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Old 03-23-2013, 11:13 AM   #2
NN5I
Carl, nn5i
 
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Posts: 1,441
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The apparent lack of a ground may have two effects: (1) a generally weak signal, and (2) a signal that goes mostly somewhere other than toward the horizon, which is where the other guy's antenna is (the one on the repeater or on the other ham's handheld when you're working simplex). But I would think that in most cases the ladder would be a pretty good ground at two meters. Two to one isn't a terribly bad SWR; many commercial two-meter antennas aren't resonant at the correct frequency anyway, unless you tune them carefully, and have poor SWR right out of the box even with a perfect ground.

Or, possibly, everything's working well. If the repeater can hear you, and another ham on simplex can't, it's usually because the repeater's antenna is high up and in the clear. That's why repeaters exist -- if repeaters couldn't hear (and be heard) better than individual stations, no one would bother building repeaters and everyone would work simplex.

Me, I don't like short antennas (shorter than I am) on ladders. Climbing down, I've been stabbed by such an antenna when I wasn't super-careful, and even when I was super-careful. Usually you get stabbed when starting down the ladder, and usually you get stabbed in the face. Scary. If the stab doesn't injure you, the consequent fall probably will.

And welcome to ORR and to the hobby!
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