Greetings, My name is David (KI7KPB)
I am in Anchorage and am a member of the KL7AA club.
I cannot seem to be heard from where i am with just the Hand Held Baofeng that I received when passing my test in WA.
I am looking at building a Base station at the house… i seem to be overwhelmed with the requirements to build one. ???
type of antenna, power source, base station and any other required equipment ?
Do i need a new power source from the main building panel ?
There are so many questions !
how do i build a Base station from Zero to Operational ?
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No need to spend a lot of money or rewire the house right away (…later!) What you will always need is a good antenna though, no matter if you are hooking up a hand-held or an elaborate base station with all the bells and whistles. Depending where you’re at, you could put up a dual band J-pole or you might need a small yagi antenna to hit your nearest repeater (vhf/uhf). You will always have need of a good vhf/uhf antenna so your effort or money will not be wasted. In ham radio, always think antenna first and worry about the other gear later.
My Alaska call was KL7GRL issued in 1970. I was born and raised in Alaska. Recently my call was AG5XQ in Houston, TX. I currently reside in Indonesia and my callsign is YE1GXQ. My advise for any successful station is to have the best antenna that you can get away with.
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Okay, new tech also here… I can find a lot of ARRL articles on how to DIY antennas, but I honestly want to buy one so that I can get on the air. How do I know what antenna to buy for particular bands? I know that I can only use the 10m band right now, but I’d like to get my general soon.
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I personally tried to wear a hole in the internet by researching antennas for the bands I wanted to use. when it came down to it I wanted all the good and bad reviews so I could choose for myself. I went with diamond. it’s gotten to the point just about every antenna I own HT and BASE are diamond. I’m located 20 miles N.E. of Anchorage Ak. with some pretty serious mountains in between, I have no problem hearing or talking to the KL7AA station, and many stations in and around Anchorage. I’m running a diamond x300 about 25’ in the air on a Icom ID-5100A