by Michael Martens | Oct 9, 2012 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, Antennas
The amateur radio community lost a valuable member last week. Dennis, W9PBB, a good personal friend and mentor suddenly passed away at the age of 76. It’s a shock whenever anyone close to you dies, but when the person was taken suddenly and without warning, it...
by Michael Martens | Sep 30, 2012 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, Antennas, ARES/RACES, emcomm
Late September can be absolutely beautiful in northern Wisconsin, or it can be cold and dreary. We where blessed with warm temps and sunny skies for our ARES/RACES group’s deployment at the Village of Kronenwetter’s annual Fall Festival. The festival,...
by Michael Martens | Sep 25, 2012 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, VHF
Daniel, W2GRK of Brooklyn, NY had an APRS packet digipeated during a recent pass of the International Space Station. Reported on Reddit.com: I was able to send an APRS packet off the ISS on 09/22/12 at 03:50 EDT with only 5 watts (a Yaesu VX-170) and a j-pole (The 2...
by Michael Martens | Aug 26, 2012 | 2 meter, 6 Meter, Amateur Radio, Antennas, GMRS, UHF
A common perception of J-Pole antennas is that because of their design, they have a tendency to couple with large metal objects and buildings. This is true if you are attempting to mount a J-Pole along side a house with metal siding or a steel shed. But does this...
by Michael Martens | Aug 19, 2012 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, Antennas, emcomm, GMRS, Land-Mobile, Scanner, UHF
How do you provide communications support for an event that involves over 1,600 motorcycles and thousands of spectators? With a dedicated ARES/RACES team and a slew of KB9VBR J-Pole antennas. On August 16-18, 2012, Marathon County ARES in conjunction with ARES/RACES...
by Michael Martens | Jul 22, 2012 | 2 meter, Amateur Radio, Antennas
Quick, what are the attributes of a good repeater antenna? Most people will come up with things like durability, low noise floor, high gain, low takeoff angle, etc. All of these are good things to look for in choosing an antenna for your repeater system. But have you...
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