Communications

[Frostoss]

My 11m rig is a Uniden AX-144 centre fed through a full wave EDZ di-pole.

Do i understand this correctly , this antenna of yours is a single di-pole of 11 meters (35 ~ feet) of wire or stacked multiples ?

center feed to coax or end connection ?

Yes Heads, thats the one, not stacked.. Its not exactly 11m, its a bit longer due to material and design compensation. Its fed into a home-made ladder, not coax or ribbon with an air balun to force the induction.

Cheers! :Y:

 

[Cranky Emu]

thanks for the link , i found the reference to ADS-B ... absolutely blew my socks off !!!http://vk3mhz.com/rpi_adsb.html

If you are detecting in very remote areas of Australia, this may sound silly to some - but ADS-B could in some cases be a life-saver. If you have an ADS-B setup in your vehicle you could easily identify VFR and low IFR traffic, so if your in need of desperate help and have no other forms of communication to the outside world, spotting a VFR plane on the ADS-B would alert you when to stoke up that fire.

Just a thought.

You would need a very stable voltage regulator to run a RPi in a vehicle, they don't like over-voltage at all. a 1/4 wave on the roof works very well. I wouldn't go anything high-gain vehicle mounted, as you do not have the height - the higher the gain an antenna has, the flatter the angle of radiation. Planes are in the air, not on the ground, so a high angle of radiation would be best for vehicle based operation.

The one you see live is just using a 1/4 Wave about 10 foot off the ground - as such it impacts the receive capability in some areas, I have a lot of clutter here in the form of cypress tree rows, so towards Warrnambool below 1500 is patchy.

When I upgrade the mast, I will upgrade the live ADS-B antenna and coax to something like low-loss Superflex.

 

[casper]

There is a repeater at Ulladulla I can ping with my UHF CB down here in Tathra.
Loud and clear. I spent a little bit of time having a yarn to some rather surprised
people up there.
It is nearly line of sight in a straight line.

Yup! with UHF CB "height is might" as we used to say, and yes long distance comms are achievable. I live on the Mornington Peninsula and onetime my brother was touring in northern Tasmania and we were able communicate regularly via the Mt Erin CBRS chn07 repeater situated south of Frankston, Vic. or via the Devonport, Tas. chn02 repeater.

From Arthurs Seat a little further south from Mt Erin (and more elevated) I could "open" the Mt Gambier CBRS repeater and communicated with my brother when he was in Stanley, Tas.

Exciting days.....

casper (formerly VCF787) radio's:- Johnson Viking 4740 LSB/USB HF, Phillips FM320 UHF

 

[Moneybox]

This is an interesting Satellite phone option using your existing phone.

https://www.optus.com.au/enterprise/networking/satellite/thuraya-satsleeve

$100 to buy and $15 p/m when you need it. Usage rates are on top.

 

[Nanjim]

Moneybox,

I think you will find the sat sleeve is around $8or900.00 to buy ....
Had a look at them a while ago .....

Cheers Nanjim
Jim

 

[Mike Marsupial]

My 11m rig is a Uniden AX-144 centre fed through a full wave EDZ di-pole.

Do i understand this correctly , this antenna of yours is a single di-pole of 11 meters (35 ~ feet) of wire or stacked multiples ?

center feed to coax or end connection ?

Yes Heads, thats the one, not stacked.. Its not exactly 11m, its a bit longer due to material and design compensation. Its fed into a home-made ladder, not coax or ribbon with an air balun to force the induction.

Cheers! :Y:

That's a very big antenna! How is it supported structurally?

 

[shakergt]

what are the things i can,should and should not do...in other words what protocols are in place for the use of that channel... It is what it is and so i would appreciate any wisdom ie, tips etc and opinions as to the efficiency of this unit...pro's n con's....cheers Rossco

I realise this is an old post, but the info may be of use to others. Hopefully I have enough posts up to add the link: vk3mhz.com
Check the radio comms menu category for listing on what the different UHF channels are for.

UHC CB is a class licence, meaning you no longer require to apply for a callsign, as was the case when UHF was first introduced.

Don't go using channel 5 at all unless you have an emergency. Its surprising how many time out at fires we have had to ask people to change channel and then explain that channel 5 is reserved for emergency services and situations.

 

[gef12]

Recently, courtesy of a gift from 7.62 Marksman in the form of 'Crystal' 80 channel unit, I contacted him from just south of Berry NSW. he being at Nowra. We figure it would have been about 16 K's!. I was wondering what members in the know would think of this capability, and whether or not that distance may increase in the dead of night when I have had incredible reception on my regular FM Radio.Can someone explain why that phenomenon is?.. Could it have been as a result of my heightened elevation at the time or?...is Superman real? ] ....Is there a Santa Claus? ] ] ...so many questions :lol: cheers Rossco.

You are experiencing tropospheric ducting .... am a Ham and used it many times .. could get from Exmouth thru to Bunbury on VHF ..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropospheric_propagation

 

[Mike Marsupial]

I really miss 27 megs on the highways these days. These UHF things have lousy range. With a decent antenna it was common to be getting road info from 5~20Ks+ ahead.
Also, the UHF's are supposed to have less noise, but I have much more trouble with them. Maybe I just need better gear.

 

[HeadsUp]

My 11m rig is a Uniden AX-144 centre fed through a full wave EDZ di-pole.

Do i understand this correctly , this antenna of yours is a single di-pole of 11 meters (35 ~ feet) of wire or stacked multiples ?

center feed to coax or end connection ?

Yes Heads, thats the one, not stacked.. Its not exactly 11m, its a bit longer due to material and design compensation. Its fed into a home-made ladder, not coax or ribbon with an air balun to force the induction.

Cheers! :Y:

That's a very big antenna! How is it supported structurally?

I would like to know that too , some photos or drawings of the configuration would be awesome ..

 

[Liam6589]

Yep, we selected ch25 in 2014 as a call channel and you can the move to another to chat upon.
Jaros

Hello! Much time has passed since this post, tell me, is this information still relevant?

 

[7.62marksman]

yes mate it is

 

[Greenhornet_au]

Well I justy found it, and a short review taught me something so I will spend more time foraging this thread. :Y:

 

[Cranky Emu]

Had to fork out for Starlink Internet, as NBN Satellite has sucked up all my patience.

 

[Greenhornet_au]

We have Starlink Internet here ?
I did not know that.

 

[Simmo]

 

[Hilux]

We have Starlink Internet here ?

Did you get to spot any of the satellite launches?

It was pretty cool seeing a string of 20 or more satellites in a perfect row stream across the sky.

 

[Simmo]

Hey Crew,
We have moved some stuff around!
This thread is for Ham Radio Communications discussion (whereby generally, you need a licence to operate)
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/threads/ham-radio.39946/The 27 meg CB thread, is for discussion on publically available CB Communication HF or UHF.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/threads/27mhz-cb-radio-discussion.39938/The Communications Thread is about all forms of communication pertinent to us, sat phones, Vast, PLB's, etc etc..
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/threads/communications.16939/
We hope this is clearer?!
Thanks to @mbasko for all the hard work back here!

 

[Cranky Emu]

We have Starlink Internet here ?
I did not know that.

Yep certainly do, dependent on your location in Australia, see map a few posts up.
You can also have the mobile/RV option for an extra $35 per month. Interestingly, they also have a maritime package as well, which can be paused when not in use - not sure if this also pauses any payments during the paused period. There is no pricing on the website, but I am taking a wild guess it would be similar to the RV pricing cost wise which is $174 per month.

I've ordered it and just awaiting the Satellite dish, had all the other hardware arrive. NBN can shove their poxy Spacejunk. Done with it being disconnected for days on end, or dropping out for hours at a time. Not to mention the 'lightening fast broadband' (that's what their marketing says!) which is about as fast as Mini Minor with two flat tyres.

 

[BigWave]

Many of my camp sites in FNQ and the GT have limited mobile coverage, even though I'm with Telstra (so regularly have to drive up a hill or closer to a town).
I have an iPhone, but recently bought a Telstra Tough Max 3 which is one of only a few phones with an external antenna port.
Into this I plug a small patch lead with an FME Male connector.
I then bought a 3G & 4G (5G is useless out bush) Log Periodic Dipole Array (LPDA) antenna (~10dBi gain - the phone is typically around 2dBi when vertical and correctly pointed, but otherwise mostly less than 0dBi) , opened the antenna cover & replaced the short stub RG58 cable (with Female N-Type connector) with a 4m LMR200 cable (much lower loss but still flexible) terminated with a Female FME connector to connect to the phone's patch lead.

I have a simple mount to my bullbar. No good whilst travelling as the antenna is highly directional, but very quick to set up when stationary.
Reckon I should get an improvement of 8-10dB when out bush with only 1 or two visible mobile towers (6dB is typically double the range for LOS - much less in hilly/wooded areas). No good in the city though, as the increased signal just gets me thrown off to a more distant cell.
I'll likely make a similar antenna mount for my van.
Anyone else tried this? Interested to hear your results.