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mobile to base???

A place to ask questions about base setup for CB radios or HAM radios. Talk about your experiences, seek advice, and share knowledge.
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oxbow

mobile to base???

#131104

Post by oxbow »

I am thinking about taking my mobile rig and putting it up on top of my house, but I have a few questions.
here's my gear:
-Uniden PC68XLT
-palomar elite 400HD
-heavy duty tri-magnet mount with a wilson 2000 ant.

Is it worth it to try and convert this to a base set up? (I am trying to spend as little as possible, but I still want a good solid station) and if so how many amps and which brand of power supply should I get?

The other day I got a report from a guy with a Wilson 5000 magnet mount that he stuck onto his rain gutter of his house, could this work?
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mrbigshot
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#131105

Post by mrbigshot »

it will work with limited success as the Wilson needs a ground plane to work against. a simple dipole would out preform it. i suggest getting a large enough power supply to run the radio and amp and buy an actual base antenna for the house. you can pick up used antron's for next to nothing or you could make a simple j-pole (look it up on google) or take a pair of 102's or fire sticks and some mounts and make a vertical dipole.

it doesn't need to be expensive to work.
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linx

Re: mobile to base???

#131127

Post by linx »

oxbow wrote:I am thinking about taking my mobile rig and putting it up on top of my house, but I have a few questions.
here's my gear:
-Uniden PC68XLT
-palomar elite 400HD
-heavy duty tri-magnet mount with a wilson 2000 ant.

Is it worth it to try and convert this to a base set up? (I am trying to spend as little as possible, but I still want a good solid station) and if so how many amps and which brand of power supply should I get?

The other day I got a report from a guy with a Wilson 5000 magnet mount that he stuck onto his rain gutter of his house, could this work?
It is worth it to put in the house....but....here's some suggestions.

You're going to need a beefy power supply to power an amplifier. Probably everybit of 60+ amps to power the amp and the radio.

As far as the antenna, you're wasting your time. You can pick up an Antron 99 for probably $50 and use it and be happy. That Wilson 2000 is never going to do what you want it to do.

I run a mobile in the house exclusively b/c I like the size of it...especially when the rest of my equip is so huge. It's a good alternative to a big base.
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KI4MSJ
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#131130

Post by KI4MSJ »

Your radio and amp are fine. Lose the antenna and buy a Base antenna such as the Antron 99$45.-$65.), IMAX 2000($65.-$85.), I-10K(in the nieghborhood of $300. or more). These are Vertical or Omni Directional. Or, you can buy a MACO M-103 or 104 Directional Beam antennas for just over $100.00 and a rotator for $50.00 or less. As far as the Power supply goes, most of the Ampres drawn will be from the amp itself with not much coming from the radio because of the lower Dead key set on the radio to run the amp. I would say a good 35 Amp peak power supply such as a Astron($50.-$100.). You can get cheaper power supplies like Pyramid that would work fine. Just remember you want to buy good stuff once instead of buying adaquite stuff numerous times. Check out the Forum Sponsers for the best prices. Good luck and have fun
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roadrunner8757
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#131132

Post by roadrunner8757 »

I have tryed using a Wilson 1000 mounted on the tower by my house and a few other mobile antennas and could not get them work, finally got a antron 99 for $45 and love it!!!!!!!!!
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roadrunner8757
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#131133

Post by roadrunner8757 »

I have tryed using a Wilson 1000 mounted on the tower by my house and a few other mobile antennas and could not get them work, finally got a antron 99 for $45 and love it!!!!!!!!!
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Circuit Breaker
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Re: mobile to base???

#131136

Post by Circuit Breaker »

oxbow wrote:The other day I got a report from a guy with a Wilson 5000 magnet mount that he stuck onto his rain gutter of his house, could this work?
Yeah, IF the rain gutter is metal. The old kind were. But today they're probably aluminum and, in most cases, they're made out of plastic or fiberglass. Even if the gutter was metal, your signal wouldn't be anywhere near as good as if you used a base antenna. So, in one respect, you would be wasting the watts the amplifier puts out. The amp would probably only boost your signal up to what it would be on a good base antenna alone.
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