Posted: 12/20/2011 5:39:53 PM EDT
| After telling my BIL that I was studying for my Tech license,he said he had some extra equipment for me. So far,he's given me a Yaesu FT-2800M and a power supply[Astron RS-20A]. Now while I continue my studying,looking for an attic antenna,coax,etc. A good start,yes? |
| for an inside antenna, if you want to keep it on the cheap, go to radio shack and by a panel mount SO-239 then stop off at your local wielding supply shop and buy some long wielding rods(5) and make a simple 1/4 ground plain antenna. of course you will need so coax but thats easy to order off the web if you dont have some place local. |
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Lots of guys here running a Diamond? X-50 antenna in attics. Some using the "roll up J-pole" found on e-bay. How long of a run from the antenna to the rig? This will determine the coax you need. The longer the run, the better the coax is a general rule.
Nothing Radio Shack sells is worth messing with coax wise. |
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Yes! An excellent start. I have a 2800 in my vehicle, an excellent 2m rig. I have the smaller 1802 in my shack, just as good as operates the same. The power supply will also run an HF rig when you get the General license.
But don't shortchange yourself. When you get to 90-95% consistently with the online practice tests, continue studying the Tech materials, keep it all fresh in your mind, and begin studying General. You'll find the General is not much harder than Tech, and hopefully, you'll be given an opportunity to take the General after passing the Tech. It won't cost a penny more, just take another 20-30 minutes, and with that you'll have greatly expanded band privileges. |
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Quoted:
Lots of guys here running a Diamond? X-50 antenna in attics. Some using the "roll up J-pole" found on e-bay. How long of a run from the antenna to the rig? This will determine the coax you need. The longer the run, the better the coax is a general rule. Nothing Radio Shack sells is worth messing with coax wise. Rig will be in the basement of a single story ranch house. Just guessing,25 ft to the attic center. |
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Yes! An excellent start. I have a 2800 in my vehicle, an excellent 2m rig. I have the smaller 1802 in my shack, just as good as operates the same. The power supply will also run an HF rig when you get the General license.
But don't shortchange yourself. When you get to 90-95% consistently with the online practice tests, continue studying the Tech materials, keep it all fresh in your mind, and begin studying General. You'll find the General is not much harder than Tech, and hopefully, you'll be given an opportunity to take the General after passing the Tech. It won't cost a penny more, just take another 20-30 minutes, and with that you'll have greatly expanded band privileges. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Lots of guys here running a Diamond? X-50 antenna in attics. Some using the "roll up J-pole" found on e-bay. How long of a run from the antenna to the rig? This will determine the coax you need. The longer the run, the better the coax is a general rule. Nothing Radio Shack sells is worth messing with coax wise. Rig will be in the basement of a single story ranch house. Just guessing,25 ft to the attic center. Well then, some RG8-X would work for you. If you plan on putting in a UHF rig in the future, I would suggest LMR -240. |
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Quoted:
Yes! An excellent start. I have a 2800 in my vehicle, an excellent 2m rig. I have the smaller 1802 in my shack, just as good as operates the same. The power supply will also run an HF rig when you get the General license. But don't shortchange yourself. When you get to 90-95% consistently with the online practice tests, continue studying the Tech materials, keep it all fresh in your mind, and begin studying General. You'll find the General is not much harder than Tech, and hopefully, you'll be given an opportunity to take the General after passing the Tech. It won't cost a penny more, just take another 20-30 minutes, and with that you'll have greatly expanded band privileges. He made the same suggestion to me, after all 2 tests for the price of one made sense to my penny pinching ass. It was solid advice, and I am very happy I followed it! |
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Quoted:
This makes me sad. I told my family I was getting my Tech, and all they gave me was funny looks. Yep, same thing here. Keep getting the same thing from the uninformed "what is that, and why should I care" I think when SHTF I will charge people for each letter they want sent over the air. |