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AstroZamboni posted:I might just give that a shot! Definitely do it, because that key is bitchin'.
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May 1, 2010 05:50
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Catastrophe posted:Welp... lurking around the shortwave thread made me finally pick up a shortwave radio (Grundig G3). Playing with radios again made me miss my old Yaesu FT-11R 2m HT I used to have so I started looking around at current HTs to see what's available. I sold my old Yaesu because I picked it up with the idea I'd study for my license and actually USE the thing. Never happened. I ended up doing the MARS/CAP mod to it and sold it to a local police officer who had been eyeballing it since I bought it. I have one of these, and I love it; however, I picked up this little guy for a quick reference: http://www.niftyaccessories.com/Yaesu_cards.htm And one of these to keep it from falling over while it's on my desk: http://www.niftyaccessories.com/HT%20Stand.htm
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May 1, 2010 20:26
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I got my FT-817ND on Monday, but I'm having some trouble getting clear reception in my room, which sucks double hard since I was really planning to use my computer as a controller, and do work with digimodes once I got it all set up. My guess is that all the electronic crap in my room is working to negate the signals I want to hear with tons of spurious noise that I don't, since all I seem to be able to hear is super-strong shortwave emissions and FM broadcasts. I'm thinking of covering a few of the likely offenders in my room with aluminum foil to make a couple of on-the-fly Faraday cages. If it works for shoplifters, I think it should work for me. I'll let you guys know how it goes.
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May 4, 2010 20:57
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Then again you may have plaster walls with metal lath like me - then you are well screwed and will have to run something out the window.
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May 4, 2010 21:23
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slap me silly posted:Then again you may have plaster walls with metal lath like me - then you are well screwed and will have to run something out the window. Nah, my walls are... uh, wall-stuff. I think my antenna(the MIRACLE WHIP, which I still owe Jose a "review" of) is too drat sensitive and is picking up everything going on. When I was just using a shortwave radio attached to a magnetic loop I could pick up all kinds of silly stuff from time to time.
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May 4, 2010 21:26
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TC the Giant posted:Nah, my walls are... uh, wall-stuff. I think my antenna(the MIRACLE WHIP, which I still owe Jose a "review" of) is too drat sensitive and is picking up everything going on. When I was just using a shortwave radio attached to a magnetic loop I could pick up all kinds of silly stuff from time to time. Well, you can build a transmitting magnetic loop as well. It has the same deep nulls on either side and is specifically tailored for QRP operation. Really cheap to build, too. http://kr1st.com/magloop.htm
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May 4, 2010 21:29
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I am definitely going to go the magnetic loop route when I get an HF setup. I will put it in the attic though. Or maybe on the roof - since I own the place I don't have to deal with anything except the conservation overlay, and I expect a 3 foot loop on the back ridgeline will not trigger any problems.
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May 4, 2010 21:55
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IonClash posted:I have one of these, and I love it; however, I picked up this little guy for a quick reference: Cool. Thanks for the info. Those quick guides look interesting. My stupid radio was supposed to show up yesterday but it didn't.. and it didn't arrive today, either. Getting on my nerves! I'm anxious to start complaining about my new complex equipment that I can't figure out and can't pick up any signals because all I have is its whip antenna! Sheesh!
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May 4, 2010 23:39
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Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 03:59 on Aug 28, 2019 |
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May 5, 2010 09:01
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wolrah posted:GOONS CONFIRMED TO BE GOING TO DAYTON: I'm excited about my 9 hour drive there and back. I'd fly, but the only thing I can get from here to Dayton area are CRJ flights, and I'll drive 9 hours before flying in a CRJ.
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May 5, 2010 14:51
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Ah god. The VX-8R showed up today. Learning how to USE it is like learning a foreign language from scratch. It's like every button has a function for when you press it, when you press it and hold it, a function for when you press the FW button and then hit a button, a function for when you're in a menu, etc. You have to learn how to access an infinitely deep menu system using varieties of different button presses and durations on a tiny keypad. I'll get it eventually. It's just initially shocking. No license yet (studying..) so I'm receiving only. While shortwave listening on the Grundig is filled with crazy fundie Christians talking about how Obama is a secret hater of freedom who wants to combine the USA with Mexico and Canada and take all of our rights and guns away because demoncrats hate 'merica... I've noticed that 70cm is filled endless guys talking only about antenna designs. Weird. action packed
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May 6, 2010 21:10
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Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Aug 28, 2019 |
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May 6, 2010 21:13
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Jose Pointero posted:Alex Jones? That guy is a hoot. And yeah, I've noticed that 70cm is more of a "technical ragchew" band as well. I like it. Not only Alex Jones but, yeah, I do run into his show here and there. Hilariously ignorant, misled people on there. The part about how the government is brain washing police officers and training them to act out against republicans had me  as well.Also lots of Mexican (whoa oh) radio stations round these parts for some reason.
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May 6, 2010 21:26
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Catastrophe posted:Also lots of Mexican (whoa oh) radio stations round these parts for some reason. Some of those are Christian stations broadcasting for the Spanish speaking population in Central/South America. Family Radio and World Harvest Radio are good for that.
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May 6, 2010 21:36
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Whoa, dude. The more I play with RX on this VX-8R, the more I really want to get my tech license (and a decent base/mobile rig) ASAP. There's a lot more activity out there than I thought I'd find. I think combining the 6m/2m/70cm bands with HF in one radio like in the IC-706MkIIG would be a BLAST. This stuff is addictive.
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May 9, 2010 03:13
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Catastrophe posted:I think combining the 6m/2m/70cm bands with HF in one radio like in the IC-706MkIIG would be a BLAST. This stuff is addictive. It is. I need to get my 706 fixed, it has that FM transmit problem where you have to touch up a soldering joint on a capacitor. Otherwise it transmits like 5 KHz off-frequency. Just haven't worked up the confidence to apply heat to the $900 radio yet.
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May 9, 2010 05:18
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Catastrophe posted:Whoa, dude. The more I play with RX on this VX-8R, the more I really want to get my tech license (and a decent base/mobile rig) ASAP. There's a lot more activity out there than I thought I'd find. I think combining the 6m/2m/70cm bands with HF in one radio like in the IC-706MkIIG would be a BLAST. You want a FT-817ND. EDIT: Yup, but that's also about as much as that little VX-8R has too. blugu64 fucked around with this message at 07:18 on May 9, 2010 |
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May 9, 2010 05:51
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blugu64 posted:You want a FT-817ND. Isn't that only 5 watts though?
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May 9, 2010 06:34
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blugu64 posted:You want a FT-817ND. Yeah, having the ability to run off a few batteries has its appeal. QRP rigs look fun.
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May 9, 2010 13:27
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Catastrophe posted:Yeah, having the ability to run off a few batteries has its appeal. QRP rigs look fun. They are, if you get good reception natively where you live. I've been struggling with my 817 all week, but I think part of it is that my antenna is somehow damaged. I'm trying to get in touch with Miracle Antenna's tech support, to see if they'll help me sort it out.
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May 9, 2010 17:16
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TC the Giant posted:They are, if you get good reception natively where you live. I've been struggling with my 817 all week, but I think part of it is that my antenna is somehow damaged. I'm trying to get in touch with Miracle Antenna's tech support, to see if they'll help me sort it out. grrr.... found an ft-817nd for sale for $325 shipped. Emailed the guy and he still had it. Slept on it and emailed him again today to say I wanted it. Obviously, it was already paid for and gone.  I'll keep these on my radar. EDIT: Screw it. I'm flying out to San Francisco in a few weeks and my buddy offered to drive me to the local HRO. I'll just snag one while I'm there if they're reasonably priced and/or available used. It'll be immediately useful as well since we're going out with a large group the next day to go on a week long camping trip in Yosemite. Bonus. Catastrophe fucked around with this message at 19:13 on May 10, 2010 |
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May 10, 2010 04:20
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Calling all mobile antenna mounting gurus... I'm trying to help my roommate get a CB setup in his car as he starts traveling more often. Unfortunately the car in question is an '09 VW GTI 2 door hatch and he does not want any visible permanent modifications, so drilling is out of the question. Vehicle in question:  (not actually my roommate's car, but the same thing minus the sunroof and bright red paint) The options we've come up with so far are as follows: 1. Lip mount to the rear of the hood near the windshield. Downside is this area is sloped forward and given that my trunk lip mounts get loose after a year or so if the wind stress is the other direction these probably won't last long. I've seen a few of the Gumball type crowd do this with smaller antennas for scanners or VHF/UHF, but never a CB-sized unit. 2. Install OEM or aftermarket roof rack to factory mounts, bolt on no-ground-plane antenna. Downsides are being tied to the antenna/mount/coax combo shipped in the package, plus NGP setups seem to have a bit of voodoo involved. 3. Install OEM or aftermarket roof rack to factory mounts, purchase large sheet of metal, bolt to roof rack, drill mount through center of metal sheet. In theory this should create a proper RF ground plane and can easily be DC grounded to the car with ground straps run in to the doors/hatch where some minor drilling and paint scraping can be hidden. Downside is it would look way too dumb to keep installed when not in use and the aerodynamics at speed could be interesting. 4. "Universal" lip mount like a Comet CP-5 mounted high on the hatch. I'm unfamiliar with how sturdy these are with multiple points of adjustment, but if it works well it might be the simplest option. Also has the benefit that if/when he gets his ham ticket a second could be placed on the other side for a 2M/440 combo. 5. Mag mount with padding underneath to protect the paint. I have no idea if this would screw with the ground, nor do I know how large of a magnet setup this would need. All I know is that the cheap 4.5" magnet base I bought when I originally got my CB couldn't even hold its 40" or so antenna up at 75 MPH on either my roof or trunk. I like options 3, 4, and 5 personally. The hood mount would be pretty fugly and seems to have plenty of potential problems and the no ground plane option just doesn't seem right. Option 3 in theory should be ideal for radio performance as long as the roof rack is large enough to fit a properly sized sheet of metal in there, though I might be missing something and the aero issues are fairly large. Option 5 comes in a close second, but large magnets would be required to handle a CB whip at the speeds this car is capable of. I'm wide open to other suggestions as well, just keep in mind the goal is to allow the vehicle to be returned to as stock as possible from the exterior. wolrah fucked around with this message at 15:45 on May 11, 2010 |
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May 11, 2010 15:41
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wolrah posted:5. Mag mount with padding underneath to protect the paint. I have no idea if this would screw with the ground, nor do I know how large of a magnet setup this would need. All I know is that the cheap 4.5" magnet base I bought when I originally got my CB couldn't even hold its 40" or so antenna up at 75 MPH on either my roof or trunk. You'll like this one until you go to pull the antenna off after a long term attachment and find that water has gotten under the padding and hosed up the paint job. Look at a through the glass antenna. I used to install those in cars all the time for cell phone car kits at an old job and they hold up to the elements well, the whip unscrews so you don't always have to have the thing sticking up, and they work well enough to get the job done, especially if you want no holes or paint scratches to occur.
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May 11, 2010 18:55
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Drill Baby Drill!
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May 11, 2010 21:03
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blugu64 posted:Thermite Baby Thermite! Fixed for efficiency.
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May 11, 2010 21:30
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blugu64 posted:Drill Baby Drill! Haha, I doubt I'll ever convince him to drill, but I'll be switching from trunk lip mounts to proper holes on the Bimmer once I have time to take all the bits off the trunk lid and figure out the best places.
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May 12, 2010 06:11
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wolrah posted:Haha, I doubt I'll ever convince him to drill, but I'll be switching from trunk lip mounts to proper holes on the Bimmer once I have time to take all the bits off the trunk lid and figure out the best places. You'll love it. I finally drilled mine this Spring and I've been loving it. Now to sand and paint the area where the lip mount wrecked the paint. Good thing this is a 11 year old pickup and not a bimmer.
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May 12, 2010 15:50
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Beefington posted:You'll love it. I finally drilled mine this Spring and I've been loving it. Now to sand and paint the area where the lip mount wrecked the paint. Good thing this is a 11 year old pickup and not a bimmer. Yea, I was tired of having to take the mount off regularly to clean and wax under it. The ones I've been using wiggle enough that they aren't much better than mag mounts in terms of paint damage over time it seems, just they do it in a smaller space. Once I found a place that had replacement OEM trunk lids for around $150 I realized I had no excuse not to drill anymore. Still not touching the roof until I decide if I'm going to keep this car long term, but since I have a sunroof there's not much usable space up there anyways.
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May 12, 2010 18:28
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wolrah posted:Still not touching the roof until I decide if I'm going to keep this car long term, but since I have a sunroof there's not much usable space up there anyways. A) Anything and everything you ever wanted to know about mobile operating: http://www.k0bg.com/ B) Drilling a hole in your roof/trunk/fender/whatever will do literally nothing to the resale value to the car, according to ham consensus. You can get color-matched body plugs from the dealer to close up the hole when selling the car (hell, some hammys just leave the mount on the car when selling it- as long as it was installed properly it will never leak water), and many dealers won't even notice the plug if you don't say anything about it. They still get enough cars with plugs from external cell phone/ commercial 2-way radio antennas that it's not a big deal. C) If you're really concerned about loving up the hole, call around to commercial 2-way shops to see if one will just do the install for you at a reasonable price.
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May 12, 2010 20:23
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I ordered the official programming software and cable for the VX-8R, and it's made a huge difference in the usability of this radio. Anyone else who has an 8R should definitely purchase some programming software for it. The only downside is that typing in all the frequencies in your area takes a while, but it's still wayyyy easier than doing it on the keypad. I also understand how the memory banks and features work now. Worth the $60 or whatever.
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May 13, 2010 01:52
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I actually just ordered the cable for the VX-8R off of e-bay. Looking forward to having easier access. I'm also sorry to say that I had to put off the General and Extra exams due to finals. I'm aiming to knock it out next month though.
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May 13, 2010 02:11
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just got my call a few weeks ago KD8NWI, can anyone recommend a good affordable 2 Meter mobile unit for my jeep?
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May 13, 2010 04:13
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kaizier posted:just got my call a few weeks ago KD8NWI, can anyone recommend a good affordable 2 Meter mobile unit for my jeep?
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May 13, 2010 04:52
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I've been using our ARC-190s at work to listen in on Amateur radio traffic. Pretty neat, may have to get my HAM license
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May 13, 2010 04:56
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Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Aug 28, 2019 |
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May 13, 2010 05:13
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Jose Pointero posted:You mean one of these? That looks pretty neato. That is correct. USAF ANG. We bench check our HF R/Ts in shop, and have the complete setup in shop for VHF/UHF/HF/ADF/VOR-ILS/TACAN/SCNS Old but neat system, the antenna coupler is a pain in the rear end, you have to recharge the Nitrogen fairly often if they have a leak unless you replace it. Also, its fun to tune to 28.0 Mhz and mess with truckers on CBs I really may get my HAM license, I wanted to when I was younger, but lost interest in favor of computers and hobbyist robotics. But now that my life revolves around Radios in the Air Force, its definetly peaked my interest. May have to listen for some of you on the net with the ARC CommieGIR fucked around with this message at 05:46 on May 13, 2010 |
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May 13, 2010 05:18
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CommieGIR posted:That is correct. My dad used to fly MH-53's back in the day, he used to tell me stories of loving around with ham's while flying over the desert out in nevada and arizona. I'm only slightly jealous.
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May 13, 2010 07:09
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Anyone in the UK wanna buy a Kenwood F7E and an assortment of antennas and also a protective case? £125 for the lot, there's an SMA to BNC adapter, a telescopic antenna for shortwave and two 70cm/2m antennas.
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May 13, 2010 11:56
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kaizier posted:just got my call a few weeks ago KD8NWI, can anyone recommend a good affordable 2 Meter mobile unit for my jeep?
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May 13, 2010 14:35
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I was thinking on the Passenger side front fender by the hood latch. i have a hard top but i don't want to attach it there since i take it odd in the summer. i might talk to some of the guys i talk to on my local repeater for some ideas.
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May 13, 2010 18:12
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