Ham Radio . Magnum Experimentum
Antennas, experiments, engineering and other articles of interest to radio folks.
Highlights from amateur radio mobile installations.
After three years of mobile operation, I review the Diamond Antenna NR770HBNMO with appropriate K515SNMO mount including pattern measurements.
Data from W4GO’s Virginia QSO Party operation confirms how well NVIS works from his SUV.
Use this 2 second rule to measure when your driving is distracted enough to be of concern to you and others. Holding a microphone is fine, but other aspects of our mobile radios deserve scrutiny.
Video showcases a nice, clean, professional installation of a 2m/440 transceiver into Hyundai sedan.
Connecting a piece of gear to an automotive bus is a terrible thing to do… unless the gear manufacturer understands the perils that await including spikes, surges and dips. Fortunately, military specifications consolidate decades of observations to help us understand the vehicle power bus.
I had occasion to test four popular amateur radio mobile antennas. Here are the results of SWR and Return Loss of a Diamond SG7900ANMO, Larsen NMO 2/70, Cushcraft CS-270M and Laird QW144.
A reinforced Subaru through-hole NMO installation using silver epoxy and a metal plate stiffener accommodates the 62 inch Diamond SG7900A dual-band mobile antenna.
Return Loss and SWR measurements of a permanent 2m whip installation mid-roof of a Ford Taurus. The effect of doors is shown.
Highlights from the installation of a 3/8 inch NMO permanent mount into a 1998 Ford Taurus rooftop.
Many hams add power hungry radios to their vehicle power systems. A preferred way to obtain the power is directly from the battery terminals.
I have been adding various gadgets to my Ford Taurus to bring battery power into my passenger area so I can get rid of my cigarette lighter plug for my 2m/440 radio.
Adding a wire to my original battery posts was a problem so I used replacement posts from the car audio market. This turned out to be a mistake.
Hello all,
I wonder if any of you had your display unit for your Kenwood TM-G707 2/440 transceiver go blank and reboot even while the radio operates just fine.
If I move the wire with respect to the control head in a certain position this happens.
Is this just a case of dirty contacts between the little cable adapter and the control head or have any of you seen the wire in the cable actually break?
You studied.
Your forked over $13 to take the test (some VEs charge nothing… shop around). Perhaps you forked over another $13 for another chance… It happens.
…and…