Has anyone successfully used a longer antenna cable with the PM2's? If so, I'm looking for details. Type of cable, custom made, home made, etc. I've been kicking around the idea of a cable maybe 15' long to allow you to get above some of the shorter canopy for static observations. I don't know if the signal would degrade too much or not.
Works fine.
I carry a 3 foot extension and a 12 foot extension.
Have used both sucessfully.
TNC-TNC(or is it BNC-BNC?)
MAKE sure you use new, good, batteries.
John, what type of cable are you using? I'm looking at RG58 but don't know if it is adequate.
I use 58, but go here for a better idea.
http://home-2.worldonline.nl/~samsvl/cabloss.htm
Thanks John. Thats exactly what I needed to know.
ditto John. Seems to work ok.
Just for your info, we have been running the external battery packs with 6 2300 Ah Ni-MH batteries. Even in the cold weather, we can usually get at least 2 days of use before recharging. We didn't have much luck with the internal batteries lasting very long when it's cold. Recharging is a bit of a pain, but we feel that it's worth the effort to insure no shutdowns in the middle of a session.
You can buy the rg58 cable by the foot and the tnc connectors( one male, one female) at Radio Shack.
I have used extensions (combined with the original cable) up to 20 feet.
I have not found any problems (I use new batteries).
At the beginning, I installed one unit with the extension and the other with the original cable on the initialization bar a third unit on a control station. I found no difference in the files when I processed in Solutions.
Modified By Luis Feliciano on 3/2/2005 at 6:46 PM
Call Mike Stitt in Michigan, he'll make you a custom PM2 cable any length you want. (248) 681-3482
One of the Ashtech support people told me about him. He makes a great cable.
The easiest way is to have him make you an extension cable, TNC-Male to TNC-Female, then plug it into your regular PM2 cable.
we use a standard 2 meter gps cable and a basic tnc connector from radio shack that connects to the stock PM2 antenna cable for an extender. works well, and have not noticed (when we've used it) any increase in noise due to the connector.
We regularly use 20ft extension, RG58.
Never any hint of a problem, nor has it seemed to affect battery life.
-Barry