paulmbowers

It’s my privilege to help- I’m overdrawn at the karma bank. I’m articulate, but I remain traumatized by basic math and horrified by algebra. I passed Quantitative Analysis in college by presenting a lecture on Bayes Theorem.

1. I've always run an aftermarket antenna on both my Yaesus and Baos. I do believe they make a difference, but I have no real data to support that. 2. There are any number of reasons one rider in the same location might hear a transmission and the adjacent rider can't. I've had it happen many times- could be antenna, proximity of the radio to the user's body, etc. Could also be magic, but it's bad luck to be superstitious. But you brought up squelch, and that's a PhDBlue subject. See below. 3. I recently returned a Baofeng BF-F8HP because of that awful sound- super annoying. It MIGHT be interference- power lines, a nearby repeater etc. But last ride I was using a new BF-F8HP, the 8-watt bigger brother to the UV5r (and blue Rugged equivalent) and it was making a helluva racket and appears to be getting worse. I stopped and swapped the radio out with a UV5r (yes, I carry a spare) and the noise stopped for the rest of the ride. I sent the F8HP radio back for exchange. PhDBlue is of the belief that squelch is the answer to all these issues. When he rides with his HomeCrew, he has set up their radios with an extra squelch tone. This means the radios are not just listening to any other radios transmitting on the frequency, they are listening for transmissions accompanied by a specific code sent by the transmitting radio. It's silent to the users. The presence of that tone/code will allow listeners correctly set up to hear that transmission. Anything else- other radio users, static interference etc will NOT be heard. I've used this setup and it works a treat- we should ALL adopt that protocol along with the 146.505 frequency, but it requires some programming either via CHIRP or in some tiresome sequence of keypresses directly on the radio's keypad. And Mac, I apologize- I'd forgotten about this when we programmed your radios- I should have remembered to add this to your list, but you might check to see if it's on yours anyway. Called SDART (SDAR + ToneSquelch). AND! PhdBlue also pointed me to an article about squelch settings on the Baofengs: http://www.miklor.com/COM/UV_Squelch.php . There's some belief the squelch can be programmed to improve rejection of spurious transmissions (like that annoying K-K-K-K-K-KK- for which I returned the F8HP. I programmed the replacement radio with the suggestions on the Miklor site and will look forward to the results in upcoming rides. You need to use CHIRP or the silly keypresses- I'm happy to help anyone with their setup. And- while chasing another rider through Baja a few years ago, I was having trouble hearing him. While he was a much faster rider (as most are), he'd placed his radio in the same pocket as his water bladder that was built into his jacket. I had him tie the radio up higher with the antenna sticking up out of the jacket, and his transmissions significantly improved. I use backpacks that have a pocket intended for iPods- the radio just fits and a little work with a soldering iron makes the perfect holes for the antenna and the cables, while keeping the antenna an um erm, erect posture. And yes, horizontal/vertical antenna polarization is a "thing", and can vary by frequency. For the 2meter band, vertical polarization is preferred and correct. The old Ham guys would often use a "long wire" antenna for reception- a very specific length strung between uprights. That's for different frequencies.

Huh. Makes electrical sense....I'll make one and report back.

See you there. But not bringing a 990. I ain't man enough.

A few riders were gratified that I was recently silenced on the radio- I had some close-proximity communications abilities, but there was clearly something wrong. Or something right, depending on your unique point of view. Here's what I discovered: Under the antennas on the Baofengs there's a threaded brass collet around the antenna connector. The collet holds the connector tight to the radio's chassis to minimize transferred antenna movement to the circuit board. That collet can become loose with repeated antenna movement. My collet loosened over time, and it appears the connection of the antenna to the main board of the radio became compromised. You may wish to check your own collets to avoid this issue. Sadly for some, I've replaced the radio and I'm back up and singing better than ever.

it’s from the 21st century. I understand.

Van, SoCalMule and I did 90+ miles. One of us (who shall not be named) lost his phone along the way. Since we'd reached about halfway, we used his GPS to nearly perfectly backtrack the route- but no luck finding it. And yes, we tried FindMy etc- but it's either damaged or out of service. Here's the interactive route: https://www.relive.cc/view/vQvyzKKAG4O/explore Here's the regular route: https://www.relive.cc/view/vQvyzKKAG4O OH- Forgot:

Oooo. I like tools.

Here's a cool design- to tighten the collet on your Baofeng, just pull the volume control knob straight off. Underneath? The "socket wrench" that perfectly fits the tabs of the collet.

I'd be good for Thursday.

SoCalMule, I believe were were recently discussing this on Inspiration Wash.

They call him Methuselah.

Only if you bale out.

A leisurely midweek romp around the desert with the SDAR Seniors. Optional breakfast at 0701, KickStandsUp close to 0743. Be late for breakfast, but don't be late for KSU. Probably return close to 1-2, about 80 miles. Excellent trail manners required, nobody is left behind. Be self-reliant with tools, tubes and a reliable motorcycle ready to ride. Street plated and we like to honor the park rules- stay on established roads, don't cut corners. We will also honor suggested speed limits on occasion. I'd rate this ride as gentle intermediate, but nobody will be left behind. Radios at 146.505mhz are strongly encouraged. If you're without radio, be prepared to ride mid-pack at all times. Kendall's parking lot opposite the new library, don't take my spot. I shall do my bestest to stand in for The Governor, and we hope he'll be returning to the desert next week.

Easy with a pair of needle nose pliers to engage the slots.

Fixed

Thanks for the reminder, I just did it. Here's an easy donate button:

https://www.relive.cc/view/v1vjpYn3rY6 SoCalMule had a tight lead on his halter, so we started early and finished by noon. After 120 miles... I took one picture on my way to Borrego:

Relive creates the movie from the gpx file I retrieve from my Garmin GPS. it might be possible to use a phone, but I’m unaware of that option.

We stopped at the easily-circumvented yet well-signed gate. The road on both sides of the gate displayed signs of recent grading and frequent traffic. I didn't think any of the trails we rode yesterday were particularly trashed. We did ride Old Kane Springs off Split Mountain which has always been a whooped mess, and remains so.

Nah. I turned the wrong direction, over the objections of TheMule.

Great to have you back.

I’d be an even better friend (hard to believe, I know!) if you didn’t hurl a baseball-sized stone like a cannonball at my instep with your back wheel. Got a helluva hematoma going here. Despite the Sidi Crossfires!