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In case anyone missed the importance of these links... you can buy RFC-400, an LMR-400 equivalent cable, shipped to your doorstep for less then you can buy RG-213 locally! We are talking about 55 cents a foot or less after shipping. At that price you can buy a 1000 ft spool and the local hams in your area will gobble the rest up in no time. The center conductor is a solid wire. It's actually aluminum with a very heavy copper clad coating that allows you to still solder the cable as normal. This is why it's much cheaper. A good, local trustworthy ham has ran tests by running RF thru both the LMR-400 and RFC-400 cable with dummy loads and watt meters and has stated that this equivalent cable actually has a little less loss then the "real" LMR-400 made by Timesmicrowave. He and has buddies have had great success with this cable after having it installed for several years. This cable works great for any ham application, but it will drastically improve your 2m/70cm performance. I'm ordering a spool this week. Edit: Because it's a heavy cable you won't be hanging it off a dipole. Also because the center conductor is solid you can't install it where it will see any repeated flexing. AbsentMindedWelder fucked around with this message at 15:17 on Jan 13, 2011 |
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Jan 13, 2011 15:12
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I yammer a lot about DXing but if you are interested in it at all someone finally wrote a good primer about it: http://tinyurl.com/4c6bzev Covers basics, QSLing, how to's, how NOT to's etc.
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Jan 13, 2011 16:55
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Solid center conductor? Nooooooo thanks. e: Ordered my APRS crap tonight. Argent Data OpenTracker USB, SiRF III GPS that fits inside the OT USB case, a cigarette lighter power/data cable to hook to my FT-50 and some powerpoles for later. I'll be able to go from naked smart beacon tracker to fully enabled station with that kit. ~$120 shipped. After I get this figured out, weather station time! Oh and I have secured a HTX-202 to use as the WX transmitter, too. Skyssx fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Jan 14, 2011 |
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Jan 14, 2011 02:19
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Skyssx posted:Solid center conductor? Nooooooo thanks. Think of it as poor man's hard line. If for example, you have a beam on a rotor, you can finish the last 10 feet with the lmr-400 ultraflex, which a number of vendors can sell by the foot in limited quantities.
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Jan 14, 2011 09:10
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Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Aug 28, 2019 |
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Jan 14, 2011 09:47
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It has the same bending radius as normal cable. The only thing is you can't install it where it will see repeated flexing.
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Jan 14, 2011 16:07
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Cross posting from the CB thread because I'm asking about hardcore RF issues and want more minds thinking about it:AbsentMindedWelder posted:I've had a hell of a time trying to get a Wilson 2000 to work. I'm installing it via permanent roof mount on a large Dodge Ram Cargo Van. This should normally work beautifully. Problem is the Wilson 2000, or any other antenna that uses a loading coil, be it bottom, middle, or top, won't work right. I've tried different mounts, antennas, and coax, the whole nine.
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Jan 14, 2011 20:38
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I'll be hanging out on the SAARS Echolink node (AG0ON-L) for the next half hour if anyone wants to chat.
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Jan 15, 2011 23:54
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Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 04:55 on Aug 28, 2019 |
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Jan 16, 2011 19:28
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Jose Pointero posted:e: I think I got Echolink working. I can use the test conference and hear my audio coming back. But when I connect to AG0ON and transmit I hear nothing. Isn't there supposed to be some sort of response, a beep or whatever? I've been sitting on it for a while and don't hear anything at all. The conference is not configured with any features , so it is just a big chat room . No courtasy tones or anything . e: However I've got my CT's locked and loaded and ready to demolish this week's four man net. Partycat fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Jan 17, 2011 |
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Jan 17, 2011 03:49
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Okay so the XXX-400 type cable is the way to go then for VHF/UHF over like , 3 feet , then ?
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Jan 17, 2011 06:06
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Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Aug 28, 2019 |
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Jan 17, 2011 07:20
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I'm not sure what the heck's going on with my Echolink. I have all the necessary ports forwarded and it passes the test in the initial setup wizard thing, but I can't connect to the test server and I don't get any indication of success when connecting to AG0ON-L. It shows connected, but nothing else. I have used Echolink successfully in the past when I first got my license, but it's been a while. So far I've actually received audio once today for a short time when connecting to a local repeater (KB8WLW), but then I was disconnected. Ah well, supposedly I'm connected to AG0ON-L, so if anyone wants to chat I might hear you. e: Success! Thanks to LA9XSA for helping me get my mic gain set up. wolrah fucked around with this message at 22:12 on Jan 17, 2011 |
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Jan 17, 2011 21:25
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Stupid MLK. My OTUSB and GPS would be here today if it weren't for you!
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Jan 18, 2011 03:37
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The counterpoise wires didn't end up working. I don't know what the gently caress the problem with that 11m antenna situation on my van is. I'll figure it out one of these days... In the mean time I purchased a LDG Z11-ProII automatic antenna tuner today. This will allow me to use the current antenna at a SWR > 3.0 without blowing up the radio. While it's not solving the real problem, I get excellent signal reports. Now I'm sure all of you are thinking, well drat, you are an idiot for spending $180 on a tuner to get a CB working. Well, let me tell you that the LDG Z11-ProII is an awesome box and will spend plenty of time with my Yaesu 857 working HF. When it isn't doing that, it will get my CB working until I fix the underlying problem.
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Jan 18, 2011 23:49
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I got an AARP card in the mail, I blame having a ham license. edit: I am 25. EvilMoFo fucked around with this message at 02:07 on Jan 19, 2011 |
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Jan 19, 2011 02:05
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Got my tracker package and my Stihl package from Germany in one day! Installed the drivers, ran the OTWINCFG and set some basic parameters. Hooked up the radio and I appeared on APRS.fi! So it works out of a 1/4 wave HT antenna at 2w from indoors. Then the tracker locked up my computer HARD! Hooray. I ordered and received a SiRF III patch GPS module, but the wiring is backwards for this application. I'll have to disassemble and reassemble one end of the wafer plug, I guess. There's a receptacle inside the casing and plenty of room to stash the antenna. I'll need to wrap it in foam or something to prevent electrical contact, but for the size of the module, it's just cavernous inside. Once I get the GPS module hooked up, i'll be able to PnP and SmartBeacon my HT whenever i'm in the car. I ordered 10 pairs of powerpoles as well, so I can tie into a power strip when I get serious about the mobile installation.
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Jan 19, 2011 04:00
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I have something resembling an Echolink node with an RF connection working, but I find out the AG0ON-L node is offline... I'm sure djkstra will fix that shortly. Got a separate computer running Echolink, a Signalink USB, and my Yaesu 8957 all hooked up. I'll be able to use my HT or Mobile rig to communicate with the node via RF. AbsentMindedWelder fucked around with this message at 00:16 on Jan 20, 2011 |
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Jan 20, 2011 00:00
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"Wafer" plugs are super easy to reorder. You use any old pin to lift the plastic tab slightly while removing a wire. After you get them all out, they just snap back in. The GPS didn't blow up, so hooray! I just need to make an electrically insulative pouch for the GPS module that won't abrade away from vibrations. I flashed the firmware with settings where I can plug in the whole majigger to my accessory outlet in my truck and beacon around town. I'll try it out tomorrow. e: Ok, I tested out tonight. After thinking nothing was working, I normalized and e-mailed Scott Miller. I wasn't expecting a response, but he helped me out with what turned out to be no problem at all. In no-GPS mode, I set the tracker to report me somewhere where I have never transmitted from. That packet showed, so I knew the OTUSB worked. I then set up for mobile ops with a truck icon and a -9 SSID, again, something i've never done. I noticed the smart beacon settings said that if I was moving below walking pace, to update my position every 900 seconds. I set a timer, and sure enough, it transmitted. I'll package it all up tomorrow morning and run some errands. If it all looks good on the APRS-IS, i'll set it up for normal mobile operation and leave it there. Hooray! pps - What loving company provides e-mail tech support at 2230? Seriously awesome. Skyssx fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Jan 20, 2011 |
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Jan 20, 2011 02:52
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Ya, the guys over there at Argent Data are cool. They've got an OT mailing list that is fairly active too.
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Jan 20, 2011 05:40
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AbsentMindedWelder posted:I have something resembling an Echolink node with an RF connection working, but I find out the AG0ON-L node is offline... I'm sure djkstra will fix that shortly. Sorry about that, I was out all night. I'm not sure why but the server rebooted.
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Jan 20, 2011 12:47
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Today I did a "final" test of my HT+APRS rig. Drove around on some errands including two stops, multiple turns and highway travel. Only three points transmitted from KC8IUR-9 it to the APRS-IS. If you look it up on APRS.fi, you'll see I was driving through a fairly dense area. Obviously I need to work on layer 0. A HT in the cupholder is not going to give smooth paths.
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Jan 20, 2011 17:30
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Speaking of APRS, anyone have any thoughts on Byonics gear? I'm looking specifically at the MicroTrak RTG at the moment, but it looks like I could put together a few different combinations of their hardware for the same end result of a standalone semi-permanent vehicle mounted tracker. Also, is anyone aware of any Android packet radio apps which interface with a real radio using a soft TNC setup? I've found a few for iOS, but the two Android APRS apps I can find both use IP links only. edit: On the latter bit, I'm an idiot. It seems APRSDroid does support soft TNC over the headset plug. Time to order the right cables to interface with my HT. edit2: Now I remember why I gave up last time I was looking in to using my HT for APRS, the thread title is still drat accurate and about zero programs for the Win32 platform are actually built right, so they for the most part don't work on Windows 7 and the asshats maintaining the software insist it's a problem with newer versions of Windows so they won't fix it. Looks like I'm loading Ubuntu back on a spare notebook if I want to do anything with soft TNCs from a full scale PC since it's the only modern OS anything will run on. wolrah fucked around with this message at 19:09 on Jan 20, 2011 |
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Jan 20, 2011 18:29
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APRS software is written by people who were unsatisfied with something another piece of APRS software did. So they write something that does exactly what they want it to do. Anything else is ignored. Hooray! I looked at Byonics offerings, nothing they make quite works towards my ends.
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Jan 20, 2011 19:33
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Where did you say you got all your stuff Skyssx? Particularly your interface cable. I have a Wouxun KG-UVD1P which uses a Kenwood style mic/speaker cable and I want to play around with packet and APRS. I figure it might be easier to buy one since I don't have any experience soldering nor do I have a soldering iron here at school. On a fun note, you hear some interesting things on business frequencies and the like. Kinda fun to listen to the Campus PD around here do their check of the lots for parking permits.
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Jan 20, 2011 20:00
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From Argent Data directly. I got the OTUSB, the GT525 GPS, a pack of 10 powerpoles and an integrated power/interface cable. The GT525 hooks up to a plug and fits entirely inside the case of the OTUSB. The OTUSB has three external plugs, USB-B, DB9-F and DB9-M. The DB9-F is marked Radio and that is where my cable plugs in. It has a red and black lead that run to a 1A fused accessory port plug. The other cable terminates in a right angle, four conductor 3.5mm phono plug for late 90s-early 00s Yaesus. They sell cables for four or five HT plug configurations as well as unterminated cables. The DB9-M plug is marked data and has two RS-232 connections in it. You could plug a GPS in here, or a GPS and a computer with a special splitter cable. Weather station data is also carried over this plug, if you desire.
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Jan 20, 2011 20:19
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I've got a question about military radios. It's been awhile since I've been around them but I know we were plugging frequencies in the 30s of Mhz. Now, the antennas that are put on all of the vehicles are a single length and transmit/receive generally sucks. On exercises the handheld motorolas had better range than our OE-254 antenna which was on a 30 foot tall mast. Is this just because we had no idea what we were doing (none of us were commo guys) or because the one-size-fits-all design of military equipment means the radi and antenna setup just aren't very effective? Same thing for mobile, the HMMWVs had these 2 antennas flopping around but I know they were not the right length for the frequencies being used.
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Jan 20, 2011 23:42
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To be honest, there are so many variables that we don't know based on your post, it's really impossible for us to comment intelligently.
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Jan 20, 2011 23:49
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AbsentMindedWelder posted:To be honest, there are so many variables that we don't know based on your post, it's really impossible for us to comment intelligently. drat it! Could some current or prior military person chime in and give some more technical details about military radios and antennas?
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Jan 21, 2011 00:14
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Hummer Driving human being posted:drat it! It might be be best to ask that question in this forum. Military communications are a whole different ballgame.
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Jan 21, 2011 00:16
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Hummer Driving human being posted:drat it! Because SINCGARS radios universally suck balls. Also, the spectrum is retardedly crowded, negating the FHSS benefits initially provided by the system. 1970's tech with 1920's frequencies. Here's something no one in the military knows while they're in. Pine needles gently caress the face of VHF signals. Have you been to JRTC or Hohenfels? How many pine trees are there? Infinite pine trees. That's how many. GUES WHO JUST MADE HIS FIRST KEGERATOR! This guy! 5.5 gallons of GLBC Christmas Ale, on tap, in my FACE! (Which I canoot see). Thte military has been moving to the new Harris radios. I've got a few manuals and CDs around here, but basically, they are 'push butan - talk worldwide' radios. They're programmed with all the frequencies they can work on and are 100% digital. They can ping the ionosphere and determine the MUF automatically and transparently to you. Yo ujust hit the button that says "I would like to talk on the net, please", and it connects you to the other users through ALE (lolz), Automatic Link Establishment. You can select various bit rates depending on band conditions. THere is even a way to record a message and have it transmitted stateside at super low bit rates in an emergency. These radios do everything a $10,000 contest rig does, except they do it from a package the size of a ream of paper and feed it through a bent flat fiberglass antenna. With one button.
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Jan 21, 2011 01:02
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I've decided that I will be using my Yaesu FT-747 as a "dedicated" PSK31/HF Digital radio. I think this is a great plan, because currently the FT-747 has been sitting unused. Also, I will be able to use the FT-857 radio for 2m/70cm and SSB on HF at the same time I'm running PSK31. Why use 1 radio when you can use 2 at the same time, right? This evening I plan to put together an interface cable which let me use my Signalink USB with the FT-747. This is made slightly easier as the FT-747 has an "AF OUT" jack, which means I don't have to interface to the headphone or external speak jack. So the question I have to the PSK31 experts is how do I make sure my volumes, mig gains, etc., are all set properly so I'm not overdriving the radio and causing interference to other QSO's, and generally have a fun time?
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Jan 21, 2011 23:23
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AbsentMindedWelder posted:I've decided that I will be using my Yaesu FT-747 as a "dedicated" PSK31/HF Digital radio. I think this is a great plan, because currently the FT-747 has been sitting unused. Also, I will be able to use the FT-857 radio for 2m/70cm and SSB on HF at the same time I'm running PSK31. Why use 1 radio when you can use 2 at the same time, right? The signalink manual gives a pretty good initial setup guide. http://www.tigertronics.com/files/slusbman.pdf To start off, reduce your RF out to about 20-35 watts, then adjust the mic gain on the rig to something about 1/3 of the way up if you are using the 8 pin mic jack. From there, set the rigs meter so that the ALC meter is showing. Make sure you have the sound controls in Windows setup as described in the manual. The main thing is that you want to to make sure that when you are transmitting, you are not overdriving the transmitter and tripping the ALC. If you are tripping the ALC, adjust the TX knob on the signalink down until you are not tripping it anymore. For me this is usually about 12 O'clock on the TX knob, however I run mine into the data jack on my radio but you may want to to start around there. I think the manual mentions this. It sounds harder than it is, as long as you run everything conservatively you should be fine. There's not really any need to run more than 25-35 watts, especially on an older rig. PSK is high duty cycle and you don't want to overwhelm the finals. Additionally, higher power won't serve much purpose and will just piss everyone off, because you will probably make everyone's AGC trip and overload their front ends if you are in their passband. Some OFs will tell you that it's okay to run 100+ watts of you have a perfectly tuned and clean signal with low IMD (they all have oscilloscopes they check theirs on) but they forget that not everyone has narrow filters and can keep their front end from being overwhelmed. There's really no need to.
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Jan 22, 2011 02:52
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^^^ Thanks for that. I'll soldering the interface cable together later today. Earlier this week I attended a presentation about D-Star at a local club. It's pretty awesome... I plan to pick up a "DV Dongle" this week. The DV Dongle has an AMBE vocoder chip inside of it and plugs into your computer via USB, allowing you to talk voice via a D-STAR gateway via internet. The local D-Star repeater, K3PDR is internet connected, so I'll be able to play with the system before I feel like dropping $ on a radio. In any event, D-RATS looks like a pretty interesting program to compliment the D-Star system, and you don't need a radio or DV Dongle to use it. You do, however, need to register your callsign on a D-Star gateway before you can use the program. You need only register on one D-Star gateway... once registered that gateway will copy your info to the master D-Star database allowing you access to the entire D-Star system. I encourage everyone to check D-RATS out, and once you get your call sign set up on a gateway, send me a shot via AIM. We can voice chat on echolink while playing with D-RATS messaging and file-transfer abilities. I'm mostly interested in it's file transfer ability at the moment. Does anybody here have any D-Star equipment, be it a radio or DV Dongle?
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Jan 22, 2011 20:07
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I was interested in D-STAR until I found out the mobile radio was $600. Plus $200 for the D-STAR capability. Then my interest was rekindled when I heard about the dongle. Until I found out the dongle costs two hundred dollars! gently caress D-STAR.
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Jan 22, 2011 23:41
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Most of the "high" cost of digital voice radios at the present time is because of DVSI (Digital Voice Systems, Inc) getting a per-unit royalty for the usage of their codecs (IMBE for P25 and AMBE for DSTAR). Until someone comes up with a working public-domain codec for RF usage (read: uses very little bandwidth, can tolerate packet loss, and doesn't sound like rear end), we're stuck with DVSI stuff. On a different note, I had to set the IRC channel to allow only registered users into it, due to an influx of spambots across SynIRC's entire network. If you haven't registered your nickname already, you should issue the command "/nickserv help register" in your client and then follow the instructions that will be sent to you via /notice (usually appear in the status window, but this depends on your client). You will also have to authenticate with nickserv (via /nickserv identify yourpasswordhere) each time you connect before you will be granted access to the channel.
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Jan 23, 2011 07:56
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TNLTRPB posted:Most of the "high" cost of digital voice radios at the present time is because of DVSI (Digital Voice Systems, Inc) getting a per-unit royalty for the usage of their codecs (IMBE for P25 and AMBE for DSTAR). Until someone comes up with a working public-domain codec for RF usage (read: uses very little bandwidth, can tolerate packet loss, and doesn't sound like rear end), we're stuck with DVSI stuff. The AMBE vocoder chip costs $25. This is the only propriety item you need to implement a D-star anything. Only reason D-Star poo poo is expensive is because the market for the products is small right now and Yaesu has a bug up their rear end about D-Star. If more people start using the system, costs will change dramatically. In any event, I think it's an awesome system, and since Poker has been treating me well, I'll drop the $$$ on some toys in the next few weeks and become an "early adopter". AbsentMindedWelder fucked around with this message at 12:26 on Jan 23, 2011 |
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Jan 23, 2011 12:21
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Net tonight at 22:00 EST. Topic of discussion tonight: Topics of future discussion. Here's what I want to do with the nets: -Each net will have a topic of discussion that will be announced at the end of the previous net. This will give members a week to think of intelligent questions and comments, and maybe even do a little research. Topics of discussion do not necessarily have to be related to amateur radio, however a healthy balance is encouraged. -Recordings of the net be made available to SAARS members. Either the AG0ON-L node can be configured by Dijkstra to make recordings of the net, or I could figure out some way to do it from the client. The file could be made available in a compressed format via a private Yahoo group or something to SAARS members only. This would be good for those who couldn't attend the net, or those that did and have bad memories if an interesting topic was discussed. Also, we still need to hold some kind of official meeting to officially establish the club, and elect its officers. The officers then in turn will elect a trustee for the club call sign. (If that ends up not being me, I'll happily turn over the ULS info.) While this has loosely been done in this thread, I would not call it official by FCC standards at all. We have more then enough members to meet the standards of a club, so we just have to put on paper basically. So think about that and bring your comments to the net this evening. We won't be holding that official meeting tonight, but we can start planning it. AbsentMindedWelder fucked around with this message at 13:29 on Jan 23, 2011 |
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Jan 23, 2011 13:24
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I think I found some repeaters more hosed up that the W2NJR repeater system... KE6RRI, the former W6NUT and their enemies/rivals, KG6YPA. I'm sure most of you have heard about W6NUT and all their flaunting of the Part 97 rules. For those who haven't, W6NUT is a repeater in SoCal known for their excessive vulgarity and off-color topics, which run the gamut from racism to homophobia. Despite the violations of the Part 97 rules, the FCC can't prosecute profanity, only obscenity, so they get by with pretty much everything they want. Anyway, N6HOG (the former trustee) got tired of the bullshit associated with the repeater bleeding over into his real life, so he sold the thing to another ham, KE6RRI. She set up a temporary repeater north of the regular W6NUT site, which left a large portion of the southern userbase unable to contact the repeater. The southern contingency set up KG6YPA using a set of frequencies that are assigned to a local repeater system and are also bleeding over into another set of repeaters a short distance away so they could continue their fun and games. To get back at KE6RRI for moving the system, the southerners repeatedly jam the repeater with chirping crickets, music, random DTMF tones, kerchunking the repeater, and other general mischief. I got the link from playing with the Radio Scanner app on my new phone and the first thing I heard was this, followed by an excessively vulgar reply from one of the repeater locals. I've been listening ever since.
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Jan 23, 2011 17:43
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I spent a few days listening to the .435 feed right after the repeater was sold. It didn't seem at all in violation of the letter or spirit of the rules. It was just people talking.
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Jan 23, 2011 19:27
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