Woohoo! New antenna and feedline!

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SLOweather

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Today I finished up the installation of a new Austin Ferret and LMR-400 feedline.
060812windantenna.JPG


It replaces some sort of consumer grade vertical made like an outdoor TV antenna (rolled aluminum elements) which I bought at the local electronics shop a few years ago, which replaced a Grove Omni-II. They were both run to the listening position with RG-6. Our location so near the ocean eats up inexpensive antennas in a few years.

This one has a new run of LMR-400 to the Brain Room, and from there, for now it's patched over to a run of 1/2" Superflex to the wall plate, and a short RG-142 jumper to the BC785.

What a difference... Before, here on a hill overlooking south San Luis Obispo, I heard all the local stuff just fine. Now, on what I have programmed as CDF TAC channels, I'm getting other CDF locals, TAC 9, 151.385, and TAC 4 151.190. From the traffic, it sounds like at least one is over in the San Joaquin valley (Porterville was mentioned.)

I know that CDF channels are recycled as TACs outside of their local area so it's time to dig out my references and see what I'm hearing.
 
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Progline said:
Is this on the on-line scanner?


I think he is talking about his cable. Looks great man! I bet you can get Monterey ECC just fine 151.2500

FYI you should post your setup over at the "Pictures Of Your Shack/Mobile Setup" forum so more people can check it out!
 
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SLOweather

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Nope, it's not on the on-line scanner, at least not yet. Now that the antenna is up, I'm trying to figure out how best to reconfigure things.

With the new computer, I figured out how to stream in stereo, one scanner on each channel. While one channel is down right now, I have a Pro-2004 and 2005 I can use on it. In the past I've also used a cheapo Rat Shack mixer to mix up to 3 scanners on a single stream.

OTOH, I could use the BC785D on the stream. My newly built weather computer has enough serial ports that I could use one to figure out how to add the channel data.

In any case, the stream has to do 2 things: be something I can listen to at work, and not be TOO popular. I'm running my own linux Shoutcast servers at our colo, on a shared T1. I need to monitor bandwidth usage and the number of listeners. I'm also working on an airport tower stream off the same server.
 

SLOweather

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Yup. I heard Monterey on 151.25 yesterday. I already know I can get Santa Barbara County here, but they have a lot of med calls.

The LPNF comes in pretty good anyway, maybe even Anderson Peak now.

Looking east, I want to see about hearing Kern County.
 

Kirk

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You should put the input freq in for LPNF Forest Net. Dispatch is in Santa Maria, so you'll hear at least the dispatch side of pretty much all of the repeaters in the forest. Pretty neat.
 

SLOweather

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Kirk said:
You should put the input freq in for LPNF Forest Net. Dispatch is in Santa Maria, so you'll hear at least the dispatch side of pretty much all of the repeaters in the forest. Pretty neat.

That, Kirk, is an inspired idea. I gotta try that.

(Geez, the forum requires 60 seconds between posts. I guess by typing this PS I've run out that timer (I hope))
 
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