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G4E05

AMATEUR RADIO PRACTICES · - Mobile and portable HF stations; alternative energy source operation

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Which of the following most limits an HF mobile installation?

  1. A"Picket fencing"
  2. BThe wire gauge of the DC power line to the transceiver
  3. CEfficiency of the electrically short antenna
  4. DFCC rules limiting mobile output power on the 75-meter band
Why A quarter wave on 75 meters is about 20 meters tall, so a mobile whip of 2-3 meters is a tiny fraction of a wavelength. Electrically short antennas have very low radiation resistance, and the loading coil, ground losses and vehicle body resistance eat most of the power as heat, so efficiency can be a few percent on the low bands. That antenna inefficiency, not the radio or the power feed, is what dominates HF mobile performance.
Watch out "Picket fencing" is the rapid flutter heard on VHF/UHF mobile signals as the vehicle moves through reflections, not an HF problem, and there is no FCC rule capping mobile output power on 75 meters.
Short antenna, short signal: mobile HF lives or dies on antenna efficiency.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
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The rest of G4E

  1. G4E01 What is the purpose of a capacitance hat on a mobile antenna?
  2. G4E02 What is the purpose of a corona ball on an HF mobile antenna?
  3. G4E03 Which of the following direct, fused power connections would be the best for a 100-watt HF mobile installatio…
  4. G4E04 Why should DC power for a 100-watt HF transceiver not be supplied by a vehicle's auxiliary power socket?
  5. G4E05 Which of the following most limits an HF mobile installation?
  6. G4E06 What is one disadvantage of using a shortened mobile antenna as opposed to a full-size antenna?
  7. G4E07 Which of the following may cause receive interference to an HF transceiver installed in a vehicle?
  8. G4E08 In what configuration are the individual cells in a solar panel connected together?
  9. G4E09 What is the approximate open-circuit voltage from a fully illuminated silicon photovoltaic cell?
  10. G4E10 Why should a series diode be connected between a solar panel and a storage battery that is being charged by t…
  11. G4E11 What precaution should be taken when connecting a solar panel to a lithium iron phosphate battery?
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