Comment on Antenna Recommendations

667@lemmy.radio ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

• I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

  Thanks for the suggestion, the ladder-line J or slim jim seems fairly straightforward to construct with good performance.

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  • 667@lemmy.radio ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    For a monoband, they’re quite versatile. I feel one of their best qualities is that they can be rolled up, and still get excellent performance. Another quality is that they are balanced; it almost seems like magic.

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• Wahots@pawb.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

  This might be kinda a stupid question, but does the direction of the antenna affect the output of the wave? (Eg, if the antenna is tilted 45 degrees from vertical, is the radio wave it transmits also 45 degrees from anyone else’s vertical antenna?) Or does the wave stay the same (parallel to the earth, but most of the power is just dumped in an unhelpful direction, so it doesn’t transmit nearly as far?)

  I know this is silly, but I don’t actually know the answer, and it makes me curious, since I tend to ski with radios, transmitting while skiing down steep slopes while people are above or below me by hundreds/thousands of feet.

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  • 667@lemmy.radio ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    This is a great question. There is generally a null point which extends from the top of the antenna such that if you were to point the tip of the antenna at some distant receiver, the signal would be greatly attenuated. It’s not eliminated completely for the same reason if someone is yelling but not facing you; signals can bounce or bleed around and still be intelligible.

    When I think about antennas, I like to imagine a donut: 🍩, the antenna extends through the center and the actual donut is the radiation pattern. This is good for mental modeling, but in application there are more things which influence radiation patterns. It’s still a good start.

    When an antenna is placed on its side, the closer it is to the ground, the more of its energy is directed into the ground (or it may reflect back and nullify signal coming from the antenna), but for handheld radios (which are most likely VHF or UHF), having sufficient line of sight is what’s needed to have the system work properly, and where one needs to occasionally go through walls or other simple obstructions, a little more power can be helpful.

    When skiing as you mentioned, have you been having any difficulty communicating with others in your current setup?

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    • Wahots@pawb.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      Thank you! I think that makes sense. :)

      And for my husband and I, not really. We have 5w handhelds with 5- 15 inch whips. But some friends are on .5w to 2w radios, which definitely aren’t as powerful.

      I don’t know if there’s a point at which longer antennas have diminishing returns on UHF (GMRS), But it seems like directionality isn’t too much of a concern, even if people are behind a ridgeline or two.

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      • 667@lemmy.radio ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

        My pleasure! Depending on the local topography and your level of motivation, you may consider using a GMRS repeater, if it makes sense.

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• I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

  From what I’ve been reading in QST, this sun spot cycle is opening up lots of dx on 10m

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  • 667@lemmy.radio ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    It’s a great time to be on 10m. My first QSOs went ~1200mi and I was only using a 1/4-wave CB mag mount whip on my car; imo the real fun is on 20m; from New Mexico I was making QSOs with Indonesia on SSB.

    Follow your interests, you’re going to have a great time.

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