"I've never heard of coax stretching because it was laying on a roof!"

Not just because it was laying on a roof.  If debris gathers on an unsupported co-ax and it is up there through rain, snow, constant heating and cooling from being in the sun, etc., sooner or later it will gradually stretch.  Probably not to the point of failure--but it will stretch.

Although it would take more co-ax, I always run it straight down, then clip it under the eaves to the point it will be going into the house.  You're right, laying it horizontally will cause it to accumulate debris and could end up gradually stretching it, changing its impedance characteristics in time.

If you must run it horizontally, electronics supply houses have 3 inch standoffs that will keep it supported and clear of the roof.  It may still stretch a bit, but it won't gather debris thus hastening that process.

Radio Shack used to have quality equipment, but lately has gone to the 'cheapest' suppliers they can.  I am not surprised that that supply is not giving you a steady, clean 15 amps.  The Radio Shack switching supplies of a few years ago had quality control problems, but were able to supply a nominal 25 amps--because they were actually made by Samlex (sp) and the Samlex power supplies were top quality and well made.

Why don't you keep your eyes open on the classifieds on this site, and if you're able to, on the ARRL site.  You can also visit your local club(s) and look on their bullitin boards--sometimes members list equipment for sale there, offering it to members and friends first.  Last place to look is E-bay, but watch yourself there.  You may get carried away and pay too much for a supply if you get caught up in the bidding.

Glad to see your new rig isn't the problem.  73!

N6AJR probably has got it right.  You've got enough power on low output, but switch to high and your power maxes out, amperage demand goes up and the voltage level goes down.  If it goes down too far, the auto protect circuitry shuts off the rig.

What are you using for a power supply?  For your purposes, a twenty amp supply should be used, it is a little high but worth the extra investment.

What are the wire sizes you are using?  The wire on the rig is probably twelve gauge--is there any lighter (18 gauge) wire in the power feed circuit?  If so it has to be upgraded to at least 12 gauge, and 10 gauge would be better.

You need good sturdy connections all along the line, at the power supply, the fuses (yes! check the fuse holders, by all means!) and the rig.  Ditto the antenna cable and connections.  Make sure the antenna you are using is rated for the power you are putting into it.  Don't have the antenna too near the radio either.  RF from the antenna could interfere with the radio microprocessor and shut the rig down.

If you tried it mobile first, did yon connect to the battery or to an inside connection?  Today's cars wiring is nowhere near heavy enough for the power the radio draws, you HAVE TO go directly to the battery to use the rig at full power.

Good luck!

The answer is the mount.  A mag mount has to use capacitive coupling to the ground plane it is attached to, and most of these antennas have a small ceramic disc capacitor in the base of the mount for matching purposes.  The thickness of the material between the base and the metal it is on can affect the match as well--the thicker the 'insulation' and paint covering the surface, the worse the match.  If you are using an inexpensive SWR meter, you probably won't get the SWR reading down any more than 3:1.  

What you need is an antenna analyzer to 'match' the antenna, but what you really need is a mount that is actually attached to the metal of the ground plane, not just stuck to it by magnetism.  You need this for both matching and safety purposes--the magnet in the mount is heavy enough to do considerable damage in the event the antenna and its mount is thrown off the surface it is stuck to.

There is one thing common with the hybrid autos nowadays.  That technology is so new and unexplored, the electric systems in it are newly developed that it is no wonder that there is excess noise coming out of them.

These cars and ham radio just don't mix yet.

I still use a soldering gun for the job.  Recently, I went to buy more tips for the gun, and found the tips that are just a wire which is flattened and formed to the proper shape.  I can see where those tips cannot get the job done--as someone else said, no mass to hold the heat.  The older type tips--which are still made but are hard to find--is what is needed to properly complete the job.  These tips are cast, with about a quarter inch tip which is chisel pointed.

I agree--the newer tips can't hold the heat needed to do the job, but the older ones can.  Of course, you need to know HOW to use the gun, if you don't you will make a lousy connection--on anything you try to solder.

Kevin,  Pulling low power wiring in a conduit is OK IF the wiring there is low power also.  120/240 volts is NOT low power.  As others have pointed out, it is a safety AND an interference issue.  The NEC addresses the safety issue and common sense addresses both.  Those regs are there for a reason.  Ignore them and you're asking for trouble......  

Sorry, its late.  I should have said 'MAY' do the trick for you.

Before you pull ANY wire, check the National electrical code.  I think you'll find you cannot pull low voltage control wiring (that is what cat5 cable is) in the same conduit that you have 120 volt or 240 volt wiring running in already.  You WILL have to run another conduit to your radio room to get your cat5 cable to it.

Seeing that that is the case, and if you do not want to lay a new conduit, you may be better off with wi-fi directional antennas and a wireless router.  If you can set it up line of sight, the low power stuff available at office supply stores way just do the trick for you.

Hate to be the bringer of bad news, but it sounds like you might have to take the antenna down.  It is possible--if nothing physical has changed--to believe that corrosion or some other non-obvious changes have taken place.  You may have to disassemble, clean and reassemble the entire antenna to clear up the problems.  On the other hand, if one connection has come loose it may throw off all the measurements.  The only way to tell is take it down and see.

You may be getting a mismatch because of the absence of a viable ground plane as well.  If you're using the mount on a side rail and grounded the outer shield to the bed of the truck, the ground plane is almost a quarter wave below the antenna--a situation that invites troublesome readings with inexpensive SWR meters.

If you get it down to a half wavelength, you may have a better time of it.  Also, Alan is right--you need an analyzer if the mount is as I described it to be.  Good luck!

Dan,  

Unless you plan on working UHF and SHF bands, I wouldn't worry about it a bit.  A club I belong to has a cell phone tower in its yard--its rent is the main money source coming into the club.  There is no interference to the 2 meter and 70 cm repeaters at all, the antennas are on the top of the tower in fact.  As far as HF, the club has an extensive radio room, and has no problems at all with the cell phone installation.  The distance is about 150 to 200 feet away.

Questions?  Well, why not if you can use the tower as support for one end of a long wire antenna!  Yes, I know, but its a thought!!

 

You probably have a bad connection or part in the memory circuitry of the rig, but the most likely thing to check is the memory battery.  It may be at the edge of failure--not quite enough power left to retain the memory and load it when switching the rig on from a 'cold start' but enough to do so when 'resetting' the rig.  It may also have a weak connection and nothing more.  

I had something similar happen to me on a Bearcat scanner--no memory loaded when I turned it on, but switch it off and on again and presto, the programmed channels were back.  I went nuts tearing into causes--then I replaced the memory battery and the problem cleared right up.

Good luck!

You may want something that lasts forever, but nothing does.  Even though you may have the antenna perfectly mounted, no leaks and strong as it can be, it is still a good idea to check it every once in a while to make sure nothing accidently happened to the connections.

I've been installing antennas and rigs for a long time now, and I always tell the people who bring their cars to me to check the installation occassionally.  Check the antenna connections, the wiring at the rig (antenna connector, power and speaker if you have one) and the power wiring at the battery.  Check and clean the fuses and fuse holders if needed as well as the wires at the battery terminals.  Preventative maintenance will extend the life of the rig, not to mention the life of the battery--and the vehicle--as well.