Hi Dave, thanks for the new video. I look forward to each one. BTW, I had a recent experience with moisture in the feed line. My signal went quite bad all of a sudden (over a week or two), and when I checked the feedline connection I saw it had formed a little bit of corrosion on the SO239, so after cleaning it and putting in a new feedline, I bathed it liberally in that liquid electrical tape.as well as regular electrical tape. That should get me through the winter at least. Anyway, it was surprising how little moisture it took to cause a lot of trouble. Cheers, KC1DIW
NB : Getting into a car with a metal roof and metallic tinted windows is a great way to stop a hand held from working. It's not just spurious from the car that causes the problem - it's mostly the roof, pillars and window tinting (if fitted) that simply blocks the signal in and out. Anyway Dave, another great video. I almost certainly learn something from each one. Thank you and happy, healthy and prosperous new year to you and yours.
Thanks David for the quick silver reference......i looked them up...much to my surprise. I owned a house next door to there location and now live 3 miles away. Small world😂👍👍👍👍
Great job and great TIMING on this video. I just purchased my first mobile/base rig, a Yaseu FT-8900. I want to build a dipole to start playing on 10m and was wondering about center insulators. Was wondering what the options were on the cheap and never thought about using the electrical fence insulators for the ends. Thanks! 73! Michael - WA5AZQ
Hey, Dave, I'm considering purchasing a commercially made multi-band vertical antenna (Cushcraft R-8). I'm wondering if there's any suggested or recommended strategies for tuning such an antenna during assembly to minimize having to put up the antenna to run an analyzer for SWR, and then taking it down to make adjustments. Do you have any videos about this? If not, would you consider making one? Thanks.
Hi , just getting into the hobby . been working C B radios for over 30 yrs. I'm in the process of getting my tech lic. , I do flagging work and mag mount antenna's don't work to well for me , keep knocking them off the roof and would like to hard mount it like you can the C B antenna. what would you suggest for a dual band uhf/vhf radio. Please keep in mind this is to be used on a truck not a car. thx
+richard imel It is possible to find rooftop-mount VHF antennas that mount permanently. I haven't seen one advertised for quite some time, so you may have to consult with a local dealer who deals in mobile radio. I recommend some specific radios in my latest Ask Dave video, here: ua-cam.com/video/3plYxQK4RJE/v-deo.html. Good luck!
Hope all is well with you and yours, Dave! :-) Here's my question... Just rigged up a three element resonating dipole antenna for 20M, 15M, and 10M, approximately 30 feet above ground level, and 15 feet above my corrugated tin roof, which has a slope of about 8°-10°. We're at just under 1,000 feet elevation. Hooked up to my Dad's good old Swan 500CX, circa 1970, or so. GREAT radio. Picked up Brazil and Maui within minutes on 20 Meters. Contest going on. Dad would have been dancing a jig! :-) OK, so here's my question. Having the dipole suspended above the tin roof, will this enhance the propagation, perhaps in the area of NVIS? Thanks MUCH for an informative and easy to understand channel! 73 W6AOY...QTH Northern California, 25 miles from coast. "Zim"
In essence, it is indeed a tradeoff. Optimal element spacing for one band is not necessarily good for other bands. Some of the more modern (and expensive) tribanders or 5-banders (20, 17, 15, 12, 10) actually have three elements for each band, and the distances and lengths are modeled extensively to minimize losses.
I know it’s best to install your antennas close to your ham shack, but I’m on lower end of my 5 acre property and I’d like to install my antenna farm at the highest elevation I can. This is maybe 250-300 foot from my radios. Any tips or advice for that? KF0DML.
Mr Casler, thank you so much for answering my questions and I passed my technician test only missing one question! Waiting to get my callsign now. I have another question I was hoping you can help me with. I'm using a baofeng 8 watt handheld it's actually 1.3, 2, 4 & 8.61 Watts depending on the setting and the frequency... there are a lot of third party softwares that can reprogram it using the serial connection. There are several youtube videos that demonstrate how you can monitor a broad range of frequencies with different antennas after reflashing the firmware. Many of them caution against transmitting on any of the frequencies not in the original firmware but claim that monitoring any frequency won't hurt the radio only keying up the radio with it set outside its capabilities is dangerous for the components... now I know using firmware made for one radio on a different radio is not the safest thing to do but I would like to monitor more frequencies without investing in another radio. I'm not too worried about the dangers as it's only a disposable Baofeng. That said with your radio expertise I'm wondering if you can confirm what a lot of folks say that monitoring without keying up the radio won't hurt it no matter what frequency you have it tuned to, and just out of curiosity what is the reason for this danger. I've got a video that demonstrates how it uses the ground to trigger the push to talk and I am going to add a circuit with a removable safety pin to prevent it from being accidently keyed up unless I insert the safety pin first just to keep it idiot proof. My guess is the SWR on an antenna outside the range of the transmitter would be too high and that is what the danger is? am I correct? 73!
+rowe39425 My Baofeng UV5R+ receives commercial FM 60MHz to 108 MHz (much broader than the US commercial FM band. It also receives FM on 136-174 MHz and 400-480 MHz, in both cases far broader than the actual ham bands in question. When I program non-ham frequencies for listening, for example the local weather radio, I program in a dummy transmit frequency that's inside the ham band. That way if I do accidently transmit, I'm not interfering with the station I'm listening to, plus my mistaken signal goes out on a ham band and does not stress the transmit circuitry. I'm not familiar with the third-party firmware you mention. I hope that helps, at least somewhat. 73, Dave
+David Casler thank you so much Mr Casler that does help I don't know why I didn't think of programming a transmit frequency in the proper range... I can't wait to get my callsign I'll keep you posted.... in the early nineties I came very close to buying the Old West hotel in Ouray... rather my parents did... I was very young at the time... we were house hunting for a time there... life sent us in a different direction but since then it's always had a special place in my heart... dad still reads the local paper even though we are now on the other side of the country
If you are/choose to use Chirps software for programming, or program by hand, just select "off" or "none" in/under the "Duplex" column. This will "lock out" the radio from tx (transmitting) on that channel. Good Luck & 73's !
Dave, I am Harry Pillot (KN4DHY/AG) and new to the hobby. Great videos! This is my situation: I have a MFJ 1178 G5RV antenna (102 ft long) but do not have the space to deploy it. I read about an MFJ 1778M Jr which is half the size (52 ft long). My question is how do modify the regular MFJ 1778 to the Jr version. I was planning on determining the proper length but will like your opinion and advice. I do not want to have to buy another antenna if I can modify the original 1778 G5RV. Thanks
Given that MFJ also sells a junior G5RV, maybe you can do a swap. If not, see if they'll give you the dimensions for the Junior version, and cut the one you have to fit. You can also look in the ARRL Antenna Book for more information including dimensions. I'm sure you'll find opinions on the Internet too.
Hi Dave. I'm an electrical engineer (not rf) and I'm curious about em radiation. In a simple dipole, you show the electric field and magnetic field being 90 degrees out of phase which makes total sense from circuit theory. I suppose if I took my oscilloscope and some handy detectors, I could measure these fields at the antenna and see the time delay between the two fields. Would you concur with this? Thanks!
@@davecasler If I place a receiving antenna right next to the transmit antenna, I expect to see currents and voltages in the receiving antenna as in the gif below. What am I missing? Thanks (from a perplexed guy)
Hello. I recently inherited some nice ham radio equipment. I know absolutely nothing about it, but I am very interested to learn. Where do I start? I have watched several of these videos but do not really understand what I am hearing. Any help is greatly appreciated.
+Gone Fishin A few suggestions: 1) find a local ham club and attend. You'll make good friendships and can learn more about the equipment. See www.arrl.org/find-a-club. 2) Get your ham license. The first is the tech. See my page at www.ke0og.net/training. That will get you started. 3) Check eham.net. There are equipment reviews there. Hope that helps! 73, Dave, KEØOG
Unfortunately the 2016 and newer Ford F150's have an aluminum body and magnetic antenna mounts won't work. Need to use glue or some other method to attach to your roof.
I've been building and using dipoles for years. I'm so tired of being lets say stuck on one or two bands all the time. I have put up 58 feet of Rohan 45G and I want to put up another beam. Will I have a better signal with a tribander let's say 10 15 and 20 or can I go with one of the newer beams that offer five bands or six bands with just one feedline? My object is to be able to work on as many bands as possible?
There are many, many beam antennas available, as the advertisements in QST show. I don't have a beam. Those who have them swear by them. I've spoken with several folks on the air who have the "spider beam," which again is made by several companies. But with a 58-foot tower, especially a really sturdy one like the Rohn 45G, you are probably looking for a sturdy beam. Tribanders cover 20, 15, and 10 meters. 5-band beams are used on 20-17-15-12-10 meters. I use and enjoy 20 meters a lot, but with the low solar activity, the higher bands seem pretty empty, though they do open up occasionally. Beams for 30 meters or 40 meters are in the category of gigantic. Look at the reviews on eham.net. Good luck!
Dave, I just watched your review of the Xiegu 5105. I'm considering a 2nd HF to use while stationed overseas. Yaesu or Xiegu or another are good options. About antennas, have you reviewed the D-Original 2000 HF-6m 200 watts antenna? I will probably be living in an apartment. Thank you for all of your guidance. By 73 de David AE4LH
Half of my 80 meter dipole is over flat ground, the other half is over a 40 degree slope. Should I run the wire parallel with the slope, or keep it parallel like the other half is??
Why isn't the "full size" antenna simply a 19" rod (which would also be a resonant 3/4 wavelengths on 440)? Instead, the MFJ-1729 is about 50% longer, with a coil.
Coaxial cable has a center wire conductor surrounded by a foam insulator, then a foil and/or braided wire shield. If the cable is bent too sharply, it can cause the center conductor to compress or cut through the foam insulator, reducing the spacing from the shield. This can change the impedance of the cable.
Brad Tombaugh I was making an obscure reference to the Saturday Night Live episode where Ed Asner, playing the part of the Ambiguous Nuclear Engineer, said, "You can never put too much water in a nuclear core." To which the young nuke plant ooerators said, "But, what does that mean? Is too much water bad or is too much water ok?"
Hi Dave, thanks for the new video. I look forward to each one. BTW, I had a recent experience with moisture in the feed line. My signal went quite bad all of a sudden (over a week or two), and when I checked the feedline connection I saw it had formed a little bit of corrosion on the SO239, so after cleaning it and putting in a new feedline, I bathed it liberally in that liquid electrical tape.as well as regular electrical tape. That should get me through the winter at least. Anyway, it was surprising how little moisture it took to cause a lot of trouble. Cheers, KC1DIW
NB : Getting into a car with a metal roof and metallic tinted windows is a great way to stop a hand held from working.
It's not just spurious from the car that causes the problem - it's mostly the roof, pillars and window tinting (if fitted) that simply blocks the signal in and out.
Anyway Dave, another great video. I almost certainly learn something from each one.
Thank you and happy, healthy and prosperous new year to you and yours.
+Ade Larsen Thanks for the best wishes! I also wish you a great new year! 73
Unfortunately, cars make good faraday cages.
Thanks David for the quick silver reference......i looked them up...much to my surprise. I owned a house next door to there location and now live 3 miles away. Small world😂👍👍👍👍
Thank you David and thank you for these videos they are excellent very well done and you do a great service for the amateur radio community
Thank you.
Very informative. Thanks for sharing. Best, Don
Extremely informative! Love Colorado. Thanks Dave!
Great job and great TIMING on this video. I just purchased my first mobile/base rig, a Yaseu FT-8900. I want to build a dipole to start playing on 10m and was wondering about center insulators. Was wondering what the options were on the cheap and never thought about using the electrical fence insulators for the ends. Thanks!
73!
Michael - WA5AZQ
Hey, Dave, I'm considering purchasing a commercially made multi-band vertical antenna (Cushcraft R-8). I'm wondering if there's any suggested or recommended strategies for tuning such an antenna during assembly to minimize having to put up the antenna to run an analyzer for SWR, and then taking it down to make adjustments.
Do you have any videos about this? If not, would you consider making one? Thanks.
Hi , just getting into the hobby . been working C B radios for over 30 yrs. I'm in the process of getting my tech lic. , I do flagging work and mag mount antenna's don't work to well for me , keep knocking them off the roof and would like to hard mount it like you can the C B antenna. what would you suggest for a dual band uhf/vhf radio. Please keep in mind this is to be used on a truck not a car. thx
+richard imel It is possible to find rooftop-mount VHF antennas that mount permanently. I haven't seen one advertised for quite some time, so you may have to consult with a local dealer who deals in mobile radio. I recommend some specific radios in my latest Ask Dave video, here: ua-cam.com/video/3plYxQK4RJE/v-deo.html. Good luck!
Hope all is well with you and yours, Dave! :-) Here's my question...
Just rigged up a three element resonating dipole antenna for 20M, 15M, and 10M, approximately 30 feet above ground level, and 15 feet above my corrugated tin roof, which has a slope of about 8°-10°. We're at just under 1,000 feet elevation. Hooked up to my Dad's good old Swan 500CX, circa 1970, or so. GREAT radio. Picked up Brazil and Maui within minutes on 20 Meters. Contest going on. Dad would have been dancing a jig! :-)
OK, so here's my question. Having the dipole suspended above the tin roof, will this enhance the propagation, perhaps in the area of NVIS? Thanks MUCH for an informative and easy to understand channel!
73
W6AOY...QTH Northern California, 25 miles from coast.
"Zim"
Hi Dave, When they say that the antenna must be at a height from the ground, is the roof of the house considered as the ground? Thanks
Just got silverrod 1/2 wave...does the coax
act like a ground plain
Excellent series! Here's a question: How does a tri-band antenna work? It seems like a big trade-off for each band.
In essence, it is indeed a tradeoff. Optimal element spacing for one band is not necessarily good for other bands. Some of the more modern (and expensive) tribanders or 5-banders (20, 17, 15, 12, 10) actually have three elements for each band, and the distances and lengths are modeled extensively to minimize losses.
Great video, Dave! Merry Christmas to you and yours! 73 de KF5RHI!
I know it’s best to install your antennas close to your ham shack, but I’m on lower end of my 5 acre property and I’d like to install my antenna farm at the highest elevation I can. This is maybe 250-300 foot from my radios. Any tips or advice for that? KF0DML.
💐💐💐
Mr Casler, thank you so much for answering my questions and I passed my technician test only missing one question! Waiting to get my callsign now. I have another question I was hoping you can help me with. I'm using a baofeng 8 watt handheld it's actually 1.3, 2, 4 & 8.61 Watts depending on the setting and the frequency... there are a lot of third party softwares that can reprogram it using the serial connection. There are several youtube videos that demonstrate how you can monitor a broad range of frequencies with different antennas after reflashing the firmware. Many of them caution against transmitting on any of the frequencies not in the original firmware but claim that monitoring any frequency won't hurt the radio only keying up the radio with it set outside its capabilities is dangerous for the components... now I know using firmware made for one radio on a different radio is not the safest thing to do but I would like to monitor more frequencies without investing in another radio. I'm not too worried about the dangers as it's only a disposable Baofeng. That said with your radio expertise I'm wondering if you can confirm what a lot of folks say that monitoring without keying up the radio won't hurt it no matter what frequency you have it tuned to, and just out of curiosity what is the reason for this danger. I've got a video that demonstrates how it uses the ground to trigger the push to talk and I am going to add a circuit with a removable safety pin to prevent it from being accidently keyed up unless I insert the safety pin first just to keep it idiot proof. My guess is the SWR on an antenna outside the range of the transmitter would be too high and that is what the danger is? am I correct? 73!
+rowe39425 My Baofeng UV5R+ receives commercial FM 60MHz to 108 MHz (much broader than the US commercial FM band. It also receives FM on 136-174 MHz and 400-480 MHz, in both cases far broader than the actual ham bands in question. When I program non-ham frequencies for listening, for example the local weather radio, I program in a dummy transmit frequency that's inside the ham band. That way if I do accidently transmit, I'm not interfering with the station I'm listening to, plus my mistaken signal goes out on a ham band and does not stress the transmit circuitry. I'm not familiar with the third-party firmware you mention. I hope that helps, at least somewhat. 73, Dave
+David Casler thank you so much Mr Casler that does help I don't know why I didn't think of programming a transmit frequency in the proper range... I can't wait to get my callsign I'll keep you posted.... in the early nineties I came very close to buying the Old West hotel in Ouray... rather my parents did... I was very young at the time... we were house hunting for a time there... life sent us in a different direction but since then it's always had a special place in my heart... dad still reads the local paper even though we are now on the other side of the country
If you are/choose to use Chirps software for programming, or program by hand, just select "off" or "none" in/under the "Duplex" column. This will "lock out" the radio from tx (transmitting) on that channel. Good Luck & 73's !
Why does a beam work DX when it is horizontal and a horizontal wire is NVIS? Anyone know?
Dave, I am Harry Pillot (KN4DHY/AG) and new to the hobby. Great videos! This is my situation: I have a MFJ 1178 G5RV antenna (102 ft long) but do not have the space to deploy it. I read about an MFJ 1778M Jr which is half the size (52 ft long). My question is how do modify the regular MFJ 1778 to the Jr version. I was planning on determining the proper length but will like your opinion and advice. I do not want to have to buy another antenna if I can modify the original 1778 G5RV. Thanks
Given that MFJ also sells a junior G5RV, maybe you can do a swap. If not, see if they'll give you the dimensions for the Junior version, and cut the one you have to fit. You can also look in the ARRL Antenna Book for more information including dimensions. I'm sure you'll find opinions on the Internet too.
Hi Dave. I'm an electrical engineer (not rf) and I'm curious about em radiation. In a simple dipole, you show the electric field and magnetic field being 90 degrees out of phase which makes total sense from circuit theory. I suppose if I took my oscilloscope and some handy detectors, I could measure these fields at the antenna and see the time delay between the two fields. Would you concur with this?
Thanks!
Not out of phase but 90 degrees apart in orientation.
@@davecasler I thought your picture looks like this (what I expect):
i.stack.imgur.com/8niio.gif
Perpendicular in space and 90 degrees in time.
@@davecasler If I place a receiving antenna right next to the transmit antenna, I expect to see currents and voltages in the receiving antenna as in the gif below. What am I missing?
Thanks (from a perplexed guy)
@@belaji Sorry, the GIF did not come through. You can send the GIF to hamradioanswers@Gmail.com
Dave -
It looks to me like some antennas are just a single, open ended, piece of wire. How can a non closed piece of wire conduct current ?
Good job Dave nice talking to u on 40 w5mpg
Hello. I recently inherited some nice ham radio equipment. I know absolutely nothing about it, but I am very interested to learn. Where do I start? I have watched several of these videos but do not really understand what I am hearing. Any help is greatly appreciated.
+Gone Fishin A few suggestions: 1) find a local ham club and attend. You'll make good friendships and can learn more about the equipment. See www.arrl.org/find-a-club. 2) Get your ham license. The first is the tech. See my page at www.ke0og.net/training. That will get you started. 3) Check eham.net. There are equipment reviews there. Hope that helps! 73, Dave, KEØOG
Unfortunately the 2016 and newer Ford F150's have an aluminum body and magnetic antenna mounts won't work. Need to use glue or some other method to attach to your roof.
I've been building and using dipoles for years. I'm so tired of being lets say stuck on one or two bands all the time. I have put up 58 feet of Rohan 45G and I want to put up another beam. Will I have a better signal with a tribander let's say 10 15 and 20 or can I go with one of the newer beams that offer five bands or six bands with just one feedline? My object is to be able to work on as many bands as possible?
There are many, many beam antennas available, as the advertisements in QST show. I don't have a beam. Those who have them swear by them. I've spoken with several folks on the air who have the "spider beam," which again is made by several companies. But with a 58-foot tower, especially a really sturdy one like the Rohn 45G, you are probably looking for a sturdy beam. Tribanders cover 20, 15, and 10 meters. 5-band beams are used on 20-17-15-12-10 meters. I use and enjoy 20 meters a lot, but with the low solar activity, the higher bands seem pretty empty, though they do open up occasionally. Beams for 30 meters or 40 meters are in the category of gigantic. Look at the reviews on eham.net. Good luck!
Dave,
I just watched your review of the Xiegu 5105. I'm considering a 2nd HF to use while stationed overseas. Yaesu or Xiegu or another are good options. About antennas, have you reviewed the D-Original 2000 HF-6m 200 watts antenna? I will probably be living in an apartment. Thank you for all of your guidance. By 73 de David AE4LH
I've not reviewed that particular antenna.
Half of my 80 meter dipole is over flat ground, the other half is over a 40 degree slope. Should I run the wire parallel with the slope, or keep it parallel like the other half is??
I recommend keeping them parallel to the flat ground. That said, if that's impossible, do what you can.
What is the name of the adaptor you used for the Baofeng handheld to the coax?
It's female SMA to SO-239 (UHF female). Search the Internet for "coax adapters"
@@davecasler thank you so much sir!
Why isn't the "full size" antenna simply a 19" rod (which would also be a resonant 3/4 wavelengths on 440)? Instead, the MFJ-1729 is about 50% longer, with a coil.
Good job Dave nice talking to u on 40
So, you can never bend co-ax too much. Wait, does that mean... 😜
Coaxial cable has a center wire conductor surrounded by a foam insulator, then a foil and/or braided wire shield. If the cable is bent too sharply, it can cause the center conductor to compress or cut through the foam insulator, reducing the spacing from the shield. This can change the impedance of the cable.
Brad Tombaugh I was making an obscure reference to the Saturday Night Live episode where Ed Asner, playing the part of the Ambiguous Nuclear Engineer, said, "You can never put too much water in a nuclear core." To which the young nuke plant ooerators said, "But, what does that mean? Is too much water bad or is too much water ok?"
That's also how you wrap a knife handle.
Interesting videos de G0FFL
Wood is not great for insulator, as it becomes conductive when wet.