New ham...

[KS4MLS]

Greetings, SERC! I am a new member here as well as a new ham, so I thought I'd say hello to everyone.

At this time, I am using a tri-band, HT. The Kenwood TH-F6A. Seems like a nice little handheld. I live out East at the far end of Fruitville. I'm almost exactly 9 miles from 75. Question: What are my chances of reaching the 146.730 repeater from my home QTH with just a "rubber ducky?" Is there a repeater closer to me that I could use?

I've ordered a Diamond X50A to install in my attic to use with the F6A until I get my TS-2000. But until then, I'd like to be able to transmit.

Thanks! 73

Michael

[AJ4QP]

I have a 5 watt HT from Yaesu and I can hit a repeater 14 miles away as long as I am up high enough. I can't hit it from the street where my office is located but can from the fifth floor of the parking garage.

So, hitting it from nine miles should not be a problem as long as your antenna has sufficient altitude and no significant obstructions. It will take some experimentation to figure that one out.

I have a friend about seven miles out that way and he hits it from the second floor of his house without any problems but not from the ground level.

[KS4MLS]

Thanks for the reply. I was successful hitting the repeater from my driveway two days ago. Apparently, my intitial attempts were made with the Kenwood set to EL TX Power. Which is Extremely Low and I believe .5w. Guess it pays to read the manual.

I've also discovered the NI4CE repeater, which is 6 miles from my house, but 1000 ft in the air and I can see it from every North-facing window in my house. No problem hitting "Big Stick."

73