First, thanks to so many of you who gave such detailed and thoughtful replies
to my newbie questions about 2m and 70cm antennas and about using my new
FT-897D in the upcoming contest.
I am really looking forward to trying out VHF contesting and DXing.
I wanted to send this note because some of you said that ordering a new antenna
from InnovAntennas might mean I would wait a while for shipping, since it has
to come from England.
I am happy to report that I just received a new 14-element 432 MHz LFA-SQ yagi
just 46 HOURS after I ordered it!
I ordered it on Tuesday afternoon, and the FedEx man delivered it to my
doorstep today (Thursday morning). That is pretty tough to beat!
And I only had to pay about $28 for shipping - the company foots the bill for
the rest. Chip (K7JA) said that right now, while they are shipping from the UK,
they are subsidizing the shipping cost to make it priced as if it were being
shipped from Colorado.
Eventually, they will start shipping from the USA as well.
In case you are skeptical, here is the FedEx tracking info for my antenna:
https://www.fedex.com/fedextrack/index.html?tracknumbers=799819855139
I am looking forward to getting it unboxed and put together this weekend. I'm
also going to try and take down the HF Quad to get it out of the way, so I can
put the 6m, 2m, and 70cm ants all on the same mast.
Next newbie question: I have an Ameritron RCS8-V remote antenna switch in
place on the tower already. I know it's good up to 150 MHz. What will happen
if I try to use it on 432 MHz?
VERY bad things, or just compromised performance? My long term solution will
be to run hardline out to the tower for VHF, but that's definitely not going to
happen in time for this contest.
I also have the option to use an old Drake RCS-4 remote switch instead, if that
would be any better. I don't know its maximum frequency specifications.
Thanks and 73,
John
W2ID
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