TheBeastie Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Well the transceiver is in, but only with VHF aerial at the moment since need to save for a set of HF aerials. I am happy with the physical setup but still need to fabricate a holder for the remote radio front. On VHF I am getting an awful lot of crackle and do not know if this is normal of if I have got something not right. I have put a ferrite bead on the speaker lead, the power goes through a big Icom filter setup and I am guessing the lead conencting the remote head back to the body is fairly RF happy. THe only thought I have is that I attached the aerial holder directly to the gutter just behind the drivers door with a pig tail lead back into the truck. I did not scrape paint as I seem to recall hearing somewhere since if I do that I will end up with aluminium next to stainless steel which doesn't sound too clever. Does anyone have any thoughts? I do accept it may be normal but I don't know. All I do know is I am picking up very little in the 2m band - just the occasional QSO where I thought there would be more, but this may go back to my aerial setup??? Thanks for any pointers. Meanwhile will have to head for a high hill and see how far I can pick anything up from. Best wishes Malcy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I have 2m in both mine and I don't have the aerial bracket grounded at all - just clamped onto the gutter but no direct earth. I have never found it to be a problem, the biggest issue is the type of aerial used and the difference between a good 5/8 whip and some of the bad 1/4 wave ones is immense. I get no crackle at all with the wiring direct to the battery and also keep the antenna coax away from other wiring harnesses as far as possible. Best range on 2m is about 85 miles from the top of a rather high place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Is the crackle there all the time or when you are moving or the engine is running? You can get away with it but the best earth for the antenna is as close to the mount as possible so you get the best possible mirror image. There isnt a huge problem with stainless next to aluminium as long as you take efforts to stop water getting to it which will cause corrosion. If I was you I would but a small earth strap from the base of the antenna to the closest possible place (the gutter or roof/body). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 fit a ferrite clip on thing to the mic lead nearest the rig, my 2/70 antenna is mounted direct to the roof so no probs for me, have you set the squelch to take out ant background noise, once thats set you shouldn't need to move it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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