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New member

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KO4RJE

Fri Jun 25 2021, 12:45am

Guest

Good Evening everyone,
My name is Kevin and I am a new member here. I attempted to check into the net this evening but I guess this little handheld isn't making it out.
New to the club, but not the hobby. I had my tech ticket many years ago in 1995 but let it lapse. Recently tested and passed the exam for my General license.
I look forward to talking with ya'll once I get a radio and get it setup. A little disappointed as I was looking forward to this net.
73
Kevin

KW4IL

Fri Jun 25 2021, 03:07am

Guest

Good evening Kevin and welcome to the club and glad to hear you found your way back to,Hamradio after a long pause - I had a similar pause myself and was surprised to see how technology has been changed, especially with the various digital modes. I want to get more into QRP and SOTA myself hopefully this summer. Please come visit them field day station on Saturday and grab some lunch while there. 73’s Bart KW4IL

W8LWX

Fri Jun 25 2021, 03:53pm

Club Secretary-Treasurer, 2024

Registered Member #9

Joined: Mon Sep 02 2013, 12:04am

Posts: 19

Welcome, Kevin, and congrats on getting your General ticket! We look forward to seeing you and hearing you on the air.

If you want to vastly improve your enjoyment of 2m and other VHF/UHF repeaters from home, get a mobile rig, some kind of 12-14 VDC power source to run it (an old car battery, if nothing else, but ideally a regulated power supply), and an outdoor antenna, set up at home as your "base." The antenna doesn't need to be anything fancy or expensive -- a $25 magnetic-mount quarter-wave whip intended for a car will do fine if stuck on a suitable hunk of metal.

Using a mobile rig gets you so much more power than a handheld, and getting the antenna up and out in the air is always going to get far better results than those stubby HT flexible antennas. HTs have their place but can't even come close.

A radio I like for this kind of set-up is the Baofeng BTECH Mini UV-25X4, which you can get from Amazon for $143. It gives you 25W out and works on 2 meters, 1.25 meters (220 MHz), and 70 cm (440 MHz). I've bought several. Lots of bang for the buck!

W4DAE

Sun Jun 27 2021, 01:07pm

Club Member

Registered Member #105

Joined: Tue Aug 09 2016, 01:48pm

Posts: 13

Welcome to the club!!

I agree with W8LWX... mobile rigs work great.

Power supplies have gotten expensive, but if you're just using a mobile rig at 25W, this little MFJ for $70 works well. I have one I've used like crazy with a Yaesu FT2900 2m.

https://www.dxengineering.com/search/department/dc-power/part-type/power-supplies/product-line/mfj-4115-switching-power-supplies?N=department%3Adc-power%2Bpart-type%3Apower-supplies&SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Ascending&autoview=SKU

I don't think the link will "hyperlink", so you may have to copy/paste into your browser.

Hope to hear you on the air!
73 David W4DAE

KO4RJE

Thu Jul 01 2021, 12:08am

Guest

Thanks for the welcome, I already have the power supply, coax, and antenna set up. My new radio is supposed to be delivered tomorrow (Yaesu FT991A) Hopefully I get it in time to get it set up and participate in the net tomorrow night. Look forward to talking with everyone.
73, Kevin, KO4RJE

KO4RJE

Sun Jul 04 2021, 03:20am

Guest

I tried again this past Thursday to get into the repeater, I did manage to get in but the net controller couldn't copy my entire call.
I hope I have the settings right now, but there is no one on the repeater when I try to get in.


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