typical urban HT distance

[N8IAA]

you are right, but thats part of learning, and what might work for someone might not work for me... but you are right...

i wouldnt say i regret getting an HT first, but what ive spent in antennas and other stuff i could have bought a single bander and power supply. lol

that is one of the repeats i monitor, its almost intimidating to key up on some of them. there are sometime 4-5 people rag chewing and they all know their stuff very well... once i get my signal cleaned up a little id like to take part in a traffic net...

i think my problem is my expectations for a HT were to high. i was thinking i would be able to lay on my couch and chat away with the rubber duckie... WRONG lol plus my aluminum sided house is a big hurdle to get over... but i am learning and will get their eventually...

Since you have access to your attic, get an antenna that is made for 6m, 2m, and 73cm. A decent mobile antenna will work. Larsen used to make a base mount that used a SO239 connector. It included ground plane whips to improve the angle of radiation. Feed it with quality Mini8 coax terminated in a PL259 connector that can accept a SO239 to SMA cable for connection to the ht. I use a magmount dualband antenna mounted on a 4 drawer metal cabinet in my shack. Using just an ht at medium power, I can be full quieting on 3 out of 4 of my metro repeaters. Some of which are 20+ miles away. Am without a mobile rig right now, but, it was the better choice of rag chewing on 2m and 73cm. It will save the transmit finals in the ht. I originally lived on the westside of Cleveland. I truly was blessed that most of the repeaters were located at an elevation and sites close to me. I used to use the duck that came with my ht's on low power for my contacts. My first radio was a 2m ht, with an amp. Used it until it until a 2m mobile was purchased. Only regreted the ht when trying to get into simplex nets and others where using a whopping 25 watts
Just a short ramble on my part,
Larry

 

[mparker]

Since you have access to your attic, get an antenna that is made for 6m, 2m, and 73cm.

thanks for the info...

ive been thinking about adding this to my "farm" in the attic in the spring...

Arrow Antenna OSJ146/440 Antenna

 

[N8IAA]

thanks for the info...

ive been thinking about adding this to my "farm" in the attic in the spring...

Arrow Antenna OSJ146/440 Antenna

J-pole antennas are good antennas. Arrow is a good manufacturer. Make sure that when you install, use a metal TV mast that is, at least, the same length and the longest element on the antenna. This will ensure a good ground plane for the antenna to work off of.
Larry

 

[mparker]

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I kind of planned on putting it in the attic. Should I put a floor to ceiling pole in the attic to mount the jpole to?

 

[N8IAA]

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I kind of planned on putting it in the attic. Should I put a floor to ceiling pole in the attic to mount the jpole to?

Not unless you plan on making the antenna partially directional. Not to say that it would change the swr also.
Larry

 

[stevelton]

To briefly explain the legal issues, when you transmit your callsign on the HT the repeater also IDs itself by repeating your callsign. That's all perfectly legal but here's the rub, ALL transmitters must identify so if you use it as a bidirectional repeater how does the 70cM side identify itself? The answer is it doesn't, that's a violation right there unless you install a CWID module to transmit your call in Morse every 10 minutes.

Ummm, no one ever seems to truly understand cross-band. If you are running a "bi-directional" repeater, as you called it, then, if the user used his HT on the 2 meter repeaters output frequency (In the big world of Commercial Radio shops, we call this talk around), a.k.a. simplex on the repeaters frequency, then would he not come through the UHF side of things to ID on the UHF transmitter???!!!
I am glad they are making the new tech pool a bit tougher.

Steven

 

[kc2rgw]

kb2vxa has it _exactly_ right.

No, if you are talking in crossband, you are tying up your crossband on the input, so when you ID, it never comes back through your crossband output....thus that transmitter is not identified.

If you run it half duplex, meaning you are listening on the output of a repeater on the handheld and using your cross band only with an input frequency, you're all set.

Oh and one more thing, link stations and temporary repeaters like this are supposed to be above 220MHz...not legit to use 2m with crossband either.

 

[stevelton]

So the dozens of 2 meter repeaters all over the coutry that have a 10m remote base are in violation because this not being done above 222?
Cross band repeating, thats not a repeater, it is a remote base, you can remote base on any band, in any direction.
steven

 

[stevelton]

Also,
and I am sorry for hijacking the thread, but the FCC changed the rules regarding auxiliary stations.
They REMOVED the restriction about only having control links above 222.15

97.201 (b) now reads
(b) An auxiliary station may transmit only on the 2 m and shorter
wavelength bands, except the 144.0-144.5 MHz, 145.8-146.0 MHz, 219-220
MHz, 222.00-222.15 MHz, 431-433 MHz, and 435-438 MHz segments.

So you cant use your 6 meter HT to cross band, but you CAN use 2 m, 220, 440, whatever.

I walk around town all the time with my 2m HT, and crossband in to our counties 440 repeater (not much 2m action around these parts, most is on 440)
Only get your rules info from the FCC, not arrl, or anywhere else on the net.
Steven