What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)

[Curious Hound]

I agree that ... you can’t change... a lot of noise ...yet. I think it is better... being focused ...left.

Ideally, ... you already know the group at large. I view a bandaid for a problem... prevents ...a better approach.

Filter applied.

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

I agree that filters are a fix for and issue. I view them as a fix for something you can’t change. I had to do that for the fuel pump in the 2011 since I can’t change the system and it was broadcasting a lot of noise in the CB band.

For antenna location on antennas not installed yet. I think it is better to locate the antennas where such issues aren’t a problem. Taking in things like transmission being focused in a particular location due to antenna placement. ie, if an antenna is mounted on the right, rear of a vehicle, transmission peak output would be to the forward, left.

Ideally, the best place to mount an antenna in the center of the roof for best reception and transmission all around the vehicle. Since there are multiple antennas involved, this is bot possible and compromises must be made. Much or all of this, I’m guessing you already know but the group at large may not.

In any case, I view filters as a bandaid for a problem. Mainly for something you can’t change.

Planning a good antenna location that, at least in theory, prevents the need for filters is a better approach.

Where would a guy go to locate these filters?

 

[Blmpkn]

Been driving my truck like a complete grandma since Friday when I filled up, to see what effect it would have on economy.

Last 4500 miles I averaged low 17mpg.

By pretending there's an egg between my foot and the go pedal while accelerating, and driving in a manner so the truck will shift before 2k rpm I've managed to get up to 20.1

Not too bad, I suppose.. works out to an extra 51 miles a tank.

I've only been using about a half tank a week since we moved though.. so over the course of a month Id only save like.. what.. 25$?

Not sure if 25$ is worth the hassle.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Been driving my truck like a complete grandma since Friday when I filled up, to see what effect it would have on economy.

Last 4500 miles I averaged low 17mpg.

By pretending there's an egg between my foot and the go pedal while accelerating, and driving in a manner so the truck will shift before 2k rpm I've managed to get up to 20.1

Not too bad, I suppose.. works out to an extra 51 miles a tank.

I've only been using about a half tank a week since we moved though.. so over the course of a month Id only save like.. what.. 25$?

Not sure if 25$ is worth the hassle.

Pennies make dollars...or something to that effect. If you can also save an extra $25/month in other areas it will add up quick. Dont buy coffee and donuts....
Throw all your change into a piggy bank everyday...
I regularly get over $1,000.00/year out of my piggy bank. And I'm not rich.

 

[Blmpkn]

Pennies make dollars...or something to that effect. If you can also save an extra $25/month in other areas it will add up quick. Dont buy coffee and donuts....
Throw all your change into a piggy bank everyday...
I regularly get over $1,000.00/year out of my piggy bank. And I'm not rich.

It does add up, thats for sure. Bolstering my savings is something I need to start focusing on too honestly.. I've been making decent wages for too long to have this little money lol.

 

[sgtsandman]

Where would a guy go to locate these filters?

It depends on what you are able to install a filter on and what you are trying to effect. Some could go on the antenna line for the radio being effected, some can go on the offending radio in some way. It's generally better to go after the source than the receiver. But that can be more difficult and you risk limiting the output capabilities of the offending radio in a negative way.

Like the example I gave when replying to Bill, the filter when on the power and ground wires for the fuel pump. As close to the fuel pump as I could get them. That required cutting and splicing the wire harness to do it. Before that, I thought it was an issue being fed through the power supply wire for the radio itself. So, I installed a filter there since that was the first thing recommended for noise elimination not related to the alternator. That didn't work but the filter for the fuel pump did.

So, Bill isn't wrong at all. I just disagree with his approach. But sometimes you don't have any options but to go with a filter either. From what I remember you saying about the radios you want to install, I thing antenna spacing would be better. I'll need to go back to your original question and see if I can expand better.

EDIT: Marine Radio, CB, and Garmin GPS antennas....

Looking at the frequencies for Marine Radios and GPS receivers, I don't think there will be much of an issue.

Marine: 156.050 - 162.000
GPS: 1176.45, 1227.6, & 1575.42 MHz
CB: 26.9650 - 27.40500

For highway use, the best location for a CB antenna other on the center of your roof is on the right, rear of the vehicle so that that strongest signal lobe is broad cast in the direction of oncoming traffic where much of the information you are looking for would be coming from.

You might want to reserve the center roof location for the marine radio since there would be more variability on where the boat(s) you are communicating with might be.

GPS, it really doesn't matter as long as it is in the center of the horizontal panel it's being mounted on free of metal obstructions. The dashboard is fine as well. That is where I have mine.

EDIT #2: After all that, I realized that you might be asking about where to buy them. There are a number of different places you can buy different filters as long as you know what you are looking for. Amazon, DX Engineering, etc.

 

[sgtsandman]

Filter applied.

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

It depends on what you are able to install a filter on and what you are trying to effect. Some could go on the antenna line for the radio being effected, some can go on the offending radio in some way. It's generally better to go after the source than the receiver. But that can be more difficult and you risk limiting the output capabilities of the offending radio in a negative way.

Like the example I gave when replying to Bill, the filter when on the power and ground wires for the fuel pump. As close to the fuel pump as I could get them. That required cutting and splicing the wire harness to do it. Before that, I thought it was an issue being fed through the power supply wire for the radio itself. So, I installed a filter there since that was the first thing recommended for noise elimination not related to the alternator. That didn't work but the filter for the fuel pump did.

So, Bill isn't wrong at all. I just disagree with his approach. But sometimes you don't have any options but to go with a filter either. From what I remember you saying about the radios you want to install, I thing antenna spacing would be better. I'll need to go back to your original question and see if I can expand better.

EDIT: Marine Radio, CB, and Garmin GPS antennas....

Looking at the frequencies for Marine Radios and GPS receivers, I don't think there will be much of an issue.

Marine: 156.050 - 162.000
GPS: 1176.45, 1227.6, & 1575.42 MHz
CB: 26.9650 - 27.40500

For highway use, the best location for a CB antenna other on the center of your roof is on the right, rear of the vehicle so that that strongest signal lobe is broad cast in the direction of oncoming traffic where much of the information you are looking for would be coming from.

You might want to reserve the center roof location for the marine radio since there would be more variability on where the boat(s) you are communicating with might be.

GPS, it really doesn't matter as long as it is in the center of the horizontal panel it's being mounted on free of metal obstructions. The dashboard is fine as well. That is where I have mine.

EDIT #2: After all that, I realized that you might be asking about where to buy them. There are a number of different places you can buy different filters as long as you know what you are looking for. Amazon, DX Engineering, etc.

That helps a lot, thank you!
So my GPS antenna is for tracking gps dog collars in the mountains. If I can eliminate any interference then that may be the difference between finding a lost dog or not finding it. The marine radio is how we communicate in the mountains because its range is significantly more than CB radio. But I will have a CB also.

 

[sgtsandman]

That helps a lot, thank you!
So my GPS antenna is for tracking gps dog collars in the mountains. If I can eliminate any interference then that may be the difference between finding a lost dog or not finding it. The marine radio is how we communicate in the mountains because its range is significantly more than CB radio. But I will have a CB also.

Communication in the mountains or hilly territory is spotty depending on where everyone is. Hill top to hill top is great. Both somewhere in the same valley, usually good. On the other side of a mountain or hill. No good unless you have a repeater you can work with but will still be location dependent for both the transmitter and the receiver. The state of the vegetation is going to play a big role too. I've been in situations where there shouldn't have been a communication problem but there was because of all the trees between me and the person I was trying to communicate with only about a mile away up on a hill in a direct line of sight (if there weren't any trees).

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

Communication in the mountains or hilly territory is spotty depending on where everyone is. Hill top to hill top is great. Both somewhere in the same valley, usually good. On the other side of a mountain or hill. No good unless you have a repeater you can work with but will still be location dependent for both the transmitter and the receiver. The state of the vegetation is going to play a big role too. I've been in situations where there shouldn't have been a communication problem but there was because of all the trees between me and the person I was trying to communicate with only about a mile away up on a hill in a direct line of sight (if there weren't any trees).

I have quite a bit of experience using hand held radios and mobile radios that use repeaters. I don’t know anything about working on them though.

 

[sgtsandman]

I have quite a bit of experience using hand held radios and mobile radios that use repeaters. I don’t know anything about working on them though.

It depends on the radio. Some can be programmed via the key pad on the radio, others need to be programmed with software. Some radios are easier than others to program. I'm not sure I have the quad ban set up right. I need to work on that. The handheld works fine.

 

[Bill]

Communication in the mountains or hilly territory is spotty depending on where everyone is. Hill top to hill top is great. Both somewhere in the same valley, usually good. On the other side of a mountain or hill. No good unless you have a repeater you can work with but will still be location dependent for both the transmitter and the receiver. The state of the vegetation is going to play a big role too. I've been in situations where there shouldn't have been a communication problem but there was because of all the trees between me and the person I was trying to communicate with only about a mile away up on a hill in a direct line of sight (if there weren't any trees).

Vegetation can attenuate UHF. It isn't too bad on 2 meters. Vegetation type and moisture content also have an effect. The vegetation here doesn't have a high moisture content, and once you get above about 2,000 ft in elevation, the vegetation is dominated by pines, incense cedar, and fir. Conifers don't appear to have as much of an impact as broadleaf vegetation, but I could be wrong. 6 meters does OK over hilly terrain as long as you aren't at the bottom of a deep or narrow canyon. HF is even better. Over here most of the highways run parallel to and nearly at the top of most canyons. That, combines with the numerous repeaters on mountaintops, make VHF coverage OK in most places. The canyons along the west slope of the Sierra Nevada are also open towards a west or southwesterly direction, which provides good access to quite a few repeaters in the coast ranges.

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

It depends on the radio. Some can be programmed via the key pad on the radio, others need to be programmed with software. Some radios are easier than others to program. I'm not sure I have the quad ban set up right. I need to work on that. The handheld works fine.

Yep we use BK’s at work. They’re surprisingly effective.

Vegetation can attenuate UHF. It isn't too bad on 2 meters. Vegetation type and moisture content also have an effect. The vegetation here doesn't have a high moisture content, and once you get above about 2,000 ft in elevation, the vegetation is dominated by pines, incense cedar, and fir. Conifers don't appear to have as much of an impact as broadleaf vegetation, but I could be wrong. 6 meters does OK over hilly terrain as long as you aren't at the bottom of a deep or narrow canyon. HF is even better. Over here most of the highways run parallel to and nearly at the top of most canyons. That, combines with the numerous repeaters on mountaintops, make VHF coverage OK in most places. The canyons along the west slope of the Sierra Nevada are also open towards a west or southwesterly direction, which provides good access to quite a few repeaters in the coast ranges.

I’m constantly back and forth from California to NV so I travel through a lot of the same country.

 

[Isk Stark]

Took out the AC system. Working on taking out the heater core assembly behind the dash. Can't seem to find the last nut on the firewall that is holding the heater core to the firewall. Blower motor in the engine bay is removed, though.

 

[AgPete139]

I started her up and ran her for at idle for 15 minutes. She doesn't get to go out much, and her tires are low. The stuff inside the cabin remind me of the last few items I had to remove from my parents' house after they passed 2 years ago.

Connected battery. Still cranked on the long first try.

Took out the AC system. Working on taking out the heater core assembly behind the dash. Can't seem to find the last nut on the firewall that is holding the heater core to the firewall. Blower motor in the engine bay is removed, though.

Congratulations, man. It's a victory.