All,
On Wednesday I put Jerry’s idea about a passive repeater to the test with mixed results. As the pictures show I used a magnet on the bracket to hold the exterior antenna on the shop wall. I routed the cable and interior antenna through the doorway, set it on the metal structure in the wall and tested it out. No dice. As I was wrapping it up I had a thought and zip-tied the antenna directly to the antenna on the receiver and – it worked! 😁👌 It is kind of Rube Goldberg looking, but it works.
So, my dad does now get a notice in his shop, but these devices are really range limited. The one in their house worked when plugged into the outlet on the north end of their kitchen countertop, but moving it ten feet south to where their weather station is plugged in; that was too far away. So, I’m back to my original plan.
I want to find someone that will mod some of these receivers and change their antenna to an SMA connection. For something like the one in my parent’s kitchen that would allow me to move it to a different and more convenient location and then I can just add on a larger antenna that will allow it the additional ten feet of range. And in my dad’s shop setup, I can directly connect that high-gain exterior antenna to the receiver inside.
So, I’m back in the search for someone that wants to take on this project for cash. I’ll provide the parts and will pay whatever reasonable amount someone wants for their time. My initial thinking is to do four of them, so someone please shoot me a note (email address here) and tell me what you would charge me to do them.
73
Phillip Beall (W5EBC)
Click any image for a larger view. Please let me know if you have experience modding these receivers or are interested in the project!