Hello,
I have to give a small chuckle over some of the t.n. discussion and
aiming beams. Believe me, I think they are very important and I was very
picky when I put up my solar panels to make sure they were pointing
nearly due south and I religiously adjust their angle according to
season. However...
Almost a week ago I worked my very first ARES event (Sunrayce).
During the event I had to access a repeater about 50 miles from the site
which was in a virtual RF black hole. The ONLY way to get out of the
hole was to use power (50 watts or more on 2M is nice) and 10+ element
beams.
I still don't use a beam at home, but, when confronted with the one I
was borrowing, all the t.n. and related threads immediately came to mind.
Hmm. Determine t.n., use a rotor, and get out a great circle map to
figure exactly where to point the darned thing. In the end, you want to
know how we "got" the repeater? I got out a AAA state map, said that the
repeater should be roughly "that-a-way" and some guys moved the antenna
around while I "worked" the repeater and got "ear-ball" readings on my
signal strength. I must admit that I was surprised that this "simpler"
method was first mentioned to me.
My point? :-) I think it's that ~sometimes~ just wing it and it
actually might work (of course I don't recommend "winging it" with
respect to tower construction, just aiming antennas in this case).
73,
Mary-Frances
Mary-Frances R. Bartels (((#))) ^ ^
Amateur Radio Callsign: KI0DZ DM79lt Denver, CO | ^ - ^
***Let ME scan your photos and documents!*** ------- (o o)
Ind. Rep. of Watkins products #92389 |ooOoo| >{ | }<
(303) 428-5884 ki0dz@juno.com ------- " RRR )*
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