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NES Community regional NET?

75-80 meters would be best, however you are correct about antenna capabilities. 10 meters has been not too bad for ground com during the day. We may have to think about that. The down side would be who is available during the day. Just keep sending me info and I will see what will work for the masses. So far only two of you have responded.
N1HM
 
BringTheRain said:
I can do HF, but I have to upgrade my ticket to General to be legit on 80M.
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Morse code? You have CW privileges on 80/40/15.

Morse is a great challenge and it needs 70 times less power to go the same distance. You can also get kits for single frequency CW rigs for $10 - 50$. It's a really fun mode and great for the prepper minded that want a backup HF rig that weighs <1lb and runs for 10-30hrs of operation on 8 AA batteries.
 
I would give it a try on 80m. Got some good signal reports this evening from NH and MA.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I only have 2m/440 rigs and HTs currently. I have my General but it will be the end of the year at the earliest before I get an HF rig on the air.

I'm much more available during weekdays than evenings or weekends.
 
Len does make a good point that many here only have tech privileges and 2 meter/440 radios. I would like to try this Net on HF however I can also try to set something up for 2 meters. Anyone that can hit the Paxton repeater please send me your information and I will try to organize a NES Net. So far I have only receiver responses from four of you, hopefully this will create more interest. Those of you that want to do HF please continue to send me input. I don't have enough feed back to set anything up yet.
 
JDL said:
Len does make a good point that many here only have tech privileges and 2 meter/440 radios. I would like to try this Net on HF however I can also try to set something up for 2 meters. Anyone that can hit the Paxton repeater please send me your information and I will try to organize a NES Net. So far I have only receiver responses from four of you, hopefully this will create more interest. Those of you that want to do HF please continue to send me input. I don't have enough feed back to set anything up yet.
Click to expand...

I just did a straight line measurement on google maps, Paxton is 75 miles from my house. I doubt very much I would be able to get in on anything going that far away, with my current gear anyways.
 
JDL said:
Len does make a good point that many here only have tech privileges and 2 meter/440 radios. I would like to try this Net on HF however I can also try to set something up for 2 meters. Anyone that can hit the Paxton repeater please send me your information and I will try to organize a NES Net. So far I have only receiver responses from four of you, hopefully this will create more interest. Those of you that want to do HF please continue to send me input. I don't have enough feed back to set anything up yet.
Click to expand...

I can reach Paxton 2m repeater full quieting from quincy. W1RVL.
Cheers. Ralph.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I can reach the Paxton repeater and would be up for a NES net or just to meet people that may be on the repeater. Havent been able to make a CMARA meeting to meet people that way. W1ACY.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
I am getting only a few responses for a 2 meter meet on the Paxton repeater so far only two can hit the repeater. I still would like to try this on HF SSB BringTheRain is correct most hams these days don't do CW or are not set up for digital. I think the best we can hope for on HF would be SSB. So far only two responses and a maybe the end of the month. I am feeling there may not be a lot of interest. I may try something this week with the two HF stations and then try something on the Paxton Repeater. I will let you know what the schedule will look like. I hope more people will respond to make this worthwhile.
 
Just a thought: if we were to post to the member forum, or even the general forum that we were considering an NES net, I bet we'd get more interest, and introduce more people to HAM radio.
 
Not sure posting in any other forum would make a difference. I would think that ham operators would be checking into the ham radio forum on NES. It may create more interest, however the interest would be with non-hams and I would think that may create confusion. However if you think it would help please post in the other forums.
 
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No joy hitting the Paxton repeater using a Baofeng GT3-WP with a Nagoya 771 @ 5W. Will try again using a more substantial, stationary antenna and report back.

quincy said:
I can reach Paxton 2m repeater full quieting from quincy. W1RVL.
Cheers. Ralph.
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What rig/setup are you using to hit Paxton from Quincy?

I'm toying with the idea of picking up a DMR HT since that seems to be the new "it" tech, might try again using that rig.
 
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BringTheRain said:
No joy hitting the Paxton repeater using a Baofeng GT3-WP with a Nagoya 771 @ 5W. Will try again using a more substantial, stationary antenna and report back.

What rig/setup are you using to hit Paxton from Quincy?

I'm toying with the idea of picking up a DMR HT since that seems to be the new "it" tech, might try again using that rig.
Click to expand...

Since I have yet to go on the air and try to connect with anyone . . .

I can hear both sides of conversations on the Paxton repeater with no issues on my HT (Yaesu FT-60R with a Diamond SRH77CA antenna) at my desk. Is that indicative that I could actually be heard clearly if I were to transmit via that repeater? I'm >40 miles point-to-point from Paxton.
 
Len-2A Training said:
Since I have yet to go on the air and try to connect with anyone . . .

I can hear both sides of conversations on the Paxton repeater with no issues on my HT (Yaesu FT-60R with a Diamond SRH77CA antenna) at my desk. Is that indicative that I could actually be heard clearly if I were to transmit via that repeater? I'm >40 miles point-to-point from Paxton.
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Not necessarily. I can hear all sorts of stuff on the repeaters with my HT's but can't quite get out to them. If you can't, would try one of the N9TAX slimjim antennas. I keep one in my radio bag with some paracord to throw it up into a tree.

http://www.2wayelectronix.com/

Good choice on the FT60 btw, it is almost my ideal HT.
 
edmorseiii said:
Not necessarily. I can hear all sorts of stuff on the repeaters with my HT's but can't quite get out to them. If you can't, would try one of the N9TAX slimjim antennas. I keep one in my radio bag with some paracord to throw it up into a tree.

http://www.2wayelectronix.com/

Good choice on the FT60 btw, it is almost my ideal HT.
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Thanks Ed.

Worst case for now, I can use my Icom ID-5100A with Diamond NR770 mag-mount antenna that is temporarily sitting in my office. I'd have to do that with low power however as the only 12V power supply I have right now is rated for 4A (it was bought a very long time ago, reason no longer remembered). My older car bit the dust (transmission went) so this rig was removed from that car before we scrapped the car. It'll go back in the SUV I plan to buy shortly. I have a duplicate rig in my other car, just not permanently wired yet.

HRO recommended and sold me all my gear to date.
 
Len-2A Training said:
Since I have yet to go on the air and try to connect with anyone . . .

I can hear both sides of conversations on the Paxton repeater with no issues on my HT (Yaesu FT-60R with a Diamond SRH77CA antenna) at my desk. Is that indicative that I could actually be heard clearly if I were to transmit via that repeater? I'm >40 miles point-to-point from Paxton.
Click to expand...
40mi is a bit of a stretch for an HT indoors. I'm surprised you can hear the repeater. But if it is coming in at S-3 or above, I would just throw out your call sign and "testing" and see if you hear the repeater tail hold your squelch open.

Antennas matter more than power. You have several ways to get out better.

Edmorseiii's suggestion of getting a roll-up slim-jim is an excellent one.

I have something similar. I have this one designed by a college professor and manufactured by his students, it's supposed to out perform the standard slim-jim, especilly on 70cm. It's also smaller and a good deal since it comes with connector adapters and a few feet of feed line.

One more trick is to add a rat-tail to your HT. See my old post here where I compare Rx with my FT-60 with the standard 7" antenna, a Nagoya 15.5" antenna and the roll-up J-pole with and without the rat-tail. The 3+ S-unit difference the rat-tail makes is yuge since every S-unit is a 4:1 change.

ANTENNA___NO RAT__WITH RAT
Yaesu_______S5_____S8 to S9+20
Nagoya______S5_____S8 to S9+20
J-pole_______S8
Click to expand...

It makes sense that connecting a 19.5" piece of wire to the HT's metal body makes a BIG difference on 2m. Normally you have a crappy dipole arrangement with the rubber-duck being electrically 1/4 wave long and the body of the HT trying to act like the other half of a dipole. Putting a piece of wire that is 1/4wave long on the body turns it into a real symmetrical dipole. On my FT-60 I attach the wire to one of the belt clip screws.
 
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cockpitbob said:
One more trick is to add a rat-tail to your HT. See my old post here where I compare Rx with my FT-60 with the standard 7" antenna, a Nagoya 15.5" antenna and the roll-up J-pole with and without the rat-tail. The 3+ S-unit difference the rat-tail makes is yuge since every S-unit is a 4:1 change.

ANTENNA___NO RAT__WITH RAT
Yaesu_______S5_____S8 to S9+20
Nagoya______S5_____S8 to S9+20
J-pole_______S8
Click to expand...

It makes sense that connecting a 19.5" piece of wire to the HT's metal body makes a BIG difference on 2m. Normally you have a crappy dipole arrangement with the rubber-duck being electrically 1/4 wave long and the body of the HT trying to act like the other half of a dipole. Putting a piece of wire that is 1/4wave long on the body turns it into a real symmetrical dipole. On my FT-60 I attach the wire to one of the belt clip screws.
Click to expand...

I honestly thought this was junk science, very interesting. So should the rat tail stay as straight as possible, or is it more a factor of the electrical length of the wire. Meaning, will this still work as well with the rat tail loosely coiled inside a pouch with the radio?
 
edmorseiii said:
I honestly thought this was junk science, very interesting. So should the rat tail stay as straight as possible, or is it more a factor of the electrical length of the wire. Meaning, will this still work as well with the rat tail loosely coiled inside a pouch with the radio?
Click to expand...
Coiled in a pouch won't work, but in my experience it doesn't need to be very straight.

Later in that old thread I did some tests to see how critical the length of the wire is. It seemed like it worked about the same from 17.5" to 21.5", so 19.5" +/-2".
 
Rat tails work and they are an alternative if you have nothing else. Or you could build a home brew 2 meter ground plain with a SO239 and some coat hangers/wire/welding rods/ect. I currently use one for 2 meters. It is mounted on a short piece of PVC on the lowest corner of the lowest roof of my house, up about 10ft. and I can hit all the repeaters in my area including Paxton.
http://hamuniverse.com/kc0ynr2metergppvc.html
www.hamuniverse.com/2metergp.html
These two sites will help or you can google 2 meter ground plain and there are you tube videos that will walk you through the construction. These antennas take up little space and can be mounted almost anywhere. I used one hanging in my office doorway with a HT and was amazed at what this little antenna could do. Cheep and easy to build.
This will help anyone using a HT for base opperation.
 
JDL said:
Rat tails work and they are an alternative if you have nothing else. Or you could build a home brew 2 meter ground plain with a SO239 and some coat hangers/wire/welding rods/ect. I currently use one for 2 meters. It is mounted on a short piece of PVC on the lowest corner of the lowest roof of my house, up about 10ft. and I can hit all the repeaters in my area including Paxton.
http://hamuniverse.com/kc0ynr2metergppvc.html
www.hamuniverse.com/2metergp.html
These two sites will help or you can google 2 meter ground plain and there are you tube videos that will walk you through the construction. These antennas take up little space and can be mounted almost anywhere. I used one hanging in my office doorway with a HT and was amazed at what this little antenna could do. Cheep and easy to build.
This will help anyone using a HT for base opperation.
Click to expand...

I was more interested in boosting performance a little while out and about communicating with friends. For a base station I have one of those Blackbird J-Poles mounted up pretty high and with my TM-281 I can reach repeaters down into MA, but not likely down to the Paxton machine. When I get home I will try and tune in and see what I can do, but I doubt it. My local repeater, W1SRA on Saddleback Mountain, is like 4.5 miles straight shot, I can talk on that one with almost anything.
 
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I used a rat tail on my UV-5R for a while but found all it did was get in the way. My testing wasn't as scientific as it could have been, but I eventually took it off. The roll up slim jims are great. I got mine on eBay a few years ago and it was a great improvement.

I haven't so much as touched my gear in a long time. I've never transmitted on HF but I have done a bunch of listening and toyed with the digital modes a bit. I love all aspects of radio but am chicken shit to use it. Grow a pair, TD.

I bet there are lurkers on this thread who enjoy the forum's anonymity and don't want to post their call sign. Even participating in a net could compromise that anonymity. So does winning a karma, so there's that.
 
I'd be up for giving it a try. My 'net' experience is limited to checking in to the Waterway Net, ECARS, NORCARS and MIDCARS nets on 40 meters and the Maritime Net on 20 meters a few times a year. I have a mostly NVIS compromise antenna / Icom 7300 and don't get on HF nearly as much as I want to, so any opportunity to practice and tweak settings couldn't hurt. I doubt I could hit Paxton from my house but will give it a shot one of these days just for the heck of it. 73 de N1MHD.
 
The idea was not to out anyone and as far as posting with your call sign you don't have to, that is optional. I asked that anyone interested in a Net to send me a message on NES with there call sign or look me up on QRZ and get my email address and email me. Anyone that signs onto the Net would be using there call sign and at that point anonymity would be lost. I am not asking anyone to post there call sign, however some have. I have posted my call sign so I can be looked up on QRZ. If they are that worried about their anonymity they would not join the Net anyway. N1HM
 
I will be far too north to participate in the 2 meter net, but will experiment with the different networks in Vermont. looks like jay peak is up. I once hit mt hood repeater in Oregon from the top of a mountain with a HT amped up to 35 watts and a 3 element yagi. I may have to try it again...

Will be upgrading my ticket. Not listing my call on the forum due to safety issues. PMd you JDL.
 

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