XPost: rec.radio.amateur.moderated

Amateur/Ham Radio

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Hey r/amateurradio, can you identify this cable connection?

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 02:01 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ue55ri/hey_ramateurradio_can_you_identify_this_cable/

submitted by /u/the-official-review
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Critique grounding please.

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 04:35 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ue8e8d/critique_grounding_please/

submitted by /u/BigEarn86
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A Different Style of High Ratio Transformer

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 03:46 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ue7eub/a_different_style_of_high_ratio_transformer/

submitted by /u/Radio-Signal1969
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Dog tracking using APRS?

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 03:12 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ue6paq/dog_tracking_using_aprs/


I live in a fairly remote area with no cell signal, so Id like to find a tracking option for our dog that doesnt rely on the cell network for a
location fix. I know Garmin has some satellite options in the $900+ range,
but it seems like this is something I could accomplish with radio, as even
in the deep woods around me I can still hit repeaters 20 miles away.
Has anyone experimented with (or know of any good off-the-shelf products
for) tracking a dog using APRS? Thinking a self-contained beacon that
transmits every minute or so might work. She wears a backpack in the woods
so it wouldnt have to be super-compact.
Edit: To be clear, I am licensed (General) submitted by /u/viajegancho
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Hey gang, for quite some time I've wanted to build a web-based (optimized
for mobile too) alternative to Netlogger. Happy to say we have that now
(live as of today). Hope you enjoy it and hope it helps this hobby that we
all love. 73s, KK6BEB - https://www.ham.live/views/intro

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 12:08 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ue2mm4/hey_gang_for_quite_some_time_ive_wanted_to_build/



https://ham.live submitted by /u/ExerciseLater
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136-174Mhz Antenna Length

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 04:49 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ue8nj9/136174mhz_antenna_length/


Hello all!
Technical question regarding the physics of antennas:
If the antenna length determines its optimum peak in signal resonance, how
then would you be able to compare the efficiency of two antennas of the
same length, but advertised to work on different bandwidths?
Ignoring all the factors about terrain and operating conditions, I am
trying to understand what/if there is a trade off in antenna efficiency
between UHF 400-480MHz or VHF 136-174Mhz using the same length antenna. The length in this case is approximately 16.5cm long advertised for 136-174Mhz
used on the Retevis RT29.
Is there some wizardry I am missing here about antenna physics?
Thank you all! submitted by /u/ElectricalTower420
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So who do I need to bribe to get a service manual for my SGC SG-2020?

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 01:23 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ue4ar1/so_who_do_i_need_to_bribe_to_get_a_service_manual/


I love my 2020—its quirky, and heavy, the receive audio sounds is almost as bad as the UI/UX, but as my first "big girl radio," as I lovingly call it,
itll always be pretty special to me.
I was a big dummy and hooked it up backwards to my battery yesterday. I
smelled smoke when it happened, so I disassembled it, pulled out the main
PCB, to see if anything popped, but reassembled after some checks with a multimeter turned up inconclusive. I hooked it up again today to try it, in
the hopes that it was just the polyfuse; I dont know if it was? It powered
on again, received fine, but died after I bumped it.
Im going to try reflowing some joints/looking for solder blobs soon. (Not tonight—wifes taking me to a GY!BE show, no time for radio :). ) Hoping I
can get it going again myself, but does anyone here know of any resources
for SGC gear that are available online? In my cursory looking-around, I
could only find the standard owners manual. submitted by /u/ZeoNet
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Question about powering a 25W mobile off the car's accessory port?

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 12:47 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ue3hkw/question_about_powering_a_25w_mobile_off_the_cars/


I wondered if it would be safe to power my 25 W anytone at778uv off the accessory port in the car. The port is rated for 12V, 180W with a max of 10 amps. The mobile has an in line fuse of I think 10 amps. If I keep the TX
power on low to medium power, would this be safe for the vehicle and my equipment? Im in a rental so going through the firewall to the battery wont work. Oh, and Ill be using a Nagoya UT-72 mag mount antenna, not sure if
thats an important piece of info or not. submitted by /u/El1te_Spark
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Upgrading to Extra from Tech

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 08:55 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/udy8sz/upgrading_to_extra_from_tech/


I have my tech license and want to get my extra license. Can I just take
the extra test or do I need to take the general then the extra? Like if you pass the extra does it automatically get you the general? Thanks.
submitted by /u/dtotheatothevtothee
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Recommendations for Ham Shack lighting

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 12:44 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ue3ezi/recommendations_for_ham_shack_lighting/


I need to improve the quality of lighting in my shack. I would typically
use LED lamps but I do not want to introduce noise into the environment.
What are the quietest types of lamp I could use? submitted by /u/mindinmyownbizness
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What gifts would you get an amateur radio enthusiast?

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 04:58 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/udtb1m/what_gifts_would_you_get_an_amateur_radio/


Hi there!
My dad has recently rediscovered his love for amateur radio, renewed his license, built his little radio station at home, and when hes not off to
some competition with the local club, hes constantly fixing up his
equpiment. The whole house has been listening to Morse code nonstop for the past few months, and honestly, I havent seen him this happy for years!
His birthday is coming up, so I thought Id get him something that he might
find useful. The problem is, I have literally no clue about amateur radio - could you give me some tips/advice?
Thanks in advance! submitted by /u/ChickenLickin23
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portable HF rigs with 20+ watts, where are they?

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 08:19 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/udxfqi/portable_hf_rigs_with_20_watts_where_are_they/


Im shopping for a first HF radio, looking for something portable good for SOTA/POTA as well as home use. Good CW performance is also important. Ive arbitrarily set a minimum of 20 watts so Im not struggling too much to make contacts. The list of options looks short - am I missing some contenders?
Heres what Ive found: Xiegu G90 - 20W HF, mobile Yaesu FT-891 - 100W
HF+6m, mobile Icom IC-718 - 100W HF, portable base station Icom IC-7100 -
100W HF/VHF/UHF, portable base station Yaesu FT-991A - 100W HF/VHF/UHF, portable base station
There may be some difference of opinion over which base stations are small
and light enough to be "portable", but these are the only ones that mention mobile or field use in their product descriptions. submitted by
/u/blinkybit
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What are my options for a stealthy set of antennas in a historic area?

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 05:22 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/udtqsk/what_are_my_options_for_a_stealthy_set_of/


Im in an area that is considered "historic" by my city. So, I have
limitations on what I may or may not do with my property. I have already
heard through the grape vine that the ham radio antennas "visible from the street" are a no-go. Ive been using HTs up to this point for UHF/VHF. I genuinely dont want to piss off the city.
Im putting up a privacy fence in my back yard to help with concealment from
the road. I also have the benefit of a free standing garage a few yards
from the edge of my house. I have trees, but theyre about 1/2 acre from my
back porch. Im not sure how far out I can realistically run feed-line
before I make life difficult for myself. Im really open to suggestions here
for VHF/UHF, HF, and CB. For context, I dont anticipate transmitting more
than 100W on ham bands. Ill only be transmitting 4-5 watts on CB, whatever
the current legal limit is. So, what are my options? submitted by /u/s-ro_mojosa
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K2AKB on FT8 - No license.

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 02:34 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ue5wjo/k2akb_on_ft8_no_license/


I was just working FT8 on 10 meters. In looking at the reception log, I
noticed that I was being sniped (or hounded as JTDX calls it) by K2AKB. I received several of these transmissions, so it wasnt a decoding error.
When I get sniped, I dont automatically reply. Its just my process. I look
up the call sign to see who it is. This time, it came up empty.
Given that this is 10 meters, I wonder if this is a CB-er giving FT8 a go.
Of course, it could just be a data entry error. Maybe its K2KAB or another
call with the letters transposed. I just found this interesting, given the behavior of this call just going after me for several cycles, then moving
onto other calls.

https://preview.redd.it/g9kw7r678cw81.png?width=404&format=png&auto=webp&s=86c77949b871acf4736621230416bcdf9bf65f90
submitted
by /u/kassett43
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Problem with WSJT-X, Signalink USB, ICOM ic706mkiig

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 02:27 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/ue5qhi/problem_with_wsjtx_signalink_usb_icom_ic706mkiig/


So my setup is a DX commander clone running into an ic706mkiig, which in
turn is connected to my Ubuntu laptop with a signalink USB. Im using a ci/v cable for the frequency changes, everything works for ft8. HOWEVER, on any
band below 10m (15,17,20 etc) I go from roughly 70w out down to about 5w on 20m. What happens is when I time up to increase power at the signalink, the
PTT rapidly turns on and off, after a few tries, stops transmitting
altogether and the volume on the laptop has dropped to 5%. Consequently I
have to continuously tune lower in power for every band.
I thought possibly it was the laptop, so I tried on a rpi, same thing. I
tried adding an rf choke both at the antenna feedline and at the xmtr, no change. I tried adding the jumper to lower unit resistance, no change.
Im out of ideas. Anyone have this problem? submitted by
/u/douglasdouglasj
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Conformal coating for antenna?

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 07:43 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/udwmdk/conformal_coating_for_antenna/


I heard a reference to conformal coating an antenna, but no specific
coating was mentioned. Are there recommendations from knowledgeable folks?
TIA, if that’s allowed in this forum. submitted by /u/FuzzKhalifa
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APRS digipeater with wonky performance

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 03:02 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/udriwk/aprs_digipeater_with_wonky_performance/


Hi,
We have APRS digi/igate (callsign LD4VK) located at a mountaintop with a 98 meter high mast. A Microsat WX3in1 v2.0 sits behind a Motorola GM360 radio
and are fed into 3 sector antennas with 10 dBi gain. Coverage is typically
300+ km and often have signals from Denmark, Netherlands and Germany
(direct RF path).
The coverage is pretty good, but the topology in half of the horizon is
full of mountains and density of APRS users/traffic is low. Packet
collisions are rare, but we still get a pretty wonky performance.The digi reports input levels are typically 86%-87% from the radio so it should be
well within the specifications. We have tried two different radios.Any APRS gurus that can share some suggestions of what can cause this?

Morten/LA7RTA
Edit: Added two pictures of the location https://preview.redd.it/dmvmni8rq8w81.png?width=1103&format=png&auto=webp&s=f00defcd6870bcc1379dccb48aaf63d1109b7a78

360 degree panorama. Mast is in the north in the picture
Picture taken towards south submitted by /u/la7rta
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Cannot get TNC-Pi working with Xastir (stale lockfile)

Posted: 28 Apr 2022 07:27 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/udw9s0/cannot_get_tncpi_working_with_xastir_stale/


EDIT: Well, I feel silly. According to this site: https://pi4j.com/1.3/pins/rpi-400.html
...ttyAMA0 is used for bluetooth on the Pi 400, so I changed the serial
KISS TNC option in Xastir to point to /dev/ttyS0 and it works fine now.

So, Ive previously setup a Pi 3B with a TNC-Pi shield and Xastir for use
with APRS years ago, and it still works fine. I now have a Pi 400 and
cannot get the damn thing working for the life of me. I keep getting an
error in the terminal that there is a stale lockfile for /dev/ttyAMA0 and
that its being removed, but it never is. Its still in the directory, and
the interface in Xastir refuses to start, and just errors out.

Xastir works completely fine with a serial hardware TNC, connected via a
USB adapter on /dev/ttyUSB0. What am I doing wrong?
I have setuid for xastir to root, run kissattach, modified
/etc/ax25/axports, rebooted tens of times at this point, nothing. I have
done this before, its just been a long time and I cant find any of my notes from when I did this for the Pi 3B.

thanks! submitted by /u/TIP122NPN
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