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>the Chad repeaters

>>2785963
I got an old handheld radio (10-15) years old. Its programmed to a bunch of active channels that are obviously for some kind of industrie.

I have no idea what companies doing all the talking and their codes are so cryptic i cant figure anything out. (It was left inside a relatives house they bought)


Its an old motorolla xpr. Buying s programming cable isn’t really an option since you need t’ buy the software.

How to i figure out what frequency it broadcasts on?

>>2786069
get a cheap sdr (emphasis on cheap since this might cause it some damage) then key it up and tune on the SDR until you find it

>>2786069
Get a frequency counter.

>>2785963
>winter field day, russian style
Looks fun. What's the story behind that picture? I see an old soviet radio above what looks like a Yaesu FT-840.

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>2024
>still giving the antenna jews money

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If you had access to a yagi uda antenna and your mission was to disrupt the signal a tv receives, how would you do it?

>>2786111
Nice try, glowie. You should already know how to do that yourself.

>>2786104
They're also hams, one day I got them in my log and looked their callsign up.
>Ivan at the key
>hammering away doing dx
>hungry bear sticks head in tent
>Ivan just grumbles and shoves the bear out with his other hand while handing out good reports

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>QSO PARTIES!!!

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>>2785963
73's to my prostate.

>>2786221
I want to live like he does. looks comfy.

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>>2786221
What radio is this here?

>>2786221
POV time away from nagging wife

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>>2785969
Anyone ever pop one of these cheapy ones open? I can't find a teardown anywhere.

>>2786229
IC-R3

>>2785963
There's no point to these shit threads. It's all baofeng this, repeater that. None of you are real ham radio operators. None of you get on HF, when 10-40 meters are easily crossing over the entire fucking planet. Instead you want to play repeater warrior with your toy and pretend you're calling cq on a chinese walkie talkie nobody can hear you on.
>>2786105
This shit would develop so much loss it's a joke. You know you can BUILD hexbeams, dipoles, resonant antennas like moxons with the SAME COPPER WIRE??? Wow it's almost like making a random wire antenna is a terrible idea for real DXing. Have fun talking from Texas to Brazil though with someone running a beam pointed straight at you though, that's all you'll hear.

>>2786111
Another idiot. 99% of TVs signals are satellite and digital anyway. Back in the days of analog this was a legitimate concern. Now? Not really. Even with digital ground wave signals you aren't disrupting jack shit. You're talking about a 50,000W or more signal vs. whatever bullshit you plan to run.

If anything I'd build a rotary spark gap transmitter using a saw blade as the interrupter. It wouldn't do much unless you were reallllyyyy close though.

>>2786229
Tyco Bigboy Radio

>>2786279
I think Temporary Offline did break one open during a livestream.

https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/zip/d/westminster-radioshack-trc-447/7736389132.html

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>radio sport
Do contesters really?

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>>2786333
some of us do
going to pickup this local sale linear soon
needs some work but I'm sure it'll be putting out some nice watts soon

>>2786499
Nice! I picked up an AL-811 for $400 and I think it just needs a new tube. Gonna order a 3 pack of 572s for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isbDfZYo6gU

>>2786631
>572B's
Oh if only they made Cetrons again.

any recommendations for a SDR that can do DC to 24mhz or so

I want to put up a 550 meter longwire between two mountains I have access to. Would that actually work? I want to shitpost transatlantically on 2200M
I can go longer like 770M at most and more or less parallel to the earth with a bit of sag if thats better, not sure as I've never done a longwire or messed with em.

Anyone know more on it, or am I just being a bit of an idiot?

>>2786830
Meshtastic ?

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>>2786834
>Meshtastic

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>>2786797
SDRPlay RSP1B
got one after using a RTL-SDR v4 and it blows it out of the water

>>2786834
i dont.. what? that has nothing to do with this

>>2786847
>SDRPlay RSP1B
meh it only goes down to 1khz, thats hardly DC but whatever looks solid.

>>2786861
Meshtastic right now is the go to answer that every comms, especially the larper type, is spamming recently.

As to whether it would work, don't know. Experiment? Who uses the 2200m band anyway? It's probably more niche and used more for experimentation.

>>2786864
I doubt you'll find an SDR outside of speciality equipment that goes lower
it already goes well into the ULF range

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>>2786830
>550 meter longwire
Nope, you got a long way to go there, champ! BTW, here's the length your dipole needs to be to give you some reference for the 2200 band, and 3449 ft is 1051.255 meters.

>>2786646
That's some free energy tier schizo theories.

>>2786874
are you familiar with what quarter wave means?
1/4 of the wave is replicated, and then a giant load coil is used to obtain the correct impedance.
almost all implementations in the 123khz band have been shitty inverted L antennas of like 100ft and a huge load cell, with an antenna power measured in milliwatts
even going to 1/4 wave or 550 meters of antenna is like in the cb world of going from a rubber duck in a fucking cave to a full 102in whip on the roof of your car.

I am not going to make a dipole, I am going to make a longwire. the wire is just really long and you simply tune it and connect it up to the antenna port and earth to the ground nearby.

>>2786894
A long wire is greater than the wavelength of the desired frequency. You want to use a random wire with a tuner. Also, you're going to need radials or a counterpoise with a 1/4 wave, chief.

>>2786897
well there you go, thats where i'm not exactly familiar with it.
I could go far longer but not spanning a canyon, it would just be suspended by posts along the ground

>>2786830
>valley span
FAA will probably need to be notified.

>>2786864
There isn't anything below 1 kHz that i'm aware of. Lowest I know are a couple of guys in Germany experimenting around 8.3 kHz.

Renato Romero has a comprehensive site for ULF/ELF radio experimentation. I've been following that site for almost 25 years now.

http://www.vlf.it/

I just got cariboulite as my first sdr. No rpi5 support, git repo abandoned, bugs. Did I really get jewed?

>>2786894
>not being Chad enough to make the 2200 meter dipole
NGMI, where's your dedication, bro?

>>2786916
>canyon
Can you not make a 2200m delta loop?

>>2786882
What do you consider free energy?

>>2786932
>FAA
that is not my problem
Although I am concerned with the legality, the law says you cant have it vertically higher than 50ft.
but I think they mean 50 feet of straight up tower, meaning you cant just erect a fucking 500 meter tower and shit up the entire world with LW and kilowatts of EIRP
i think my setup will be a 6m pole on each hill, but in the middle it will be like 200M off the ground

>>2787083
>but in the middle it will be like 200M off the ground
Easily into low-flying aircraft territory.

>>2785963
Could anyone provide some tips on which satellites to work and/or maybe a cheap rotator?
I've mainly been a DXCC whore the past few years, but built a 2M yagi and yesterday heard the ISS.
That was cool. I have the W1ANT app, but it's a lot of noise.

>>2786797 >>2786864
Divide the task in two parts:
- a good quality audio ADC for VLF (vlf.it has practical information).
- RSPB1 for 40 kHz - 2 GHz.

HAManons, could you use a tree as an antenna if you hammered a nail deep enough to get to the sap layer and wired it to your receiver?

>>2787079
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Scalar_wave

>>2787089
its a horseshoe and not a very long one, if there is a plane there, they will strike the cliff, wire not required.
the wire itself would be below the ridge it parallels and it should be closer to that than 200M

>>2787111
>rationalwiki
The absolute state of your anus actually trying to use rationalwiki as some sort of authoritative source, you should be ashamed of yourself. Cretinous fool.
Anyway Dollard calls out the scaler psyop guys like agents Tom Beardon were pushing. He's an old school no nensense electrical engineer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t1YZigw81U

>>2787110
no

>>2787111
Kek, that website is like snopes-tier.

>>2787083
>Although I am concerned with the legality, the law says you cant have it vertically higher than 50ft.
That means your wire will have to be 50ft from the ground wherever you measure it, end-to-end. Wiring it off a cliff doesn't absolve you from this. Since it's so long, there is likely some other requirements.

>>2787117
>>2787122
>attacking the name
>ignoring the links and references posted there
Typical of free energy schizos.
I guess wiki is a communist misinformation too?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wireless_System

Wow i didn't realize the schizos lurked in this general. But hey it is HAM. Checks out.

>>2787135
>wikipedia
Anon, stop, you're just embarassing yourself further.

>>2787120
It might make a poor receiving antenna for VLF. My CND-46156 hears pretty good tied directly to my tower ground system.

>>2787110
maybe
https://w5jgv.com/tree_antenna/

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Has anyone heard of meshtastic? I heard it's like texting but for radio, but it was pitched to me by a prepper conspiracy theorist that has willingly given away his SSN to a guy claiming to be Donald Trump, so I'm not sure about it

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>>2787259
>meshtastic

>>2787259
>aircrafts

>>2787259
>texting but for radio
So like MFSK? Or CW? Or Vara? Or PSK? OR JS8call? Or Olivia? Or RTTY? Or Packet? Or literally any ham radio mode that can be done with a shitty 1980s Commodore 64 that hasn't been connected to the internet since it first launched? That kind of texting?

I'm aware Olivia is MFSK like JS8/FT8 are FSK.

>>2787276
>all those
Or even APRS.

>>2787281
>APRS
I already said packet.

>>2787290
My bad. Of course my speedreading missed on that.

>>2787259
>prepper
Call them what they are: larpers. Those same larpers also stock up on UV-5R's, never learn to use them properly, and are too scared to get their licenses since it'd reveal they are illiterate retards.These are the types that also scream "yOu DoN't NeEd A lICeNsE iF iT iS aN eMeRgEnCy!!!"

>>2787296
>"yOu DoN't NeEd A lICeNsE iF iT iS aN eMeRgEnCy!!!"
That's true though.

>>2787310
Their definition of emergency is not the same as an actual emergency. During the cellphone outage not too long ago, they considered that an emergency and was clogging up the repeaters here. It was obvious they did not know anything about how to operate their radios properly, nor radio etiquette. None of them were licensed since they were asked their callsigns and they said they were not licensed and they didn't need one since "it's an emergency."

These are what keeps things orderly, and they failed so badly. If they were given a score, it would have been 10/100 and only get the 10 because they knew how to program their radios via CHIRP. That's literally it.

>>2787310
It kind of doesn't make sense though. Either you're on a frequency that doesn't matter or some repeater you'd be lucky to find some boomer listening to, in which case everyone will think you're a fucktard for having repeaters programmed into your baofeng despite not being licensed on the off chance you may one day get to play with your walkie talkie instead of calling 911.

Otherwise, you could be using a CB radio people actually hear you on all over the world currently, or just get fucking licensed for HF and have a mobile rig and antenna in your truck. Carrying a baofeng in your go bag "just in case" with nobody listening or giving a shit is fucking comical, and if SHTF for real, it's a great way to be located or tricked into delivering fresh weapons, food and water to your local base station or whatever larpers do.

>>2787315
>Otherwise, you could be using a CB radio
That or GMRS. They'd have a much better time with either one of those. It'd be 100x easier to coordinate as well, plus with GMRS, they can set up repeaters.

>b-b-but muh encryption!
No one is snooping in retarded larpers. GMRS allows for short data blasts which include small text messages. There, covered your "text messages." And if there is an actual true emergency, it's allowed and you can use DMR which has this built in. No need to set up meshes.

>>2787276
instead of connecting your smartphone to a cell network, you connect/pair it (via wifi or bluetooth or tether) to a walky-talky like device that's configured with open source software to send/receive with another meshtastic walky-talky device that is paired with its cell phone. The text messages are then traded via the walky-talky. So it basically acts like unlicensed network. There are encryption options so its radio wave messages theoretically can be secure from eavesdropping.

>>2787357
So literally GoTenna--something that has been around for a long time?

>>2787358
or zigbee

>>2787359
Or even beartooth, despite it being a dumb ripoff.

>>2787358
>>2787359
>>2787362
So meshtastic is just copying what already exists? It's just the le open source versioms of these?

>>2787276
>So like MFSK? Or CW? Or Vara? Or PSK? OR JS8call? Or Olivia? Or RTTY? Or Packet? Or literally any ham radio mode
Solid. Could you have included pagers?
>This information is formatted using a paging protocol, such as 2-tone, 5/6-tone, GOLAY, POCSAG, FLEX, ERMES, or NTT.

>>2787357
. . . or maybe stop larping you're a clandestine op. on a mission, and just drive the fuck over there and do a face-to-face.

>>2787472
But mooooooooommmm larping is so fun!

>>2785963
Listening to some Chinese and African shortwave after work
What are you guys doing?

>>2787357
if you gonna use a phone with a radio might as well use rattlegram

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>>2787357
>you connect/pair it (via wifi or bluetooth or tether) to a walky-talky
Guess what can also do this.

>encryption
Doesn't need it. Most morons are analog only.

Noob question, but how do you find a frequency to broadcast on? About a year ago a couple of guys near me got in trouble for LARPing on the same frequency as EMS during a hurricane, saying "it's an emergency", so I want to avoid anything like that when I get licensed

>>2787680
https://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations

If a simple google search is outside the scope of your abilities, it's probably better simply not to get licensed.

>>2787680
half of the reason for the license is that you learn this. a ton of test questions are on it.
why dont you learn how by googling it, you will need to know anyway

>>2787357
that sounds completely useless, why not form a normal tcp/ip mesh so you can do more useful things like check remote trail cams or share large amounts of data and even do wifi calling/mms if there is an internet source.
you get MORE eirp limit with 5.8ghz wifi and can form strong backbones in your mesh with small distributed end user connect stations scattered around the backbone.

meshtastic is just stupid, a gimmick, a product for little use.
the hardware itself surely would support tcp/ip or wifi networking

>>2787694
All of that takes a lot of bandwidth and the /ham/ bands are a bit too narrow for that.

>>2787711
technically the ham bands go well into microwave
nothing stopping you from building one
in fact everything above 10.5ghz is free game

>>2787680
>saying "it's an emergency"
It's only an emergency if there is an immediate threat to life. Otherwise, no emergency response team considers cellphones being down an emergency.

>so I want to avoid anything like that when I get licensed
What type of emergencies are plan on encountering? If you are larping in the woods, a Garmin InReach is more likely to be beneficial to you. A channel called the The Tech Prepper, despite being a guy who focuses on ham, learned that ham is not always the best option. The person he was with was saved thanks to the Garmin InReach, not his ham radio. With his ham radio, he could hit the repater but no one answered his calls.

Learn the band allocations. 146.520 is a common frequency, but learn your ham repeaters and especially which ones are for ARES. CB is still in use in many areas. Go ahead and program in your EMS and police frequencies so if something does happen and it is an actual emergency, you can call out if you have a radio that can transmit on those frequencies.

What >>2787688 and >>2787691 said is right. It is one of the few extremely relevant questions that are still on the test.

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>>2785963
Get into single sideband shortwave listening + dipole

>>2787820
I found my hexbeam receives shortwave (which is usually AM) significantly better than my 40m dipole.

>>2787836
Are you the one that homebrewed the 10m? Not unexpected due to the directivity of hex beams.

>>2787840
Yes but it's a 6-20m hexbeam now.

>>2787873
Nice! Have you transmitted on them? How are the new bands working? Did you get your tower up?

Hey guys. Idk shit but I have an FCC GROL because it looks cool on a resume. I also have an automotive shop in between two small towns. How can I get a radio station started to play music and give myself free advertising? I only need like a ten mile radius.

Thinking of trying my hand at Meshtastic a bit.
I have two questions:
>is it a meme?
and
>what's the difference between buying a 868Mhz board and a 915Mhz board?

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things are coming up boys

>>2788042
meter is in Volts fyi

>>2787882
Yes, I've used it on every band except 6m so far. Everything is tuned and ready to go. Right now it's on a 24ft mast I built for it, I may be moving in August so I decided not to put the tower up just yet.

As far as operation at 24ft, yes it's fairly low. It should be 30ft. However I have DXed just fine on 20m with it at the current height, and every other band seems to be working great as well. It still has better performance than my rotatable dipole did at 30ft on 20m, and the front/back is impressive as well.

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>>2787961
>I have an FCC GROL
Sure thing, bud. That's why you're here asking about broadcasting a pirate radio station.

>>2788080
He's absolutely full of shit, but to answer his question he can apply for a low power educational fm broadcast license.

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>>2787796
>technically the ham bands go well into microwave
Band position, yes, but not bandWIDTH.

>in fact everything above 10.5ghz is free game
That will surprise a lot of people. The charts I see show allocations to 275 Ghz.

>>2788116
your right
guess what I meant was that any license class can do stuff in the allocations over 10.5

>>2788079
Damn dude, every time I recognize your posts and I ask for updates you are always doing nice and impressive things. Keep doing the cool things you are doing.

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>>2788138
Thanks. Currently I have the 10m 5/8 vertical and 40m inverted v dipole up as well, giving me full access to everything 6-40m. Including 30m with a tuner.

I'd like to get on 80m but alas, I don't have the space yet.

>>2788117
what do you have a link for this
like i can run 11ghz ubiquiti gear if I have a ham license? and dont have to register it to the fcc?
Sounds sus

>>2787711
and who the fuck cares about the ham bands, just use normal ass wifi retard. why do you have to use some sooper special i got a licence to use this band and then broadcast every 5 minutes the fucking address to your house just to communicate.
Humiliation ritual

>>2788153
All users of the bands care about the use of the bands. In the case of telecom companies they pay a lot for the right to use them and will immediately investigate any intrusion.

Sure you can use WIFI but the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands are crowded and it is hard to use those outside your home. 2.4 GHz is an ISM band so you will also compete with everything from microwave ovens to wireless keyboards. That will cramp your effective bandwidth.

>>2788158
>hard to use those outside your home
i do it all the time
>All users of the bands care about the use of the bands. In the case of telecom companies they pay a lot for the
you know I meant that in regards to high bandwidth tcp/ip traffic.
>That will cramp your effective bandwidth
it wont

>>2788080
Because I don’t know the first thing about legally setting up a radio station.
>>2788085
I guess I’ll see about this. What equipment do I need? I have the GROL because aircraft mechanic and I cannot get radio equipment out of the way without having a license. I’ve used a CB. That’s about all my experience. Never practiced the craft. I passed a test tho.

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>>2785963
I have a truck (US) which I'm mulling over how to go about adding an antenna mount.
I picked up a bed post mount (pic related). I was thinking of adding a bulkhead to accommodate my 2m/70cm antenna which would be my main daily driver use.
Secondarily I could unscrew that antenna and attach coax if I go camping or something and want to do HF with a wire in a tree.
The third scenario is where I'm struggling. Let's say I want to go from bulkhead to buddy stick and do HF on a road trip. Is a PL239 to 3/8 x 24 adaptor the easiest route?
I can afford to utilize another of the truck's bed post, but I view #2 and #3 with the same probability.

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That's hideous, I want one

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>>2788208
real chads drill through their roof

>>2788208
>>2788375
Just get a mag mount you fucking idiots.

>>2788153
Consider suicide, then kys.
>>2788416
Mag mounts are for biz fags that worry about resale value of everything they buy. Also, a NMO will blow away a mag mount when it comes to performance.

>>2788434
>a NMO will blow away a mag mount when it comes to performance
No it won't. You literally can't tell a difference, you're using it for vhf/uhf and the hood of your car provides an exceptional counterpoise at those frequencies. It's no different at all, I've had both. It has nothing to do with resale value, it also avoids potential leaks and saves from drilling through the roof.

So I tell you again, inspector gadget, don't drill into the fucking roof. Use a mag mount. Uhf/vhf is all line of site you'll notice 0 difference. I use the same mag mount and antenna for all my scanners and dual band radios. I also use a mag mount for 10m/cb, but only because a 102" whip isn't worth installing on any of my vehicles.

>>2788441
Yes it will. I've used both on the same vehicle. I could get acceptable SWR with a mag mount, however I had to run the coax inside the vehicle through a door jamb which would slowly crush the coax. Also, you have to deal with the mag mount not being totally waterproof, which means disassembling it and cleaning corrosion and re-sealing it periodically. The NMO, I used a hole saw for a perfect hole. No coax to fuck around with in door jambs. Swapping antennas was easier, the mount didn't migrate, the antenna was lower profile (since I didn't need a tumor with a magnet to screw it into), oh and I could get 1:1 SWR every time with absolutely no alternator/ground loop noise. Never had any problem with moisture getting in either. If you don't fucking half-ass the install you won't have problems. Use a hole saw not a hacksaw, don't fucking screw it down with retard strength, don't forget the o-rings on the antenna base or mount.

>>2788416
>>2788375
I suppose I wasn't clear.
I want the ability to also use it on HF. Having a buddy stick poking out of the roof doesn't seem right

>>2785963
S.T.A,L,K,E,R, vibes

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>>2788465
>>2788375
/ham/. Never change.

stupid jews jamming 15520khz with weird creepy tone sounds

>>2788545
>>>/vg/sg/

>>2786221
that dude has a serious problem

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>>2788579
Are you sure? It doesn't look like he's wearing a wedding ring.
Thank you, thank you, I'm here all night folks.

>>2788579
yea, like dying in 2017?

>>2788375
>Datsun 240Z
F*ck no. :^)

>>2788416
I buddy bought a Radio Shack CB magmount antenna and trimmed it down to 1/4 wave on 2metres and put a BNC connector on the coax so it could be used with his HT. He used an MFJ analyzer to find the lowest SWR on simplex which was 1.2:1. I was skeptical but it worked exceptionally well.

He loaned it to me when I went on a road trip with afore mentioned car. 0.5 watts from my Icom W2A hit the mountaintop repeaters quite well.

On a somewhat related note, I went to skywarn storm spotter training last night.

More relevant, sometimes it pays to go to club meetings. I went to the big city one Tuesday night. They mentioned one of their repeaters wasn't working presumably because of power issues. One guy complained about newbies calling CQ on one of the other repeaters there. The big city is 50 miles from my QTH so I highly doubt I can reach any of them anyways. I will be testing them this summer though.

The other club is an unofficial one 30 miles away kinda in the opposite direction. I like those guys a lot better. They were having problems with their vhf repeater getting a lot of interference when the street lights turn on. Their net is on Monday nights. They had to switch to their uhf repeater for the weekly net.

>>2788785
>sometimes it pays to go to club meetings
some guy can have some gear he wants to get rid of, things like that, it's good to show up from time to time

>>2788785
>They were having problems with their vhf repeater getting a lot of interference when the street lights turn on.
The fucking LED streetlight shits are the bane of my existence, I can _see_ the one outside my apartment flickering, there is no way it's not spewing EMI everywhere. They're built like shit, they look like shit, worse than the old sodium lamps in every way.

Any recommendations for a stealth apartment/balcony shortwave antenna?

Also why do people buy rather expensive QRP radios (e.g. 5W for ~800$) and sometimes amplifiers for them instead of a full radio that can obviously QRP too?

>>2788818
maybe some magloop disguised as something else

Portable 80m-6m vertical hf antenna with a bottom loaded coil. What would make it tune up on some bands but not others? I can get <1.5:1vswr on 12m/15m/17m, but it just won't tune on 20m & 40m. I've tried different lengths and quantities of ground radials.

>>2788785
I always call CQ on VHF repeaters. Every single time without fail. I've done this since I was 20 to 35. Why? Follow proper radio procedure. THIS IS BLAHBLAH LISTENING. BLAH BLAH LISTENING. And no one will get back to you in a month.
If you call CQ, you can immediately find out if you are getting through (some one will tell you off for calling CQ on the repeater). And if you play it right you can make an elmer you friend.
I 100% advocate calling cq on repeaters just to make new friends.

>>2788817
almost like it's by design

barry trower said they were built as weapons

>>2788817
Solar panel inverters imported from China do the same thing.

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>>2788818
For a couple of years I used an AEA IsoLoop clamped to my balcony railing. Not very stealthy but no one knew what it was, nor did they ask.

Looking for close coms that can't be passively wigged on by fixed installations.

Range doesn't really matter, the important part is nobody with better equipment picking up our signal from further away than we can.

Thinking high frequency burst which I think encrypt pretty well too if your signals discipline is good.

We're rural fire/ emergency and the problem we have is basically with arsonists who are also in rural fire/ emergency. We have to keep coms on for safety, but if those coms can be picked up from further than we can physically see we get arsonists lighting spot fires ahead of us just to watch us put the fires out.

>>2789187
just go on a P25 encrypted net.
you'll have mobile radios, even handled, so wip antennas at best, a guy with a high gain antenna can get you farther than you'll ever reach with your radios.

>>2789187
>We're rural fire/ emergency
Are you in America? If so, you qualify from the FCC for a special licenses. And guess what? You are allowed encryption! That includes everything that >>2789203 said.

hello, i am looking to communicate with friends/family over longer distances (20kms max). i do not own a phone, and i do not own a ham radio license. i am in australia and my friends/family own cb radios. is there any way that i can communicate with them at this distance? i am legally limited to 5w on a cb radio

>>2789240
Write a letter

>>2789240
Not enough info. Any mountains in the way? How high can you set up an antenna? Are the CB's they own base stations or hand helds? Is it the HF CB or UHF CB? Even with these answered, there's zero guarantee it will work.

Maybe look into repeaters in your area? Just from a quick search, Australia allows repeaters in your UHF CB service. Also, it may require a station license.

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>>2789187
>We're rural fire/ emergency and the problem we have is basically with arsonists who are also in rural fire/ emergency.
I totally believe you. Good thing you came to /diy/ to ask! No need to use the proper channels, because of the other arsonists . . . *wink wink*

>>2789187
You talk like a shit skin illegal alien that's here to commit terrorist act. Eat shit moooslem. Mohammed was a goat fucking pedo.

>>2789240
from a high enough position you'll get much more than 20km with a 5W handheld

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>QSO PARTY!!!!

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I've recently become fascinated with vhf packet data like aprs. This guy has developed software to run a raspberry pi as a tnc. I would love to start working on some of the projects he's showcased: Turning a yaesu ftm-500 into an Igate and setting up a weather station to show up on aprs.fi.
https://youtube.com/@KM6LYW?si=klYRkY03NurF9eKf

>>2787357
It's just LoRa. Pretty nice for IoT stuff.

>>2789739
To add onto this. I enjoy the repeater and club that's 30 miles away from me. I would like to get something going closer to me though. There used to be a club and repeater less than 20 miles away. As far as I can tell the repeater went offline at least 5 years ago. The trustee of it became a sk back in March. The last know president of the club moved away 5 years ago. I'm about to the point of writing letters to the 6 or so hams in the town to see what needs to be done to resurrect a repeater and club. If I could, I'd like to get analog, fusion, dmr, and echolink going.

>>2789744
>fundraising for costs
>lease building/tower
>purchase equipment
>setup and maintain repeater equipment, feed lines, antenna
>Monthly electric bill
>Figure out all the tax/legal shit needed to operate a club or take all that on yourself
>cover costs if funds don't pan out
It's daunting and a lot of work. More than sticking a mag-mount on top of your fridge and using a chunk cable to string two baomemes together. That is, if you want it to work for more than week.

>>2789744
>>2789778
You're overthinking shit, and no fundraising needs to be done. It's an amateur repeater on vhf/uhf. Go get a bunch of EMT or similar CHEAP steel pipe from home depot. Fence pipes work too. You do not need schedule 40 for a repeater antenna. Get 10ft poles. Mark each pole 3ft into each other (7ft sticking up) and wrap the part you'll be drilling with electrical tape halfway between. This is to help keep the bit from walking around the pipe. I only suggest EMT because it's light and easy to push up. Start with 1.5in or bigger and neck down to as low as 1in. You can create as long of a pushup mast as you'd like up to 40ft without guy wires, just strap it to your house and put the bottom in a piece of 4x4 or something with a hole drilled and some cement blocks to keep the bottom from kicking out. It's just a vhf/uhf dual band antenna on top, it'll hold fine without guy wires if you strap it to the house I promise. 130mph winds won't drop it.

Next go buy a repeater capable radio that can either run with your computer or be programmed for an automatic IDer using your callsign. They're a little more expensive than your average anytone, because they need a receiver and transmitter to run simultaneously. That's fine, it's still inexpensive. A good repeater radio new costs under $350.

Next plug it in to your favorite high band comet, diamond, tram, etc. I've used Diamond X50As as repeater antennas with over 160 miles of coverage on mountaintops. It's all line of sight anyway. The repeater only ran at 25w too, and would run all day and night without issue.

Overall costs front to back run less than $600. You said you wanted other hams involved, 6 grown men can come up with $600 no problem. Especially hams. Alternatively upgrade your station antenna (typically with height) and just use the 30 mile repeater.

>>2789791
Not the anon you responded to, but I've been where you are. Try it. Then learn about receiver desensitization. I'm not trying to be mean. It's just what's going to happen.

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>>2789791
It's not a one time cost.
>hack a tower together
>use non-commercial gear
>use $350 repeater radio?
>use your own PC to do everything
>put it next to your house . . . on a mountain
This is textbook pic related

>>2789803
>receiver desensitization
I'm not talking about using a baomeme, I'm talking about a real radio.
>>2789834
I have run a repeater. No, a mountain repeater and home repeater aren't the same coverage, and yes you'll be subject to land owner requirements and certain hurdles to run a repeater on top of a local casino or mountaintop. But you can absolutely run a repeater on a pushup mast from home and get great coverage. Millions of hams do this, usually for their friends. My buddy has a 900mhz repeater that we sometimes use for memes with city wide coverage that also crossbands to 440, no it wasn't $350 but it wasn't that bad either. I think $1,400 new, it's a Yaesu. The cost of running these isn't that bad. Your electric bill won't notice in the summer when your AC overtakes it significantly. No you don't need a $5,700 Motorola unit for a fucking uhf repeater.

You will realize with repeaters how fast diminishing returns start to apply. For an FM repeater does an extra 50w give you significant coverage? Does the repeater need to be 7 feet higher? Will anybody even use it? Most repeaters out here sit there dead, you'll monitor for days and hear the infrequent kerchunking as someone keys it up with no audio.

This is a dude that wants a repeater closer than 30 miles away. Probably in a small town with flat land. Will a $8,000 service anyone other than him? Probably not. So why go that expensive?

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>>2789834
>>2789901
>noooo you MUST have a professional ROHN high quality heavy duty steel tower and $7,000 repeater!

>>2789834
"Commercial gear" for what? I'm pretty sure hacking a mast together is what most people do anyway. Diy is kind of the point of amateur radio...

>>2789901
>Millions of hams do this
There's barely even a million hams.
>You will realize with repeaters how fast diminishing returns start to apply
This applies to everything in this hobby.

>>2789905
Some itt did this very thing and put a rather massive rotor and antenna on it.

>>2789910
had to look it up and the numbers are sad
750,000 in the US
https://www.arrl.org/fcc-license-counts

>>2789912
I sometimes forget /ham/ is in /diy/, where anons try to convince everyone their $10 chink clone item performs better than the original that sells for $800. That, or the one they made from popsicle sticks, string and elmer's glue is just as good.

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>>2790006
Grim.

>>2790007
>That, or the one they made from popsicle sticks, string and elmer's glue is just as good.
It often is. I can guarantee if you name any wire MFJ (mother-fucking junk) piece of overpriced shit antenna I can make a higher quality and better performing clone. There's also nothing wrong with making a pushup mast, especially for a uhf/vhf vertical. Amateur radio is all about making your own antennas and masts/towers. But you'd rather spend $130 for a dipole I can make for $30 of wire that performs just as good.

Plug and play hams that don't know how to make a simple wire antenna are looked down on in the community. They're often lids. Grown men that have to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars for junk and can't work on their own equipment. If you think you can't make a simple pushup mast as well as a mass produce company throws out the cheapest product they can for the lowest price and highest profit margins then you're already lost in this hobby.

>>2790019
>homemade push up mast for a repeater
K
>MFJ
Wow, you can make a wire antenna that's just as good? You're amazing. How do you do it, competing with the big boys in Mississippi?

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Yaesu FT-1000MP with mic, sp-6 speaker and digital voice unit for $950
Pretty sure I should cop it but want to see what you guys think.
Downside is it's gonna reek like cigarettes since I've bought from this guy before and it all does.

>>2790070
it's a very good transceiver, the dual receive feature is neat.
You can get some filters from Inrad or on ebay, etc.
If you can find the roofing filter, buy it
it can be difficult to drive a cheap (RM Italy) amplifier with that, it really depends on the model of amp

>>2790071
I've got a Heathkit SB-1000 tube linear I just picked up from the same guy and got working. I've already seen this transceiver in person but didn't have the cash on hand at the time.
He was just texting me about if I got the amp running then through out he would want to sell the FT-1000 to me since he knows I'm legit and everyone he's gotten on facebook marketplace hasn't came through.

>>2790073
a tube amp will be ok, there's a good handling of variations of input power, mainly due to the voice compressor.
just be careful when you set it up.
I should receive a FT-1000MP MarkV Field this week, bought it because it was cheap (850 euros) and listening to a friend's FT-1000MP for a couple of times persuaded me.
I already spent 400 euros in filters kek.
you can get a very nice audio output with the correct settings with these.
Also the dual receive should be used with headphones, it makes a kind of a stereo effect because the two receivers aren't the same and your brain does the rest to understand weak signals

>>2790076
ah, he was talking about the heil headphones he has for it, makes more sense now

>>2789739
>>2789744
I'm not sure what licence requirements you need to operate a repeater in your region, but see if you can track down that repeater equipment from the SK trustee. And if you can't generate any interest from the few locals, you still may be able to fill in a gap in coverage if it exists. You may not have much activity but at the very least you learn from the experience.

I haven't been on packet in ages. I went active on it in 1993 with a KPC-3 but stopped in 1996. Most of the time I left it on as a mailbox which was actually handy as the local landline BBS was busy and unreliable. I was in a small remote town so not a lot of activity, only about 5 or 6 of us. I really wanted to try UHF 9600 baud packet but couldn't generate the interest. I should dig out my KPC-3, there's some activity where I live now.

>>2790070
That's a beautiful radio. Quiet, sensitive receive and selective. You won't be disappointed. A friend, now SK, obtained his 2nd hand in 2009 and it was loaded with filters.

>>2790091
perfect he's gonna bring it to me Wednesday when he's down in my area, I'll have to study up and take my general next month and get it on the air, still only a tech.

>>2790006
Meanwhile, in Japan...
https://web.archive.org/web/20020612083455/http:/www.iaru.org/statsum00.html

>>2787376
I don't think meshtastic ever claimed to have invented radio comms.
It's just cheap do-it-yourself LoRa meshing, which is why is has drawn the attention of the diy crowd. IMO, It's insane to compare a 30$ hobby system to something like goTenna.

>>2790006
>half are mere techs
woah

>>2790256
numbers are probably gonna drop lower too since renewal is now $35
I'm honestly impressed how many people are still renewing novice licenses, for what purpose idk

>>2790046
>for a repeater
What kind of antenna are you envisioning for a repeater that needs more than that?

>>2790267
More than your abree tactical antenna with an sma connector. Also, no one in their right mind would be using a wire antenna for a repeater.

Which baofeng model for dropping eaves?

I'm going to take the license test soon but I have no equipment yet. What's a good piece of kit for starters?

>>2790278
>would be using a wire antenna for a repeater.
I do, but it's for that Retevis GMRS portable repeater since I need it for some deadspots on my property and neighbors who cannot reach rach other. It works fine for this application. Anything bigger though then yes, I agree with you.

>>2790278
>More than your abree tactical antenna with an sma connector
So what antenna? Post it. What is an acceptable repeater antenna thar you're envision that requires a tower? One that a push-up mast won't support.

>>2790395
>thar you're
That you're envisioning* wow

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>>2790278
I'm talking about the mast not being sufficient re: >>2790046
>homemade push up mast for a repeater
And
>>2789834
>>hack a tower together
>>use non-commercial gear

Are you seriously telling me you can't do this?

I want to build a vintage ham radio, are there any kits y'all recommend to buy?

>>2790494
you could build a tube qrp transmitter pretty ez
for more sophisticated radios it's probably better to fix up an older non working one as they are much more complicated and parts unobtainium

>>2790565
also transmitters are more simple than receivers
to make
especially CW transmitters
take a look at a Johnson adventurer or other novice tube transmitters, not a lot of parts really compared to a receiver

>go on ham bands
>10m has nothing ever
>2m has 1-2 repeaters which are just coupled to 70cm ones, zero people on it
>70cm has a few repeaters that are networked all over the state
>despite that, theres only ever 2-3 people who come on for a couple minutes and then leave
>dust off the ol 11m CB
>constantly people on channel 20 talking about random shit night or day
>loads of activity in general

how can i be more effective in RX on CB without mounting anything to my vehicle?
I listen in on my way to and from work but just on a handheld and the signal comes in pretty poor
I cant modify the vehicle because its a company car

I think they should take like 3-5mhz away from the boomers in vhf and give it to CB, they dont even use it.

>>2790651
Mag mount

>baofengs are perfectly acceptable to learn the basics of hamming such as finding frequencies, listening to old fucks talk about their radio equipment, listening to old fucks throw out their callsign every 30 seconds for hours hoping to find someone to talk to and after they finally get someone they say "actually I gotta go, 73s but good talkin to ya," listening to a net with a female net control have like 60 dudes check in, offsets, hear/practice basic etiquette, kerchunk repeaters that have toxic old dudes on them, all for a very low cost of entry

>baofengs are absolute dog shit for anything past this and should be replaced immediately if you intend to do anything remotely approaching actual ham use

you cannot convince me otherwise

>>2790686
Ham radio starts at HF. Anything above 6m may as well be GMRS.

>>2790706
I know what you're trying to do but you need to be way more subtle about it

>>2790686
stop advertising baofengs, they are garbage now. completely replaced by quanshengs.

>>2790720
You shut your filthy whore mouth

>>2790706
No, everything you listed can be done on GMRS. You don't really even need a license in fact. Real amateur radio starts at 6m minimum unless you're doing moonbounce, which you aren't from a baofeng.

>>2790725
Meant for
>>2790710

>>2790720
I flashed my Quan yesterday. AM, FM, and SSB receive from 18mhz to 1000mhz.
Truly amazing.

>>2790706
It would be handy if the dominant design for HF rigs were as convenient as for VHF/UHF.

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>>2790686
>baofengs are absolute dog shit for anything
Can confirm. It's the only bad radio I have. So bad I can't bring myself to sell it to some unsuspecting idiot. Low TX audio that makes comms difficult even when full quieting. RX signal on one frequency bleeds into another 2 MHz away (see pic) even though 7 km from transmitter site. Sporadic noise? breaks squelch constantly while my other radios attached to higher gain antennas don't react. Construction quality leaves a lot to be desired. I had low expectations when I bought it but, man, they're worse than I imagined. I generally avoid any topic about them as they have such a large fanboi following, none of whom are qualified radio guys.

>>2790651
>I think they should take like 3-5mhz away from the boomers in vhf and give it to CB, they dont even use it.
Eh, why bother? CB is pretty dead too and FRS channels hardly used.

>>2790886
try the qansheng something, it's far better on the Tx audio part.

>>2790721
wake me up when baofengs can do a spectrum analysis with a 4mhz sweep in under a second

>>2790886
>CB is pretty dead too
my entire post was about how CB is way more used in my area and very much alive

>>2790886
>CB is pretty dead
>>2790904
Every single channel on cb is constantly in use here, and when 10/11m is in there's no way to get a free channel.

>>2790903
It ain't about that...

Boofwang is the granddaddy to them all. Show some respect..

>>2790950
gayest thing I've seen here in a long time

>>2790725
6m is cute, but really it's just full of casuals. Real HAM radio is in VLF, if you aren't interfering with submarine EAM's, then you might as well just get bubblepack walkie talkies.

>>2790651
>5mhz away from the boomers in vhf and give it to CB
It's called MURS, anon.

>>2790963
You fat, low brow, basemement dwelling neckbrards just don't appreciate satire...

>>2790993
I include 6m because it's a viable VHF that does some magical shit. It can realistically do EME one day and propagate the next. I also like having a 6m antenna available for the random ssb contact or meteor scatter. Very rarely does 6m come in, but when it does people get very excited. It's also good for RC aircraft because there's very little modern interference on 6m now that most TV channels moved off nearby frequencies, and the random dirt eaters that want to hijack with a remote won't typically have 6m on it.

Obviously 2m+ is much better for EME, but it's far different from Cleatus using his bubble pack radio to talk to a repeater. Honestly anything involving a repeater, to me, is just GMRS. I have both licenses, they operate the exact same, yes it's an amateur frequency/license but that's the end of it. I've had local guys ask me to get on their repeaters and it isn't even worth unplugging my scanners to do so. It's much more fun to listen to DMR, P25, commercial stuff, military, air traffic control and planes, DOT/highway patrol, most law enforcement out here, etc. over some fat old boomer talk about how a baofeng isn't a real radio despite me not being able to tell the difference between a baofeng and his motorola through my radio speakers.

I've talked to so many techs thinking ham radio starts and ends on repeaters, and that it isn't worth getting their general because they'll never use the lowbands. It's so depressing, because worldwide people use setups <$500 to get on HF with some used coax and a wire dipole they made from an old extension cable, even from apartments.

>>2791064
>comedian
Stick to your day job.

I'm a bored Extra looking for a new thing to do.
I'm considering getting into satellites or EME, but there's a sizable cost to entry if you want to do that from the shack.
I could do a little portable, but I've mainly been a HF shack guy.
Separately, I've been thinking of getting a car for the radio.I wouldn't mind HF --> UHF, but struggling to see it fitting into my trips. I'm not an omelette bro and I'm not out that often or long to settle in on an HF freq.I like the practical, safety aspect of getting a local to send help.
Maybe the root urge is to buy a new toy. A mobile HF + UHF is expensive and I wouldn't use it.
A modern all mode V/UHF along with a trackable antenna isn't a small investment.
Maybe I'll focus on the summer 6m time and get some DX and WAS.
I'm bored and looking for something.

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>>2790093
>>2790091
well it's here, still need to setup a wire antenna for it, just doing some receive on a discone right now, still building out the shack so it's sitting on a box right now

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>>2791423
neat I received the FT-1000MP Mk V Field yesterday
Roofing filter will arrive from Spain soon, some yaesu filters but I think I'll get some from Inrad
I'll add something to have an external panadapter with a SDR to make it 21st century compatible kek.
Enjoy your new toy anon

>>2791456
nice. I need to see what filters mine has, Supposedly quite a few
the box says it has the collins mechanical filter too.

>>2791316
Your autism is showing

>>2791316
>>2790963

That was you that went on a 25 minute profanity laced tirade about noobs tuning up on top of you on 7220 the other night, wasn't it?

>>2791475
gonna tune up my linear on 7220 next time

>>2791472
Ironic

>>2791325
Maybe something involving drones?

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MFJ is won't be around much longer. Buy your Mighty Fine Junk while you can.

>>2791695
Good. Hopefully some others will finally step in a produce quality products that only MFJ makes.

>>2791730
In Nov 23 the owner put it up for sale. I guess there were no buyers. Huge opportunity if someone had the capital.

>>2791695
All the major ham radio YT channels are over it. Lol.

>>2791730
>namefag

>>2791734
This might be an opportunity for many of the major channels on YT to go in together. They are all about advancing the hobby, right? Well here is their chance.

>>2791695
>blaming Covid
fuck off.

>>2791756
Yeah sorry about that. I was namefagging in another thread on another board and I forgot to take it off. Won't happen again. I promise!

>>2791695
How can they not be profitable ? They surf on the name, produce low quality things for a higher price every year ?
Maybe they shouldn't have bought all these other brands ?

>>2791781
seems kinda silly since you think being stuck at home would have boosted sales. Other than their customer base dying off. Too bad MFJ has to take down so many brand names with it.

>>2791423
>>2791456
Very nice, you guys. As an FT-847 owner I envy your filter selection and TCXO options.

>>2791459
Collins type filters are good. Only the Inrad ones have sharper skirting. By the way, there seems to be a steady demand for used filters for the 1000MP's. I had a hard time locating a Collins 500hz CW filter for my FT-847 until I found out the ones for the FT1000MP's were the same. Even then I found myself in a race to be the first to snag one from a seller and it took a few tries before I succeeded. I don't think the Collins filters are made anymore.

PS. I can't help but see callsigns in the captvha. :^)

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>>2791798
Actually, i'm surprised to learn that MFJ was also Cushcraft. I knew they bought out the Mirage line as the older "brown faced" amps are considered superior. I prefer RF Concepts but I picked up a 160 watt Mirage A1015G. The odd thing is that i've never seen one without a mode (SSB/FM) switch. All the other variants show "50-54MHz" on the face but mine only has "50-52 MHz" so I suspect it's CW/SSB only.

>>2791781
>blaming Covid
World wide supply chains got into a mess that was quite real.

>>2791807
They bought cushcraft in 2009; not all that long ago.

>>2791695
imagine being such a boomer that your children don't want to continue the business and you listed it so high that no one wants to buy it from you.
Bet he wants buried with his radios too.

>>2791856
At 80 years old his kids are most likely in their early 60s... they just want the money with the old croaks. Grandkids are probably in theirs 40s and have their own careers waiting in line for their portions.

>>2791876
This and there are much better ways to make money. Work is about money and where possible vesting a retirement.
If anyone wants to continue they can buy out the lot if he accepts the offer.

Amateur radios are fun toys but even with my USAF comm/nav background and backshop time the key flaw is the internet is better for communication. Building electronic devices is huge fun but with nothing much to do with them it's a dead end compared to my other directly and immediately useful DIY interests.

It wasn't always thus. In the horrible times before the internet snail mail, landline phones and Western Union telegrams made amateur radio a very useful ,desirable hobby. Getting back on the air after a nuke strike is easy (EMP isn't going to destroy your spare parts on the shelf) let alone a storm or earthquake. Hams in the military often worked the MARS shack to communicate quickly with hams in CONUS to help troops reach senpai and frens.

>>2791883
>EMP isn't going to destroy your spare parts on the shelf
It likely don't destroy your radios or phones either. Most modern electronics have practical electronic shielding. This includes pretty much any radio including your old blue Heathkit and especially with modern radios outside of a very poorly designed and gutted baofeng or something. You'll notice every transceiver you own is wrapped in a metal box for a reason. Additionally, even if you were bullshit close to an EMP that could potentially send damage down the antenna line, any lightning arrester or backpower fuse should burst before sensitive electronics inside it's metal protective box would.

>>2791938
Ditto vehicle computers though I have spares anyway for convenience since early LS computers can be tuned and have rear O2 sensors and ATS deleted using free software.

So what are the risks to a transceiver when running an older linear? I've fixed up a Heathkit SB-1000, checked everything and replaced the tube but it still has the original high voltage caps from the late 80s. I've powered it up and everything seems to work fine. Have HV, no arcing, If I key it without RF in I get about 100ma plate current so it all seems to be fine. Just don't want it to damage my transceiver if it lets loose.
(All tests with a dummy load attached ofc)

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Can anyone id the rotor from KZ4RR or how to recreate it?
>The world famous 360° rotatable Tree Beam - Retired in 2019 with 84 DXCC Countries worked on 6 meters SSB and CW

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>>2792099
It's just a ring rotor dude.

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>QSO PARTIES THIS WEEKEND!!

>>2791856
All generations do this. Worse, the current ones want and expect their ROI to pay off the initial start-up costs within 6 to 12 months when historical averages were 5 to 7 years.

Few people or families want to leave a legacy. Unmitigated greed knows no boundaries and it's getting worse with each generation. :-/

Anyways, the only MFJ equipment I have is a 259B antenna analyzer and 969 roller inductor tuner. The latter I got in 1999 and had to threaten to cancel the cheque I used to pay for it two months earlier! if they didn't deposit it within 5 days. I like both units but the main knob on the 969 is stiff as hell. Apparently they are all like that. Works well though.

>>2792058
Yes. Research this further, but I believe if you are using a control line from a modern transceiver to key the transmit circuitry in some older amps that you have to be carefull as some older amps draw more current on the control line than the modern tranceiver can handle. Resulting in burned out transisters in the transceiver.

There are aftermarket kits that will allow you to connect older amps to newer radios. I think they're called keying relay buffer interfaces. I would research your brand of radio and amp and see if there are any specific issues or ways of doing so.

>>2792170
my FT-1000MP has a switching relay instead of transistors for the linear switching. The Heathkit amp is new enough the relay current to ground shouldn't be very high. I'll probably trigger it with a foot switch anyways. I'm more worried if the tube arcs and shoots what's basically a spark gap transmitter back into my nice transceiver.
The new tube seems fine though so I'm probably just being paranoid.

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>>2792174
shots from the manuals

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>>2792176

>>2792170
>>2792058
I meant to include this in my earlier reply. An amp I was looking into needs -18 V at 150 mA to key the amp but my transceiver uses positive voltage and only a couple mA.

>>2792160
>people getting together to enjoy their hobby
Wow what awful human beings. You sound like a faggot, go back.

>>2792286
Agreed. It's a great way to pick up WAS on each band, especially on SSB since the hobby has devolved to ft8

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>don't learn the technology
>buy our AI noise filter
>buy our antenna that a computer designed
this hobby is doomed

>>2792325
>this hobby is doomed
Hams have been saying this for fifty years.

>>2792319
what is this doomer posting?
bands are still full of ssb. FT8 is relegated to their designated shitting frequencies.
Get a better antenna setup if you can't hear all the action.

>>2792325
>buy our antenna that a computer designed
There's people itt that think building your own tower or antenna for a repeater is impossible, and you need "commercial grade equipment."

>>2792491
>Popsicle sticks, yarn, and elbow grease is all you need for a repeater tower and antenna that'll last 30 years

>>2792493
>correct
Again admitting you have no idea how to do put up one of the smallest antennas required for amateur radio activities.

>>2792325
lol how is AI affecting antenna design? The math and models have been known a long time

>>2792512
I haven't done any antenna modeling, but from what I would guess, it's probably making new designs based upon what we already know. AI has created new antibiotics that have worked (though more than half didn't) that was never thought possible.

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>>2788575
get out of here, Stalker.

>>2792512
Innovantennas and optibeam do it, they're mostly band-optimized beams that min-max their designs and footprint. Basically what we should be doing anyway. This makes these antennas very popular since most people can't put up 4 element yagis for every band. They're not even impressively small nor do they have insane performance, you're correct that they use the same math we've had for basically centuries.

If you want to have fun, download some antenna modeling software and start swinging at it. I've made some funky wire beam antennas myself, only to find out they already exist.

>>2792480
>what is this doomer posting?
Can you hop on any Saturday and find someone calling CQ from Florida on every band outside of ft8?
QSO parties are kind of gay, but an amazing opportunity to fill out a WAS SSB on all bands if you're diligent in a year.

>>2792512
Exactly my point. If you've automated some modeling software like EZNEC, cool. Garbage in, garbage out. It's the same as if I bragged that I automated photoshop. Cool. Doesn't mean anything productive will come from it.
>>2792410
Are hams and ham radio companies now praying to computers for new technology?
>>2792491
True, but chatgpt just repackages web search results. Therefore "AI" could give you the same results about needing commercial stuff.

>>2792543
>WAS
gotta love the ham version of steam achievements

>>2792543
>Can you hop on any Saturday and find someone calling CQ from Florida on every band outside of ft8?
Florida is one of the states this would be a resounding yes for, when the bands are actually in.

>>2792549
>ham version of steam achievements
Not everyone is in the US
>>2792564
I agree Florida is easy, but I used that since it was this weekend's QSO party. UT, ND, and WY have been difficult for me. QSO parties have helped. Call me gay for playing

>>2792543
Florida is literally the easiest state to get even outside of contests like this QSO party crap.

>>2792567
I'm in the US, I don't blame you. Going for my DXCC ssb was a nightmare.

Is Idaho hard for people to get?
I'm in Idaho but I'm testing for my general next month and still need to put up an antenna.

>>2792533
>you're correct that they use the same math we've had for basically centuries.
I also remember, in second grade, how school taught us how pilgrims brought antenna math to the new world, hundreds of years ago. They didn't have metal ships, but they had centuries of antenna math.

>>2792617
>he doesn't know the Romans had wireless power and radio transmitters
ngmi

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>>2792617
The first antennas were built in 1888.
1800s 19th century.
1900s 20th century.
2000s 21st century.
Therefore, "centuries" of antenna math.
Fag.

>>2792583
Idaho is on the other side of the country for me. I got them, but I had to switch to a vertical for SSB and it was terrible trying to confirm my callsign and state with them.

>>2791807
If it can do CW/SSB, it can do FM.
If it does FM, it probably doesn't do CW/SSB.

>>2792688
>other side of the country for me
That's good for e layer skip, try another band.

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>>2792654
>Thousands of years ago in the future . . .

>>2792654
>136 years == Centuries
This must be part of antenna math theory, or do you just work in marketing?

>>2792514
Min-max and optimization isn’t “AI” though.
If it is, your handheld calculator is also AI.
Your cruise control in your chevy is “fully autonomous self driving”

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>>2792800
>Min-max and optimization isn’t “AI” though
Min-maxing definitely isn't new. Hexbeams didn't need computer modeling to become commonplace, and they're one of the most notorious multi-band beam antennas in the world. The newer moxon-yagis and band optimized log antennas are neat, but they still have massive footprints. Picrel for instance, is twice the weight (or more) of a 6-20m hexbeam, has a larger turning radius and footprint, both handle 1500w continuous key-down with no traps or issues, and it only offers a maximum of 1db (less on most bands) of gain over a hexbeam 30ft above ground. At 60ft above ground, it's a different story, but not everyone can put an antenna up at 60ft.

Thoughts on EFHW antennas?
Probably gonna put one up to start with.
Guy I bought my radio from had one over his driveway and it was doing pretty decent considering the limited space he had. I was thinking a 130 footer.

>>2793095
They're ok. Just keep in mind a standard dipole will out perform them.

>>2793095
it's ok to start, I made nice contacts with mine but as >>2793098 said, a dipole will be better.
I plan to make an FD4 now to use on 80 and 40 and I have a Cobweb for 20 to 10 bands

>>2793098
so it would be better to get more feedline and setup an end supported wire dipole instead?
I've got a 20ft flagpole near my house then I'm gonna string it to a tree way back in my backyard

>>2793103
Depends on where and what you want to work.
DX? They're ok for Gay-8
I prefer a wire delta as high up as you can go

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What kind of performance and SWR can I expect from a G5RV style antenna placed between 2 houses? I live in an HOA restricted community. I can put up 2 15' telescopic poles and a 30' in between. I have limited options. Pic related but not my house.

>>2793246
>performance
What do you have now ? If nothing, it will be good, you'll try something else after
>SWR
you'll trim it and adjust it anyway so it's not a problem, G5RV needs a tuner

>>2793248
But will it get out at all? Will I hear anything or just noise floor static?

Do really care if I cook the neighbors kids and dog.

>>2793251
Don't care I mean

>>2793246
I had good luck with a full size and a mini G5RV. It needs to be set up correctly to work. If you have a HOA I'm not sure this is a good choice. These (and all dipole style) antennas need to be suspended from the middle and have each leg tied off, and you have to deal with the feedline. The antennas that have ladder/window line have to be run avoiding metal, such as Al siding or pipes, or they will refuse to tune or cause other shack problems.

>>2793251
>will it get out at all?
30' (10m) is a bit short, you'll do 80 to 40m in NVIS, no long distance, there's a risk that you inject noise in the other houses main power and cause some problems if you run high power but as a G5RV is symmetrical, it will minimize that.
Also what that anon said : >>2793259 ladder fedline must be far from any metal, especially parallel to it

>>2793259
>>2793261

Well shit...

Trying to avoid running something expensive and compromised like a Comet CHA250GD or Diamond BB7. Wanted something I could build myself.

>>2793264
your pole is metal ?

try a FD3 / FD4 then (windom conrad IIRC) the feeder is a coax

>>2793264
vertical antennas are noisy as fuck and have a low beam angle, so you need them on top of the house and without obstacles around

>>2793269
Probably just gonna end up putting a BB7 up on a 33ft E-Z up mast. Gotta be something I can put up in the evening and take down in the morning. I'll just have to deal with the noise and compromises.

>>2793318
don't pay for antennas yet, try some wire in different configurations and see chat you get.

>>2793264
Oh, well you could make one. You still need a matchbox and tuner, but you can make a push up mast and hook coax up to it, just set up a significant enough ground radial system to it. Super cheap and doesn't need heavy duty steel or anything. Kind of just operates like any other whip antenna, as you extend it, it will become more resonant with bands.

HOA assholes are hard to please. Another option is to use the satellite dish law established (they cannot regulate a satellite dish on your home) and claim a hexbeam is for satellite. Any antenna can, technically, receive any signal. Who's to argue what you use it for?

>>2793383
>Another option is to use the satellite dish law established

^Wisdom

>>2793246
that's a tall roof.
Utilize the roof and add a flagpole to the back fence line.
Attach a sloper from the house to the pole.

>>2793246
>I live in an HOA restricted community.
Telecommunications Act of 1996 renders all HOA restrictions on telecom null and void.

>>2792778
Kek

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A little off topic, but I'm a ham and can comprehend frequencies and bands and etc.
I have a young family and I'd like a broad receiver in a family space for everyone to have the opportunity to learn frequencies and experiment with a radio if they choose.
Young family rules out SDR along with I'd like to have the tactile component - no 1984 'face to the screen'
Equally, young family means they're monsters and could destroy it, so nothing valuable or vintage.
Something like a ICOM Model IC-R71 or even better a Icom IC-R7100 which includes V&UHF is where I'm gravitating towards, but I'm ignorant of the options and possibilities.
They can listen to AM/FM in the car. I want to break the mold and get them to SWL and SSB.

>>2793584
>IC-R7100
it does HF but only from 25Mhz and above, so no AM broadcast, and most of the ham bands will not be there

>>2793604
>it does HF but only from 25Mhz
Thank you - I interpreted that as 25hz - wishful thinking!
Drastically different and I appreciate your input.
That'd not only exclude most of the ham bands but also SWL and AM.

>>2792724
Thanks for that. The guy I bought it from said he used it on SSB, which is all I intend to use it for. I just need to build a 3 element LFA and get it on the air. Prob is too many projects on the go.

>>2793584
Nice. Off the top of my head I can think of a few desktop models because i've played with them: Icom R71A, Kenwood R2000, R5000, Yaesu FRG-100. I have an R71A.

You'll know better what your children are capable of, but two things I would consider is complexity & tuning. Most of the radios I just listed have lots of buttons and knobs which might be a bit daunting to some kids. A simpler interface like the Kenwood R2000 might be appropriate. Basic controls like modes, volume, etc, keypad entry, plus an easy to read frequency display and a big tuning knob. Then again, some kids have brains like sponges that suck up everything around them and are quick to grasp the complexities of each button (experimentation).

I would also look at getting an external speaker for better audio.

Another consideration would be portable radios. Like a Radio Shack DX390 or something. My only experience with portables is with a Panasonic RF2200 so I can't offer much there.