Posted: 3/11/2013 3:06:04 AM EDT
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Okay, I will get my Technical and General license this coming weekend (that is when I will take the test, but do not think I will have any trouble passing). I have not been in HAM nor do I know anyone else who is in HAM, and there seems to be very few clubs in my area and they meet very infrequently. I got a Baofueng UV5ra and scanned through it, nothing but static everywhere (no surprise). I am looking for suggestions for a starting radio and antenna set-up. Something that I will not outgrow quickly, but is still easy to learn on (yeah, I know). I am surmising from the discussion here that I would probably be more interested in HF (would that be correct?). I have an antenna pole on the side of my house maybe 25' tall, which currently has a television antenna on top, but since TV has gone digital it is not really needed, so I figure I could use the pole. I live in a very dense housing area, the neighbor on the side where the antenna pole is, is about 20' away (the top of the pole maybe a few feet taller than his upstairs bedroom). I know this is very vague and indicates that I am clueless, well, I am! Thanks for any input and suggestions. |
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I have an antenna pole on the side of my house maybe 25' tall, which currently has a television antenna on top, but since TV has gone digital it is not really needed, so I figure I could use the pole. I live in a very dense housing area, the neighbor on the side where the antenna pole is, is about 20' away (the top of the pole maybe a few feet taller than his upstairs bedroom).
Welcome to the disease!  Could you post an MS Paint drawing of your yard so we have a better idea what space you have to work with?
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I was asked here to do a write up on programming the UV-5R, which would apply to the UV-5RA and other variants, too. They are all exactly the same under the shell.
So watch for that. It'll take me a week or two, but I'll do it on both manual programming and computer using CHIRP. Also, I saw a cable mentioned on the yahoo group with 6 different plugs which should allow programming of about 90% of the HTs on the market. I'm going to get one of those. CHIRP works with more than 60 different radios. Best of all, it's free, or rather, it's "donation ware". You can Paypal the guy a few bucks if you want, but it's not necessary. I did. |
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Quoted: I have an antenna pole on the side of my house maybe 25' tall, which currently has a television antenna on top, but since TV has gone digital it is not really needed, so I figure I could use the pole. I live in a very dense housing area, the neighbor on the side where the antenna pole is, is about 20' away (the top of the pole maybe a few feet taller than his upstairs bedroom). Welcome to the disease! Could you post an MS Paint drawing of your yard so we have a better idea what space you have to work with?I will try tonight--maybe get some measurements  |
| For just VHF/UHF, a vertical dual band antenna like this Diamond X200A and some good quality coax along with the proper adapter for the HT. Where in relation to the antenna support is the "shack" going to be? |
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Quoted:
I got a Baofueng UV5ra and scanned through it, nothing but static everywhere (no surprise). Click link here -----> LINK TO REPEATERBOOK Top left side of page, hover over "search" and move down to "proximity" and click. Search your zip code to find some repeaters near you. Also look for Win System, IRLP and Echolink repeaters near you. Those are linked across the US and in a half a dozen other country's. It would be cool if you could pump gas while talking to some dude in the UK or Japan on your Baofueng. You can get a 2m/440 antenna (vert) and use your Baofueng to get about a 30 mile range. I use a Diamond X200 antenna and have a RG8-X coax running into my garage and can hit a local repeater 28 miles away with a 5w hand held. The X200 is mounted on the top of my garage and is about 21' in the air (at tip). Works really really good. |
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Quoted: For just VHF/UHF, a vertical dual band antenna like this Diamond X200A and some good quality coax along with the proper adapter for the HT. Where in relation to the antenna support is the "shack" going to be? Well, I am not really interested in the using the HT, I figured maybe a Yaesu 7900R for the VF/UF. But do I really want to go there first? From everything I have read here, seems to me that HF is more interesting. The shack will be below the antenna and toward the front of the house maybe 10-15'. Total coaxial run should be <40' at a guess. |
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Quoted: Interesting, thanks.Quoted: I got a Baofueng UV5ra and scanned through it, nothing but static everywhere (no surprise). Click link here -----> LINK TO REPEATERBOOK Top left side of page, hover over "search" and move down to "proximity" and click. Search your zip code to find some repeaters near you. Also look for Win System, IRLP and Echolink repeaters near you. Those are linked across the US and in a half a dozen other country's. It would be cool if you could pump gas while talking to some dude in the UK or Japan on your Baofueng. You can get a 2m/440 antenna (vert) and use your Baofueng to get about a 30 mile range. I use a Diamond X200 antenna and have a RG8-X coax running into my garage and can hit a local repeater 28 miles away with a 5w hand held. The X200 is mounted on the top of my garage and is about 21' in the air (at tip). Works really really good. I searched, there is a repeater (147.3900) a few miles away. I just got the HT to see if I could hear anything-- I will have to check out that freq. As I have never been in HAM nor even know anyone in HAM, I had no clue what is out there. I have no problem getting a mobile/base station, but wanted to make sure it is worth it to go UF/VF rather than HF. |
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Quoted:Click link here -----> LINK TO REPEATERBOOK
Top left side of page, hover over "search" and move down to "proximity" and click. Search your zip code to find some repeaters near you. Also look for Win System, IRLP and Echolink repeaters near you. Those are linked across the US and in a half a dozen other country's. It would be cool if you could pump gas while talking to some dude in the UK or Japan on your Baofueng. You can get a 2m/440 antenna (vert) and use your Baofueng to get about a 30 mile range. I use a Diamond X200 antenna and have a RG8-X coax running into my garage and can hit a local repeater 28 miles away with a 5w hand held. The X200 is mounted on the top of my garage and is about 21' in the air (at tip). Works really really good. Here is another good database: http://www.amateur-radio.net/rptr |
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Wow, I thought my yard was a challenge for HF. :|
Any HF antenna will be pretty much a compromise one way or another. Maybe one of those freestanding verticals can go in your yard, but radials might be a problem. You might be able to pull off a trapped dipole either outside or maybe if you have access to your attic. For 2m/440, I'd probably go with a J-pole on top of that TV antenna mast. If you're not inclined to homebrew antennas and want something quick for 2m only, the radio shack ground plane scanner antenna has good SWR at the frequencies we find useful. Haven't tried it on 440, so can't endorse it for use on that band. |
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I have an antenna pole on the side of my house maybe 25' tall, which currently has a television antenna on top, but since TV has gone digital it is not really needed, so I figure I could use the pole.
Is there an antenna rotator already up there? You could replace the TV antenna with a VHF/UHF yagi / log periodic for weak signal (SSB / CW) work. |
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Quoted: I have easy access to attic (and have a decent amount of room up there (I would have to measure for sure). Radials are out of the question where the current antenna is. Yeah, if I moved it to the middle of the back yard (not sure that the wife would be trilled about that).Wow, I thought my yard was a challenge for HF. :| Any HF antenna will be pretty much a compromise one way or another. Maybe one of those freestanding verticals can go in your yard, but radials might be a problem. You might be able to pull off a trapped dipole either outside or maybe if you have access to your attic. For 2m/440, I'd probably go with a J-pole on top of that TV antenna mast. If you're not inclined to homebrew antennas and want something quick for 2m only, the radio shack ground plane scanner antenna has good SWR at the frequencies we find useful. Haven't tried it on 440, so can't endorse it for use on that band. A trapped antenna was what I was thinking about--just didn't know how well they work. I was looking at something like this: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamants/4778.html But have no problem homebrewing one (in fact I prefer it). I will have to do some research into homebrewing one. Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. Anything for a good starter HF set? |
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Quoted: No rotator, but I could put one on no problem. The antenna up there looks like a Yagi.I have an antenna pole on the side of my house maybe 25' tall, which currently has a television antenna on top, but since TV has gone digital it is not really needed, so I figure I could use the pole. Is there an antenna rotator already up there? You could replace the TV antenna with a VHF/UHF yagi / log periodic for weak signal (SSB / CW) work. |
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Quoted: Is the palm tree in your yard? How tall is it? It could be used to support one end of a dipole, sloper, etc. In my yard, about 20', with fronds going another 6 feet or so, but very close to the neighbor behind me (about 6 feet from their fence). I could string a dipole across the yard (insulated at both ends). You know, the more I look the better this is looking. That palm tree is about exactly the same height at the antenna pole. Of course I would have to figure out power output to the neighbors house behind me. Would a dipole be good for HF stuff? Also, is the UHF/VHF better stuff for emergency stuff or is HF better? |
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For local comms, VHF/UHF is king. For regional comms, HF using an NVIS antenna setup (low dipole etc..) is the way to go. For long range DX, HF and a vertical or Yagi (beam) antenna are king.
Reading your posts, a VHF/UHF beam on a rotator on top of the mast would work good. An OCF dipole below the rotator would serve you well to start. But if I could get away with it I'd add a vertical in the middle of the back yard too. The vertical could be disguised like a Flagpole and would be "outta sight outta mind".
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Here's a pretty comprehensive article on a trapped dipole:
http://degood.org/coaxtrap/ The option I used chose for my outdoor HF antenna was a OCF dipole. It may be a viable option for you as well. http://www.scribd.com/doc/19452334/OCFDipole-40m-to-10M I bought a 4:1 balun off ebay for mine. You can also make the OCF work for 80m, but it may not fit in an attic. |
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Quoted: For just VHF/UHF, a vertical dual band antenna like this Diamond X200A and some good quality coax along with the proper adapter for the HT. Where in relation to the antenna support is the "shack" going to be? I have one of those X200A's and it's a great antenna. I you mount one of these at the top of your mast....you should be good to go antenna-wise. |
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Quoted:
I am not really interested in the using the HT, I figured maybe a Yaesu 7900R for the VF/UF. For $75 more, I would look at the 8800R. Its two radio's in one box, comes with a free separation kit and (the big one for me) has cross band repeat. Cross band repeat is so you can talk through the (50w) 8800R with your (5w) hand held. Its like a built in repeater, sorta. You wouldnt need to be too close to the 8800, you could be a mile or two away with the HT and still have 30-50 miles of range through the 8800. Think about that for a sec. Link to 8800R for $380 with free shipping andseparation kit |
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Quoted: Quoted: I am not really interested in the using the HT, I figured maybe a Yaesu 7900R for the VF/UF. For $75 more, I would look at the 8800R. Its two radio's in one box, comes with a free separation kit and (the big one for me) has cross band repeat. Cross band repeat is so you can talk through the (50w) 8800R with your (5w) hand held. Its like a built in repeater, sorta. You wouldnt need to be too close to the 8800, you could be a mile or two away with the HT and still have 30-50 miles of range through the 8800. Think about that for a sec. Link to 8800R for $380 with free shipping andseparation kit Duly noted, and thanks. Is that Samlex PS any good? |
| I've got a uv-5r myself. My area sounds alot like yours as far as HAM traffic goes. I don't have my liscense yet so I've only done some scanning with mine. I've stumbled across a couple local people conversing on occasion. I can pick up some of the local FD channels too. Seems like a great little radio for the price. I'm interested to see how things work out for you, sounds like we're in the same boat. |
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Quoted:
Samlex is very good. This!!! Kenwood TM-V71a would be my choice. good vendor there too! YMMV |
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Quoted: I've got a uv-5r myself. My area sounds alot like yours as far as HAM traffic goes. I don't have my liscense yet so I've only done some scanning with mine. I've stumbled across a couple local people conversing on occasion. I can pick up some of the local FD channels too. Seems like a great little radio for the price. I'm interested to see how things work out for you, sounds like we're in the same boat. I finally picked up some traffic last night. I think I got a local LEO channel, as they were calling in plates for the dispatcher to run and talking about child molesters. If it wasn't LE, I am not so sure I want to get into this HAM thing after all!  |
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Quoted: WOW, that is a great price, thanksQuoted: Samlex is very good. This!!! Kenwood TM-V71a would be my choice. good vendor there too! YMMV |
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Quoted: If you put it up at 25 feet just about anything should work good, I have a Mobile antenna on a ground plane kit up 15 feet fed by about 50 feet of LMR-200 (AKA Less than optimal setup) I have had comments on how strong my signal is. I can't do the ground plane thing which where my antenna pole is (right up against the house). But I might be able to push it a bit higher in the air by adding a pole. The only problem with that is wind. 95% of the pole right now is protected by my house, so only about 5' sticks up above the roof line. I live only a few blocks from the beach, and if a tropical storm comes, the wind get to really blowing. I could do a ground plane in the backyard if I had a simple wire dipole (but I am not sure that even uses one). |