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whiteastro
05-29-2020, 06:49 PM
Well finally got around to modifying the CB Pocket in my custom made console between the seats of my travel van so I could give my 979, foot warmer and Freq. counter it's rightful home for a coming up road trip. Also pulled a dedicated circuit direct from the battery to power it all. I'll polish it all after the road trip!2416

Turboomni
06-02-2020, 11:16 AM
Best of luck with it!

whiteastro
06-03-2020, 06:37 AM
Best of luck with it!

Thanks it seems to be working well. Been hearing a lot of skip on it but haven't had time to find a place to park my rig to check it out. And trying to talk skip in traffic is too risky. But like Booty Monster said ( If you can't hear it you can't talk to it. ) I'm sure you have been having fun with skip because it seems to be rolling lately!

Turboomni
06-03-2020, 05:06 PM
Yes it has been rolling . I run a rm italy 201 which is about the same as yours and if I can hear them they can usually hear me,but not always. Point is I think you will do just fine with the 200p your running.

whiteastro
06-03-2020, 08:20 PM
Yes it has been rolling . I run a rm italy 201 which is about the same as yours and if I can hear them they can usually hear me,but not always. Point is I think you will do just fine with the 200p your running.
My 200P already has a track record, It was my first amp running my 980 as a base. I talked from Maine to Florida & Louisiana, and out to Wisconsin with it on my Star Duster antenna. So I know it will perform, we will just have to see what it will do with my K40 on top of my Van. I'm not expecting as much from the K40 but I'm not living in the van either. LOL PS I also have a KL 203P that is going to drive my Tram 300 antenna on my little Chevy Cobalt car for the fun of it in my local commutes. That little Tram 300 dresses that Black Cobalt up and everyone compliments it and It gets out fairly well for it's size. I can't wait to try it with the 203P. Don't mind me I'm just going back into my second childhood. LOL

Turboomni
06-03-2020, 11:23 PM
Nice man ! Have fun!!!

Turboomni
06-04-2020, 09:20 AM
For what it's worth I really like my Sirio Performer 5000 mag mount. What's neet about it is it can fold back. My truck is 6 feet or so to the roof and the Sirio is close to 7 feet. I fold it back enroute to my calling destination and pop it up when needed. What state you in? I am in Western MA/NY State Line. My dipole is aimed SW/NE

whiteastro
06-04-2020, 03:41 PM
For what it's worth I really like my Sirio Performer 5000 mag mount. What's neet about it is it can fold back. My truck is 6 feet or so to the roof and the Sirio is close to 7 feet. I fold it back enroute to my calling destination and pop it up when needed. What state you in? I am in Western MA/NY State Line. My dipole is aimed SW/NE
I am in N/E PA about 40 miles from the NY border. Yes your Sirio Performer looks interesting and sounds like a good antenna but I would be afraid to put it on top of my Astro van because my van is over 6' tall and I would be hitting all the trees around here so it wouldn't last long. I tried many mag mount antennas on top of my van and the K40 is the tallest one I can live with and get great SWR. My K40 has a quarter turn dismount system so I can separate the bottom coil and mass from the base for when I need to get into low spots. That's the problem, not everyone can have the tallest antenna because of our environment. I guess that is the price we pay for loving our green trees so we make the most of our situation. Happy DXing

whiteastro
06-07-2020, 02:58 PM
Well while cruising an old dirt road on a hill top with my van today I spoke with 449 from Nova Scotia Canada and had a nice chat. So that is my farthest contact to the North East yet, so I guess the system is putting out. Happy DXing

Turboomni
06-07-2020, 03:31 PM
Nice man ,,good to hear!

whiteastro
06-07-2020, 05:41 PM
Thanks and yes it is always rewarding when you see your sacrifices and efforts starting to pay off. The other day I talked to a guy on AM that was about 18 air miles away which doesn't sound like much but I know how many Hills & Trees was between us and know it would have never been done without some help!

Turboomni
06-07-2020, 07:11 PM
18 miles on AM direct contact is very good.

whiteastro
06-07-2020, 07:16 PM
But that was running the amp because it would never happen in this environment on 4 watts. It's a jungle with hills. When I was young and in school they taught us that 52% of Pennsylvania is covered by forest and I'm sure it is a little less now. The meaning of Pennsylvania is ( Penns-Woods ) and they don't call this the Endless Mountain Region without reason. Over Hill over Dale we hit the less than Dusty Trail. LOL

Turboomni
06-07-2020, 08:46 PM
It's a bit like where I am in the Berkshire mountains. Great work!!

whiteastro
06-08-2020, 05:32 AM
It's a bit like where I am in the Berkshire mountains. Great work!!

Well I can understand your despair if you are a mountain man into radio or anything with a antenna. LOL But there is something about these old hills that gets in your Blood and there is many of us across the USA. I've drove from coast to coast and USA is full of beauty! Like the Willie Nelson's song ( I can't wait to Get On The Road Again )

Lipless
06-08-2020, 07:21 AM
Hey Mike any success with DX? That setup should get it done!

whiteastro
06-08-2020, 05:24 PM
Hey Mike any success with DX? That setup should get it done!

Hey Donnie it is good to hear from you again! Yes I think I will like the mobile setup when I get more chance to check it out and put it thru it's paces. I did talk to Nova Scotia Canada the other day. I always remember you telling me that My Star Duster antenna is probably the best for down here in this valley and I think your right. I set up a HyGain super penerator SPT500 and have run it along with my Star Duster to compare them both for performance and don't see a lot of difference until it rains and then the star Duster has it hands Down. The Penetrator SWR goes to hell when it rains. So needless to say the penetrator is coming down and the Star Duster is going up in it's place but maybe 20' higher. How's the Ham World been treating you? Hope you was able to dodge the corona bullet!

Turboomni
06-08-2020, 11:14 PM
Well I can understand your despair if you are a mountain man into radio or anything with a antenna. LOL But there is something about these old hills that gets in your Blood and there is many of us across the USA. I've drove from coast to coast and USA is full of beauty! Like the Willie Nelson's song ( I can't wait to Get On The Road Again )


Since I am really into DX only at my base in the Berkshire mountains my base antenna is a horizontal dipole and from my research would give me the best results. On a car you have less options.

whiteastro
06-09-2020, 05:05 AM
Since I am really into DX only at my base in the Berkshire mountains my base antenna is a horizontal dipole and from my research would give me the best results. On a car you have less options.

Well I never really considered a Dipole antenna and never really did much study on them. I'm in a deep narrow valley,if I lived on top of the hill it would be better for getting out. My Star Duster radiates the signal different that is why my Ham buddy Lipless suggest that antenna. I haven't had any official training in radio work so I tend to listen to people who are into it on a larger scale. I'm going to change my vertical antenna 1 last time this summer because of the tilting mount system I built. But I will be 70 this fall so ladder work is getting tougher on the old legs. I just bought a dipole because they are cheap but I really am kind of puzzled on how I should mount it around here with all the obstacles and sloppy ground. At almost 70 yrs. old I for sure am not going to fall off a ladder over a dipole antenna. I've been a maintenance man most of my life so I'm no stranger to ladder work but I'm smart enough to know when it's time to take the boat out fishing and breath that nice clean Non Corona Air! LOL

whiteastro
06-20-2020, 07:44 PM
For what it's worth I really like my Sirio Performer 5000 mag mount. What's neet about it is it can fold back. My truck is 6 feet or so to the roof and the Sirio is close to 7 feet. I fold it back enroute to my calling destination and pop it up when needed. What state you in? I am in Western MA/NY State Line. My dipole is aimed SW/NE

Give me a education on aiming a dipole in case I get around to putting mine up. I also would like to aim for SW/NE but have no clue how to aim one!

Turboomni
06-20-2020, 11:56 PM
From my basic understanding a horizontal dipole will be rather directional compared to a vertical antenna. If the ends of your horizontal dipole are pointing like a compass North and South your direction of receive and transmit will be rather East and West. What was fascinating to me was the fact you can aim the direction even more by the height of the horizontal dipole is off the ground. Too high off the ground and your signal will go vertical very well ,good if you want to talk with outer space. Some would say get it as high as possible ,,30 40 or more feet. Watched a few Ham videos on horizontal dipoles and all seem to say the best height for DX is 1/2 wave length off the ground. That would be 16 to 17 feet for us I believe. My dipole is strung up in some trees, has no clear view and is covered with branches and leaves and next to a aluminum sided house and is only about 17 feet off the ground. When DX is good I hear all over the Midwest ,East coast down to FLA,,Ontario Canada ,New Brunswick,Kentucky ,Georgia,Dallas TX etc. I have spoken to all mentioned states except FLA . My antenna is pointed South West/ North East so the the ends of my Dipole are pointing NW and SE a bit. I believe that is why I havent been able to contact FLA.

whiteastro
06-21-2020, 05:02 AM
Thanks for the input, I'll have to do more study and thinking on the matter at hand. I googled aiming a dipole last night so I have some reading ahead of me because I bookmarked it. I know I don't know much about it but seems if the wind is always flexing your coax connection that is a weak spot for breakage. But there I go thinking like a maintenance person again. LOL

Turboomni
06-21-2020, 03:44 PM
Were you calling.for 505 from Western MA this afternoon? I heard someone calling for me and I was hoping it was you. But I lost who ever it was as the band was so crowded.

whiteastro
06-21-2020, 06:16 PM
No it wasn't me calling 505 but I did stick my dipole up in the attic today. I had 100' of RG 8U coax laying around doing nothing so I thought I would hook my dipole up in the attic and maybe I would get lucky but no such luck. I had a SWR of 1.5-1 across the board but it went higher with the amp. I heard all kinds of skip but couldn't make a contact running barefoot. Probably all the big radios covered me up. I have to get that SWR down so I could use the amp.