Re: Need some antenna advice (for my CM15A, of course)

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

You need 50-ohm coax (RG-58/U) for the lead-in. It's easy to find
pre-assembled in various lengths on the web. 25' lengths are common.

Location and orientation are important. I'd suggest on the main floor. Is
there a closet there you could use?

Proximity to a monitor is probably _not_ the problem but it wouldn't hurt to
move it away from the monitor to be sure.

"Michael G." <514mike@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Hi Dave,
>Thanks again for responding!
>
>Believe it or not, the unit worked WAY better last week.  Now it's just
>terrible.  I have a credit card controller right in front of me, and I
>am 2 feet from the antenna, yet unless I cup my hand around the
>controller, it just won't work.  When I switch housecodes, the
>controller registers well with my old Transceivers upstairs, though.
>
>My ActiveHawk PIR sensor is about 6 feet away, and it works
>sporadically.   Another Active Eye is in the room next to this one, and
>it seems to register only 50% of the time.
>
>Too weird.
>
>It isn't much better than the original antenna at all.  It was last
>week.  Maybe it is all about position.  Last week, it was "okay",
>meaning the 16-in-1 palmpads worked fine throughout all 3 stories of my
>house, but the thin controllers worked in 75% of places.  Not now,
>though.
>
>For the phasing, I used that 8 or so inches (I forget) of the RG62, 93
>Ohm Cable.  The one you recommend.  That is the same cable that I use
>from the unit to the antenna.  I used BNC Connectors, but they may not
>be the ultimate match in terms of Ohms, though.
>
>The cable does come out of the connectors very easily.  Although I have
>a great crimping tool for RJ6 Coax, these were all about trial and
>error.  What a messy project.
>
>I wonder if the connection between the stock while antenna cable and my
>connector has anything to do with the problem.  It seems like the
>connector is hanging by a thread.
>
>I did a test today, using a continuity tester.  I made sure that each
>pair of the screws on the antenna is indeed making contact with the
>CM15A.  Indeed, it is.  (That was a little disappointing, because I was
>hoping that would solve my problem).
>
>I wonder if part of the problem is simply where I have this antenna
>located.  I am in the basement, and it's right behind this massive
>22" CRT I am using to type this letter.  My two other transceivers
>are on my main level of the house, and those work with EVERY palmpad,
>active eye, eagle eye, and thin controller, anywhere and everywhere.
>
>I think I will have to somehow move this large antenna onto my main
>level, and straighten out the circles that look like warped eggplants
>now.
>
>I was hoping that I'd be okay with like this, in the basement.
>
>I was wondering - If I wanted to run this antenna up to the next
>floor of my house, I will certainly need a longer cable.
>
>Was I correct in using RG62/U for the main wire, too?  I do have 100"
>of RG6 cable here.  Could I make an extension from one to the other?
>
>This is quite strange...!
>
>MG