20 plus talking range back in the day now cant talk across town...why

[KEWB-N1EXA]

KEWB-N1WXA, Well said.

Here's the set up Which is a Home Made V Dipole and Highly Modifed Cobra 148 .
Its not a power house but It gets out and you see the Noise floor is sitting at one. The gain of the meter was turned down so its not
sitting at 3-5.

The Dipole gives you directivity and Its Polarization is good for local and DX.



Pete N1EXA former KQX9282

 

[Retroradio]

I have a sloping V (dipole) set up at 30ft. It kills what little noise floor I have. Same with the double Bazooka that was up previously. Its directivity and Its Polarization is good for some our locals but not all. As a fan of building antenna I like your design and it looks like a “dirty Balun” . How many turns 8-9?

 

[KEWB-N1EXA]

I have a sloping V (dipole) set up at 30ft. It kills what little noise floor I have. Same with the double Bazooka that was up previously. Its directivity and Its Polarization is good for some our locals but not all. As a fan of building antenna I like your design and it looks like a “dirty Balun” for the impedance mismatch. How many turns 8-9?

Its 20-21 feet so around 10+ turns of RG-6 around a Folgers Plastic can. I add these because I have in the past got a RF surge Back to the radio because the shield on the dipole acting like and antenna too.. Now the Cable TV outside RG-6 has got a Big Center wire but not stranded. So if the V dipole is sitting at a 45 degree angle around 70-80 ohms and you run 75 wire it does not need much from one of those little Cb radio antenna tuners and its cut for 28.00 mhz so I can the upper part of 40 channels and 41-45 Freeband and I also use it on the local 10 meter net on 28.490.
There is weed whacker line running Horizontal across the V because of the Sag of the PVC pipe.. its not part of the antenna !
If you run a vertical seems to pick up every light dimmer in the area plus spark plugs and altenators on older cars. You run flat Horizontal and it pretty much dampens any vertical polorized antenna so Ive found the V is ok for local but seeing im more monitoring Propagation it works for me... Do you remember the Snapping of the police cruiser strobe lights as they raced by the house. That's Vertical Polarization noise !

The Cobra 148 is not the ultimate radio but boy can you experiment with it. besides tricking out the inputs of the Processor the PCB
is old school and adding things is not big deal. Open up A Uniden 980 SSB and your in for a mess.

I have a Tram Discone 1411 with the CB dipole section added and its pretty lack luster on 11-meter performance. So I built a
system that works for my needs.

Pete N1EXA former KQX9282

****Way back when Yah had an RC plane License A Marine License and CB radio License and you dream was to visit the FCC in Boston
and pass the code test with some office shirt bow tie FCC guys hand banging out morse code in a big room with echo and answering the questions --- NO Mutiple Guess like Now ! I got my Advanced license and was burnt out that day to do the Extra. Guys were saying that
that the FCC fist was way faster than 20 WPM. I think I could of passed but I was happy with the Advanced Permit.

Those days are gone !

 

[mrweather]

There is a lot of RF pollution out there these days: flat screen tv's, LED lights, crappy walwarts spewing all kinds of RFI as they power the myriad of consumer devices we have in our homes. The noise floor of 30-40 years ago is a distant memory compared to the noise floor today.

 

[Retroradio]

There is a lot of RF pollution out there these days: flat screen tv's, LED lights, crappy walwarts spewing all kinds of RFI as they power the myriad of consumer devices we have in our homes. The noise floor of 30-40 years ago is a distant memory compared to the noise floor today.

Absolutely but as in this area our noise floor is .5 to 3 “S” units on a bad day this is not the issue. RFI from sources mentioned can be a major issue. The issue is not lacking receive but the inability to Transmit 5 miles across town be it on a 5/8th , Antron, dipole etc... and have a decent signal received. Propagation I understand and is a great point but this is a weird issue.

 

[Retroradio]

KEWB-N1EXA I like the design of the dipole.I have a buddy who just built one very similar as a horizontal and it works well. I think I’m going to build one similar to yours eventually.

 

[KEWB-N1EXA]

KEWB-N1EXA I like the design of the dipole.I have a buddy who just built one very similar as a horizontal and it works well. I think I’m going to build one similar to yours eventually.

Its a lowels / Home Depot Special ! say $30.00 tops
2 plastic conduit pipes a 10 foot piece of 12/2 romex and some U clamps throw in a plastic board
a plastic container and some RG6.
Add some screws tape and a mast - I went with metal conduit. didnt want to make it a weapon in the high wind !
Oh don't forget fishing line or weed whacker string !

I saw the Sirio Boomerang on ebay . They want $60 plus shipping.... The dipole was $150 Ouch !

Have fun Retroradio guy !

Pete N1EXA

 

[slowmover]

Odd question of the day.
Okay to clarify that. Back in the 70s’s/80’s using stock radios 20 miles plus was easy.
Now there’s a bunch of us in a small town here (no high rises etc) that from one end of town to the other drop manage to do a whopping 4-6 “S”units. All are running Anton99 or 5/8s 30ft...ish in the air.
Different radios, mic’s, antennas have been tried etc..
All having played radio for many years have discussed this and the conclusion was......drum roll.....nobody has a clue...lol
Anyone have any ideas.

I’m wondering if this is a local phenomenon. Or is it also true in the surrounding region?

So, is mobile to mobile affected? If “yes” then taking the same pairs to the cardinal compass points might shed light (yes, rural presents fewer obstacles and less noise, but the test is for RELEVANT comparisons).

At towns edge, N-S-E-W, then farther out where distance radio to radio is comparable.

Fox hunting maybe a major source; directivity may help.

Is there a gross compass bearing?
.

 

[slowmover]

I'm sorry, but this reads as contradictory to me.

No, just grammatical.

All operators have radios.
One or some operators have both.

.

 

[Retroradio]

I’m wondering if this is a local phenomenon. Or is it also true in the surrounding region?

So, is mobile to mobile affected? If “yes” then taking the same pairs to the cardinal compass points might shed light (yes, rural presents fewer obstacles and less noise, but the test is for RELEVANT comparisons).

At towns edge, N-S-E-W, then farther out where distance radio to radio is comparable.

Fox hunting maybe a major source; directivity may help.

Is there a gross compass bearing?
.

Great points. Base and mobiles and most cardinal points have this issue albeit not all have not been tried.
Although it seems the worse East, West and North.
We have not tried mobile to mobile outside of our town. It is affected in town.
Base to mobile, Base to Base in town has the issue.
Maybe its a local phenomenon...aliens?....lol Realistically what phenomenon could cause this, sunspot cycle excluded.
Im running a GE Superbase and if anyone’s familiar with it it’s a great radio and superlative on receive but have the same issue on my Bearcat 980SSB. I have excluded the radios from this quandary.
Does this help at all?

 

[BushDoctor]

Here's the set up Which is a Home Made V Dipole and Highly Modifed Cobra 148 .
Its not a power house but It gets out and you see the Noise floor is sitting at one. The gain of the meter was turned down so its not
sitting at 3-5.

The Dipole gives you directivity and Its Polarization is good for local and DX.

View attachment 93702View attachment 93703

Pete N1EXA former KQX9282

I have an old Motorola Motrac (U71LHT3430) on 10 meters (29.60 MHz,29.62MHz,29.66MHz and 29.68MHz) with a full size whip mounted near the left side of my rear window and In Springfield,VA I can hardly receive anyone with my noise blanker off but when I turn it on I can receive signals from other hams who could hear me but with my blanker off i didnt hear them. With the blanker off I could tell they were there but hearing the words was difficult. You might try the noise blanker on ur Cobra and see if that makes a difference if it does maybe have everyone get a radio like yours with a noise blanker on it.

 

[Retroradio]

Bushdoctor. Thanks for the input. This is not a ANL, Noiseblanker, Squelch or RF Gain issue for me.

 

[KEWB-N1EXA]

I'm not having any issues with the Cobra 148.... As said earlier i'm reaching out 12-15 miles Base to Base...Have to say the Mobiles allot less.
I went in and turned the S meter down from 3-5 back ground noise to a 1... It also stops the locals that peg the meter and I have to tap it
to get it to recover.
The only thing about audio ive done on the Cobra and My 10 meter RS HTX-10 was to add a 33 uf capacitor across the speaker to kill
some of the hissing noise thats annoying.

Ive tried the Blanker and ANL...DIdn't do any wonders to the signal just stopped the neighbors lawn mower sparkplug from snapping on the radio.

Pete N1EXA

 

[buddrousa]

In the 1970's radio use was Government and a small amount commercial use.
Now look at all the stray rf noise starting wifi, low power radio stations, cellphones, a ton of junk out there.

 

[slowmover]

Great points. Base and mobiles and most cardinal points have this issue albeit not all have not been tried.
Although it seems the worse East, West and North.
We have not tried mobile to mobile outside of our town. It is affected in town.
Base to mobile, Base to Base in town has the issue.
Maybe its a local phenomenon...aliens?....lol Realistically what phenomenon could cause this, sunspot cycle excluded.
Im running a GE Superbase and if anyone’s familiar with it it’s a great radio and superlative on receive but have the same issue on my Bearcat 980SSB. I have excluded the radios from this quandary.
Does this help at all?

I travel the USA full-time as truck driver (300-days/year) and run into areas that are quiet (no AM-19), and it’s obvious that some areas are harder than others for TX/RX. Others are exceptional.

I read your post as this being a relatively recent phenomenon.
Not comparing 1980 to 2020.

What about Skip?

What about Sideband?

— Skip seems to be non-existent almost everywhere (except momentarily or sporadically) the past few months. Still, listening to guys near Tampa-Orlando while in SoCal does exist (for awhile) and of itself isn’t unusual.

— My Mobile isn’t much more than RX while on sideband, and it’s been dead (to me) since early summer.

At home (again on mobile) I hear next to nothing, but if I run some errands, the locals on AM-19 aren’t any different than in most cities.

The above is normal as I experience it long-term, and of late.

If your burg is an anomaly then the question is WHY?

What’s new in your area?

1). What’s the coverage of the local electric utility? New transmission line?

2). What military or large governmental reservations exist nearby? Company or Battalion move?

3). What defense corporations have a campus locally? Antenna test range?

4). Does geography play a role? is the question. The simplest start.

Some research and field work appear to me to be HOW to start.

I can’t say for Canada, but nothing seems amiss in the USA.

There are those with base stations reporting things are all too quiet, but these are individual reports in areas away from city mega-regions.

I’d think a half-dozen of you would want to get rolling and use your mobile gear to try to get impressions NSEW.

Answers aren’t as important as questions.

— What you’ve received so far in this thread is tepid speculation, as none of us can conduct the tests you need.

— I’d also think that somewhere available are guidelines on how to successfully conduct a Fox Hunt. To apply that. While you don’t need it to work out some logic, relative signal strength comparisons of roving mobiles from one or two tall base antennas with local RX emphasized WILL produce that start. (Radius Circles)

What happened to the fun of, a man on a mission?

.

 

[Retroradio]

Slowmover

What about Skip?
Skip rolls in and no issues there

What about Sideband?
As expected, more range distance wise and same in town.

If your burg is an anomaly then the question is WHY?
Great question...seems familiar....lol

What’s new in your area?

1). What’s the coverage of the local electric utility? New transmission line?
Not that we are aware of and would expect RFI.

2). What military or large governmental reservations exist nearby? Company or Battalion move?
Yes, but not an issue.

3). What defense corporations have a campus locally? Antenna test range?
No

4). Does geography play a role? is the question. The simplest start.
Flat land, no apartment buildings other than a couple small ones.

Some research and field work appear to me to be HOW to start.
Already done

I can’t say for Canada, but nothing seems amiss in the USA.
What promulgated this was it had been a topic of discussion amongst the ole timers here and I was watching videos on a fellow who does range tests and the results were what I would expect BUT not what we have.

I’d think a half-dozen of you would want to get rolling and use your mobile gear to try to get impressions NSEW.
Its like a reverse fox hunt. Its a distance check. Last night I had .5 “S” unit of noise and I was receiving a base Station across town at 6 “S” units and vice versa. We have run different antennas and radios.
Interesting sidebar a couple of us build antennas and the other fellow built a 1/2 Wave dipole as a sloper and it worked great outside the town As expected.

Answers aren’t as important as questions.
Absolutely

— What you’ve received so far in this thread is tepid speculation, as none of us can conduct the tests you need.
I would say that all input is valid as speculation can lead to theories to be proven or disproven.

— I’d also think that somewhere available are guidelines on how to successfully conduct a Fox Hunt. To apply that. While you don’t need it to work out some logic, relative signal strength comparisons of roving mobiles from one or two tall base antennas with local RX emphasized WILL produce that start. (Radius Circles)\
Have re-researched them when I was trying to figure out one of the locals noise problem ( he has localized electrical noise in his neighborhood) Great suggestion though!

What happened to the fun of, a man on a mission?
Nothing, my mission was to see if anyone else had experienced such a weird anomaly and all input was welcome to reset my strategies. Many thanks for your input as it all helps rethink this.

.

 

[K6EEN]

Interesting sidebar a couple of us build antennas and the other fellow built a 1/2 Wave dipole as a sloper and it worked great outside the town as expected.

I'm not really following the above. Someone at an in-town QTH builds a new antenna and starts transmitting, and someone with a base station "outside the town" can receive the person's transmissions on the new antenna just fine. But others with base stations "inside the town" can't receive the person's transmissions over the new antenna as clearly as people "outside the town"? This would point to a local noise source, either in-band or some out-of-band thing local to the town that is desensing your radios. Try some 11 meter bandpass filters. Just a couple of tenths of a dB of insertion loss and they will kill off the out-of-band junk. Here's a link:

Morgan RF Systems model M-411 CB Bandpass Filter

 

[Retroradio]

No noise issue. Albeit the de sensing makes sense but I would expect to hear it or see it on the meter. I have on average .5 “S”units of noise. Bear in mind this is only on the CB bands.
I found it an interesting sidebar that his horizontally polarized (we’ll mostly...) did the distance thing as expected.
In town Vertically polarized antennas are not so effective.
Basically he tried an experiment and it outperformed his vertical.

 

[K6EEN]

I found it an interesting sidebar that his horizontally polarized (we’ll mostly...) did the distance thing as expected.
In town Vertically polarized antennas are not so effective.
Basically he tried an experiment and it outperformed his vertical.

Ok, got it. The newly built "inverted vee" antenna, being mostly horizontally polarized, was able to work skip/whatever with bigger "outside the town" base stations. And this dipole/inverted vee antenna allowed him to work these "outside the town" stations better than his base station vertical antenna, presumably because the big gun stations outside the town have horizontally polarized beams or whatever. On top of this, by having a second antenna for comparisons, he verified his base station vertical antenna isn't so great for working other vertically-polarized base stations in town.

I'd give the 11 meter bandpass filters a try to see if they kill off out-of-band junk. Another possibility is there's a new local AM broadcast station in town since the 1970s, or the long-term existing broadcast station upped its transmitter power or changed its radiation pattern so that it is more potent in your town. A "brick wall" AM broadcast filter (highpass, super-attenuates the AM broadcast band but passes HF frequencies) may help that situation.

 

[Retroradio]

Good points. No AM station in town or anywhere near this location.
What I don't understand is can the possible offending “junk” not be heard? My train of thought is based on audible interference that we can measure by sound and meter. Can offernding radiation patterns desense without any audio or visible (meter)clues. The only noise is occasionally by a locals house in his neighborhood and that shows when it happens on the spectrum anylyzer. It is localized to his neighborhood and he is tracking that down.
Other than that this area is mostly absolute minimal “Noise” or standard radio background radiation “S” unit readings.
The filter is interesting and to be honest I have never seen one..