Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to the official Charlie Tango DX Group CB And Amateur Radio Forum. You are visiting the UK's biggest and most active CB Radio club.. We hope you enjoy your visit.

Charlie Tango DX is a group dedicated to Hobby Radio Users in all forms, whether CB, Amateur, PMR446, Scanning and Short Wave Listening.
We are a very active and friendly group that welcomes anyone from anywhere in the world who has an interest in Radio, regardless of their level of experience, their equipment, their location, or their radio preference. We have members varying from fully qualified operators on the Amateur Bands, to newcomers who have just bought a PMR446 set, and many CBers both old and new. All are equal on the Site.

The CT Site contains many reviews, tips and modifications within the forums, and we take pride that no sensible question is ever left unanswered, and nobody is ever belittled or mocked for asking an honest question, no matter how simple it may seem. We were all new to the hobby once.

You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join Charlie Tango you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, voting in polls, viewing modifications and more.

If you are not yet a member: Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Simply CLICK HERE to start the Registration process. Your application will need to include your personal name and approximate location, it will require you to confirm your email, and then be signed-off by one of our Admin Staff, but this is usually completed within 24 hours (48 max)

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
  • Pages:
  • 1
  • 2
Kite PMR446 simplex repeater
Topic Started: Friday, 5. July 2013, 20:31 (3,393 Views)
Big Andy
No Avatar
26 Charlie Tango 1060

H a bit of fun the last couple of weeks. Got myself a kite, a Cody box kite, a simplex repeater and set it all up through my baofeng 5r. Popped the radio and repeater into a camera pouch, clipped in a small carabiner to the bridle of the kite, and up and way it all goes. Floating the set up at about 45m I got a couple of contacts around 10miles away, one reporting a 7-9, the other 30+. On the ground I'm using a baofeng 3r on low power (1w) to talk to the repeater. I've now made a dipole mounted to the kite frame so next time there's a breeze ill be trying that out. It's all meant to be a bit of fun, I'm going to go up to 60m and see how far I can get from there. Plan B is an 11m wire antenna flown from the kite.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Replies:
Big Andy
No Avatar
26 Charlie Tango 1060

My problem hasn't been anything technical, just a lack of basic wind power lately. I've got a sled kite coming, generate more lift in slacker conditions in theory. Or tandem them and lift even more up even better. Oh boy this radio thingy is addictive!! I don't want to be too orthodox, but try things a little off the wall. I haven't heard of anyone using kites on 11m, maybe they know something I haven't found out yet!!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Big Andy
No Avatar
26 Charlie Tango 1060

Oh the joys of experimenting!!! Today, I thought I'd try and shave off some of the sail area of the electric fence tape, and bought some electric fence twine. Put it on the kite, ran it out to 282feet, checked the SWR. All fine. Listened to the 40megs competitions, thought it was nice and clear. Happy. Then I thought I'd give my mate a call on 11m. Nothing. I could hear him, but he couldn't hear me. Tried some other bands, nothing, same again, he's 5/9, I'm dead duck. Ran out of time, would have like to have put the tape wire on again and tried him, oh well, always another day. Put the 2.5m sled kite up, wind was too strong for it, and broke a string, spiralled out of the skies and changed back to the smaller Cody kite. The sled will be better for a less windy day I guess, and better to lift the repeater up (I hope). I had two screw in tethers in the ground today, and the wind nearly pulled them both out, the gust were that strong.
So, gonna revert back to the leccy fence tape antenna, for further trials, put it onto the sled and see how that flies, should be a good combo I think.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
26CT867 Phil
Member Avatar
26 Charlie Tango 867

Love this thread :thumb: My ft 51r works as a crossband repeater also works as a repeater on pmr and 446 but there is no way I would send the baby up aloft in a kite harness not on your nelly, be just my luck that the wind drops or lightening hits it, a little parrot repeater box like they use on 446 over in Ireland and in the Scotish highlands to get over the hills would prob work ok they take power from the radio from what I have read, sound realy strange though repeating a recording of each over received.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Big Andy
No Avatar
26 Charlie Tango 1060

Due to an absolutely abnormal British summer, ie hot dry and still, my kite experiments have gone on hold. But.... In the meantime I studied for and passed my foundation licence (NOT a tickbox formality as some say, I had to learn a lot to get through) so I've been making up various antenna for different bands, programming radios with the repeaters etc, and making a yagi to track sateliites now need to make the transmit 2m side and hodge I mean put it all together. By that time perhaps the Rsgb will have sent me my papers so I can get on with radio at last. Oh and made a nice little 2m Moxon, to accompany my 11m Moxon too. Most antennas have cost me probably no more than a fiver to build, including connectors and coax, just knocked up out of scrap telly aerials, bits of aluminium and wire, o and bamboo canes.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Riff-Raff
Member Avatar
26 Charlie Tango 743

Hi Andy,

It's good to see new licensees making things instead of the "Where can I buy?" culture which has developed over the last decade or so. After all amateur radio is all about experimentation not just operating.

I find the "getting it to work" more fun than the actual using of the project . Hence my love of ex-PMR radio's and there accessories.

I acknowledge that it is near impossible to create an all singing and dancing multi band radio with all the bells and whistles available these days, but Hey do we really need them?

I got into data comms in the early 80's and made my own mod/demod (modem) units for rtty amtor and an old Reuters teleprinter for rtty. etc and later packet using an old telephone modem and a dragon computer.

I've never had the patience for antenna building but will always have a go at modding something to make it work for me. Unfortunately the antenna's and accessories are the only parts of modern ham radio that can be experimented on unless you have 20/20 vision and a rework station.

You can't beat old radio's when it comes to experimenting.......components you can see and get hold of .lol

Keep up the good work !!!!


Dave.H :beer:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Big Andy
No Avatar
26 Charlie Tango 1060

Well, here we go again. Been an age. Weather wise we went from hot dry and still, to gales and worse over winter. Anyhow, back to the mill. Been a busy bunny, passed my 2E0 now, onwards an up. Been out with the kite the last two days, repeater revisited!! Very happy with performance, added DTMF tones to switch it on and off remotely, radio now sits in a little tin with a 5/8th mini mag pointing down, all encase in a camera case. Repeater sits in front pocket of case. Range, as the crow flies is about 25miles on 4ish watts, input is a watt from ground control. Wear a headset with a boom Mike to keep hands free, and better audio, repeater tone is LOUD!! Took the kite up to approx 65m, wind speed dropped to next to nowt so hard to maintain altitude, and proabaly averaged 50m on the whole. A friend is building a cross-band repeater for his own use, and that will be suspended up there too at some point. Trying to keep the weight down to sub 500g. All good fun. Get out and try it!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Big Andy
No Avatar
26 Charlie Tango 1060

Update, yesterday. A new day and anew and totally unnecessary challenge. 2m communication with a kite antenna for the band. Status, achieved with a /m contact 8miles away, not shabby for a thrown together idea, an assortment of joined cables to acquire a flight height of 60m. I opened up three repeaters up to 25miles away. Unfortunately I had no replies to confirm contact. So I'm a happy bunny, I can push UHF simplex repeat, or add 2m or any other ham band simplex at the same time from the same kite.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · VHF and UHF (inc PMR) · Next Topic »
Add Reply
  • Pages:
  • 1
  • 2



This Website, Name, Logos and Products Are Copyright To Charlie Tango DX Group Copyright © 2009 - 2017
All Rights Reserved - No Part Of This Site May Be Copied Without Prior Written Permission. CharlieTango.co.uk have a legal Common Law Trademark and Registered Copyright #S0RN-LTC9-8CXT-LZLU of the brand "Charlie Tango" since 2009 and related Copyrights in place for domain names, Logos, images, format and layout of this website and associated material. charlietango.co.uk & charlietango.uk
Copyrighted.com Registered & Protected




View My Stats



DOMAIN NAMES FOR SALE
ConspiracyEffect.com | V5Bid.com Auction | 041183.com | Hiya.Mobi | VR Portal.Net | TrainerSox.com | CoinStealth.com | ChoccyBox.com Domains | FlutterBets.com | CharlieTango.UK | HallmarkedGold.com | MozSubmit.com | HorizontalEarth.com
CharlieTango.co.uk contact email leewardill@gmail.com