(Part 2) Top products from r/HamRadio

I am liking the possibility of a passive repeater, particularly the relatively lower maintenance.

If, hypothetically, we used two of these antennae:

https://www.amazon.com/Verizon-Connect-External-Antenna-1800mhz/dp/B00D19KH6E/ref=sr_1_5?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1521302674&sr=1-5&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_browse-bin%3A8067600011%2C4041828011

...and connected them with a short length (1-3 feet, depending on what I can get) of cable, is there a way to estimate the anticipated signal strength at camp?

Let's assume a -60 to -65 dB signal at the top of the hill. It may be even better, but I'm trying to be conservative. The top of that hill has direct, unimpeded line-of-sight to the cell tower 7.3 km away.

The antennae claim a 18 dB gain. I am a little wary of that claim, since vendors tend to be a little overenthusiastic, but let's assume half that. So, 9 dB gain. Since we are using two of these antennae back to back (one pointed at the cell tower, and one at camp), would the net gain be effectively doubled? Or do they not "stack?"

In any case, whatever the compound antennae gain is -- if the antenna gain is greater than the cable loss, the net result should be bending a usable signal over the hill, right?

I used this online tool to estimate cable loss:

http://www.qsl.net/co8tw/Coax_Calculator.htm

For a short length (3 feet) of RG-58, unpowered, it gave me a dB loss of less than 1 dB. I tried other cable types, too, and they all resulted in less than 1 dB signal loss.

Still need to figure open air path loss for the hop from the hill to the camp. The distance is 1.3 km.

I know that the signal from the cell tower is still usable at the overall distance of the camp, because there is another large hill even further away from the cell tower than the camp is, and we can get a signal up there, too. So, again, the key seems to be the net loss/gain offered by the passive repeater system.

Anyway, two of the high gain 850 MHz Yagis and a short length of low loss cable would run about $200, which we can probably justify for an experiment.

Any further advice on estimating the potential resulting signal strength at camp?

Some ideas here:

A better whip antenna (others had some suggestions).

Magnetic mount antenna for the vehicle. MFJ-1721 or 1729 are cheap options. Diamond or Comet for higher quality. The Baofeng uses a SMA-male antenna connector so you'll need a SMA-female to BNC-female or SMA-female to SO-239 "pigtail" adapter cable. I don't recommend using a rigid adapter because the antenna cable can put mechanical stress on the radio's connector.

DBJ-2 antenna, a nice portable option for stationary use. Throw that in a tree and you'll get much improved range.

A speaker mic, then he can mount the radio at a fixed position in the vehicle. Makes it easier to use while driving.

Programming cable — makes it much easier to manage the list of stored frequencies and repeaters.

Extended battery — in addition to the increased runtime, this makes the radio fit my large hands better

Battery eliminator — powers the radio from a vehicle.

AA battery holder — replaces the rechargeable battery pack.

Some kind of bag or case to hold everything.

In my experience unless you live close to the TV stations those "black rectangle" antennas are at best mediocre for UHF stations and terrible for VHF stations. Do you have an attic you could put an antenna in? If so you could try getting something more directional like this design. If you don't have the space for a larger antenna I'd recommend looking for something that at least has a traditional "rabbit ears" element that you can extend to pick up the VHF channels better.

The more hams the better!!!!

Also, for your bag setup, I would take a look at this book:
Ham Radio Go Bag https://www.amazon.com/dp/1515020517/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Ck8pDb354G4YM

I found it to be super handy with getting my mobile kit set up

Ah you can even still get them on Amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/Radica-IM-Wireless-Handheld-Device/dp/B000NX1LUM/

Best review:

> Mattel's servers shut down long ago - I guess it was a nice idea, but not sufficiently profitable for them to keep the system going, So - DO NOT BUY THIS AS A MESSAGING SYSTEM FOR YOUR KIDS - for that purpose it's as useless as a paperweight! It contains the coveted Texas Instruments C1110 radio chip, a favorite of experimenters and hobbyists, normally costing at least 3 or 4 times the total purchase price of the entire unit! For those so inclined, try Googling "Hacking the Girl Tech IM-ME" for many blogs and forums with plans and info.

Sure thing. The ARRL which stands for American Radio Relay League. They are an association of amateur radio enthusiasts. They are involved heavily in the hobby. They put out a set of books which walk you through what you need to know.
http://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual/dp/0872599639

There are also a bunch of videos on youtube.
Www.ke0og.net/training
Www.hamwhisperer.com

Sample tests:
Www.Eham.net

Nothing beats the books though if you want to learn the material. It seems you are a n00b in the ways of radio and the whole subject. I can tell you in 95% of the cases hams are great people that want to teach and learn. Feel free to send me questions you may have I'm no expert but there are plenty of people who are.

I would say that the best tools are these books - Practical Radio Frequency Test and Measurement and Build your own Low Power Transmitters

I finally broke down and got the OptiVisor. Amazing.

https://www.amazon.com/Donegan-OptiVisor-Headband-Magnifier-Magnification/dp/B0015IN8J6

(What this means is that I need reading glasses or bifocals. Crap.)

Check out the Yamaha CM-500. eham reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Window-Coaxial-Coupler/dp/B0002KR74A

It's a RAM mount w/1" ball
RAM Mounts RAM 3.3in. Diameter Suction Cup Twist Lock Base with 1in. Ball RAM-B-224-1U https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008JGZMZK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_qpcgybJWEC745

And a double standard need ram ball arm

Ram Mount Double Socket Arm for 1-Inch Ball Bases RAM-B-201U https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UGZTQO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_BqcgybYB85QDM

Th y make shorter and longer arms too

>I'm also looking for an FTDI programming cable or pinout to make my own.

The GRE based RatShack scanners use the same 3.5mm cable and pinout as Icom.

Valley Enterprises Icom CT-17 USB FTDI Chipset CI-V Cat Control Programming Cable, Length 10 Feet

This is what I have

https://www.amazon.com/Astatic-PDC1-100-Watt-Meter/dp/B004ULN610/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?keywords=ham+swr+meter&qid=1568150950&s=gateway&sprefix=Ham+swr&sr=8-8

https://www.amazon.com/CableWholesales-Way-Switch-RJ45-Female/dp/B004Y34VQS

BAOFENG BF-888S UHF FM Transceiver

and $15+ for license

Fast Track. Used it for my Tech and General. Book and Audiobook.
https://www.amazon.com/Track-Technician-Class-Radio-License/dp/1503077373

Get this
Weller D550PK 260-Watt/200W Professional Soldering Gun Kit with Three Tips and Solder in Carrying Case https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002N7S1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_VjDzDbMT8SJD2
And fresh high quality rosin core solder and it’s a piece of cake.

I would get this and this instead of the 771. Screwing and unscrewing the SMA connectors is a pain, and you'll end up taking a long antenna off to pack/store it. Plus that makes it easy to hook up to a external antenna of some kind quickly (like a roll up slim jim or a mag mount in the car)