My first thought would be to make sure the radios are hooked to the correct port and the common it going to the Elk. Simple I know, but I have hooked up my Arrow setup backwards a few times. It is amazing how poor a 70cm antenna is for receiving 2m signals.
After that, I would look to others that have Elks and use 2 radios for suggestions.
73, Don KB2YSI
On Sun, Jun 17, 2018, 16:50 Hugo Dominguez, Jr. hugois@gmail.com wrote:
Just tried trusty AO-91 and heard nothing through the duplexer. After it reached max peak I disconnected my D74, which was doing the receiving, from the duplexer and connected it directly to my Elk antenna. Right away I heard people talking. I then tried keeping the antenna on the bird where I heard audio and switching back to the duplexer and heard nothing. Not sure what is wrong. I need to find someone to test with on the ground. I’ll do more tests with another radio. Just need to get my third radio from another location. I tested on a 440 repeater and sending/receiving to duplex to myself. Need to test with another person who is more distant
— Hugo Dominguez, Jr.
On Jun 17, 2018, at 11:13, Hugo Dominguez, Jr. hugois@gmail.com wrote:
Received the duplexer yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't even think to get patch cables for it. I have SMA to SO-239 cables for my handhelds but the duplexer is also SO-239. Luckily my local electronics store had some RG8X SO-259 patch cables.
So far no luck. I tested it on a couple passes last night but did not hear myself yet. I was not in a good spot though. I tested it on AO-92 on the last past around 1730Z but had a hard time hearing anyone until right before the LOS, I then heard something for a second as I was moving around my elk. I thought I would have heard the bird since I was on a hill with no obstructions to the bird. The only difference being I had the duplexer connected. I'll test it out more today. I made sure the duplexer works by transmitting on the frequencies allowed on each port of the MFJ (VHF/UHF) and was able to hear myself on another radio. It is such a hassle now carrying two radios and two cables coming out of the duplexor and putting one radio in my pocket. LOL. Luckily the D74 supports bluetooth so I will use that to eliminate an additional cable that gets tangled, so that I can hear. I just attached the MFJ duplexer to the handle of my Elk antenna to free up my hand temporarily to see how that works. I hope it won't interfere with the SWR. I attached a picture
Hugo Dominguez, Jr.
On 6/8/18 6:34 AM, Rolf Krogstad wrote:
MFJ sells a duplexer (aka Diplexer). The model number is MFJ-916B. There are other manufacturers also such as Comet and Diamond, etc.
There was an article not long ago in the Amsat Journal, (or was it QST?), comparing different models.
73 Rolf NR0T EN34it
On Fri, Jun 8, 2018 at 8:10 AM, Don KB2YSI kb2ysi@gmail.com wrote:
What I have done is to hook the common port to the antenna that I want and then the HT up to the side of the duplexer that I want to use. I found it easier to use the VHF side of the Arrow for this setup.
73, Don KB2YSI
On Fri, Jun 8, 2018, 08:37 Hugo Dominguez, Jr. hugois@gmail.com wrote:
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I do have other handhelds. Is there a way to connect a splitter on my Elk antenna so that I can connect two handhelds? Will that degrade my signal in and/or out? Do I need to
filter
the signals to split off the VHF and UHF signals? Right now I just try
to
lay one handheld with its own HT antenna somewhere in case it is able to receive a signal or I try to get someone to hold it for me. Most of the times i’m by myself.
— Hugo Dominguez, Jr.
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