• A student is looking for help on tropical cyclone prediction. Please fill out the survey linked to this thread: https://stormtrack.org/threads/storm-and-hurricane-intensity-prediction-survey.32957
  • After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

Mobile Antenna Mounting

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear... MFJ meaning the SWR meter. Just making sure there's a 1:1 SWR before clamping the mount down permanently. He obviously wouldn't be using it for transmit purposes. Could be a bit of a time saver if he mounts it, finds he can't get a good tune on it, then sees some crazy SWR number.

The antenna will exhibit different SWRs at different spots on the vehicle. Finding a spot with lowest VSWRs and then fine-tuning it would be ideal, but not always an option. The meter is indispensable here, especially with a 1/2 wave antenna.
 
SWR Meter. I have to get one of those. As I've pretty much only used commercial NMO antennas for years, with few exceptions, I've just used the included cutting charts and been mostly alright.
 
SWR Meter. I have to get one of those. As I've pretty much only used commercial NMO antennas for years, with few exceptions, I've just used the included cutting charts and been mostly alright.

When it comes to just pumping 10W into a local repeater for a weekend ragchew, no worries. Things get critical when you're looking to hit distant repeaters at 50W and up. To be honest, I'd be a terrible amateur radio operator if I said you don't need an analyzer for mobile antennas. The truth is, you do, especially when using antennas that utilize the vehicle as a magnetic ground plane.

The antenna analyzer is a common component among hams, as I'm sure you know. The great part about that is, a simple "Hey, anyone got an antenna analyzer they could bring over?" usually is met with enough volunteers you could take your pick.
 
I've been installing commercial/public safety for about 18 years now, and have rarely ever used one. Usually, they only come into play for me when troubleshooting problems.

Then again, there's not a lot of guesswork involved when you're talking about an 800MHz trunk system. The system is there, the radios are tuned and programmed, and everything gets the same 3" long 1/4 wave antenna.
 
That being said, I had an interesting antenna issue last week when trying to get into a distant VHF repeater that I discussed with @Drew Terril . Apparently, antennas don't like bends of any kind.
 
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