PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-621
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 621
AUGUST 2004
Also, the BNC connector used on these cables is not the best for pro-
viding good metal-to-metal contact. Vibration can loosen it, so check it
often.
If your RT is not per-
forming as it should, make
the RF cable one of your
first checks.
Of course, the antenna
itself could be the culprit.
Dirt, metal oxides and
other contaminates can
really degrade your anten-
na. So can a pound of sil-
icone grease applied where
only a trace is needed!
Keep antennas clean and
test them often to make
sure they are reliable.
Good cables and a good
antenna will go a long way
toward having long way
conversations.
CW4 Ron Nidiffer
24th ID,
Ft Riley, KS
PS 621
41
PS 621
AUG 04
40
Sounding Off
about SINCGARS
Dear Editor,
A SINCGARS is made to operate up to 25 miles (or more) at 50 watts,
but many of them can’t communicate beyond a handful of miles.
Some of that loss comes from terrain or buildings in the signal path or
weather, but a lot of it comes from poorly maintained cables and antennas.
The RF cable that
runs from your antenna
to your RT takes quite
a beating. It’s exposed
to flying mud, rocks,
sticks
and
other
debris. In addition, this
cable is asked to han-
dle all types of weather.
It’s a protected cable,
but it really wasn’t
designed to handle the
weather and the beat-
ing it takes.
This abuse drastical-
ly degrades the cable’s
electrical performance.
A new cable should have
less than one watt of
loss. Some “in use”
cables that we tested
had eight watts of loss
or more!
Cable
takes a
beating
Check BNC
connector
and tighten
Dirt can degrade
your antenna
Look for
metal-to-
metal
corrosion
(Editor’s note:
CW4 Nidiffer has been in the
radio business since 1967 and he knows his
stuff! We can only add you need to get out of
the motor pool and give yourself some dis-
tance to do a radio test. In the motor pool, if
you up the power enough, you almost always
can get a good check. But with a 20-mile sep-
aration out in the boonies, you’ll know
whether your radio is good to go or not.)
Jonesy’s
pretty
quiet up
there.
..
hey, is
this radio
working?
…I don’t
know if they
can hear me.
I repeat:
This is very
important. You
need to take
the next left
turn…
good
cables
and a good
antenna
mean
good
commo!
621. 40-41 (C)
7/3/04
1:54 PM
Page 1
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