I run an arrow j pole at the house. Its built like a tank and works great.

       I thought I did and was going to post a pic but could find it .






All I did was cut the long element at the same length as the mid length element and used a piece of 1/2 od 3/8 id as a coupler  .  Makes it a good bit more portable .






Im moving so its packed up , if I come across it Ill take a pic.


Heres the build for the basic J pole

I bought the Arrow J pole with the takedown feature for my Emcomm gear.  I do want to get some sort of Yagi for more distance 2m and maybe 70cm work.

I guess I never understood the logic of the Elk Log Periodic for Ham use.

My understanding that a Log Periodic antenna is nothing more than a broadened spectrum of dipole antennas.  They do not provide any gain with their use.  Which is why Log Periodic antenna are popular for wide band applications like scanning and television reception.

Where as a Yagi by design is tuned and increases gain to a point by adding elements focusing your signal in for both sending and receiving.  I had been planning on adding at least a 2m Yagi for my more distant connections for ARES/RACES locations within our County.

I have experimented with this home brew Yagi antenna using HTs for foxhunting and long range HT to HT simplex which without the Yagi nothing could be heard even with the squelch open on either side.
This keeps me coming back to a need to have a Yagi for Emcomm use.

You need 40 and 80 (and preferable 60) for NVIS. You can't rely on 40 always being below MUF.


If someone could check in on Echolink over a cell phone why would they need a radio or even Echolink, did not the TOC/JOC/whatever have wireline or satellite phone capability?

I'm deferring to HQ to make the decisions as to what bands and even if NVIS will be an option in the future. There will be a lot of sitting around the table figuring out what went right and what went wrong. There are a couple of really top shelf radio amateurs there and if NVIS is to be employed then it will have been thought through.

In this event there was cell coverage that didn't go away, cell coverage that was iffy, and cell coverage that was non-existent. HQ response was the shotgun method. Deploy a ham to every station until cell coverage is restored. Makes sense on paper but it wasted resources that could have been used in other places. Should have added that the Echolink checkin was sent home as he was obviously not needed at that station.

I'm not aware of the Red Cross having sat phone capability. However they do have a radio system on 47.42mhz that is used during long term events such as what this one will be. Don't know anything about it except they have another group that comes in and sets that up.

They do provide gain. Granted element for element the yagi does provide more gain. A 5 element yagi provides more gain than the 5 element LP. The Elk has a 20db front to back gain and about a 70 degree beamwidth. Back when I was chasing weak signal 2m SSB I had a contact over 250 miles using 100w and the Elk. A broad spectrum dipole it is not.

The issue with the yagi is that it has a narrow bandwidth. Build a 3 element 2m yagi and it's only good on 2m and only part of that band to boot. The LP has a wide bandwidth so I can do 2m and 70cm without doing a thing. Flexibility is what the LP brings to the table.

All antennas are compromises. To get the flexibility I had to give up some gain. I'm cool with that.

I like.  Keeping your food source alive certainly eliminates needs for preserving/refrigeration.

The manual for the Arrow J-pole has a pretty good diagram with measurements and parts listing.  Here: http://arrowantennas.com/inst/OSJ146440.pdf

alas, it did not end well.  

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_154/1521421__ARCHIVED_THREAD____it_s_your_first_ever_night_away_from_us_piper__but_everyone_is_pulling_for_you___.html


ar-jedi

Louisiana Officials Demand That Self-Reliant Locals Stop Surviving The Flood Without Permission:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-08/louisiana-officials-demand-self-reliant-locals-stop-surviving-flood-without-permissi

A bit over-the-top reporting but the basics are correct.

That state senator who wants to regulate the Cajun Navy? He was basically told to go F himself. His re-election chances are now zero.

The Red Cross turning away home cooked meals? Yes that happened. They don't know you from Adam and you could be a good Samaritan or some psycho who just laced 100 meals with cyanide. They can't take the chance. That Beth Yancey Houghton? She just got butt hurt that she showed up self-deploying and the Red Cross didn't bow at her feet. Another "medical professional" who thinks she is more important than she is. She was laughed at locally also. Go online, sign up, and be vetted PRIOR to the incident. Clothing is not the Red Cross' gig. Donate to the Salvation Army and/or St. Vincent de Paul.

Building permits. Well yes and no. Depends on your damage. Officially if you got 18 inches or less, no permits are necessary. Carry on. However once the water hits the electrical outlets then that steps it up another level. Watch this video of a building inspector walking you through what you need to look for. By the way the inspector is walking you through his own house.
http://www.wbrz.com/news/what-you-need-to-know-when-repairing-your-home/
In my case when I was rebuilding after Gustav, West Baton Rouge parish suspended all permits as long as the contractor was state licensed. Saved much time and money.

More than one out of state volunteer has said that they have never seen a community just take a step back, roll up their sleeves, and tell the rest of the world "Go away. We got this." Hell even our governor told Trump and BHO to not bother coming as it took valuable resources away from getting the job done.

It's just who we are.

I really dont know why that politician didnt just go "hey we need to promote cert, so these folk helping will have a little training next time "  but I guess he preferred to commit political suicide .

Around here CERT has no traction although I wish it did. The Cajun Navy and CERT would be a good fit. Deal killer was how it was presented. Can't go in unless and you have a piece of paper you paid $50 for. Go F yourself.


Know the area well. Got a 600yd range just across the river from Gonzales that I shoot High Power at. Glad to hear they are 'dry'.

For reference all houses here are on slabs. Not a basement to be found. Water table is so high that basements are an impossibility. That is also the reason for the above ground cemeteries around NOLA. Can't dig a 6 foot hole without hitting water. The caskets will float out of the ground. Last spring did some fence repair replacing a few posts at the QTH. Dug 2 feet down and hit water. That was my gauge I was deep enough.

The local greeting has changed from "How's your momma and 'dem?" to "Ya get water?"

Hey, Hank!

WTF is with the Cajun Navy?

The president said to be fair to minorities yet they likely saved more than the federal averages.

You guys owe the president an apology because <insert Slim Pickens voice>"WHat in the wide, wide world of sports is a-goin' on here? You saved 1026 blacks*, 763 Hispanics*, 237 Asians* and one fat Pacific Islander too many. You guys are going to have to toughen up and start letting your friends and neighbors drown."




*Insert nasty racial slur to get the full Blazing Saddles/Mel Brooks impact of what I am trying to say. If I were writing the president I would be using the slurs. Fuck him.



ETA Now go back and DROWN THOSE MINORITIES!!

Arrow has been making them for years. i know since of at least 09 when i got my tech ticket. it was one of the first antennas i ever built and i used their description to build it.

Pretty sure that I was told a line when I bought it. Seeing as you can buy them in lots of 10, assemble them, and sell them individually at hamfests for a profit. Say you homebrew it and who is going to question it.

Nonetheless that Arrow dual band j-pole is built like a tank and works.