A bit of a story here but after you read it, maybe someone can make a
suggestion on the best way to approach this.


Currently, I have a 2-m collinear up 52 feet, fed with LMR-600 The rig is
a yaesu ft-2800m at 65 watts.
When I move to Richlands NC. I plan on moving it up to around 80 feet,
maybe higher if $$$ permits.
Right now, I can only get into the 146.820 when the band opens up. maybe
once a week .( I am pretty sure it is in Wilmington but the antenna on that
repeater is somewhere around 1,600 ft, or so they say) but it does cover the
richlands, Jacksonville area.
There is no way that I can get an antenna up high enough (after I move to
the new QTH, to any kind of line-of-site to any of the repeaters here, near
Charleston SC. However, the whitehall repeater is about 500ft and the
greeleyville repeater is up about 900ft.
What would you all do to increase your odds of getting into a reapeater at
that distance?

Just go as high as possible? add a yagi or stack some yagis?

Pray to the DX gods?

Any suggestions?

Thanks joe...

This is the problem I want to avoid, I could build my own but I do not
have
the time as in the next 6 months or so I will be moveing to NC and most
of
my time is used up in painting etc. the home I am in now, getting ready
to
sell it.
I need an antenna that can make contact with some of the repeartes here
in
SC. (as band conditions permit)
I can, at times, get into some of the NC repeaters on my coliner
vertical
at 50'. I was hopeing with a good beam at 70' (from NC) that I could
increase the odds...
Still looking for a good 2-m beam
Joe
You may regret the beam for repeater work. I live in the Greensboro
area and have found that even a tower mounted Ringo brings up too many
machines on a given frequency. Just about any tower mounted antenna
will work into the Mt Mitchell machine and there fore SC!

The real wonder of it all is so many repeaters and so little
activity...

John Ferrell W8CCW

What you are looking to do is more effected by antenna hiegth than gain. I
live on the NC/SC border and 25 watts into a vertical will get me full
quieting into most reapaters within my horizon,. more power or gain doesnt
help much. The Mt Mitchell Machine ROCKS. Was involved in a ragchew one
night with guys from 7 or 8 different states at least.