Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

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SoupOrMan
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by SoupOrMan »

Well, my radio and antenna arrived!

My power supply was pushed back until the end of September. I think I'll cancel that part of the order and purchase something else that's available.
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

“PET PARENTS?” You’re not a “pet parent.” You’re a pet owner. Unless you’ve committed an unnatural act that succeeded in spite of biology. - Glenn Reynolds
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randy
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by randy »

Cool!

Ask around the local ham clubs. Someone might have one they would be willing to sell or loan you to get started.
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

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Just got the email from DX Engineering, I should have the power supply by Tuesday.
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

“PET PARENTS?” You’re not a “pet parent.” You’re a pet owner. Unless you’ve committed an unnatural act that succeeded in spite of biology. - Glenn Reynolds
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randy
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by randy »

Cool! Which one did you get?
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by SoupOrMan »

I got the Alinco DX-330 that I originally ordered. So far the antenna has worked well for 2m & 70cm, and I have been hitting local repeaters from inside my house with no trouble. I'm going to do an antenna swap and run my coffee can antenna for 2m & 70cm while using the Compactenna as a dedicated 6m antenna for a few days and see how that works. After that, I'm going to try my hand at building a good dipole for 10m. 12m may be as far as I can go and still have an attic antenna without a dedicated external tuner.

D-Star sounds great through the 7100 and I'm looking forward to working with that as well. Eventually I'll get a small laptop and dedicate that to stuff like WSPR/FT8, Netlogger and other useful programs.

I doubt I will run the 7100's maximum power through the coffee can antenna. I can get 50W max for 2m and 35W max for 70cm.

What is nice with the Alinco power supply is that it also has a cigarette lighter plug on the front in case I need to charge my D74 through it.
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

“PET PARENTS?” You’re not a “pet parent.” You’re a pet owner. Unless you’ve committed an unnatural act that succeeded in spite of biology. - Glenn Reynolds
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HTRN
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by HTRN »

How do you switch between antennas? Do you have to physically switch connections, or is it some kind of switch?
HTRN, I would tell you that you are an evil fucker, but you probably get that a lot ~ Netpackrat

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SoupOrMan
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by SoupOrMan »

The 7100 has two antenna connections: one for 160m to 6m, the other for 2m & 70cm. It switches based on which wavelength you're using at the time.
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

“PET PARENTS?” You’re not a “pet parent.” You’re a pet owner. Unless you’ve committed an unnatural act that succeeded in spite of biology. - Glenn Reynolds
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

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Okay, I have now built a dipole for 10m. If my NanoVNA is calibrated properly, my antenna and my ubiquitous RG-8X feedline has an SWR of about 1.6 to 1.7 at roughly 28.325MHz.

I went through 28.300 to 28.500 for about a half hour tonight and couldn't find anyone. I'll try again tomorrow.
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

“PET PARENTS?” You’re not a “pet parent.” You’re a pet owner. Unless you’ve committed an unnatural act that succeeded in spite of biology. - Glenn Reynolds
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randy
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by randy »

I haven't seen a lot of activity on 10 the last few weeks on the digital modes.

When the band is open You can do a lot. Back in the late 90's I worked Italy, Poland, Belize and Grenada using a converted 11M vertical on a tri-pod in the front yard and a RadioShack 10M mobile.
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
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randy
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by randy »

Just for grins you ought to check your analyzer to see how it tunes on 6M
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
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