ALC, which is important for both voice (SSB) and digital.

I'll let you know when I get it set up (an I'm properly licensed). I wouldn't mind giving 10-20m a try with some local people.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

10m will go okay local, 20m will be good for DX. By the time you get back into good local coverage on HF you're down to 40m and 80m. Most multiple-state nets, like some of the ARES nets are on 80m. 6m would be okay for local, and you're already licensed for it. Kind of why I got the Diamond V2000A, since it's 6m/2m/70cm. 6m is more of a "summer" band for both local and DX. If it doesn't start popping off this summer I might replace the V2000A with the X300NA or the Comet GP9. The X300NA (N-female connector) is slightly taller than the 2000, and has the same stacked 5/8 wave for 2m, but the 70cm goes from four 5/8's to five 5/8's for a bit more gain. The GP9 is almost twice as tall, but has a lot more gain.

As it is right now, on 2m I'm talking further than I can hear, and I'm not even using my linear.

Make sure to get good coax too. I am using LMR400 for the tri-band antenna since attenuation at UHF is so bad. For the HF antenna I am using LMR240.

 

[b00sted]

Picked up a NanoVNA. This is my Diamond X30A antenna mounted outside maybe 10-12' off the ground and fed by LMR-400. Peak of about 1.5 SWR right at the top of the band. 70cm wasn't as nice - spiked up to a 3:1 SWR between 420-430MHz.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

Pretty close to what I see, keep in mind mine is in an attic, so the results will be a little different. As for the 420-430 MHz part, wouldn't even worry about that since 95% of voice is going to be 440-450 MHz. The lower part of the band is weak signal, ATV, satellite, CW, EME, etc. All of which would need a beam antenna with a rotator. The satellite stuff would need a rotator with azimuth control since you'd be working horizontal polarization.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

Didn't know the NanoVNA did SWR. Going to have to look at mine now. I can definitely use that.

 

[b00sted]

Pretty close to what I see, keep in mind mine is in an attic, so the results will be a little different. As for the 420-430 MHz part, wouldn't even worry about that since 95% of voice is going to be 440-450 MHz. The lower part of the band is weak signal, ATV, satellite, CW, EME, etc. All of which would need a beam antenna with a rotator. The satellite stuff would need a rotator with azimuth control since you'd be working horizontal polarization.

View attachment 202177

View attachment 202178

That 70cm graph is virtually identical to mine. Good to see the results being duplicated - wasn't sure if it was something on my end that was messed up.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

Didn't know the NanoVNA did SWR. Going to have to look at mine now. I can definitely use that.

It's pretty accurate on HF, fairly accurate on VHF, but does start to lose accuracy on UHF, since it's using harmonics to do the measurement. It'll get you close though.

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

Helped a buddy get a POTA EFHW antenna (49:1) trimmed for 40m-10m usage. He did all the hard work, I just used the good equipment to make sure it was right. Came out pretty damn good. Would you believe that being trimmed to 39.2m was the right length for a 40m antenna? I can't read a tape measure... it was 18.392m

 

[b00sted]

Helped a buddy get a POTA EFHW antenna (49:1) trimmed for 40m-10m usage. He did all the hard work, I just used the good equipment to make sure it was right. Came out pretty damn good. Would you believe that being trimmed to 39.2m was the right length for a 40m antenna? I can't read a tape measure... it was 18.392m

View attachment 202195

I was reading into those more and more. An EFHW of that length would be perfect for my house. It's 70' from my chimney to the back fence, longer if you're looking at the hypotenuse that the wire would be running along (as a sloper).

 

[SpeedSpeak2me]

I was reading into those more and more. An EFHW of that length would be perfect for my house. It's 70' from my chimney to the back fence, longer if you're looking at the hypotenuse that the wire would be running along (as a sloper).

They will never be as good as a true dipole, but when you're challenged for distance and space, they work remarkably well. My lot is pie-shaped, with the house towards the front. I can't run a dipole, cause it would only have like 30º between the legs, much too narrow. I do have 134' between the peak of my roof and the back corner, which is just enough to run an 80m-10m EFHW, and I can use a matcher to get it to 160m, but I lose like 50% of my power. I then have about 24-25' counterpoise running from the coil box down the roof. That kindasorta makes it an off-center dipole, but the 25' would really need to be longer.

For what I do, it works perfectly fine. Oh, the coil box is about 30' up, and the other end is maybe 8-10' AGL. I have heard that having the coil on the lower end is supposed to be better. I just don't have a way to really test it. I would need about 150' of coax, which would just have too much attenuation, unless I got like LMR600 or hardline, which cost prohibitive.

 

[b00sted]

Helped a buddy get a POTA EFHW antenna (49:1) trimmed for 40m-10m usage. He did all the hard work, I just used the good equipment to make sure it was right. Came out pretty damn good. Would you believe that being trimmed to 39.2m was the right length for a 40m antenna? I can't read a tape measure... it was 18.392m

View attachment 202195

Was browsing FB and thought that SWR graph looked familiar, lol: