[Kenwood] HTs and metal siding

Mon, 7 Jul 2003 10:22:00 -0400

Don't feel bad, John. We had our wood-sided house fixed up with vinyl
siding. HT's did not exist back when we moved in, and the repeaters were
not around either, so I have no basis for comparing with what we now have
for siding. I thought it would be nicer to use vinyl than aluminum. Well,
the other day, having a rare clear thought, it dawned on me that the
entire house is now clad in vinyl, with a layer of insulating batting
which is *metallic* on one side, and the metal sections of it are not
"wired together" either. So much for not living in a metal covered house.
It is a miracle we don't receive radio stations with the insulation (sort
of like the tooth-filling reception phenomenon - rectification, to use a
delicate but suspicious term for it). Down in the basement, there is no
insulation around that.. just a couple feet of rotting rocks and mortar,
and dirt. When they put in the new furnace, I went down there and got
inside the enclosure, and on low power, inside a gutless metal furnace
under construction, I hit the weakest repeater in the area dead full
quieting using half a watt and a rubber duck on an old 2M ICOM IC-2AT. Go
figure. I don't use my IC-4AT much. Can't hit much of anything with it.
Seems it might be useful as a hammer for "hitting" things. Good thing this
area doesn't have hills any higher than they are... Then again, most
machines have tone access so maybe that is why I find the thing useless.
Gee, another lucid logical thought.. Basically, since our house also has
old metal venetian blinds (and central air conditioning on orders from my
cardiologist), this joint is pretty much RF-bulletproof (except in the
basement inside the furnace, a full metal jacket if ever I saw one).

73,
Fred NY2V

----- Original Message -----
Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2003 18:21:52 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Geiger <[email protected]>
To: [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]
Subject: [Kenwood] HTs and metal siding

I have lived in my present location for 2 years-a
house with steel siding.  I am sure that others live
in similar setups, with aluminum or steel siding, or
in metal trailers.  I am wondering how bad the metal
siding affects RF inside.  I wasn't too active on VHF
FM for 10 years before moving here, but now have
become much more active on the local repeater.  I seem
to have more problems than anyone else does getting
into the local repeaters with an HT.  There seems to
be spots in the house where I can't get in with 5
watts.  I have tried about every HT on the
market-Kenwood, Yaesu, Icom, with varying results.
Aftermarket antennas help to varying degrees also, but
there are still problems.  I also notice a decent
amount of fading at times on receiving the signals
from the repeater.  I know that our local repeater
isn't the greatest, but am wondering how much of the
problem is due to my QTH.  And no, I won't move
because I have an awesome house, and can't afford
vinal siding at this time.

Am I doomed to failure because of all of this steel?
I notice some problems on receive also.  I am
seriously considering going crossband repeat so I can
use the outside antennas with my FT100D.  The HT is
nice to be able to move around the house while QSOing,
instead of being tied to one spot in the shack.

I am interested in others' experiences in similar
setups.  Would UHF work better or worse than 2 meters?
 What else might help in such a situation?

73s John NE0P