Radio - To Be or Not To Be

Hello, Frank here.

Recently I received some correspondence that I wanted to share with you. Each one of these notes has a different general theme, and I’d like to talk about each one individually. 

and a ground plane that I have recommended, but his results were sharply different than the results that I received. I wish I could tell you exactly why we got different test results, but I can’t. There are many variables and factors to consider. Since this gentleman is obviously not a beginner, and has significantly more experience than I do, I wish that I could tell you why we got different results. Sometimes there just aren’t immediately obvious answers. Please read his question and my response. When you’re dealing with electronics, it can be a connector, it can be coax, moisture in your connectors, loose connectors, where you’re sitting in relation to power lines or buildings. But this man, being an experienced ham operator, already knows these things. There are sometimes where there just aren’t answers. Again, please read his comment and my response.

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Frank,

I just got done trying out the Comet antenna with the ground plane adapter over the weekend and my SWR on any 2M frequency was 3 or higher! I use these antennas on my vehicles and hardly get above 2. Needless to say, at 3+ SWR, any meaningful distance on 2M is impossible. I am curious if you tested your SWR with the Comet and the ground plane adapter, and if so, what results did you get?

Thanks and 73,
Bill [call sign removed]

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 Hi Bill. Here’s what I’ve got. The antenna is the Comet CA 2×4 SR. The ground plane kit is a TRAM1460 UHF.

On my automobile, without the ground plane kit, the SWR was flat. That is using UHF and VHF ham frequencies, UHF using GMRS, and VHF using MURS 151-154 MHz.

Next, I went to a friend’s house that has this system, the antenna and the ground plane kit. On the upper MURS frequencies, around 154 MHz, we had an SWR of 2. All of the other frequencies mentioned above were flat.

73s, Frank

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This next comment is from a gentleman that I have shared with emails back and forth. He is trying to decide what type of radio he would like to use. The problem here is, there is no perfect radio. Different radios have different features, but as a general rule, features come with a price tag. Some people like a certain brand of radio because that is what their grandpa used. I am on my second set of mobile VHF radios. I thought my first choice was the one I would stay with forever, but after I learned and 

grew more, and my knowledge base expanded sharply, I switched to a commercial radio for my VHF/UHF operations. It’s not that the first radio was poor quality or a bad choice, but my second choice had the features that I desired. It’s true that everybody wants to buy what meets their needs the first time, and if you can achieve that, great. I wasn’t quite so fortunate. In relation to HF radios, I am more than happy with my first choice, and that’s where I plan to stay. It meets my needs. Do I still look at the features of other radios? You bet. But I’m pretty happy with what I have right now. Just like lots of things in life, you need to decide what you want to do, and make the best choice you can. Read the correspondence with this gentleman and you can probably feel some of his frustration with not being able to choose the perfect radio, because there ain’t no perfect radio. So, if you would, read his email and read my response. I hope in the near future he gets his license, and he picks a good radio that works for him.

On a side note here. A popular country and western singer a number of years back, had out a song referencing “there ain’t no 10′s”. And, you know, there ain’t no 10′s and there ain’t no perfect radio.

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73, Frank

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This next email I received was very interesting. This gentleman has his Technician’s license, and had some questions. One being how to

get young folks in his family interested in radio. Well, I am a retired educator, and if I knew a sure fire way to get kids interested in anything, I would be the most successful educator on the planet. Some kids are interested in some things that other kids could care less about, and that applies for all topics. But, I think the most successful way is by showing enthusiasm for something you are genuinely interested in. Kids pick up on these feelings, and they may not outwardly express it, but if you’re interested, you’ll have a much better chance of getting a young person interested.

He also has a concern about being able to reach his loved ones if there is a break down in society. There are ways that this can be done, I’ve talked about them before, and I mention them in the response to his email. At this time, he lives adjacent to a large metropolitan area in the deep south, and I shared with him some of my feelings about relocating to a part of the country where snow shovels are standard issue. His name and location have also been removed for his security.

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PS – Any suggestions on getting nephews interested in ham? I thought perhaps to give them a Rock-Mite CW kit for Christmas? I know one of them used to use Morse to pass messages during class. Must admit that this latest generation is a tough nut to crack, though.

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73, Frank

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Folks, I believe that most of us have not given serious thought to how important communications are to us. Whether it be your cousin next door, the guy down the road 10 miles, or that relative 150 miles away. In the scenarios   I just mentioned, communications today are taken for granted. But there is a strong likelihood that in the near future, whatever the reason, we’re going to have a shut down of society as we know it. The tools that we rely on today for information, after a couple of days, aren’t going to be there. Nobody is saying that you need to set up a communications post, but it would be real nice to know how your cousin next door is doing, and the information a man 10 miles down the road can share with you could have a major impact on how your day goes. It would be real nice to know how your kids are doing 150 miles away. 

Without this type of information that you are accustomed to daily, almost instantaneously at the push of a button, you are going to feel like you are living in a vacuum. There are times you will want to know what is coming down your road, whether it’s a short road or a very long road, you’ll really want to know what is coming. I know there’s folks out there that think people like me are crazy, but if you will open your eyes and look around, then you’ll see a different picture. My Inspiration right now is communications and this is the post I have been assigned. That is the question.

We’ll talk more later. 73s, Frank
  Visit Thoughts From Frank and Fern at http://thoughtsfromfrankandfern.blogspot.com/