On 14 Mar 2006 04:15:35 -0800, wrote:

Dear John,

Thank-you very much for your detailed reply.

Would the following kit be OK?
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...61&crit eria=
(or
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RG-58-50-Ohm-C...QQcmdZViewItem)
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...&doy=14m3&QV=P
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...&doy=14m3&QV=P
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?...YW04E&DOY=14m3

That Maplin site apparently (and hopefully, for your sake!) works better in the
UK than it does here in the USA. I was only able to get one of the four pages
you linked to loaded from here - the first one, showing the RG-213 coaxial
cable. This would probably be okay for a *very* short run, a few feet at best.
I'd recommend thicker and less lossy cable for anything longer than that.

It's difficult to be very specific from a few thousand miles away, but in
general: The longer the coaxial cable is, the more loss of signal will occur
between the radio and the antenna (aerial). This is why I recommended getting in
touch with some local hams - they can show up at your site and see the actaul
situation you're dealing with, and then tell you exactly what you need to avoid
having excessive feedline loss. I can't do that from here. Different grades of
cable have different amounts of loss. That one lonk looks like it's to RG-58U,
so I'll use that as an example - RG-58U would be fine on HF. On VHF, it's almost
certainly going to be very lossy unless your antenna is ten feet from the radio.

I notice that the ariel has a "PL259 plug fitted" ("Right-Angled UHF
Plug"). This looks fairly similar to what is actually on my radio - can
I just ask if you are sure the F-15 has a BCN connector [I can't find
the technical specs that tell me what it is, and I don't know the
difference!]

This one I can answer. The PL259 (and the female SO239 that mates with it)
thread together, you insert the PL259 into the SO239 and then turn the outer
sleeve on the PL259 several turns to tighten it on. With BNC connectors, you
push it in and give it about half a turn, and it's on. I looked at a picture of
the F-15 and it appeared to me to be a BNC, but in any event, if you have to
screw the thing on there it's probably a PL259, if a half-turn locks it in place
it's probably a BNC.

BTW it was a local radio enthusiast that I asked (member of RAYNET) but
I failed to get his contact details (it was a 2 minute conversation, in
between us both having to run to an emergency!).

OK, RAYNET is comparable to ARES here in the US. You might wish to visit the
following web page, find a RAYNET team in your area, and contact them for some
hands (and eyes)-on assistance. Any ham looking at your situation first hand can
give you a much better estimation of what's best for your particular situation
than I could possibly give you from here. :-)

http://www.raynet-uk.net/main/contact.asp

Or http://www.raynet-uk.net/main/zones.asp

John Kasupski, Tonawanda, New York
Amateur Radio (KC2HMZ), SWL/Scanner Monitoring (KNY2VS)
zIRC #monitor Admin
http://www.wzrd.com/~kc2hmz/
http://www.qsl.net/kc2fng/