On packet, I have 1 of those MFJ quarter wave base antennas stuffed in my
attic, stuffed in there all bent out of shape because it's a crawl space,
I'm afraid to put that antenna on phone, it works so well on packet I'm
afraid I might want it on phone, I don't think it's as good as my diamond
duel bander outside, but that's a great little antenna for $20, I'm very
impressed, and I don't have the best coax on that one either because I ran
out or gaps to put good coax through so I have the miniRG-8, only a 50 foot
run anyway but for 2 meters, that's definitely an idea.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Louis Kim Kline" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2005 6:08 PM
Subject: Re: Accessible VHF Radios
> Hi to all.
>
> There are a variety of ways to get on VHF. When I was just getting going
> about 25 years ago, I decided to buy the mobile radio first, but it took
> some time to get a decent VHF antenna up. So I cut a vertical dipole for
> 2
> meters, attached a convenient length of coax and hung the affair up in the
> front bedroom. Definitely, not as good as an outside antenna, but it got
> me into most of the local and regional repeaters in the area. Also, I've
> found that a quarter wave mag mount for 2 meters placed on a large metal
> surface like a refrigerator (even the small ones like you use in a college
> dorm work very well) can be a quick way to get on both two and 70 cm. A
> quarter wave on two meters is almost a three quarter wave on 70 cm, and it
> is close enough that most HTs will swallow the VSWR on the 70 cm
> side. It's kind of like using a 40 meter dipole on 15 meters.
>
> There is a similar relationship between 6 and 2 meters. It depends upon
> the design of the antenna, but I discovered a long time ago that the
> Larsen
> 5/8 wave two meter antennas would load as a quarter wave on 6 meter FM
> with
> a surprisingly low VSWR, as long as you placed the antenna on a
> sufficiently large metal surface to act as a ground plane on 6 meters
> (i.e.
> at least a quarter wave of metal surface in some direction). For a long
> time my 6 meter FM antenna was nothing more than a Larsen five-eighths
> wave
> antenna sitting on top of a large metal cabinet in an upstairs bedroom.
>
> 73, de Lou K2LKK
>
>
>
> Louis Kim Kline
> A.R.S. K2LKK
> Home e-mail: [log in to unmask]
> Work e-mail: [log in to unmask]
> Work Telephone: (585) 697-5753
>
|