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2m DX

If considering other antenna..
I use the 11 element by gulf alpha..at 52 ft hight
Gulf Alpha Antennas

( i use them for 2 meters.. 220 and 70cm bands.. all excellent )

I see no reason given you have a clear shot/un-obstructed to not get out at the 200 mile range on SSB (not as likely on fm ) but i would be sure to use horizontal for your beam..

all i use is the IC7000 (puts out 50 watts on 2 meters) with 11 element 2 meter beam with sm20 desk power mike..
(i could i suppose add an amp and or a pre amp at the antenna but have not done either yet )

sure is far easier on hf and 6 meters..
but with practice and patience you can get it done..

even though i use gulf alpha beams ( for many years now ) M2 indeed makes excellent antennas however i am also impressed with how strongly made gulf alpha antennas are ( given at times i indeed get some very bad weather by me ) & not sure how well M2 is compared (never tried a M2..they might be as good..i am un sure )

let us know how it goes
 
Pretty sure you will indeed like it..
Pete ( Gulf Alpha Antennas ) makes some really good beams.

Long lasting and Very Sturdily built (what i also like about the Interceptor I-10K Vertical ) and Perform Excellent !!
( & it goes together very easily )
Also if any questions Pete is Excellent in customer service.
 
Sounds like a good yagi,I have never looked at their antennas till I saw them mentioned here,I would have given them some serious thought,I picked my M2s up from somebody moving out of state so I got the whole setup,beams,rotor,tower,cables,coax,it was a day and a half trip to get all of it but the price was right,get your 11 element as high and in the clear as you can and get some good coax,I use LMR 400 ultraflex,it has the stranded center conductor and it plays well with the rotor loop,if you do get an amp you can start out with a small brick with the pre-amp built in and have good luck,my first 2 meter setup was 10 elements with a mirage 2516G and it was alot of fun,good luck with your setup.

check out the link on the chat page there are guys on every morning starting around 8 am eastern time,they gather on 144.205 usb. Region 2.

73 Chris

The low band, 50 MHz, 144 MHz and microwave chats (by ON4KST)
 
avistar23 said:
Purchased a 2 meter 11 element golf alpha tonight, quite happy about it :)
Click to expand...

Gulf Alpha are great antennas. I have one put together(Dual Band 2 meter Vert. + Horz. 7 El.-10El. Vert. 70CM) that is slated to go on my tower in the not too distant future. I therefore cannot comment on its performance but they do get excellent reviews.

Be advised that you are going to have to be very very patient with Pete the maker in getting your antenna to you in a timely manner. These antennas are custom made and Pete does a great job on them. Its just not like ordering from a retail supplier and getting it in a few days. Due to my project being under construction I was not in a hurry for my antenna when the order was placed, but when I was ready for it and Pete had had my payment for quite some time it still took some prodding to get him moving on completing and shipping my antenna. The quality and workmanship on the antenna are outstanding.

As stated before, I don't have any reference point on its performance because I haven't had a chance to put it up yet. I'm sure you will be pleased with yours.

73

Wayne C.
 
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Ive read the complaints about the wait, he was upfront with me, and im fine with that, he worked with me in areas i needed, and i will gladly support a smaller company with a quality product over a larger cooperation. if i use an amp, i think i will buy a second larcan like i have, for a pre amp, i don't know, none of the mast mount seem to come with relays that can handle over 60 watts, unless you spend 4 to 5 hundred on them.. which is alot for me at the moment for a preamp. and to put up a high power rf relay network up on the tower just for the preamp is a little much. If i find it to be viable and i start making contacts, then yes i would find the investment worthy, but to dump a large chunk of money into untested waters is not my cup of tea so to speak.

if anyone knows a good place online to buy lmr 400 let me know, im running low, im thinking about importing a 500 foot roll if the price is right.
 
avistar23 said:
if anyone knows a good place online to buy lmr 400 let me know, im running low, im thinking about importing a 500 foot roll if the price is right.
Click to expand...

I'm using Bury-Flex by DavisRF. Davis RF Co. - Bury-FLEX Flexible Low-Loss Coax Excellent cable and a great company to deal with. Be careful if you see the Bury Flex listed somewhere else cheaper. I read on another list the other day that the Chinese are producing a knock-off cable and labeling it as Bury-Flex.

Hope this helps!!
73

Wayne C.
 
Hmm.. it has .2DB more loss than lmr 400 at 50 mhz.. it is flexible tho, i dont really need that, but then again is .2b ever going to be noticed in the real world

Just got off the phone with them, ive used CNT 400 before, and they claim its the same as LMR 400, which i agree with, going to get some in the next few weeks.
 
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Well, my Larcan has made it to its first destination on its way to me, and pics indicate it was very well packaged by warren, thanks a lot, and Garth for informing me about them, there appears to be some defacing done to the board, i didn't notice at first as i was hauling a full load while looking at the pic on bbm, however warren indicated it appears graffiti is on the board, i will have to check and am requesting better pics from my girlfriend. Although i do believe Garth is to blame here ;):)

Above was ment to be on my amp thread

This was for this thread

Thanks Warren will do.
 
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In the northeast US, nearly every morning after 8am, a group gets on 144.205 SSB.
The better stations are working well over 300 miles over mountain terains.
My station is not of that calibere but still routinly work out to 300 miles off a single 12 element M2, 100 watts with a KW480 driving a Transverter.
My location on the eastern border of Pa. allows me to get as far as Toronto, Canada to the north, Columbus ,OH area to the west and N.C. to the south.
The need for high gain antennas, height, good receiver sensitivity and low loss coax is the way to go.
.
A hint here it to say that a low end station needs a lot of antenna gain and a good rotor and pay attention to zeroing in on direction.
The better contest grade stations with a lot of height have a of of power but use stacked lower gain antennas to get wider beam width and still have the gain of larger antennas, so rotor movement is not so critical.
.
I have chosen to go with N type connectors for the best overall performance.
Here in PA we seldom get any good enhancement in tropo conditions.
A check of the HEPBURN website can often show an enhancement prediction coming that could provide possible conditons to work more areas or longer distances.
The FLA area is often very hot for good tropo action.
This is just part of Ham radio just to see what can be done dispite the special equipment that is needed to make it happen.
I am beginning a new band for the same challange. 432 SSB with the same type setup and power to see what happens over time.
The equipment is in place and working. Now to get the tower back up with it's 6m, 2m, and 432 beams remotely switched to the same 1" Heliax very low loss transmission line.
The best conditions are coming in May through AUG with the VHF contest in June. Then the bands come alive for a good time from 6m all the way to 10 gigs..
This should give you some idea what might happen and you would be a Trophy contact on any of these bands, once they know your there.
Use E-mail to tell some when your trying and soon many will be looking for you everyday.
.
I forgot to mention that on 2m and up there are seldom ever any DX conditons as you might know it from 6m down.
Most often the conditions for longer distances involve weather patterns of Hot and cold boundry layers between fronts, and another thing called Ducting on 2m up.
The Ducting occurance can carry a signal beyond the normal tropo distances with very little ERP in use. You just have to be there at the right time.
Beacons are usefull at all times to tell what may be happening on any given band..
Good luck.
 
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