2M Base station is finally up and running.

[mechmedic]

I got all the stuff I needed (or so I thought) to get my QYT KT-8900D set up yesterday so today I started setting it up beginning with the power supply. Once I got all the power pole connections finished I went to work on soldering my Coax together. First, flux free plumbing solder will work, but it looks like ass. I am actually embarrassed with how my solder looks. On Active Duty I would have kicked back solder that looked like that. But my connections passed the multimeter check. Second, make sure you get cable reducers for your PL-259 connectors. I forgot and luckily was able to find some from a ham local to me. Lessons learned. I have some UL-175’s on the way along with another KT-8900D to mount in the family car. I also have a mobile antenna and mount for the car coming. I still need to hard mount the power supply, distribution panel, and the radio. I was able to hit two repeaters that are about 15-20 miles in either direction from my house. I am quite happy with the set up and look forward to adding an HF radio to the collection in the future. I also look forward to talking so those of you near me on some repeaters soon. I’ll probably post pictures on my blog about it tomorrow.

[pkveazey]

I want to say good job, but that no flux solder ruined it. At least you didn't use acid core solder. Acid core solder works great for about a month and then it corrodes into gray crap and you end up with a cold solder joint. It sounds like you used RG58 small size coax. At 2meters, you'll lose a lot of wattage in the feed line. As soon as you can, see if you can find a Ham buddy with some large diameter coax, even if its used, and replace you coax. Then you'll probably hit a lot more repeaters. I've got several QYT KT8900R's that are Tri-Band and 25 watts. One in each car, one in the house, and one still in the box as a backup radio. Oh, and one on the shelf that got sick and only transmits about 1 watt but still receives all three bands. Let us know which repeaters you can hit and we'll listen out for you. I can usually hit the Columbia repeater, always hit the Ahoskie repeater, and always hit the Roanoke Rapids repeater.

[cooter]

Well done.  What kind of antenna do you have, and how high up is it?  I have an older Icom 2200 that still works OK.  I've thought about getting a KT8900 as a backup.
Mike

[mechmedic]

I did use RG58. What size coax would you recommend for 2M’s? I can’t hit the Ahoskie repeater. I can hit the Greenville NC and Williamston NC repeater. I’m using an arrow antenna Jpole antenna. It’s mounted in my attic currently.

[pkveazey]

I did use RG58. What size coax would you recommend for 2M’s? I can’t hit the Ahoskie repeater. I can hit the Greenville NC and Williamston NC repeater. I’m using an arrow antenna Jpole antenna. It’s mounted in my attic currently.

OK, great. So far you didn't do anything that was wrong. What you did was create a mediocre setup. A 25 watt radio is plenty good for your needs. However, you don't want to lose any more of that power than is absolutely necessary. Since the antenna is in the attic, I can assume you don't have a long run of RG58. That's a good thing. Since your antenna is in the attic, that's not ideal because its not high up in the air and its not out in the open. Now, on to the controversial part. I'm not a fan of J Poles. In todays world it appears that every new Ham has a J Pole. OK, they work and some of them work really well. I'm not going to tell you to get rid of it. I'm going to tell you to get some RG-8 coax, put the antenna up as high as you can, and use as short a piece of coax as possible. If you can find someone who has some 9913 coax or some LMR 400 coax, that would be the perfect low loss coax. What you are more likely to find is someone who has removed their RG-8 coax and replaced it with the 9913 or LMR 400 because its more efficient. Hey.... They might just have their old RG-8 coax laying around and maybe they will give it to you. Yep, its not as good as 9913 or LMR 400 but its waaaaaay better than RG58 as far as power loss in the coax.

[bennington.camper]

I would recommend using crimp on coax connectors. They have come a long way and eliminate the fiddle factor in making up cables. The cost of the tools is minimal these days.

Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk