What did you do for your comms setup today?

[NT2C]

I'm not a fan of mesh because of how it can degrade a signal and add latency when data hopping.  It's also much more prone to outside interference when installed near other networks.  Then there's the financial cost and the issue of where nodes need to be placed for optimal connectivity.  Configuring them to avoid interference can be a royal PITA.  There's only so many channels per band, and out of those channels there's only a few that don't overlap.  When routers only used a single channel per band things weren't great but still manageable.  With mesh systems, now you're using multiple channels per system, and shit gets filled up fast, resulting it lag and packet loss due to data collisions.  You're a ham, right?  Ever to any contesting?  Multiple mesh systems in a small area, such as apartments, condos, or joined houses creates giant "dogpiles" on the channels that your data has to negotiate a way though.

[NT2C]

Follow-up question to the group:  Does anyone know if there are issues with WiFi7 and home automation equipment?  I know that several friends of mine had to run secondary wifi setups using old routers for their automation equipment (lights, switches, thermostats, etc) because they wouldn't work properly with newer routers.

Might be something to watch out for if you have that kind of stuff set up at your house.

It's a risk you take anytime you upgrade to a new standard.  Going from 4G to 5G for example.  Depending on what standard your device was set to use and what standards the new system supports you can lose connectivity.  To give an example, when 2G was shutdown nationwide it caused problems because the auto industry is generally 5-10 years behind the tech industry, so all the in vehicle data systems were using 2G connectivity.  Jeep/Chrysler for example had to create and mail out OSB II dongles to owners that allowed the systems to use 3G.  Mine never worked right and I shitcanned it.  So yes, it can be an issue but such is life in our digital world.



Here's a handy chart showing the years each standard came out.



Here's another that shows which 802.11xx each is.

[NT2C]

Fortunately, our house doesn't use many "smart" things due to prohibitions by my wife's employer. What ones we do use can always be hardwired.  You can always add a lower-class node to a network if needed.  For example, say you have an old device that only supports to 802.11n (wifi 4) and your new wifi 7 system doesn't support that.  You can generally add a wifi 6 node from the same manufacturer to your networks and let that node communicate with the older device(s).

[MacWa77ace]

Follow-up question to the group:  Does anyone know if there are issues with WiFi7 and home automation equipment?  I know that several friends of mine had to run secondary wifi setups using old routers for their automation equipment (lights, switches, thermostats, etc) because they wouldn't work properly with newer routers (and this was with WiFi6).

Might be something to watch out for if you have that kind of stuff set up at your house.

Sounds like they may be using different security settings router/device, they have to be the same. The other thing could be the channel frequency. 2.4 vs 5, 6 ghz. I know some older equipment of mine won't see the newer channel frequencies and might not have the newer security protocols.

[EBuff75]

Follow-up question to the group:  Does anyone know if there are issues with WiFi7 and home automation equipment?  I know that several friends of mine had to run secondary wifi setups using old routers for their automation equipment (lights, switches, thermostats, etc) because they wouldn't work properly with newer routers (and this was with WiFi6).

Might be something to watch out for if you have that kind of stuff set up at your house.

Sounds like they may be using different security settings router/device, they have to be the same. The other thing could be the channel frequency. 2.4 vs 5, 6 ghz. I know some older equipment of mine won't see the newer channel frequencies and might not have the newer security protocols.

After upgrading my router, I ended up buying a new laptop because the old one wouldn't work with the new router.  Apparently the "backwards compatibility" still wasn't quite right as far as matching up to my 10 year old computer (which I believe was 802.11n, or WiFi4).  I had to use a USB wifi dongle that I bought as a stopgap until I replaced the computer.  So it's not just home automation stuff that might not work!

[MacWa77ace]

@EBuff75
that's kinda strange. I never thought of that since I have a 2006ish Windows 7 laptop that will connect to my work's router which is state of the art. It also connects to my home router which is old, a Belkin AC1200 802.11a/b/g/n.

I really only use this laptop to program HT's using CHIRP. or convert cd's I find at garage sales to MP3's using an old version of itunes that sets up all the meta data in the file and doesn't require a sub to use.

[NT2C]

Annnnd, of course right after we buy it on Amazon for over $400 for a two-node system, Woot today had the same system on sale for $319. 

The only good thing was that they also have single nodes for $90 less than MSRP, so I picked one up for the house.  I'll keep the main node in my office, move the one from the pantry to the LR/DR area and put the third node in the garage.

https://computers.woot.com/plus/prices-dropped-on-linksys-routers?ref=w_gw_dd_3

[airballrad]

Installed a bracket for a permanent VHF/UHF antenna on my truck. Also tried a new dual-band antenna that is only 4 inches tall, but the SWR for VHF is awful (oh, yeah, got a new SWR meter too).

New HT and mobile antennas from signalstuff arriving tomorrow; excited to see how those perform.

[Butler Ford]

My 25' collapsible whip is halfway between the dealer and me.

[airballrad]

My 25' collapsible whip is halfway between the dealer and me.

Delivery anticipation is the worst. Antenna delivery anticipation is worser. I have three dual-band Signal Sticks on the way.

[EBuff75]

Since our CERT switched over to GMRS last fall when the PD analog repeater that we'd been using (we have their old cast-off Motorola radios) was turned off, I bought a Tidradio TD-H8 to use.  It has worked quite well for me, but it lives at home, ready for me to grab it if needed.  Since I try to keep a fairly complete kit in both vehicles, I bought two more of them, programmed them so that they're set up the same way, and then bought some clamshell cases to store everything in so that I can keep on in each vehicle. 

The kits that I bought included all of the following:  instruction manual, lanyard, two batteries, 6" antenna, 15" antenna (Tidradio version of the Nagoya 771G), wall charger, USB-C charging cord, belt clip (which I installed), and shoulder mic. 

You cannot view this attachment.

I took an educated guess at a case that would be big enough to fit it all and this one managed it, although just barely.  In hindsight I'd have found one that was slightly larger, but it works.  The instructions, a channel reference sheet (that shows which channels I programmed with what), the short antenna, and the lanyard all go into the pocket on the left.  Everything else fits over on the right. 

I'll put one case in each vehicle and then I'll be good to go for any surprise CERT call-outs, or if I should need to use the radio in some other situation. 

You cannot view this attachment.

[KentuckyCarbine]

@EBuff75 - I like the idea of the clamshell for the radio.  Mine just flails around and hence I don't take it with me as often as I should. 

[EBuff75]

@EBuff75 - I like the idea of the clamshell for the radio.  Mine just flails around and hence I don't take it with me as often as I should.

The whole idea with those is that now the radios can live in the vehicles without me needing to think about them.  I'll need to remember to check the batteries periodically, but otherwise they should be there and ready to use for many years now.

[NT2C]

@EBuff75 - I like the idea of the clamshell for the radio.  Mine just flails around and hence I don't take it with me as often as I should.

The whole idea with those is that now the radios can live in the vehicles without me needing to think about them.  I'll need to remember to check the batteries periodically, but otherwise they should be there and ready to use for many years now.

My solution to the batteries problem is finding AA battery holders for the radios going into vehicle storage, then putting the required number of lithium batteries into a vacuum-sealed bag and putting that with the radio.  Lithiums are good for 10 years, give good power output, and the AA battery case can be used with commonly found alkalines.

[MacWa77ace]

@EBuff75 - I like the idea of the clamshell for the radio.  Mine just flails around and hence I don't take it with me as often as I should.

The whole idea with those is that now the radios can live in the vehicles without me needing to think about them.  I'll need to remember to check the batteries periodically, but otherwise they should be there and ready to use for many years now.

My solution to the batteries problem is finding AA battery holders for the radios going into vehicle storage, then putting the required number of lithium batteries into a vacuum-sealed bag and putting that with the radio.  Lithiums are good for 10 years, give good power output, and the AA battery case can be used with commonly found alkalines.

Those standard rechargeable packs are made from lithium batteries. I haven't done a storage test but think I have a couple extras that aren't in any radios that I can measure the voltage on later. IME they charge to 8+ volts and then sink to the 7.4 over time. I usually charge those 'spares' every couple years. But they are at 7.4 volts.

I'll get back to you.

I have an Alkaline 9v on my old radioshack  scanner that lives in my glovebox, in the florida heat that is IDK how many years old and still works.

[NT2C]

@EBuff75 - I like the idea of the clamshell for the radio.  Mine just flails around and hence I don't take it with me as often as I should.

The whole idea with those is that now the radios can live in the vehicles without me needing to think about them.  I'll need to remember to check the batteries periodically, but otherwise they should be there and ready to use for many years now.

My solution to the batteries problem is finding AA battery holders for the radios going into vehicle storage, then putting the required number of lithium batteries into a vacuum-sealed bag and putting that with the radio.  Lithiums are good for 10 years, give good power output, and the AA battery case can be used with commonly found alkalines.

Those standard rechargeable packs are made from lithium batteries. I haven't done a storage test but think I have a couple extras that aren't in any radios that I can measure the voltage on later. IME they charge to 8+ volts and then sink to the 7.4 over time. I usually charge those 'spares' every couple years. But they are at 7.4 volts.

I'll get back to you.

I have an Alkaline 9v on my old radioshack  scanner that lives in my glovebox, in the florida heat that is IDK how many years old and still works.

I was talking about non-rechargeable lithium primary cells, not lithium-ion rechargeables.

[MacWa77ace]

I was talking about non-rechargeable lithium primary cells, not lithium-ion rechargeables.

I understood that, just not the why on the AA's instead of just keeping the standard packs if the standard battery packs last a couple years in storage. Maybe not 10 years though, like i said the longest I let mine go is a couple years before topping off. Cost? You'd have to buy the adaptor packs.

I don't know if keeping the packs uninstalled make them last longer than keeping them installed in the radio either over long periods though. I have unused emergency backup radios that I also charge at the same time as the uninstalled batteries [every couple years] and the voltages are usually the same for both. I measure them using the internal voltage meter on the radio to one decimal place, not a VOM to a few decimal places. 

That scanner battery is an anomaly. I literally think its the original battery and that scanner is a radioshack analog. That's old.  Not sure though.

[Z.O.R.G.]

Field Day is my cue to charge most of my handhelds that don't see routine use.  My "oh crap" handhelds are the same ones that I take to field day for "loaner" radios for a visiting ham that shows up without a handheld to make a contact with our VHF station.  The odd-ball frequency ones (220, 900 & 1,200 MHz) get charged before VHF contests. 

The start of hunting or fishing seasons I charge the ones that live in the packs specifically for the activity.  

This way pretty much all of them get charged/used once a year.

[airballrad]

I'm rather fond of the ability for many newer cheap handhelds to charge from USB sources. While my batteries for HTs are all lithium rechargeable, I almost always have the ability to charge them from the same sources I have on hand for my phone. Not to mention solar etc by the same connector type.

[MacWa77ace]

Tested and confirmed on a BF-F9V2+

I think I'm still going to use my needle nose pliers to tighten that nut though. Metal on Metal.