[VHFcontesting] Re: [VHF] HTs and metal siding

[Richard Amirault]

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Geiger" <johngeig at yahoo.com>
Subject: [VHF] HTs and metal siding


> I have lived in my present location for 2 years-a
> house with steel siding.  I am sure that others live
> in similar setups, with aluminum or steel siding, or
> in metal trailers.  I am wondering how bad the metal
> siding affects RF inside.
>(snip)
> Am I doomed to failure because of all of this steel?
> I notice some problems on receive also.  I am
> seriously considering going crossband repeat so I can
> use the outside antennas with my FT100D.  The HT is
> nice to be able to move around the house while QSOing,
> instead of being tied to one spot in the shack.
(snip)

Be careful about crossband repeating.

1st .. if you use crossband repeat to access a repeater .. you may have a
problem depending on how long the repeater's "tail" is.  Some have very
short tails. Others have mid length tails, and others have long tails
(several seconds).  If  your repeater has a long tail then you (and everyone
in your QSO) will have to wait for the tail to drop every time you want to
transmit.  Think about it .. your radio (set to crossband repeat) does not
know that the other guy has stopped talking .. all it knows is that the
repeater is *still* transmitting .. so it does what it is programed to do
and keeps crossband repeating until the carrier drops.

2nd .. there is a question of the legality of a radio set to crossband
repeat.  Your radio needs to ID on *each* band it is transmitting.  You,
yourself, can do this on one of the two bands during crossband repeat, but
the other band (the one you are receiving on the HT) is locked out to you.
Unless you get the person you are talking to to ID for you, or if your radio
has some sort of automatic ID, then you very well may be breaking the law /
regulations.  Opionions vary on this .. some say it is ok not to ID, others
(myself included) think you are breaking regs if set up this way.

3rd .. Another possible configuration .. set your radio to crossband repeat
in ONLY ONE DIRECTION.  Thus you use the mobile radio to reach the repeater,
but receive the repeater directly on your HT.  This solves the "tail"
problem and the ID problem ;-)

Richard Amirault                                N1JDU                Boston,
MA, USA
www.erols.com/ramirault          "Go Fly A Kite"