Is anyone on Keller right now?

[Chazz Layne]

Keller's Echolink is offline right now so I have no way of knowing if I totally screwed up my wiring or if there is just no traffic right now.

[DaveK]

Keller's Echolink is offline right now so I have no way of knowing if I totally screwed up my wiring or if there is just no traffic right now.

Chazz:

It's not you. Keller has been having a lot of Echolink downtime here in the last several weeks. Dennis is working on a fix.

[Chazz Layne]

I will have to send Dani out for a hike with the HT then.

[Chazz Layne]

I hate to ask for a remote diagnosis here, but I'm at a loss. My signal quality seems to be just as good running through the antenna as it is with nothing but an empty cable (no, I did not do that one deliberately ).

Here's what I have installed:

- Yaesu FTM350 radio

- Diamond NR770HB antenna

- Diamond C213 NMO mount

- Diamond CX-210N coaxial switch


Here's how I have it installed: I have the cable run up to the roof from the radio where it is hooked up to the switch box. One side of the switch box's output goes to the NMO mount on which the NR770 antenna resides. The other side of the switch goes to a UHF jack so that I can just plug in my Elk antenna and flip the switch for longer range comms.


Testing was done by hooking up the Elk pointed at Keller and listening in, but I do not know if there was just no traffic, or if my wiring is bad. I did not want to risk keying-up to ask for a signal report at full power on an unproven install, so I decided to test further locally.

Further testing was done by having Dani drive her truck down to the mail box (3/4ths of a mile?) with her known-good radio setup to see how reception was each way. I was able to hear her signal on low power crystal clear the entire time. She was able to hear me good on low power at about 100 yards, not so good at about 500 yards, and just barely at high power (50 watts) from the mail box. Thinking I just had the switch box in the wrong setting (it did not come with a manual ) I flipped the switch and tried again, with the same results.

Here's where I get confused, I'm 99% sure the new connections I made today are good. I soldered them in place (high quality silver solder) and they are not short circuited. The only other connections were made in the factory by Diamond and Yaesu... so I'm pretty sure they are good. I've double-checked the coax - no pinching or fraying going on.


Thoughts from those a bit more experienced with this stuff than I?

[Chazz Layne]

Out of frustration I moved on to something I know well (and have tools/testing for) and finished up the install on my CB. When I went to test it out I found I was unable to get an SWR low enough to register on the gauge, and I could hear the SLABS system running with the vehicle off (in a Disco, the SLABS likes to ponder life when you aren't driving). Starting the vehicle gave purpose to the SLABS life thus returning the CB's SWR to more civilized levels and eliminating the background noise. I suspect in the morning when I test the FTM350 with the vehicle running I will have similar results.

Kind of makes me wonder why I even bothered with the trouble of running dedicated 8-gauge power/ground wires to the battery...