sillyputty <karmictaragem@2die4.com> hath wroth:
>On Sep 1, 6:46 am, Shadow <sh@dow> wrote:
> > Well done !
>> Amazing what we pay for antennas when something so simple
>> works so well. BTW liked the tripod, beats my piece of wire .....
>
>Thanks! The tripod was free. I put a wanted ad on craigslist and got a
>couple free tripods from a guy who wanted to get rid of some. The damn
>SMA cable is the most expensive part. I'm thinking about ordering the
>raw parts and assembling some myself. I do have some experience in
>that area - I used to be a cable/antenna installer and assembled RF
>cables.
You're can antenna looks ok, but some measurements would be helpful to
see how much gain you're really getting. Fire up Netstumbler and
compare signal levels with the can antenna, and with whatever you were
previously using.
Building SMA cables is quite different from CATV F connectors. With F
connectors, all you do is strip back the jacket the required amount,
and use a piston tool to shove in the connector. I think I could do
it blindfolded.
However, SMA is quite different. You get to crimp the tiny center pin
into place. One mistake in stripping length, and you get the pin
either sticking out of the connector, or shrinking back into the
connector. The braid also has to be perfect or you get frayed pieces
of braid all over the place or worse, inside the connector. Also, a
loose connector doesn't work. Don't forget to hide your mistakes
under some heat shrink tubing.
What you'll need is a good supply of decent connectors (RF
Industries), a stripping tool, and a crimper.
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/Misc/slides/crimpers.html>
Two of the tools shown should cover most everything up to LMR-400.
That's the HT-336K and HT-336G.
--
Jeff Liebermann
jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
V8 cantenna 
Linear Mode
