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Newbie Alert
- Thread starter OCMike
- Start date
I was told by the guys at HRO that the RG8X wouldn't be that much different in terms of loss at the length of run (20 ft) that I needed. I am not opposed to picking up some LMR400, if that would work better for my application. Also HDU, what brand yagi would you recommend?
If you already bought the RG8x just try that and see how it works man. If it works you're good to go! If it doesn't, put the radio in your mobile and get to a good location and get on the air and talk to some guys on the repeater and gather some ideas. you should not have a problem man. dont sweat it to much! There is a lot of knowledge on our repeater with a bunch of cool guys so really dont be afraid to get out and ask man.
Also, some good ideas for a directional antenna is a gentleman that makes them professionally on our repeater, named Gregg (aka Superloop) KI6IUJ. Or M Squared Antennas M2 . Also Cushcraft. I would not worry about this quiet yet. just get your antenna up now and i bet you will be able to ring the repeater bell man.
TTYS man.
K6BRY
If you're going to use a mobile antenna, fab some ground radials to install at the base of the mount. They need to be 1/4 wave length. You can get by with 3 ground radials placed @ 120 degrees and bent downward about 45 degrees. Radials for 444.500 should be approx 6.6"
Here's a good calculator: Wavelength Calculator K7TJO
Look in the ARRL antenna handbook to see some more examples ...
20 feet of RG8X isn't going to be that lossy. I'm running 20 feet of RG58 for my dual band in the mobile.
Here's a good calculator: Wavelength Calculator K7TJO
Look in the ARRL antenna handbook to see some more examples ...
20 feet of RG8X isn't going to be that lossy. I'm running 20 feet of RG58 for my dual band in the mobile.
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stupid HRO
Thoes retards at HRO must be hurting for sales. RG8X is junk coax. The loses at UHF evin on a 20 foot run are going to be noticable. Around 1 dB which equates to about 1/3 of your signal potential. Spend the extra couple of bucks on some good coax. Your coax and antenna account for 90% of your signal.
Thoes retards at HRO must be hurting for sales. RG8X is junk coax. The loses at UHF evin on a 20 foot run are going to be noticable. Around 1 dB which equates to about 1/3 of your signal potential. Spend the extra couple of bucks on some good coax. Your coax and antenna account for 90% of your signal.
I agree that 8X isn't optimal for UHF but until Mike comes up with a 'real' (permanent) installation, the 8X he already has will do fine.
He isn't going to lose 1/3rd of his signal. One decibel (db) is one tenth of a bel. Power loss of 1 bel (10 db) translates to a perceived loss of 50 percent, or 1/2.
So in reality (theoretically), 1 db of loss should only be about 5% loss. With 2 connectors, adding another 2 db to the 1db of cable loss, it might take it up to 15% loss.
A change of 1 S-unit was defined in 1981 by the IARU Region 1 as a change of 6 dB. S meter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
As for my mobile installation, I had to run RG58 due to the mini UHF connector that was on the antenna mount (and I had a spool of good Belden cable handy).
He isn't going to lose 1/3rd of his signal. One decibel (db) is one tenth of a bel. Power loss of 1 bel (10 db) translates to a perceived loss of 50 percent, or 1/2.
So in reality (theoretically), 1 db of loss should only be about 5% loss. With 2 connectors, adding another 2 db to the 1db of cable loss, it might take it up to 15% loss.
A change of 1 S-unit was defined in 1981 by the IARU Region 1 as a change of 6 dB. S meter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
As for my mobile installation, I had to run RG58 due to the mini UHF connector that was on the antenna mount (and I had a spool of good Belden cable handy).