The skip shooter really works well with the cascadia trucks see lots running them but without the pipe like you have which I’m guessing helps to stop movement at highway speed .
That experiment. Short in duration. Had the insulators in wrong place at start.
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On a Rig Expert it was a dip of a nearly horizontal line (Okay, not that bad, but you get the idea). Resonant near 28 as I recall.
I cranked down those Wilson mounts so hard I still haven’t gotten them off the bird perches.
Francis IS NOT the antenna for High Plains running, IMO.
Something I didn’t get to was to use a piece of Lucite with a collared hole in it to “locate” the antenna a foot or so above its base using the mirror head as mount. Poor recall of an ingenious idea of another driver using a Cascadia and 6’ Skipshooters. (Mike 5511).
I really like that brand antenna. A pair in every possible size is a good start. And spares once best size determined.
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Once I had that setup right I was talking long-distance skip (Sweetwater to Houston) and of an evening could be just heard by Rattlesnake and all the boys near downtown OKC when I was coming across the scale at El Reno twenty-seven (27) miles west. (And keep them past Tinker AFB; they’d drop off sooner behind me).
With pretty well any base station we could communicate with real ease.
That was my best way to alter any radio controls or swap mics.
Ok slowmover, back in the truck today so did a little fiddling around with the antenna system. Was able to achieve 1.8 with the 4' firestik and it'll have to do for the time being because other expense priorities have come up. The skipshooter will have to wait but will be continued for sure. I really dislike that it only does well leaning waaaaay forward.... Looks goofy as heck.
So anyhow, I've been paying attention to you slow. I'll be making an attempt at running a braid on the door hinges tomorrow (hopefully) maybe that'll make some improvements.
Took a wilson 2000 trucker (10" shaft) I had stockpiled in the hoarding closet just to see what it would do today and as expected it didn't do well.
I'll keep updating as the project goes forward but there's a few set backs so it'll be a slow process now.
Alright an unexpected update for ya.
Stopping at the flying hook in wichita falls today I wandered over to the Falls truck center (accessories/chrome shop) to break my 30 and what do ya know off in a dark ingnored corner glowing in red looking at me from under a thick layer of dust..... A 5' red firestik II. Only one they had and the guy said "oh it's been er for yeeers, don't nobody buy them anymore"...... The fellas said "10 bucks and it's yurs".....
Anyway, like a kid with candy I busted out the toolbox making break from 30 to an hour and got that puppy put on to achieve a standing wave of 1.2 middle of the 11 meter band.
I didn't expect much of an improvement but I was quite pleased with the surprise find and the nice result. Rx is much much better to my surprise and tx seemed to get great reports as well. I'll have all day with it tomorrow and be around other company drivers who will also give me their opinionated reports as well.
Next up is ground strap and still going to get those skip shooters when the chance comes.
Still using the custom 29 with the 5' firestik and working surprisingly well even though the 29 has a really noisy receiver compared to others. Been running 12/14 hrs a day 6 days a week since late October along with other things so haven't had any time to make changes without neglecting the family so..... until it slows down then I'm stuck with the current set up. I do however have a skipshooter ordered as of Christmas eve and still have planned to swap the Cobra for the Stryker 447hpc2, work on some bonding, and whatever else comes to mind that can make it better.Latest?