Carolyn,

Get a chunk of coax and a double male barrel connector to hook the two coaxes together to extend the feed line of your mag mount. Then put that mag mount on the roof of your house. If you can, move it as close to the middle of the roof. You’ll have one heck of a ground plain. 

-Bob Ringwald K6YBV



From: Carolyn Johnson 
Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2014 12:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask] 
Subject: Re: Happy Ham's Day

Well, my problem is that I only have a hand held, and since our rental house 
had a new roof put on last year, and it's metal, nothing gets out. I have a 
mobile two meeter four-fourty rig setting here with a real good mag mount 
antenna on it, but no one can hear me, so I'm stuck. This is a wonderful 
location to have an antenna since there are some nice woods here, but to get 
ahold of anyone is the pits. I have a ham friend at church, but he forgets 
half the time when I give him messages to get ahold of someone for me since 
he knows a lot of people. He's so hard of hearing that I don't think he half 
hears what I'm asking him bless his heart. I'm sure the day will come when 
someone will be able to help. I'd like to eventually move out of this house 
and leave my daughter and son-in-law fineally live there lives without a 
parent around. We had to have them live with us since they got married 
because she had to take care of her dad because he went on a machine every 
night, and it was digital, and like a lot of things required sight. I did 
all the things I could do to help take care of him without sight, but there 
were those things that needed sight, and we had to battle with her to even 
do them. She really didn't want to do them, but she had no choise in the 
matter. We live out in the country on a mountain. It's quiet and a nice 
area. It's actually one of the foothills of the Smokey mountain chain, and 
so pretty, but when it snows, we are trapped up here in the winter time.

You take care, and keep hamming.

Carolyn Kj4vt


--------------------------------------------------
From: "Colleen Roth" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2014 2:39 PM
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Happy Ham's Day

> Hi Carolyn,
> It can be difficult to get people to help with antennas etc.
> I have been blessed with people who are willing to help.
> I suspect it makes a difference who you ask and if you and those people 
> are interested in the same things.
> I always choose people who understand the value of Public Service even if 
> they don't do it themselves.
> Since I am very active in Navy Mars and Nts Traffic Handling and Skywarn I 
> have been able to find people to help when the need arises.
> Sometimes you have to wait awhile but usually things get done when they 
> are really necessary.
> Colleen, N8TNV;
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: carolyn johnson <[log in to unmask]>
> To:  [log in to unmask]
> Date: Saturday, Apr 26, 2014 02:40:04 AM
> Subject: Re: Happy Ham's Day
>
>>
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Well, I feal like a baby, because I loved ham radio for years, but my 
>> late
>> husband got me into the hoby since he was a ham, so I got my ticket in 
>> the
>> mail on April first 1983.
>>
>> Carolyn Kj4vt
>>
>> Oh, my first call I didn't like. It was Kb4eoq.
>>
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------
>> From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Friday, April 25, 2014 3:32 PM
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: Happy Ham's Day
>>
>> > It was 48 years ago today I made my first contact as a novice.  I was 
>> > at
>> > the
>> > school for the blind when my mom called from home on a Monday afternoon
>> > and
>> > told me my ticket came.  I had her repeat the call sign a dozen times 
>> > to
>> > be
>> > sure.  I had been walking to our regular Monday after school student
>> > council
>> > meeting.  I was representing the 9th grade, and the office secretary
>> > called
>> > out the office door as I passed by going to the library for the 
>> > meeting.
>> > She said, "Phil.  You have a phone call."  The only person who called 
>> > me
>> > at
>> > school was generally my uncle in Kansas but this time it was my mom 
>> > with
>> > the
>> > good news.  I hunt up the phone, and spun around and took a step to the
>> > open
>> > office door.  Our superintendent was a nice guy and although he was not 
>> > a
>> > ham, he made sure we always had good equipment, unless one of our 
>> > radios
>> > was
>> > down for repair, but he called out and said, "Hey, Phil.  You got your
>> > license."  It wasn't a question.  I was so out of it, I just grunted a
>> > yes,
>> > and ran down the hall to the radio room.  A couple of friends were 
>> > already
>> > in the ham shack and one was a novice of about 3 months.  I told him to
>> > move
>> > over, I was getting on the air.  It took them a few seconds to believe 
>> > me
>> > but when I threatened to dump him off the king's chair in front of the
>> > radio, he got the picture.  At this time, our DX60 was off the air so I
>> > used
>> > an A T 1 on 80 meters to make my first contact.  I was WN0ORO and my 
>> > first
>> > countact with another guy in Nebraska and his call was WN0OHO.  We kept 
>> > in
>> > touch for years after that.  After supper that night, I was back in the
>> > ham
>> > shack pounding out CQ again and having the time of my life.  To this 
>> > day,
>> > although I only had my novice license 6 months before I took the 
>> > general
>> > class, it was still the most fun I had as a ham.  The guy I almost dump
>> > out
>> > of the chair lived at home where the school for the blind was so we 
>> > worked
>> > each other, building up our code speed, in the evenings and then when
>> > school
>> > was out for the summer.  We had a lot of the same crystals so we ended 
>> > up
>> > working each other hundreds of times that summer.  We even started a
>> > midnight schedule which we carried on for years after getting our 
>> > generals
>> > and could work side band.
>> >
>> > Phil.
>> > K0NX