Do you have a 70 cm source of any type that you can use downrange to prove that the system is working? That is, all together as a complete system. If you can drive the source away until it is demonstrably weakening, then you can test the beam pattern, etc. If the preamp front end is hooked to a dummy load (non functioning antenna system in front of it), then the noise from the dummy load will increase. You need an external source.
Bob
Michael Tondee wrote:
Andrew, I definitely can heart an increase in noise when I power up the preamp and also see an S-meter response. Unfortunately I have absolutely no terrestrial repeaters within my range on 70cm. I've never been able to get into one even back in the days when I had my TS-2000X. Never been able to hear them either. Checked the preamp cables to make sure they weren't backwards also. In reference to some questions from others I've had, I am compensating for doppler on receive and I've checked all my cables except for the 40 foot piece of LMR 400 for open or short with an ohmmeter. Just for giggles I decided to see if I could copy NOAA weather on 162 Mhz band and I can. Don't know if that means anything. I will check my antenna pointing. Getting an accurate fix on true north has sort of been my achilles heel before but I've managed.There is not that much declination here. When I did happen to pick up the brief SO-50 transmission last night the rotator was making a fairly large change in Azimuth though. I may just whip up a quick little groundplane to give me a baseline as someone suggested also. Thanks for all the responses I've gotten so far. Michael