What is wrong with the boothingy's? I have 5 or 6 and they work fine. The newer ones "AR-5RM" I think it is have crappy recieve. The UV-5R works good and is cheap.
|
Hello Group,
I am writing to find out what I can about the "QRZ New Ham Jumpstart Program" "Explorer QRZ-1" radio. Wanting to find out what experience some of you have had with this radio. One of the main things to find out is what the deviation is like. Does it suffer from the low deviation like the boothingys do? I don't need or want any of those on my system. The local group has been very good about using good radios.
I have three people who just got their license issued this week. So of course they are looking for new radios. Trying to help them get started with a good starter radio while looking for something better. Anyone run up any of these to see how they do???
Mick - W7CAT
--
Untitled Document
|
MSR2000 Continuous Duty PA power control problem
I inherited a highband MSR2000 that was partially stripped.
The continuous duty TLD2602A PA was still in it and beckoned for me to do something with it just as a need came along.
?
I benched the PA and have a keying switch temporarily connected to the appropriate pin.
With a few hundred mW drive it pegs a 100W Bird meter. I'm still looking for a 250W slug)??
I am reading around 23Amps on the 13.8Vdc applied.
Adjusting the power set pot makes no change at all in output.
?
I am not experienced with this model, in days past Skipp was so generous when he sent me a driver transistor (an odd PNP device as I recall) and I got the exciter crystalled up and working but its not currently installed (the control chassis is incomplete).
?
I poured over the Motorola drawings and see the power control board TLD5960A is under a metal shield, and it uses a pre-historic silicon opamp type M2002. I hope that's not bad. I'd really like to find a known good power control board to substitute.
?
I see this thing needs 9.3Vdc so I made a 3 terminal regular set for 9.3V that I connected to the red/white wire going to the 4-pin feedthru on the PA but it doesn't seem to be the solution and the power out is still way too much to put this into service.?
I wonder if anyone has had this kind of problem?? I'm still on a steep learning curve with this MSR.??
Am I missing something?
Reid? W6MTF
|
Hi Glen,
?
Your explanation makes a lot of sense:
"Every thing electrical is to be bonded at one point at a ground window.
This is the common point ground.
The idea is that during a strike, every thing will elevate together to some potential.
There will be little difference in potential between equipment and therefore minimal damage."
?
To achieve the above (give me some rope here), it suggests that each item will have a conductor running back to (for example) a copper plate on the wall to accept all the conductors, and form the common ground point (equipotential). Then, a separate conductor from this point would go to a ground system (rods in the ground).
?
The above would not make for a very polite RF ground, with some conductor running from the tower to the common ground plate and then out to the rods.
?
Am I misunderstanding your explanation?
Do you agree or disagree with the diagrams I posted from R56?
?
|
R-56 is derived from MIL-HDBK-419.
This is the bible for EMP protection.
It is available on the web, just search for it.
At a previous job I did lightning mitigation.
To have a good ground requires all rods and structures to be bonded together.
Solder and compression fittings are to be avoided in a ground system.
All rods are to be bonded together, 18" below grade, with number 2 copper or larger.
Rods are to be placed at a distance of twice the rod length from each other.
Every thing electrical is to be bonded at one point at a ground window.
This is the common point ground.
The idea is that during a strike, every thing will elevate together to some potential.
There will be little difference in potential between equipment and therefore minimal damage.
The FAA has grounding requirement in line with R-56 as well as your telco.
The facilities have minimal damage.
You can pay your money and take your chances.
The above works.
The ARRL has a book on grounding, it has many errors in it.
Glenn
WB4UIV
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 5/15/2025 7:05 PM, digitalradiohacker via groups.io wrote: If you think about it, what everyone tries to do is to drive the longest rod they can into the ground "to get the best earth connection".
Most people can't vocalize what they mean by "earth". Why are they doing it? What for?
As per Motorola R56 (Standards and Guidelines for Communication Sites):
/? To help limit the voltages caused by lightning./
/? To provide a path to earth for the discharge of lightning strokes in a manner that protects the structure, its occupants and/
/the equipment inside./
/? To help limit the voltage caused by accidental contact of the site AC supply conductors with conductors of higher/
/voltage./
/? To help dissipate electrical surges and faults, to minimize the chances of injury from grounding system potential/
/differences./
/? To help maintain a low potential difference between exposed metallic objects./
/? To stabilize the AC voltage relative to the earth under normal conditions./
/? To contribute to reliable equipment operation./
/? To decrease noise in signal and control circuits by minimizing the voltage differentials between different signal reference/
/subsystems./
/? To provide a common signal reference ground./
Notice how far down the list signals are mentioned.
The main priority is lightning protection.
R56 goes on to mention:
/At a communications site, all grounding (earthing) electrodes shall be bonded together to form a single grounding electrode/
/system. All grounding electrodes used for grounding of the power system, grounding of communications systems and/
/grounding of lightning protection systems shall be effectively and permanently bonded together. /
/The AC power system ground, communications tower ground, lightning protection system ground, telephone system/
/ground, exposed structural building steel (metal frame/framework), underground metallic piping that enters the facility and/
/any other existing grounding electrode system shall be bonded together to form a single grounding electrode system./
/Underground metallic piping systems typically include water service, well castings located within 7.6 m (25 ft) of the/
/structure, gas piping, underground conduits, underground liquefied petroleum gas piping systems and so on. Interconnection to/
/a gas line shall be made on the customer's side of the meter
/
R56 references a "/grounding electrode system/" and then goes on to depict MULTIPLE earthing electrodes. Mathematically speaking, it is far easier to have multiple shorter earth rods than it is to have one single earth rod with the same surface contact area with the soil (lowest impedance).
TLDR: Don't worry about it. Cut the top off. Put more in. Join them up.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Glenn Little ARRL Technical Specialist QCWA LM 28417
Amateur Callsign: WB4UIV wb4uiv@... AMSAT LM 2178
QTH: Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx) USSVI, FRA, NRA-LM ARRL TAPR
"It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class
of the Amateur that holds the license"
|
Ok, Joe, I¡¯ll get back to you. In addition to MASTR II 800 MHz PA¡¯s. I have Uniden PA¡¯s (Millcom ¡ later Crescend). 200 or 400 mW drive? I don¡¯t remember if they were 75W or higher. I don¡¯t know their efficacy on 900 MHz. In case you¡¯re interested. All removed from commercial service years ago. They were very reliable. Ingenious design. Small PA boards connected with jumpers. Easily replaceable in the field. Just a larger ¡°breadboard layout¡± design. Kimo KH7U
Joe, I won¡¯t be able to check my manual inventory until after May 20. I believe I do have copies of the manuals (besides having 800MHz?PA¡¯s as well).
Kimo Chun KH7U On Wed, May 14, 2025 at 12:41?AM Joseph Mancino via <joseph3502= [email protected]> wrote: Hi all,?
?
Does anyone have any documentation on the Mastr II 800MHz PA's, or any Mastr II PA's at all? Follow up...has anyone ever modified one to 900MHz? Since all capacitors inside are fixed, there are not any adjustment points to slide it eup. I have full power output on 860, and power drops significantly after 895. Just need to slide it up a little bit, but will need a schematic of it in order to figure out what new capacitors to stick inside.?
?
Thank you,
Joe KC3LMP
|
Re: Hi power VHF Micor stuff for FREE
Hi Larry. Sorry, have been tied up getting ready to go to Hamvention. The stations are still available. I get with you next week. Thanks!
Kevin, K9HX
Kevin, just checking to see if you received my direct emails.
?
Thanks,
?
Larry
|
Re: Hi power VHF Micor stuff for FREE
Kevin, just checking to see if you received my direct emails.
?
Thanks,
?
Larry
|
If you think about it, what everyone tries to do is to drive the longest rod they can into the ground "to get the best earth connection".
Most people can't vocalize what they mean by "earth". Why are they doing it? What for?
As per Motorola R56 (Standards and Guidelines for Communication Sites):
? To help limit the voltages caused by lightning.
? To provide a path to earth for the discharge of lightning strokes in a manner that protects the structure, its occupants and
the equipment inside.
? To help limit the voltage caused by accidental contact of the site AC supply conductors with conductors of higher
voltage.
? To help dissipate electrical surges and faults, to minimize the chances of injury from grounding system potential
differences.
? To help maintain a low potential difference between exposed metallic objects.
? To stabilize the AC voltage relative to the earth under normal conditions.
? To contribute to reliable equipment operation.
? To decrease noise in signal and control circuits by minimizing the voltage differentials between different signal reference
subsystems.
? To provide a common signal reference ground.
?
Notice how far down the list signals are mentioned.
The main priority is lightning protection.
?
R56 goes on to mention:
At a communications site, all grounding (earthing) electrodes shall be bonded together to form a single grounding electrode
system. All grounding electrodes used for grounding of the power system, grounding of communications systems and
grounding of lightning protection systems shall be effectively and permanently bonded together.?
The AC power system ground, communications tower ground, lightning protection system ground, telephone system
ground, exposed structural building steel (metal frame/framework), underground metallic piping that enters the facility and
any other existing grounding electrode system shall be bonded together to form a single grounding electrode system.
?
?
Underground metallic piping systems typically include water service, well castings located within 7.6 m (25 ft) of thestructure, gas piping, underground conduits, underground liquefied petroleum gas piping systems and so on. Interconnection toa gas line shall be made on the customer's side of the meter?
?
R56 references a "grounding electrode system" and then goes on to depict MULTIPLE earthing electrodes. Mathematically speaking, it is far easier to have multiple shorter earth rods than it is to have one single earth rod with the same surface contact area with the soil (lowest impedance).
TLDR: Don't worry about it. Cut the top off. Put more in. Join them up.
?
?
?
?
?
|
I'm going to look into renting a hammer drill/jack hammer. Sounds like it might be worthwhile.?
?
Thanks
|
Hey Kimo,
?
No problem and no rush...just kinda something I wanted to play with. Thanks for the reply.
?
Joe
|
Anytime I sink a ground rod I always rent an electric jackhammer. I've had to install a dozen or more at a time at tower sites in the mountains of West Virginia and have almost always been able to penetrate down to the 8' level.
73,
Rod N8RAT
On Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 03:16:33 PM EDT, N4FOX via groups.io <n4fox.r@...> wrote:
Been trying all day to get a 8ft grounding rod all the way down. I have 6ft in the ground. It doesn't seem to want to go deeper.?
?
I feel I've hit rock. The ground here is very rocky & mixed with red (iron rich) clay. The tower is next to the house. Its embedded in a 5ft deep concrete base. There was about 10/12ft of topsoil/earth moved to level the spot for the house. So the lack of original top soil means I'm hitting lots of rock fairly soon.?
?
This area used to be mined for iron ore. So that's why I know the ground is rich with iron deposits in that red clay. Heck my drinking water is spring fed & it's rich with iron too.?
?
So here's what I was wondering given the circumstances & type of soil for the area. Can I just get another grounding rod & drive on the other side of the tower. It will hopefully go 6ft in as well. Deeper would be nice. Then tie the two rods together with sold conductor ground wire at the copper bus bar I'm mounting on the tower. Would that be good??
?
I'm using a "maximum effort" ?? fence post driver & sledge hammer.?
?
Also I'm noticing the hole gets bigger than the grounding rod from all the labor of driving it in. I've got some pure copper powder. Would it be wise to pour some down that hole to help fill gaps & ensure good connection?
|
Re: Decibel DB-404 antennas. ALL ARE SOLD
Your Welcome Rick. HAHA??
Thanks again Sir..
Kory
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 2025-05-15 16:19, Rick E via groups.io wrote:
Many thanks to all for the overwhelming requests for these antennas.?
They have all SOLD but I want to thank each and every one who had interest or got one for your outreach!
?
SOLD SOLD SOLD?
?
They are all sold.
?
Rick w6re
|
Re: Arcom AP1 Intelligent Autopatch
A good alternative for those with AllStar on their repeaters is to get an Asterisk phone number and configure your AllStar node to handle the phone patches. Works well for those who are already IP based and connected without the need for a dedicated patch board/copper land line, Magic Jack etc....
?
Just a thought!
?
73
Rick, w6re
|
DB-420 bottom half 470-490 MHz cut antenna project.
Hello RB members,
? ?I have a potential project that I thought I would list for those of you who like things like this.
?
I have the bottom half of a Decibel DB-420 16-bay antenna array here that is cut for the 470-490MHz band according to the dipole loop sizes. They are a good 1.5-2" shorter than the 450-470MHz cut versions I have used in the past. The harness is in great shape and there is no damage to the hardware. Basically it is laid out like a DB-408 with the connector at the top of the harness to feed another DB-408 making up the full DB-420 16-bay array. I will ship it less the bottom half of the mast to anyone needing it or interested in a project for $150 + actual shipping to you.
?
Maybe it can work on GMRS frequencies since they are quite broad banded, maybe the harness can be terminated at the mid-point connector and used as is, maybe someone can modify the harness and use it as is. Basically it is a project or for someone with a damaged bottom half of your DB-420 higher cut that needs the parts.
?
I don't see many parts for these come up anywhere so I figured list for the RB group.
?
Thanks for looking,
? Rick w6re
|
Re: Decibel DB-404 antennas.
All have SOLD in less than 24 hours.?
?
A big THANKS to all who had interest or got one!
?
If I get any more, I will be sure to post up about it!
?
Rick w6re
|
Re: Decibel DB-404 antennas. ALL ARE SOLD
Many thanks to all for the overwhelming requests for these antennas.?
They have all SOLD but I want to thank each and every one who had interest or got one for your outreach!
?
SOLD SOLD SOLD?
?
They are all sold.
?
Rick w6re
|
I had similar issues down here just south of you in my soil. We have "hills" all around us and can't dig 2ft down with out hitting something big solid. When I did my tower grounds, i drove the first one in and it went 5ft and wasn't going any further. So I swapped sides and tried another one, this one went 4ft and hit rock bottom, so my thought was third time is a charm. I drove the 3rd one in just shy of 6ft and that was that.? So I have 3 rods in the ground at different depths, all tied together. Been several years and no issues yet, I have watched lighting literally jump past my tower from a tree, over the house and hit the power transformer on the pole, so I have to assume it is working somewhat at least.
Kory
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 2025-05-15 15:16, N4FOX via groups.io wrote:
Been trying all day to get a 8ft grounding rod all the way down. I have 6ft in the ground. It doesn't seem to want to go deeper.?
?
I feel I've hit rock. The ground here is very rocky & mixed with red (iron rich) clay. The tower is next to the house. Its embedded in a 5ft deep concrete base. There was about 10/12ft of topsoil/earth moved to level the spot for the house. So the lack of original top soil means I'm hitting lots of rock fairly soon.?
?
This area used to be mined for iron ore. So that's why I know the ground is rich with iron deposits in that red clay. Heck my drinking water is spring fed & it's rich with iron too.?
?
So here's what I was wondering given the circumstances & type of soil for the area. Can I just get another grounding rod & drive on the other side of the tower. It will hopefully go 6ft in as well. Deeper would be nice. Then tie the two rods together with sold conductor ground wire at the copper bus bar I'm mounting on the tower. Would that be good??
?
I'm using a "maximum effort" ?? fence post driver & sledge hammer.?
?
Also I'm noticing the hole gets bigger than the grounding rod from all the labor of driving it in. I've got some pure copper powder. Would it be wise to pour some down that hole to help fill gaps & ensure good connection?
|
It has been several years ago, but at that time electrical code required the house ground to be embedded in the concrete of the house foundation. Keeping that in mind, you probably already have a pretty good ground.
Depending on how you did your concrete, a friend of mine made a square plywood box in the hole to pour the concrete in. In that case, you could drive a ground rod next to it and get it quite a bit of the way to start with.
As for the wiggle room around your rod, I wouldn't worry about it. Nature will take care of it.
Mick - W7CAT
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
----- Original Message ----- From: "N4FOX via groups.io" To: [email protected]Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2025 01:16:29 PM Subject: [repeater-builder] Grounding rods Been trying all day to get a 8ft grounding rod all the way down. I have 6ft in the ground. It doesn't seem to want to go deeper.
I feel I've hit rock. The ground here is very rocky & mixed with red
(iron rich) clay. The tower is next to the house. Its embedded in a 5ft deep concrete base. There was about 10/12ft of topsoil/earth moved to level the spot for the house. So the lack of original top soil means I'm hitting lots of rock fairly soon.
This area used to be mined for iron ore. So that's why I know the
ground is rich with iron deposits in that red clay. Heck my drinking water is spring fed & it's rich with iron too.
So here's what I was wondering given the circumstances & type of soil
for the area. Can I just get another grounding rod & drive on the other side of the tower. It will hopefully go 6ft in as well. Deeper would be nice. Then tie the two rods together with sold conductor ground wire at the copper bus bar I'm mounting on the tower. Would that be good?
I'm using a "maximum effort" ?? fence post driver & sledge hammer.
Also I'm noticing the hole gets bigger than the grounding rod from
all the labor of driving it in. I've got some pure copper powder. Would it be wise to pour some down that hole to help fill gaps & ensure good connection?
-- Untitled Document
|
Soldering them together is fruitless. Always use Caldwell
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On May 15, 2025, at 3:16?PM, N4FOX via groups.io <N4fox.r@...> wrote:
? Been trying all day to get a 8ft grounding rod all the way down. I have 6ft in the ground. It doesn't seem to want to go deeper.?
?
I feel I've hit rock. The ground here is very rocky & mixed with red (iron rich) clay. The tower is next to the house. Its embedded in a 5ft deep concrete base. There was about 10/12ft of topsoil/earth moved to level the spot for the house. So the lack of original top soil means I'm hitting lots of rock fairly soon.?
?
This area used to be mined for iron ore. So that's why I know the ground is rich with iron deposits in that red clay. Heck my drinking water is spring fed & it's rich with iron too.?
?
So here's what I was wondering given the circumstances & type of soil for the area. Can I just get another grounding rod & drive on the other side of the tower. It will hopefully go 6ft in as well. Deeper would be nice. Then tie the two rods together with sold conductor ground wire at the copper bus bar I'm mounting on the tower. Would that be good??
?
I'm using a "maximum effort" ?? fence post driver & sledge hammer.?
?
Also I'm noticing the hole gets bigger than the grounding rod from all the labor of driving it in. I've got some pure copper powder. Would it be wise to pour some down that hole to help fill gaps & ensure good connection?
|
Wayne Childers
Brandon DX
digitalradiohacker
N4FOX