Page 28 May June 2014 TCA

FRESH ON THE AIR

— ADVENTURES FOR THE NEW AND BEGINNING HAM

other at length, using the call channels not for In fact, one reviewer on the Internet said they
what they were intended. 146.520 MHz and were afraid to send a signal through the
446.000 MHz were the places to be, to hang antenna in fear of damaging their radio. I have
out, to monitor, to make contact, to get help. to admit, I was quite disappointed when I
So what went wrong? opened the package and saw the tiny antenna
Phillip Boucher, VE3BOC
E: phillipjboucher@gmail.com A major reason seems to be the proliferation of and magnetic base. I was sure the antenna was
www.phillipjboucher.com probably non-functional and the magnetic
repeaters. Most new Amateurs get on their local mount would release in the wind as soon as I
repeater right away once they get their ticket.
Where Have all the And why not? The repeater covers a large area got to highway speed.
VHF/UHF Call Channels and lets non-local Amateurs talk to each other. The actual testing involved trips around town
Gone? Simplex is limited in range. So why use the call and between three distant cities, each with a
In today’s Amateur Radio channels anyway? Tradition? Nostalgia? Good couple of repeaters in them. Transmit output
world of high tech and the and consistent operating practice? power was fve watts from my VX-6R HT. My goal
proliferation of VHF and As a new Amateur, you can keep the call was to see just how well the Nagoya antenna
UHF repeaters, most channels active while still using your local compared to the precision-cut quarter wave
Amateurs who operate two repeater. Most Amateur rigs let you monitor two whips. The precision-cut whips themselves have
metres or 70 centimetres channels at once, either directly or via a Priority always performed very well. Within a city, I can
seem to always have their setting. Why not make either 146.520 or always hit the local repeaters; and on the
radios tuned to the local 446.000 your priority channel and your local highway, I can usually start using repeaters
repeater, either seeking a repeater your operating channel? This way, you within 20 kilometres of the city limits. Therefore,
random QSO or waiting for will hear all the calls on your local repeater and I had a benchmark to follow.
a specifc operator. you will also be able to hear any calls on the To my utter amazement, the magnet is quite
The local repeater now calling frequency. Get your friends to do the strong and held on at highway speeds with no
seems to be the place same thing. And if you are local to your friends problem at all. The fact that the antenna is thin
where everyone tends to or other Amateurs, encourage them and insist and low profle results in little wind resistance so
hang out. on using the calling frequency to establish there is virtually nothing to pull the magnet off
However, a few years ago, communications frst, then move over to the the car while driving. Even in a blizzard and a
if you wanted to get a hold repeater. In our hobby, the adage of “use it or torrential rain and windstorm, the UT-108 held on
of another Amateur Radio lose it” is a vulture that circles our allotted tight. Furthermore, I was shocked, impressed and
operator, you would go on spectrum constantly. Use the call channels to very surprised that the UT-108 performed so
one of the dedicated make initial contact and then move over to close to the single-band precision whips, that, in
simplex call frequencies on another frequency. Monitor the call channels for all honesty, the difference is negligible.
the band you were emergency traffc. Keep the call channels active Of course, the UT-108 or any quarter wave
operating on. and available and useable. As a new Amateur whip can’t compare to the performance of a
Radio operator, you do have the power and
Once you established infuence to keep frequencies alive. 5/8 dual-band whip. However, it performs just as
communications on this well as any quarter wave. And one neat feature I
frequency, you would MINI REVIEW: NAGOYA UT-108UV really like about the antenna is that due to its
MAGNETIC MOUNT MOBILE ANTENNA
move over to another low-profle design and jet black colour, unless
simplex or repeater Last year, I purchased and tried a UT-108 you are right up near the vehicle in the daylight,
frequency so as not to tie dual-band mobile magnetic mount antenna from you can’t even tell that the antenna is there.
up the calling frequency. It Nagoya, a little black whip that retails for around At night, it looks like it doesn’t even exist.
was the place to fnd every $11 to $12 on eBay. I wanted a mobile antenna Great stability, excellent performance and
local Amateur who was that was extremely portable for use with my stealth profle makes this antenna a real little
not engaged in VX-6R HT so I didn’t have to keep one attached gem to have.
conversation elsewhere, to the car. I compared the performance of this
including repeaters. It was antenna against two precision-cut quarter wave Transmission Tidbit: Confusion says, Amateur
the channel for initial mobile whip antennas: one cut for exactly 146 Radio a hobby, but most Hams more professional
contact and emergency MHz and one cut for exactly 445 MHz. These than those paid for same activities.
communications. quarter wave whips are made of thick steel on a I would love to hear from our new female and
So what went wrong? magnetic base. During testing, each antenna was very young Amateurs on your frst impressions of
Nowadays, the call mounted in the middle of the car’s roof. the hobby, both positive and negative. Write me
channels sit silent, barely a At frst glance, the UT-108 looks very much like a via the magazine; email me at phillipjboucher@
person on them. And if child’s toy. It is made of thin black steel with a gmail.com, or via my website. It’s here! It’s here!
you do happen to fnd small magnet on the bottom with a very thin “The Almost Complete Guide to Yaesu’s VX-6R” is
Amateurs on them, they coaxial cable. The radiating element is around now available in PDF for $14.95. Visit http://www.
are usually talking to each 20 inches long with a small coil near the bottom. phillipjboucher.com to order.

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