Amateur Radio

[bmcutright]

Anybody have a spare factory roof rack I could pick up cheap? Thinking of drilling a hole to place a ham radio antenna, instead of drilling a hole in the roof. Would run the antenna wire down through the rear right door jamb then under the floor to the front radio console.

Looking to mount the radio underneath an aftermarket radio in the console, should work if the factory radio is full height and the AF and ham radios are half height.

1.5" cube speaker between radio stack and floor console, or should I run it through the comm radio?

DJThumper would know: I have a mobile 2m/70cm unit, what else should I put in?

 

[The_Roadie]

I have three 2m/70cm units. A Yaesu FT7800 with the head remoted to a bracket on the dash, and a couple of Baofeng UV-5R for when I leave the vehicle or want to give one to somebody else for emergencies.

I have a small cube speaker velcroed to the dash when I'm using the Yaesu.

I made my own roof rack and drilled the roof above the overhead console for the ham antenna and a CB.

K7WCC

 

[Lester Flatts]

What mount are you planning to use? I'd be concerned about not having a good ground plane by mounting on the rack. I'm currently installing a Kenwood TM-D710a in my '03 Envoy XL, and am planning on drilling the roof for the dual band antenna on an NMO mount.

The_Roadie, do you have any pics of your antenna install? Do you have two antennas mounted, or do you swap the VHF/UHF out for the CB depending on usage?

 

[The_Roadie]

I have two. An NMO for the 2m, and normal CB panel mount. Removed the overhead console and just drilled up in there. I have pictures of that process somewhere.

 

[Lester Flatts]

Thanks for the pic, you were working with very little real estate having the sunroof! I'm going to use the same Larsen dual bander. Looks good!

 

[djthumper]

I actually have 3 radios in my truck right now. I have a Kenwood TM-D710, an Icom IC- 2820H & and Icom IC-F1221 for LMR and GMRS operations for SaR. All of the radios are actually under the seats, The 710 under the passenger seat, the 2820 is where the On-Star would be and the 1221 is under the center of the seats. I also have a couple of external cube speakers on my dash right now. Until I get my light bar and decide it's location I have my antennas up there with mag-mounts.

I also have a couple of handhelds that I carry with me for when out of the vehicle. A laptop desk, with internet and a couple GPSes hooked up.

If you don't want to penetrate the roof I would actually get 1.5" wide C channel and run a wire with a good ground on it.

 

[bmcutright]

My plan was to mount my whole Yaesu FT7800 in the dash, instead of paying for the remote mount cable. CB sounds like a good idea too.

Lester, do you have anywhere I can look for information on grounding antennas? Haven't perm mounted an antenna on a car before. I don't have a center overhead console, and I really don't want to drop the ceiling. (Maybe once it begins to fall, like all GMs over 15 years old do, I'll get out the drill before fixing it.)

Roadie, how do you like your ScanGauge? I was thinking of getting either that or an ELM327 bluetooth OBDII device. I'd like to find a way to have a mounting bracket for my 7" tablet PC, then have the ELM327 feed to Torque, can use the tablet PC and my Verizon Mifi for Internet. The touchpad is a really nice idea, don't know if it'd work with an Android. And, did I read that right? You have a fridge in your truck?

Larry, is that c-channel mount similar to this? http://www.ebay.com/itm/CB-HAM-Radio-car-Mobile-Antenna-Trunk-LID-Hatchback-door-Mount-B200-Black-/181116992420
Also, what kind of lightbar are you looking at? With SAR in NV, what colors can you use? I was thinking of getting some e-lights for Skywarn/County EMA work, but I think I can only use amber/white in FL.

As far as GPS goes, I've switched from standalone devices to my phone and tablet PC.

 

[The_Roadie]

Love the scangauge, but that was before they had Torque for Android. I have both now. (not at the same time). Also own EFILive for the tablet PC so I can change by tune on the fly as well.

I have the Roadiemobile set up for long term expedition driving. Two can live out of it for a week.

Here's my build thread on ORTB: (not yet updated with the roof top tent. )
http://forums.offroadtb.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=202

 

[Lester Flatts]

Check out K0BG.com , it's a great resource for mobile installs. When you mentioned needing a roof rack, I pictured a clamp on mount on one of the plastic crossbars. You'll get the best RF ground with an NMO mount and drilling the roof, a good mag-mount would also be a good option. Some clamp mounts will work, but they need to make good contact with the body ground, not attached to the plastic covering on the rack.

I also have a Yaesu 7800, I made an extension cable for it with CAT-5 cabling. It's been a while, but I remember it being straightforward.

 

[bmcutright]

Probably go with mag mount or hood mount then, trying not to drill holes in it for now, taking down the ceiling seems like a PITA. I suppose when I meet BlckShdw, that'll go out the window. Seen too many half finished mods in high school I guess. Maybe once I get the loan paid off my mind will change.

 

[djthumper]

C Channel like this http://www.speedymetals.com/pc-3985-8211-12-x-1-12-x-18-channel-a-36-1020-hot-rolled-steel.aspx

 

[DJones]

I've got two radios. A Yaesu FTM-350 and a Yaesu FTM-400. I've got the 350's control head mounted with threaded rod between the front vents, and hope to do something with the 400 soon.

I only decided last week to mount my antenna on the roof with through-hole connectors... cables should be here by Friday.

My reasoning was that at 215K miles, I would hate to ever get rid of the TB with a clean roof knowing I could have had antennas up there. I'm actually really excited for my future changes and will post a thread in the coming weeks.

 

[The_Roadie]

Nothing says "I love this truck and till death do us part" like drilling holes in the roof.

 

[C-ya]

I use a mag mount 1/4 wave dual bander for my Yaesu FT-212RH. It is mounted vertically in my center console with an external cube speaker taking up the passenger side cup holder. When I want to use it, I pull the cable a little to stretch it over the console and close the lid. Works great that way. Usually just low power, so no real heat build up.

I also have a mag mount Wilson 1000. Best CB antenna I have ever used. I don't have a CB in the TB yet. I do throw one in on road trips and usually just grab the Little Wil, especially if it is the wife's car we're taking.

 

[gpking]

Sorry to hijack an old thread, but I have a hotly-debated antenna question.

Mine is a "death do us part" vehicle, but I park in a garage, so my overall height is restricted to 80".
I want to either do a 1/4 wave roof mount, or a taillight bracket mounted 5/8 wave (a flat bracket mounted like this).
What is my best option here for VHF performance? I live in the country and it is very flat.
My only consideration is the 80" garage door opening.

Would the optimal mounting of the 1/4 wave surpass the performance from the added length of the 5/8 wave?
Let me try and rationalize mounting based on what little I know about mobile antenna installs, correct me if I'm wrong here:

This diagram puts a rear-mounted antenna at -2.8dB, and a 5/8 wave is +3db.
Net gain: +0.2dB
Height: ~98", 37% of antenna *thwack* on the door.

The same diagram puts a roof-mounted antenna at unity gain, and a 1/4 wave is also unity gain.
Net gain: 0.0dB
Height: ~90", 52% of antenna *thwack* on the door.

Did I answer my own question or am I missing something?
Thanks!

 

[djthumper]

I actually run unity gain antennas around town since I have height restrictions getting into the parking garages.They run near the front half of the roof, on the TB in front of the front roof rack.

 

[gpking]

I've read that the 1/4 wave is better suited for around-town or mountain use due to gain antennas directing their signal more horizontally. I seldom see either condition, it is very flat here, so a gain antenna would probably better suit my conditions.

I see reviews online stating that a rear-mount 5/8 wave will perform just fine. So that is the solution I like better at this point due to being able to incorporate an antenna spring and the shaft itself will be able to flex more than a short antenna.

There's just a lot of misinformation and snake oil products online. I think I'll give a rear-mount 5/8 wave a try and see if I like it since it's the least intrusive method of install. I can always just put a CB antenna in its place if I can't get it tuned and performing well.

 

[djthumper]

The 5/8 wave doesn't need a ground but the problem you will have is that most of the antennas are base loaded so you will be blocking most of your transmission area. I have not seen a top loaded 2M antenna in a while so I don't know if there are many out there. If you are only running 2M a unity gain antenna is only about 19 1/4" and is very flexible.

Though it is fairly flat in Huntsville most of the repeaters and base stations will be up in the air, either on a tower or on the taller buildings. I see quit a few of the repeaters up on mountains around there. There are also quite a few 70cm repeaters in the area.

Don't forget to change your address for your license.

 

[gpking]

The 5/8 wave doesn't need a ground but the problem you will have is that most of the antennas are base loaded so you will be blocking most of your transmission area. I have not seen a top loaded 2M antenna in a while so I don't know if there are many out there. If you are only running 2M a unity gain antenna is only about 19 1/4" and is very flexible.

My concern with the 1/4 wave is purely durability. I am unsure how a shorter antenna will hold up from striking the door opening day after day.
I don't want to have to keep replacing caps/whips for the remainder of the year. Of course, I only have this rental garage for 11 more months, so this condition is not permanent.
I'll ask around at this week's meeting and see what others recommend.

Though it is fairly flat in Huntsville most of the repeaters and base stations will be up in the air, either on a tower or on the taller buildings. I see quit a few of the repeaters up on mountains around there. There are also quite a few 70cm repeaters in the area.

Our 2m repeater is 1000+ft above the city in Monte Sano, however, I live about 25 miles west of it outside the city limit. I can't even see the mountain on the horizon and I rarely venture into the city.
The repeaters for Skywarn and such are west of me, where it is also flat.
My primary concern is simplex, since many of our events involve simplex communications over long distances.

Don't forget to change your address for your license.

Thanks for the reminder, it's on my list. Along with my mailing address, vehicle registration, insurance, tags, etc, etc...

 

[djthumper]

I was thinking something like this that will take it. https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-000627 https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-000639

My Trailblazer would barely fit into your garage, even without the antenna. One of my antennas on the Silverado catches the garage at work and the minimum height is 7'