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eHam Forums / Antennas and Towers and more / Truck Antenna
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on: March 07, 2001, 08:36:43 PM
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I have a question concerning an AM broadcast band antenna on a pickup truck. I have an older GM truck with a dipole antenna buried in the windshield. It being a dipole, it tends to be somewhat directional and less then adequate for listening to the stations I like, which are about 100 miles away. With this in mind, I decided to build a vertical and place it on my camper shell, and as a result not have to drill holes in my truck. Yes I know I can buy an antenna for about $10 but I like to tinker and this seemed like a fun project, it has turned into a challenge. My new antenna consists of a 3 foot brass brazing rod mounted in a UHF connector. I used RG-58 coax for the connecting cable and mounted a BNC connector on the case of the radio (shell grounded). It works very well as long as: (1) the shield on the cable is not connected at either end and (2) the cable is not in direct contact with the structure on the truck, in other words, snaked around under the carpet where it needs to be for a permanent installation. I disconnected the original antenna and connected my new one, and adjusted the antenna trimmer cap located above the tuning knob. It will not pick up anything. The thing acts like a dead short. If I just use a piece of wire and run it in a window, I can pick up stations all over the place. I know this must have something to do with the capacitance of the coax but I am at a loss as to what to do to solve the problem. Can anyone help? Please include you email address. Thanks Steven KG4DED kg4ded@hotmail.com |
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eHam Forums / VHF / UHF / 2m/70cm SWR meter suggestions?
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on: March 02, 2001, 06:48:24 PM
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I have an MFJ-862 SWR Wattmeter. It works ok on 5 watts but it works better on 10. It is a crossed needle type so you can read the forward and reflected power directly. The ranges are 30 watts max and 300 watts max so this would put your 5 watt HT on the low end of the scale. You can also interpolate the SWR by scale markings between the two scales. The scales are logrithmic by the way. By reading the forward and reflected power, you can calculate the SWR. I have found it to be useful and functional. A lot of people bad mouth MFJ but I have not found anything wrong with theit products. They are not the top of the line but they are ok. Steven KG4DED kg4ded@hotmail.com |
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eHam Forums / VHF / UHF / I'm new...
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on: February 25, 2001, 12:23:52 PM
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You deffinetly need to get on a repeater. The HT is not going to get out very far, especially with a rubber duckie antenna. Remember, you need to set the HT up for the split frequency and any tone that the repeaters require. Also, be awair, that even with the repeater, you may have a hard time getting into it with an HT unless you live very close. Steven kg4ded@hotmail.com |
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eHam Forums / HomeBrew / 2M Yagi
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on: February 25, 2001, 12:15:23 PM
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I have the plans for a Yagi made from a Radio Shack FM antenna. This thing is a piece of cake to make and it works very well. It also folds and can be stored nicely. If you would like the plans, email me and I will send them back. Steven kg4ded@hotmail.com |
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eHam Forums / Mobile Ham / Power Needed!
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on: February 10, 2001, 09:24:28 AM
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You did not say what sort of current rating you need, but you can series connect any batteries to get most any voltage you want. Just be sure to use the same type of battery (NiCad, Lith, Lead-Acid etc) for all the cells and use the same milliamp hour ratting for each cell ( 600 mah etc).
Steven
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eHam Forums / VHF / UHF / HT antenna recommendations
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on: January 27, 2001, 06:07:59 PM
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Hi You did not say if price was of any importance to you also. I build a very good antenna for my Icom W32A. I just used a chunk of brazing rod, a BNC connector, a small piece of wooden dowel rod and two dabs of epoxi. It isn't fancy but it works quite well. It is flexiable and the most bang for the buck I have found. If you are interested in the exact design, email me and I can provide them. Steven kg4ded@hotmail.com |
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eHam Forums / Elmers / Equations for a Yagi
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on: December 05, 2000, 06:02:34 PM
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I have been looking for the equations that govern the element spacing and length for a Yagi antenna. I have seen a bunch of cook book antenna designs that say, “Cut to this length, position element here………”. I want to run the equations my self. Can anyone point me at a web site that has this info. Thanks Steven KG4DED@hotmail.com |
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eHam Forums / Elmers / LOOKING FOR ANTENNA PLANS
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on: November 27, 2000, 08:32:56 PM
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Take a look at the eHam Home Brew, under 2 meter beam from Radio Shack FM antenna. I was looking for the same thing and got lots of help. I have built the antenna and it works very good even thought I have not gotten it completly tuned up. I do not think you can build all the brackets and fittings for the $20 the RS antenna costs.
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eHam Forums / Mobile Ham / Icom IC-2800H vs. Kenwood TM-V7A , Opinions Wanted
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on: November 27, 2000, 08:12:35 PM
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I have had the TM-V7A for about a year. I bought it because it seemed to have everything I wanted in a radio and Kenwood has a good reputation. Well I am disappointed to say the least. To start with the manual is a total loss. It wouldn't even make good toilet paper. The display is very hard to see in daylight conditions and it has at least one "birdie" at 146.805 MHz. This is apparently a common problem with this model and there is not much that can be done about it. Mine was "fixed" but it still is questionable. I would not recommend this radio to anyone.
Go check out the products review section of eHam. I am not the only person that has bad thoughts about this radio. They are not kidding when it comes to the display being hard to see when your are mobile either.
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eHam Forums / Elmers / Dual Band Mobile. Which One?
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on: November 20, 2000, 09:31:24 PM
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They are not kidding when they say the TM-V7 is hard to see in daylight. It is terriable. Also the manual would not even make good toilet paper. It isn't even close to being detailed enough and in some parts it is just plan wrong. Also mine has a few birdies across the 2 meter band. It was sent back to be "fixed" but it still has problems. It is an inharent design flaw that can not be fixed. I would not recomend this radio to anyone. Steven KG4DED@hotmail.com |
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eHam Forums / Mobile Ham / Radio Shack dual-band through-glass antenna
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on: November 09, 2000, 09:38:55 PM
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When I moved my on the glass antenna, I got some new tape. I used the double sided 3M foam tape available at Office Depot and other places. I just cut several sections for both inside and outside and trimmed it up neatly. I also cleaned both the glass and the antenna parts VERY VERY good with alochol and then polished the glass with a dry cloth never touching the cleaned surfaces with my fingers. I then pressed it in place very tightly and held it for a while. To fininsh it up, I ran a bead of silicon rtv around the outside "foot" to seal out the water. It has been on for about a month and is working well. I try to pull it off once in a while just to see if it is still stuck.
Steven
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