Things went horribly wrong. PMR 446MHz Antenna testing.

Testing a DX111 2m/70cm antenna on PMR 446MHz. Things did not go as planned on this video and i did not get the results that i had hoped for.

[@jgstevens5169]

Thanks Fred... You took a couple of hits for your subscribers benefit. We were able to learn from your test.

[@zukispur5493]

Enjoyed that. Keep keeping it moving bruva Fred. Fine work 👍

[@PaulTaylor1]

I wonder whether the disappointing performance was due to loss on the feedline. At UHF you can easily lose 90% of your signal unless you use low-loss coax, which would be far too thick and heavy for a fiberglass pole. 🤔

[@americaswayout4489]

Actually taping the coax to the pole likely could have kept it from breaking. I have some hardline that if taped to the pole it would stand up straight, but it is rather stiff and would be hard to use. That rg58, like you, said likely lost most of the signal both ways!!

[@zukispur5493]

Westflex. Job done once, PROPERLY. 🌚

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Paul what feedline would you recommend. RG213 is way to heavy ? Cheers

[@mauricevde]

@@CB-RADIO-UK aircell7 ?

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Hi Flow yes Messi & Paoloni does get good reviews.

[@AndyRaysWorld]

always enjoy a good test Fred , commiserations on the pole but keep up the good work brother 👍

[@FrancoDX]

I like experimenting and have days like this Fred. The best result I got on PMR on a low budget was a homemade Yagi for 446 and the UV-5R. I clamped the Yagi onto my van roof rack whilst static on some high ground and made a contact 72 miles away. Just used basic RG58 coax but the short length of 2m probably helped minimise loss in signal. Enjoyed the video as always mate 👍🏼

[@BoB4jjjjs]

Depending on your coax, it could be quite lossy, on top of that, there are more leaves on trees now which will cause a loss at 446Mhz.

[@GaryB007]

That's the London Colney Roundabout.

[@RaverRst]

I built one of those 2m/70cm t2lt’s and wasn’t impressed with performance Fred. I then built a 2m/70cm 1/4 wave, 50cm driven element with three 50cm ground plains, I’m now picking up repeaters etc 70+ miles away. Plenty of how to vids on here, very worthwhile build.

[@bart2903]

for the money try this! i had one made just for fun.. only 1/4wave for 70cm 13 or 16 cm driver + 4 groundplanes VSWR 1.1 then i put it straight on my HT. it works amazing! better then any other antenna i had before.

[@PaulTaylor1]

Here in Aberdeen it's been clear blue sky, perfect sunshine! Tomorrow too. Been getting quite a bit of skip on CB but I didn't hear you.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Hi Paul. Aberdeen is a long long way my friend but one day we will make it.

[@delboyonline]

Could it be that the SDR receiver doesn't work very well on 446? It seemed to have a high level of background noise as well.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Possible but i have used this antenna before and not really been happy with it. I may revisit this in the future with a UV5r as the receive radio. Maybe look at lower loss coax as well.

[@gzappa]

Sirio CX440 is a good option. Low SWR from 440 to 450 Mhz and receives very well, I can hear handheld easily at 3 miles in rural area. Will receive my UV5R from the local town at 10 miles.

[@andrewcbartlett]

The retivis will do 2w with chirp allegedly. I would like to see you test if it can. Thanks for your videos.

[@greggaieck4808]

Frad in the shed your utube videos are awesome 👍👍👍👍👍👍😎😎

[@mikecawood]

Love the dog :)

[@ianp369]

Was interesting, not all tests give great results. I would opt for an X-30 and some much lower loss coax, then feed that into VV-898, mine has very good recieve.

[@EdzashedFudwinkle]

I have the Hawkins Thunderbolts ½&⅝w with the coils, and I just slide my Coul over the tip of the pole, saves it moving about. Both wire antennas work great with a 10m Spiderpole, but it'll work much better hung on the 30m tree in the neighbouring garden. Lol

[@rizmark5522]

I need to change the aerials on the baofang uv-5r when you are using vhf or uhf on the small aerials provided. I got that Na-771 . I still cant hear the space station on 145,800 mhz.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

The ISS is tricky unless it directly overhead. You can make yourself a helicoil type antenna which boosts your chances.

[@thestonerguy5276]

Hi Fred. Wow, those fiberglass extension poles aren't cheap, so sorry you lost the 3' top section. Perhaps the coax was an issue as some have said, although I've never had big losses when receiving a signal - just when transmitting. How much more coax were you using for this vs. when receiving on the 11m antenna? It could be an issue with the antenna itself. Perhaps you could put a analyzer on it just to verify all is well with it. BUT, I have to hand it to you for this videos title - I have a bunch of YT pages related to 2-way radio that I subscribe to, but when I scrolled down the list to select one there were no contenders that could beat “Things went horribly wrong”... great title, and I'm happy it didn't involve a lightning strike!

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Hi. I was using a run of 10 meter RG58. The run from the Antron 99 is RG213 prob about the same length. Yes it did not work out on this test but thats true radio. Thanks for the comment.

[@MuzzleMike]

Hi Fred . Been a sub for a long time . I have a question you might be able to answer. I came across a Galaxy dx 959 . I have never had a radio with ssb and would like one . Is this worth my time ? I thought if you do not know you might ask around. Thank you for your time .

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Hi. Ive never owned or used a DX959 as its a USA AM/SSB radio and does not have the UK FM. Ive always liked the look of an old fashioned needle power meter and digital display. I would buy one if the price was right.

[@MuzzleMike]

@@CB-RADIO-UK thank you for your help anyways. It is always good watching your videos.

[@barrykeeto1248]

Fred, to my mind there are several possible issues at work here. Firstly, M&P Ultraflex 7 coax and N type plugs is the way to go for UHF and keep the coax run as short as possible if you want to keep the weight down. I also I highly recommend the ‘DX commander’ telescopic pole for strength and longevity. It may also be advantageous to check that the antenna is correctly resonant at 446MHz with an analyser and or SWR meter just to be certain, this should keep noise levels to a minimum. These significant improvements should yield you far better results :)

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Thanks Barry some good points there.

[@Speedyz57]

Fred do a review on the , Abree 27 inch army type antenna for Uv5 r . Apparently there very decent .

[@Perthshire]

*they're

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Thanks Mega i may look into that.

[@briantheminer]

Thanks Fred, so I’m not buying one of those 😂 I have a roll up J pole I bought, and find that not as good as a magmount or even Nagoya 771, work that out 🤷‍♂️

[@MrBSD-vq5yp]

Back to CB you get more performance. VHF/ UHF is not for long distance by such weak output and antennas without much gain like those walky talkies. On HAM-radio you have repeater, much more output and better antennas to get good results. Btw, yesterday i talked with english (Channel UK 38 FM Gloucester-Group) and welsh stations (Channel UK 19 FM from Talbot) on CB with 4 W, DV 27 Long mobile antenna and my little President Truman ASC here from Germany . :) VY 73, 13CT2929

[@Speedyz57]

Also , you probably know anyway try again with some 213 coax , not Shure if you were using mini 8. I’d make the run maybe only 20ft max that would give you a semi decent height + less amount of loss ..via coax ..nice vid anyway keep it up 😊

[@g1fsh]

Wasnt a very good antenna mate but still a good video. Nice to see Bella though pleased she's still doing well.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Hi Mate. Yes bella is 9 years now. With her heart condition we were orig told that she would not lived beyond 5 yrs. Almost double that now :-)

[@chrishorst6993]

I like the Make things more Idiot prof. That is a good one

[@paulhotson5820]

Try a X30 collinear!😉

[@desbelfastireland9982]

THANKS FRED,, DES CREAN,, BELFAST ,, IRELAND

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Cheers Des

[@SimonJackson13]

Maybe a quarter wave coax with a 50 ohm feed T feed and the 330 ohm emission point do screen to centre swap with 6.2 ohm inline to match the 330 ohm free space shunt. Then the open end of the coax with string to the top?

[@SimonJackson13]

So yep, the 25 up and 25 down ohms point for a parallel at the T with a 1.76 ohm on the up series to match as 25. With extra half waves on the up to open for length. A 5/4 wave for example. Umm thinking....

[@SimonJackson13]

Ooh 8.25m errr....

[@SimonJackson13]

... velocity factor ...

[@SimonJackson13]

Enough work for today @ 4.78 meters on CB. I'm not sure if less than 0.66 is too lossy.

[@SimonJackson13]

Oops 5.44m.

[@ericdee6802]

Thats a bummer Fred, your fiberglass mast snapped. I've been looking into a sectional fiberglass telescoping mast from "Maxgain Systems" a 46' footer, their mast tubing is twice the guage/ thickness as many other brands i've looked into like "DX Engineerings" comparible model, anyways the masts sections are secured by a clamshell camlocking system that locks each section as the mast is raised. How does your mast secure itself as its extended into the air. Great vedeo none the less. Take care! 73's✌

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Hi Eric. The cheaper kite poles like mine just use friction on the joints to hold up. This is fine if your only going to use it for a days DX but if you plan to keep it up longer they can fuse together and split when you try to collapse the pole.

[@ericdee6802]

@@CB-RADIO-UK Aaahaaa, I thought thats how it stayed up (friction) but wasn't grasping it at the time i reviewed your video, I was too distrought over the fact that your mast snapped!!!... lol

[@bart2903]

Hey fred! I use a Heavy duty pole from germany: Spiderbeam 12Meters / 40 FT it cost me 90.- ant it's 8mm on top section!1-2MM wall thiknes.. I have it installed for more then 2 years, i removed 4 sections, and put a Diamond X50 on top like a lolly.. fill the gaps with som fome, and run the coax cable inside the pole. .. it holds! in storm, in winter. these are great quality poles.. Use Some thicker coax my frend. i have 25 meters of H2000 coax inside the spiderbeam pole.. thats realy low loss coax for a bit of money. i payed 75.- for 25 meters. wish you luck! ;)

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Hi Bart. Yes a good quality pole is the way forward. Even these kite poles are over £50 now so worth paying the extra.

[@bart2903]

@@CB-RADIO-UK Go for the spiderbeam fred and others... it's quality is way above the others! i use it stationairy for putting my antenna's way up above the roof of my house..

[@Meomeo-123]

Amazing 🌸❤️🤣🤣👍👍🛎🛎🛎

[@pedersteenberg2010]

WOW

[@jasonhowell5362]

just build a little dipole i reached to blackpool tower from wolverhampton

[@wam2610]

👍

[@johnnorth9355]

Blimey 446 PMR. With all else that's going on on the airwaves I'm amazed you found the time for PMR ? A very neglected service which needs more use if we are to keep it.

[@larsschmidt7249]

if you got antenna above roof hight it would make a huge difference i have my uhf antennas above roof line and work great

[@jamesmahoney6009]

Try a different antenna a dedicated 2mtr 70cms antenna or even a discone Fred

[@charlieoscar09]

There are a few aerials made by that supplier ,all with fancy names. They have give them fancy signal boosting names because the aerials they sell are rubbish.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

May be my set up is to blame though.

[@mikecawood]

By privacy code I assume you mean CTCSS.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Hi yes

[@Tobinindustrial]

A little bit of disappointment but still a good radio and antenna demonstration.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Hi Andy old mate. Yes not everything in life goes to plan. I might re visit things with perhaps different coax.

It's not "privacy" , it's auto squelch chanel....

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Yeah pretty much.

[@wowsly]

fred fred fred fred...... been a sub for a few years now and watch a lot of your videos but these days i do not comment as much as i did back in the day. have you replaced the 8m mast yet? asking for a friend..... from CT941

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Hi welcome back. No ive not replaced it yet but will prob use it shorter.

[@wowsly]

@@CB-RADIO-UK as a long time sub of the channel I want to show my support to your channel. Can I send you a replacement 8m pole?

[@z1100a2]

On UHF you definitely need to use a high quality low loss coax and matching connectors.