Comet GP-1 VHF / UHF Antenna Ham Radio Installation on Chimney Using Superstrut
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- Comet GP-1 VHF / UHF Antenna Ham Radio Installation on Chimney Using Superstrut / unistruit, I bought Wilson LM-400 cable on Amazon
Comet GP-1 ham radio installation
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Where to buy Marine shrink tubing:
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LM-400 cable Amazon
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Coupler amazon
DHT Electronics RF coaxial coax adapter N female to UHF female SO-239 SO239 connector
Hey Danny, welcome to the hobby - you will love that antenna! That was my first 2m/70cm antenna and it served me well for a few years until I upgraded to their 10' 2" GP-6 which doubled the 2M gain to +6dB and increased 70cm to +9dB. Then I got the IC-9700 so replaced that with their 9' 8" GP-98 so I could use the 23cm band, too. Comet antennas are well-made and strong performers. By the way, if you ever need great cable, I strongly recommend ABR Industries, sold on all the ham radio sites like HRO. All of their cable is low-loss and very high quality. You will pay a bit more but it's worth it for performance and longevity. 73 KJ6ER, Silicon Valley
Thanks for you comment. Will consider the GP3
I recently picked up several lengths of coax from ABR Industries locally. They are friendly, and their coax is well made.
Getting ready to mount a Comet GP-3 to my chimney, thanks for the video. Also looking at the lmf400.
Let us know how it works out.
Great Video Danny! Plenty of videos on soldering skills , out there, got my skills from being an ET in the Defense industry, and building Heath Kits for years! Your a hands on guy I am sure you will pick it up easily! Soon after the vhf/ uhf is mastered you are going to love DMR ! 73’s JohnBoyUtah KJ7TBR chow😎🇺🇸📡🎙
Thanks for your comment
When you install like this, what do you have to do to protect the house from lightning? My wife bought me the same antenna for christmas and I'm trying to figure out how to install but I want to make sure I do it correctly and safely. Thanks.
You need to look at other videos on HAM antenna grounding by authors better qualified than me.
Nice one mate you think lmr 400 is stiff try working. With lmr 900 or heliax great cable and no loss but a pain for bendy turns love your heat shrink good one 73s hope to see more vids
Thanks for the comment. It gives me motivation to keep making videos.
Personally, when I run cables through walls and floors, I run them first and then solder on the ends. Leaves me with smaller holes to grommet.
That's a great idea! I wish I knew how to solder the ends on.
I would have heat shrunk from the middle out, am I wrong?
How's your antenna doing after 3 years? Thanks!
Still working great. I live by the beach in So Cal.
1:00 Is that VIVO cable full copper? That brand sometimes is copper coated aluminum. Might want to check on that. It will likely 'work' but is contrary to the NEC as communications cable shall be copper with exception of Coax cabling.
Check the link in the description .. lmr 400 ... This Wilson-400 cable is LMR400 equivalent (if you’re familiar with those). The thickness or diameter of this 50' cord is 13/32 of an inch. It is fitted with a N-Male Connector on each of the two ends. This makes it ideal for use with any Wilson Electronics in-building cell phone signal booster amplifier system equipped with Type N connectors. Way better than rg8x if you are running 50+ feet vhf / uhf. I am also using for hf endfed hw antenna.
@@dannyjensen4954 I did look at that cable (for the antenna) and I'm pretty sure it's going to work fine. I do note the review from someone named 'cam' on May 29, 2020 that gave it a poor review because that cable also is CCA. I'm not a fan of copper clad aluminum. In any case, I was referring to the UTP cabling which I assume is cat5e or Cat 6, the VIVO brand.
@@jeffwilcox9987 Oh. Thanks for this post alerting others. The cat 5-6 is unused so far so and I didn’t think about it until your comment. The LMR 400 copy cable I’m using for VHF and HF and it is way better than the rg9x the ham radio store sold me based on my SWR meter. Thanks again for doing the research.
Does it makes a different when you buy a 5 foot , 7 gain antenna commet 100 bucks vs a 30 inch 2-3 gain antenna for 40 dollars, in range and quality sound
Gain is everything I think if you can afford it.
@@dannyjensen4954 👌
I hope the set up works for you for a long time, but adding the structure to stucco is going to wear out your anchor points. Just a thought.
If I understand correctly you are saying that the vertical aspect flexing in the wind is going to cause the anchor points to slowly degrade over time ? If I was anchored into wood that would be better?
@@dannyjensen4954 I would say so, treated lumber though. I just know stucco crumbles easily.
When I erect an antenna I will probably make a frame that straddles my roof ridge and is the same idea as a satellites non penetrating roof mount. And have my antenna going up right at the ridge
How do I reach out to you for a course
Bad for VHF? That's not my experience. The coax length makes the difference, so it might be not do so well at 75 feet!
You are correct. My wording was not correct. The lm-400 has far less loss at 75 feet so lm-400 is a better choice with the GP-1 a small antenna with limited gain. I am new to ham radio and this was my first antenna project. The HRO sold me the rg8x and for the price, the Amazon lm-400 like cable is better for long runs and it is more rugged and waterproof.
@@dannyjensen4954 Right, but the GP1 has 3dbi gain at two meters. That is effectively doubling of the ERP from whatever power you're putting into it, ie: power from transmitter 50 watts= 100 Watts ERP. You're actually doubling your transmit power. Even more power on UHF: 7 dB.
Good video. G7MJT
@@mikesey1 Thanks for your comment. I'm going to look at what the ERP topic.
How did that cable work out? I’ve got a roll I’m going to install tomorrow. Just concreted a 1-1/4” iron pipe in the ground at a depth of 3’ with 1’ diameter of concrete 1’ deep. How high do you recommend running the mast? It’s for vhf/uhf radio.
I’m not an expert. High as you can on the mast. I’m hitting the repeaters I want to hit here in the city. It appears like your situation is great. Lm400 was a big deal. Maybe I would have used a gp-3 if I had to do it again but I can hit what I set out to hit.
@@dannyjensen4954 im tryin to hit my moms house 20 miles away. Any thoughts? I had great intentions on the 1-1/4” iron pipe mast but I was just thinking the weight and lifting up 30’ of pipe to screw it into the 2’ that is sticking out of the ground might pose a problem.
@@patriotplumber4694 I'm sort of new to ham radio. I know VHF line of sight has not been a problem for me on the ocean with 8w. I have a 25w HAM VHF car radio I have used with my GP-1 and my car antenna and I have had no problem with 20 miles. It depends on what you have in the way between houses I guess. I live in he city so range is not good over land but over the ocean it is great.
@@dannyjensen4954 thanks for the reply. I was able to accomplish my goal of reaching my 12 yo daughter at school 20 miles away from my house. She has a 8 watt and myhouse has a 25 w with a comet 1 antenna. It’s working great. Bonus is I can reach my bug out location also. Thanks for the information!
@@patriotplumber4694 You are doing great! I can’t hit my wifes work 10 miles away without using a repeater. She works near tall buildings and a major airport. 8 watt is ideal. Good info for others. What frequency UHF or VHF were you testing?
How did you ground it?
Yea. I didn't have anything when I did this video, but I did rig something later after I learned some stuff. For Lightning ground I tied #10 solar panel grade cable to a conduit running to the solar panel. This conduit is grounded with house electrical service buss in the main panel via a ground steak near the panel the conduit. RF ground is done by a separate ground rod outside of the shack to a #8 wire that I have tide to a shield on the So239 connector.
@@dannyjensen4954 I'd recommend something like a Polyphaser lightning suppressor on the coax just before it enters the house.
You cannot explain things while the wind is blowing, running a heat gun at the same time. We can't hear what you're saying.
Sorry. Bad quality. Thanks for watching and your comments.
SWR on 145MHz and 431, 433 and 446MHz?
With my GP-1 I'm getting great SWRs on 146 and 440, like 1.1 & 1.3. Only up for a couple of months, but very happy with it.
Your 11 minute video would only take 5 minutes and would be alot more interesting if you would stop repeating everything five times.
I’ll try to do better. I have been improving my edits. Just learning the edits with iMovie.