The Frustrations Of Rural Internet AND Netflix

[Einthewoods]

I have Exede (now called Viasat) and have been pleased for the past 2 years I have had them

I also work from home and need very reliable good internet service. With that, I actually have two of their systems; one for work only and the other for the house use.

I almost never have an interruption in service. It has to get pretty stormy outside, maybe a couple times a year and only for a short time. The service is good enough for me to be connected to my work for everything I do including IP phone and full video conference calls.

Now, I don't think it is great for streaming Netflix just because you use up your data allowance quickly. They recently came out with an unlimited plan though but it will cost you about $160 a month.

 

[Einthewoods]

I would suggest the RSP1A an SDR radio that runs with your PC USB cable and antenna is all that is required $119

For the SW discussion, if you are just wanting to get into it and dabble a bit to see if it is something you would like, I would recommend the following handheld SW radio. Especially if you have a repeater nearby. It is in the $60 range and will let you get your feet wet. It actually has a lot of good uses.

Radio: BaoFeng BF-F8HP

Repeater list: ARRD

 

[B7510HSD]

For the SW discussion, if you are just wanting to get into it and dabble a bit to see if it is something you would like, I would recommend the following handheld SW radio. Especially if you have a repeater nearby. It is in the $60 range and will let you get your feet wet. It actually has a lot of good uses.

Radio: BaoFeng BF-F8HP

Repeater list: ARRD

That is an actual transmitter also not very wide banded for SWL listening appears to be only UHF/VHF for SWL I reckoned broad banded the SDR will do AM,FM,SSB,CW in listening only and cover 1hz to 2ghz in spectrum

 

[Industrial Toys]

That weather information is really nice. It would be kind of cool if everyone had that.

I would like to put together a wired IP weather monitoring system but they are all wireless with only sampling of wind speed, not gust, so I am not interested in that.

 

[B7510HSD]

That weather information is really nice. It would be kind of cool if everyone had that.

I would like to put together a wired IP weather monitoring system but they are all wireless with only sampling of wind speed, not gust, so I am not interested in that.

The Davis model I have comes in a cabled version also.

 

[vvanders]

I feel impelled to warn those that are thinking about learning more about radio and experimenting with it. If you mess with it long enough you will be bitten by the bug, and then there is not much hope for you. As far as I know the thirst for more knowledge and "bigger and better" is incurable. I have had the "disease" since childhood, and I haven't been able to shake it. It died down some when I was getting a family settled in and all, but it always seems to return with more virulence than before. Good luck on your journey

Yeah, it's a pretty addictive hobby. I just started out with a VHF mobile for the long drives and somehow I ended up with a KX3 this year and been having a blast with it.

Ditto on the SDRs, all the downward pressure on cellphones and wifi means they've really made huge strides.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

consider going "state of the art". SDR is where it is at. Skip the last 100 years, and start fresh. Pretty cheap too.

RSP1A SDRplay

What kind of antenna does this require?

 

[B7510HSD]

Yeah, it's a pretty addictive hobby. I just started out with a VHF mobile for the long drives and somehow I ended up with a KX3 this year and been having a blast with it.

Ditto on the SDRs, all the downward pressure on cellphones and wifi means they've really made huge strides.

Howdy neighbor!!

 

[B7510HSD]

What kind of antenna does this require?

String up a simple piece of wire to start with doesn't take much!

 

[k0ua]

What kind of antenna does this require?

As complex or as simple as you want to start. Keep in mind the frequency coverage of this thing is HUGE. Almost DC to Daylight. So antenna designs would vary based upon the segments of the spectrum you want to focus on. What most people think of as Shortwave is the HF (High Frequency) part of the spectrum which runs from 3Mhz to 30 Mhz. A simple "longwire" strung up would get you started.

An 80 meter dipole would be great. Or an OCFD (Off Center Fed Dipole) for 80 meters like I have would cover the entire range. But you could get started with literally just a piece of wire. Remember this "antenna" thing gets intense as you learn more. The more knowledge you have, the more you will want.

Keep in mind the antenna port on this reciever is an SMA, which is a very small microwave type of connector, you will want to buy a simple "pigtail" that will be SMA male on one end and something a little easier to work with like an SO239/PL259 on the other end. An SO239 is a typical large coax connector like you would find on a typical CB radio or Amateur radio product. These pigtails can be bought on Amazon for a few dollars.

For VHF (30 to 300Mhz) and above, you of course will want VHF types of antennas, usually vertically polarized such as a scanner antenna.

Keep in mind this radio will also cover the AM broadcast which is below the "shortwave" bands, in what is called the MF (Medium Frequency) area of the spectrum which is from 300khz to 3000khz) 3Mhz is equal to 3000khz. As you go lower in frequency full size antennas get longer. BUT there are many ways to skin that cat. If you don't have the real estate for full size antennas, don't despair.

As a reference a full size 80 meter dipole (3.5 Mhz) is approximately 136 foot from end to end, then insulated at the middle and few with either 50 or 75 ohm coaxial cable. (yes RG6 TV coax will easily do fine and is cheap.) On the other end of the HF spectrum a full size dipole for 10 meters or approximately 30Mhz is only 16 foot from end to end. The formula for a dipole is 468/Frequency in Megahertz will yield the full length of the dipole in feet.

Oh wow. look at that, we just introduced our first formula. Dang. I wrote a book, and you probably wanted a simple answer. Just a chunk of wire will get you started.

Amazon.com: sma to so239 adapter