Well, I've been trying to figure out a way to get an indoor   
   rig going for a low price. My wife has had some medical   
   issues, so money IS an object right now. I could spend   
   close to $1000 and just buy a 2m/440 rig for indoor, buy   
   a tower & antenna, and pay someone to hook it up.   
      
   That being said, I don't NEED to spend $1,000. :-)   
      
   So I've been looking into alternatives - thought about   
   building a J-Pole - had someone share an indoor antenna   
   plan at a recent local meeting - had someone else tell   
   me a Diamond 50 was the best thing to do.   
      
   When it was all said and done, I went back to an earlier   
   solution - tested it late last night - pleased with it!   
      
   Okay - stopped at this point and typed this a blog post.   
   Going to paste here - or you can read at the following link.   
      
   http://jimmylogan.blogspot.com/2017/04/indoor-antenna.html   
      
      
   Hey folks! Yep, been a LONG time since I've posted here. Just been spending my   
   time on other things...   
      
   Woke up this morning early and Vanessa is still resting, so I thought I'd pop   
   on here and post. Hopefully will feel good to get some words down, me being the   
   communicator that I am.   
      
   I was doing a BBS mail run just now and was typing a fairly long post about an   
   indoor antenna test I did last night and thought I'd make a blog post out of it   
   too...   
      
   To go back in time, so to speak, before Vanessa and I bought our mobile rigs,   
   we were using her HT's that she uses for Fire Department use. Unable to   
   broadcast very far at all, I bought a 'magnetic' base antenna online to pop on   
   the roof and use the HT (handheld transceiver) in the truck. I was able to hit   
   the main 'local repeater' from Dyersburg regularly. I think I remember hitting   
   the Ripley repeater too...   
      
   So, that one had a wire break, so it got set aside. $30 for an antenna and it   
   not last? No thank you!   
      
   We went to the Huntsville Hamfest and Diamond Antenna had a booth. I mentioned   
   it to them and they said "Lifetime Warranty" and send it back. Meanwhile, we   
   bought matching mobile rigs - Diamond 770 antennas - Diamond antenna mounts, so   
   it wasn't really needed. I did send it back for a replacement, but it just sat   
   here for a long time.   
      
   Fast forward a bit... Vanessa and I have been to Skywarn classes and are   
   interested in weather spotting / storm chasing. This is great when we're in the   
   truck - 50 watts - can hear and hit MILES away - but not so great in the house.   
   Not having hundreds of dollars to spend on an indoor rig, antenna, tower or   
   mast, etc. I started looking at alternatives.    
      
   A local HAM in the local club gave me some suggestions to try and an offer to   
   help. Another user shared his plans for an indoor antenna I can build for less   
   than $20 using copper tubing. Haven't done more than read through the plans.   
      
   So a few days ago I remembered this little mag mount that did so good on the   
   truck. Last night I connected it to the HT and activated the repeater at Spring   
   Hill. I've activated it before, but so far so good. I called out for a quick   
   check and BOOM - got an immediate reply! Was reported as great signal strength   
   & clarity!   
      
   Popped over to a further repeater that I've never been able to activate at all   
   from the handheld - got the response tone right away but didn't call CQ since   
   it was late. Bottom line - success!   
      
   The Spring Hill repeater is the local one for weather. There's one in Union   
   City that I want to try - the next two are Jackson then two in Jonesboro. Not   
   sure if they will connect, but from home the Spring Hill one is the primary   
   one.   
      
   By the way - the antenna is a Diamond MR73.   
      
      
      
      
      
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