Re: [amsat-bb] Re: Helix antennas, ( now preamps)

[Michael Tondee <mat_62@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Paul Williamson wrote:
> At 4:10 PM -0400 5/15/06, Michael Tondee wrote:
>> ARR also carries weather-proof units as well. They cost more than the 
>> non-weatherproof  units, of course. My ARR 70cm preamp will pass 160 
>> watts of transmit power and is weather-proof. The cost was about in 
>> line with the SSB electronics units, maybe a little less.  I'm quite 
>> happy with my ARR unit.
>
> My experience with the 2m ARR weatherproof preamp was not so great. 
> It's weatherproof enough, but it's not "crunch-proof". That is to say, 
> if you operate it in an environment with strong out-of-band signals 
> (pager transmitters, etc.) it's worse than no preamp at all. Just 
> about any city environment will have strong signals. I would only 
> recommend this unit for use out in the country.
>
> I sold mine to another ham (who lives out in the country) and replaced 
> it with a Landwehr preamp of essentially the same specs and form 
> factor. The Landwehr worked much better at my QTH in San Diego.
>
> The ARR 70cm unit seems fine, though I haven't compared it to any 
> other preamp.
>
> This was a while ago (1988-ish) so things may have changed.
>
> 73  -Paul
> kb5mu@amsat.org
> Hi Paul,
I only have the 70cm unit and I do live out in the country so I can't 
comment as to how resistant it might be to out of band signals. I think 
in the future I might try to build one of the Ramsey kits for  two 
meters as I've about exhausted my radio budget for now and can't afford 
another ARR or SSB electronics unit..
 I actually hear pretty well on two meters with a fifty foot run of RG8U 
and a 4 element homebrew beam so I may not even need a preamp. Better 
feedline is probably the way to go.
73,
Michael, W4HIJ
----
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