I have tried to pick up repeaters in my area with an SDRPlay (all bands to 1ghz)and my chinese boefung radios (2 meter and 70cm).
I have an antenna I made that seems to be a really good performer: its a four element (total 4 horizontal wires) Which has a ~1 meter dipole on the 2nd element a reflector and two directors. The math and length was scaled to within a few mm of tolerance. I know this antenna works well because when pointed at a source I can count 8 lobes where the signal comes in. It can pick up really distant ADS-b signals 40 miles away with the antenna just pointed up.
I live just outside (<10 miles) of downtown baltimore kind of in the middle of the HAM repeaters. But on this antenna and other smaller antennas I have to pick anything up. Not even weak traces of a signal just noise. Are the repeaters just not active? That seems strange. I really want to make my first contact on one of these beofungs.
Also I have no idea what forum this thread goes in as this site has like 783468 subforums which seems like it dilutes the topics.
I have an antenna I made that seems to be a really good performer: its a four element (total 4 horizontal wires) Which has a ~1 meter dipole on the 2nd element a reflector and two directors. The math and length was scaled to within a few mm of tolerance. I know this antenna works well because when pointed at a source I can count 8 lobes where the signal comes in. It can pick up really distant ADS-b signals 40 miles away with the antenna just pointed up.
I live just outside (<10 miles) of downtown baltimore kind of in the middle of the HAM repeaters. But on this antenna and other smaller antennas I have to pick anything up. Not even weak traces of a signal just noise. Are the repeaters just not active? That seems strange. I really want to make my first contact on one of these beofungs.
Also I have no idea what forum this thread goes in as this site has like 783468 subforums which seems like it dilutes the topics.