[Elmers] New Member Questions

[Tom Mattoon]

Hi Elmers,

My name is Tom KE6TM, and I am a brand new member of SOARA, having been
elected by the Board on July 27.  Ed WA6ED suggested I connect with you
regarding some questions.  A huge thank you in advance for any help you can
provide.

I am a fairly new ham, having earned all 3 licenses in 2019.

Location: I am located in Dana Point just down the hill from Saint Edwards
Church.  I live in a house that has a fairly strict HOA.

VHF/UHF:  I would very much like to participate in some of the repeater
nets.  However, my only VHF/UHF rig now is a Kenwood TH-D74 HT with a
Diamond antenna.  I am unable to reach the SOARA Laguna Beach repeaters for
both Rx/Tx.  I am recognized by the SOARA San Clemente repeater when I
announce a system test, but so far, no one has responded.  I don't yet have
my SOARA private credentials to try to connect with Trabuco Canyon or
Santiago Peaks area repeaters.  Fortunately, I am able to communicate
clearly with the Clara repeater 145.220 in the same area.  I know that the
SOARA repeater maps show my area as spotty for the Laguna Beach repeater.
I intend to buy an Icom IC-705 whenever it is finally released, supposedly
in a couple months.  It's my understanding that the 705 comes with a whip
type antenna and has 10w power, or 2x my Kenwood HT.  Would you expect the
705 to be able to connect with the Laguna Beach repeater out of the box, or
would it likely need a separate antenna?  Or should I work on an antenna
solution for my HT that might also work on the 705 later?  What would you
suggest given my HOA situation?

HF:  I have an Icom IC-7300 which I like very much.  I have a 51 foot jr
dipole that is a couple feet above my roof held in place by clear fishing
line.  The antenna works ok, but not great.  I have attempted to join
several HF nets, but have not been successful.  I can hear and communicate
with some contacts, but it's not consistent.  While the HOA has not
mandated that I remove the dipole yet, it is an eyesore and I wouldn't
blame them if they did.  I do have space in the attic for something, but I
don't know if that will work given the surrounding metal etc.  Would you
have any thoughts about what I could do for HF in a HOA house?

Again, many thanks in advance for any assistance you could provide.  I'm
looking forward to meeting you one day when that becomes possible.

73,
Tom Mattoon, KE6TM
temattoon at gmail.com
949-295-8806
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://soara.org/pipermail/elmers/attachments/20200728/d9035eff/attachment.html>