Mainly a question aimed for JIM

Jim

Considering i am on a hill but there are some bigger than ours by around 100m, how best do i get a radio signal over them? I have a Amateur radio thats home made by a guy that died, i also have a antenna thats huge (to me) roughly 25 feet tall. Do I try and raise this up on a tree (highest point where I am ). Or what? I dont know anything at all about the set, but I am trying to reach Port Patrick and someone there.

its a kind of test to see if we can relay a signal.

What frequency?
Have you got a licence?

JimB

Yes I got my license, I will hook it upto the FA and get the frequencies, i havnt had it long and it was hand built. The dials are worn so dont know much about it except its got that warm warm glow of valves .
Actually i dont need the FA! Thinking about it the guy i am sending the signal too will know, he is a member of the same club as the guy it was from. I just thought there might be a general simple way to do it.

Bloody wind turbines might be a problem as well, killing off the TV signal now!!

Oh sorry i forgot you was asking for details, only got basic as not enough to sit the intermediate until late may, i will do that then.
I got a 10m one as well, but listening on it for ages and NOTHING... Not a single thing in several months. But apparently not many on it around here. That rig is yashoo or whatever they are called, nasty little things with a really bad green display.

Little Ghostman said:

Yes I got my license

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What is your callsign?

Little Ghostman said:

I will hook it upto the FA and get the frequencies

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What is an FA? **** All ?

Little Ghostman said:

I got a 10m one as well, but listening on it for ages and NOTHING

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As we are at a sunspot minimum at the moment, you will not hear anything much on that past a few miles.

JimB

Sorry i meant Spectrum Analyzer, dopey day. Where do i find my call sign? i havnt got my laminated card yet just the club one which is GM4RIV. Actually....I probably do have it , i will go look and yes i do know i am supposed to know it and use it i got used to using GM4RIV or listening. I will pm it in the morning.

One last question, everyone at the club has cards they send out with it on, honestly though if your not doing competitions how sad is it to get cards done? And any restrictions apart from obviously nothing rude and having to have the call sign on?

Actually apart from having it tattooed on my forehead so i dont forget it, i think i will skip cards.... Now tell me its a seven year sun spot!

On the 2m band (144 to 148 MHz in the 'States, so called VHF), using pure line-of-sight (no obstructions), I can routinely talk 50 mi to 100 mi using ~10W and omni-directional antennas at both ends. Flying at ~10,000 ft, I talk hundreds of mi, limited only by earth curvature.

A VHF signal will reradiate off a mountain ridge, so it is possible to communicate into the neighboring valley where no line-of-sight exists using "knife-edge" scattering. Did that today.

I can also fire up on 160m, 80m, 60m or 40m, the short-wave bands, (depending on time of day), and bounce a signal off the ionosphere to communicate from a few tens of miles out to about 1500 miles. Did that today.

10W sounds nothing until you hear how far it can get. a couple of hundred huge wind turbines between us may not help much!

Hi Jim & LG,
I don't think it is a good idea to give call signs on the forum as it can give too much information about you. Use PMs to exchange call signs.
Les.