Ken, Your experience is one many run into.
It shows a repeater duplexed on one feedline is radically different than the typical Ham station. Connectors that become loose or soiled can cause such problems. When constructing a repeater one must use commercial grade construction. The commercial guys do what they do for good reason. 73, ron, n9ee/r >From: Ken Arck <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: 2008/04/19 Sat PM 07:51:13 CDT >To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com >Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Bad adapter > >Just thought I'd share this with everyone in case you face the same thing. > >My 2 meter machine started experiencing noticeable desense about a >week ago. No real serious weather had occurred during this time, just >the usual Oregon rain. As I had replaced the antenna and hardline >about 2 months ago, my first thought was water infiltration. > >I went to the site this afternoon (can you believe it was snowing in >April? - Damn that global warming!) and the first thing I did was >check VSWR between the duplexer and hardline feed to the antenna. 60 >watts forward, zero reflected. Whew, it's probably not the antenna or >hardline (no fun when you're dealing with an almost 200 foot tower). > >The next step was to check the VSWR between the duplexer and PA. >Cool, 90 watts forward, < 1 reflected. Hmmmm, the desense is still >there. Ok, back to the duplexer output "just in case". Still the same >- no reflected power but wait! The desense is gone! So what was >different between no Bird and the Bird in line? > >As it turned out, it was an SO239 to N adapter that I had used >because I didn't have the proper stinger with me when we replaced the >hardline. The adapter is used between the stinger (which has a PL239 >on one end) and the duplexer, which is an N. And while the adapter >was a genuine Amphenol (silver plated and everything), I found out >when I got home that the center conductor connection was only crimped >and that center conductor was cracked. Placing the Bird in line >required not using the adapter so voila! > >I used another adapter I had with me and the repeater is working >great again. You better believe I'm headed back up to tomorrow with a >proper stinger with N connectors! > >Pics are here: > >http://www.arcomcontrollers.com/connector1.jpg > >http://www.arcomcontrollers.com/connector2.jpg > >Even quality can fail! > >Ken > >---------------------------------------------------------- >"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the >name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program >until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how >it happened." --Norman Thomas, Socialist Party presidential candidate 1936- >68, Cofounder of the American Civil Liberties Union > > > Ron Wright, N9EE 727-376-6575 MICRO COMPUTER CONCEPTS Owner 146.64 repeater Tampa Bay, FL No tone, all are welcome.
