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Author Topic: Ham - Power Questions  (Read 5520 times)

PainRoller

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Ham - Power Questions
« on: October 29, 2015, 04:38:59 PM »
I have put together a Comms plan with simplex and repeater frequencies.  Once I confirm some of these repeaters are still operational, I will email an Excel and CSV file to everyone so that you can program your radios.  It will look something like this, but with better formatting:

INCIDENT RADIO COMMUNICATIONS PLAN               Date/Time Prepared      
               10-13-15 0600      
                     
                     
Ch #   Function   Channel Name   Receive Frequency (MHz)   Receive Tone (kHz)   Transmit frequency (MHz)   Transmit Tone (kHz)   Remarks
1   Convoy   Primary Trail Frequency (SCCX Simplex)   146.5350   none   146.5350   none   Main group channel
2   Convoy   Backup Trail Frequency A   146.4750   none   146.4750   none   Fallback channel in case above channel is too busy
3   Convoy   Backup Trail Frequency B   146.4900   none   146.4900   none   Fallback channel in case above channels are too busy
4   Convoy   Backup Trail Frequency C   147.4800   none   147.4800   none   Fallback channel in case above channels are too busy 
5   Convoy   Backup Trail Frequency D   146.5500   none   146.5500   none   Fallback channel in case above channels are too busy
6   Travel - Hailing   National VHF Simplex   146.5200   none   146.5200   none   Wilderness Protocol and general hailing
7   Travel - Hailing   National UHF Simplex   446.0000   none   446.0000   none   Wilderness Protocol and general hailing
8   Distance   Victorville repeater   146.9400   none   146.3400   91.5   Open repeater
9   Distance   Barstow VHF repeater   147.1800   none   147.7800   151.4   Open repeater - Linked to Ludlow and Newberry Springs
10   Distance   Ludlow VHF repeater   147.8850   none   147.2850   none   Open repeater - Linked to Barstow and Newberry Springs
11   Distance   Newberry Springs VHF repeater   146.7000   none   146.1000   none   Open repeater - Linked to Ludlow and Barstow
12   Distance   Las Vegas VHF repeater   146.8800   none   146.2800   100.0   Open repeater by Las Vegas on Mt. Potosi
13   Distance   Needles VHF repeater   146.7600   none   146.1600   131.8   Open repeater by Needles
14   Long Distance   Silver Peak (Bishop) WIN repeater   444.6000   none   449.6000   100.0   WIN system linked repeater, system covers several states
15   Long Distance   Ridgecrest WIN system repeater   147.9750   none   147.3750   100.0   WIN system linked repeater, system covers several states
16   Long Distance   Ridgecrest WIN system repeater   448.8000   none   443.8000   100.0   WIN system linked repeater, system covers several states
17   Long Distance   Barstow WIN system repeater   449.0800   none   444.0800   100.0   WIN system linked repeater, system covers several states
18   Long Distance   Victorville WIN system repeater   448.9000   none   443.9000   162.2   WIN system linked repeater, system covers several states
19   Long Distance   Palomar (San Diego) WIN system repeater   449.0800   none   444.0800   100.0   WIN system linked repeater, system covers several states
20   Long Distance   Hemet WIN system repeater   446.8600   none   441.8600   100.0   WIN system linked repeater, system covers several states
Prepared By:            Incident Location:      Mojave Desert   
Sage Bromax            County:    San Bernardino            State:    CA          Latitude: 35.00 N             Longitude: -115.6500 W         
                     
   Use the minimum power level necessary for clear communications.                  
   Use repeaters for initial contact, or in case of emergency.  When within range, switch to a simplex frequency.                  
   The WIN system is mostly UHF. See complete listing and site location map here:             http://batchgeo.com/map/dd38a77a78536badb47ce3eeaef65c0a      


First of all, Bromax - you da man!  Thanks for hooking us up on Comm plans for both DV and Mojave Treks.

I'm trying to input all of this data into the software to program both hams.  The software lets me choose the power setting for each channel.

Can someone please tell me how to figure out what power I should set each channel at (in an easy to understand way so my eyes don't roll to the back of my head  ::) )?

Is there a power difference needed for 2M vs. 70cm vs. 6M, etc?    ???

Our Yaesu power options are:
5/10/20/50 watts for 29/50/144Mhz
5/10/20/35 watts for 430Mhz

The Baofeng has Low/High only (which I think is 1 and 5 watts)

So do we need more than 5 watts for Convoy convos or to hit any of these repeaters?

Any help is moocho mucho appreciated.  ;D

steve c

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Re: Ham - Power Questions
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2015, 05:01:24 PM »
Just leave it on 5 watts if you're going to program it in the computer.

If you're stepping on someone with 5 watts, we can move channels. 
Steve - KK6OFL

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Celt

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Re: Ham - Power Questions
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2015, 05:12:19 PM »
Like Steve said, 5w should be plenty. I can talk all day long from the coast hitting the Mt. Palomar or Laguna, San Clemente, Catalina Island repeaters using 5w. More important than your power output is your antenna. Now if you are a long way away talking on simplex, that's when you can bump the power up to be helpful or at the shadow of the repeater coverage. All my presets are set to minimum power but I have the option to boost it up with the touch of a button on my station. As to the Baofeng, I think 1w might be a little slim so I would think about the 5w setting.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2015, 05:14:03 PM by Celt »
Isaiah 6:8

Sage Bromax

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Re: Ham - Power Questions
« Reply #3 on: October 29, 2015, 05:50:22 PM »
I concur.  Leave the Baofeng on 5W.  The Yaesu you should be able to raise or lower the power fairly easily.
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knightrider

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Re:
« Reply #4 on: October 29, 2015, 06:39:20 PM »
4rthed.

 most radios make it pretty easy to bump the power up so all my stations get programmed at the lowest setting.  If you find you are not getting a response or opening the squelch on the repeater, you can bump up the power. 

Sent from my rooftop tent while stargazing

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PainRoller

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Re: Ham - Power Questions
« Reply #5 on: October 29, 2015, 06:44:20 PM »
Thanx Guys!! Super helpful as always!  :-* :-*

JFanaselle

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Re: Ham - Power Questions
« Reply #6 on: October 29, 2015, 06:45:51 PM »
Personally, I would program the Baofeng to 1W instead of 5W. I'm not familiar with the Baofeng's interface specifically, but you should be able to switch it into high power pretty easily if you're having a hard time hitting your repeater or talking to someone on simplex with only 1W of power. Handheld radios have very sensitive "finals," which are the circuits that control the transmission and they're worn out quickly if you talk on the radio a lot with the highest power settings (think of running your car at high RPMs all the time and what it does to your engine). Although, at a price of only $30, I suppose it's no big deal to have to replace the radio if/when the finals do burn out. Even still, with your mobile Yaesu installed, you're likely to only use the handheld when you're walking around camp or spotting someone or going for a short hike or something, and you shouldn't 5W of power to talk with the rest of your group over that short of a distance.

As for the mobile radio - again, lower power (5W) tends to be better for the simplex frequencies, because we're usually in close range with one another. If you're programming repeaters that you know you'll be far away from, it doesn't hurt to set them up for one of the medium power settings. As stated, you can very quickly change the power setting on a Yaesu (it's one button on my FT-7800), but it'll revert back to whatever you have programmed into the memory as soon as you switch the channel and come back to your saved one.

Alex

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Re: Ham - Power Questions
« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2015, 09:25:59 PM »
This'll be super helpful once I get rolling with the HAM myself, thanks. :)

PainRoller

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Re: Ham - Power Questions
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2015, 10:30:20 PM »
Joe - excellent info!  Thank you for thinking about our Baofeng's sensitive bits....  ;)

You're right - the Baofeng is mainly for hikes, around camp, and spotting - or when Mike is bored sitting in the apartment.  So I'll try programming it at 1W.  And thanks for the awesome explanation - My eyes didn't even glaze over!! WOOT!  ;D

Now where are those power buttons.......

Celt

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Re: Ham - Power Questions
« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2015, 11:01:49 PM »
Joe - excellent info!  Thank you for thinking about our Baofeng's sensitive bits....  ;)

You're right - the Baofeng is mainly for hikes, around camp, and spotting - or when Mike is bored sitting in the apartment.  So I'll try programming it at 1W.  And thanks for the awesome explanation - My eyes didn't even glaze over!! WOOT!  ;D

Now where are those power buttons.......

What repeaters have you tried to hit thus far with it?
Isaiah 6:8

 


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