Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

Any one have a good site for how to properly guy your antenna. I know the absolute best is to go out the same distance as how high the guy wire is, but I also know there are some math calculations for moving the ground point in.

Please keep in mind that I haven't guided an antenna since I was in the Army (a long time ago) and we went out the distance of the cable, which was precut to the right distance. I am sure they taught me the formula back then, but I was like... "the wire is precut, why the hell do I need to know this!"

 

Great writeup, thought I would bring this over here and share it.

Original article can be found at http://www.4x4ham.com/content.php?297-Ham-radio-antenna-mounting-for-2004-Tacoma&

 

Try the Rhon tower site I think they have a diagram.







ry the

 

N6EAJ. I use a FT-8800 in my 1st gen Tacoma with a Diamond NR-73BNMO antenna. I mostly use it to rag chew on the way into work, but occasionally get out to the desert and it is great for communicating with a group.



Matt

 

Damn. that is a clean truck!! Nice setup.

edit: What are the switches for? above the mic & below the radios by the usb charger.

 

Update on my project:

I got a used Diamond x50a with 30' of coax, a 8' steel pole and folding tripod... all for a smoking deal.

I will use it as is until I get my new fiberglass telescoping poles. Need a few more pennies in the piggy first.

plan to build the drive-on mount and hitch mount.

Started building a case for the antenna, got 2" pvc and put screw caps on either end. It fits, with only half an inch to spare with the tailgate closed (running directly front to back). Going to paint it, then put a pad at one end of it (reduce shock when loading antenna). Need to make a bag for the ground rods and mounting hardware.Should all store nice and safe on the trail and in the garage.

Ordered the mounting bracket for the face plate from Yaesu (back ordered). Only $3, order two just in case.

Still need a speaker... anyone have a small one they want to donate to my project?

Found a flexable mounting rod sitting in the garage, going to mount the face plate and speaker to the rod and then it to the trak system in the bed.

This should give me a kick-ass field setup for working events.

Pics will come later.

 

To the right of the USB charger is the level control for my subwoofer amplifier. Before the new stereo, the furthest right button changed between turn signal modes on my corner lights (kind of a long story ). I replaced that stereo with a different stereo that had a backup camera input so I made that same button turn on my backup camera so I can see what is behind me even if I am not in reverse. A more recent picture.


The switch above the microphone..... that is my super secret switch.
Getting back to ham radio stuff..... the brawn of the FT-8800 is mounted behind the rear seat.



Matt

 

How do you like that stereo? How is the glare?

I have been thinking of upgrading my stereo and about adding a backup camera, but not a huge fan of the video display in the mirror types? The glare on my Kenwood is killing me.


And back to ham...
What antenna do you have and where is it mounted?

 

I like the stereo mostly because I really like having a backup camera that doesn't need a separate display and I like having the album art displayed. It is the KIV-701 with the Bluetooth module plugged in. It doesn't have a CD player. I have a 32GB memory card plugged in. I also like that the memory card plugs into a cable so you don't have a card or thumb drive sticking out the front of the radio waiting to be broken off. With a iDevice, navigation and cover art is a breeze. It takes a lot of conforming to get the album art to show off a memory card (only supports cover art from MP3s, can't be too large of file, and the image has to be JPG). I think the KIV-701 is discontinued, but the KIV-901 is still sold.
Normally glare isn't a problem, but if the sun is just wrong it can be hard to see the album art. The display is big enough that I can normally see necessary info.

The antenna is a Diamond NR-73BNMO and I have it mounted on the driver's side rear corner of the bed. I would like to have it on top of the cab for the best radiation pattern, but I would have to remove it or fold it over every time I went in and out of the garage and I am just too lazy for that.

 

I would not get too concerned with the pattern I really doubt that you could measure the difference. Mine is also mounted there I would prefer to just break the antenna instead of yanking it out of the roof and having to repair that too. The loading twist in that type of antenna gets caught in things pretty quick. The antenna I have mounted back there is a 3 band antenna it's 61" long and I have broken it twice on trees. The HF antenna on the other side is low enough that only the whip hits the trees I have to fold the 3 band down the remove the HF whip to get into the garage.

 

I took heat shrink and put it on the loading twist, to prevent it from getting caught on anything.

 

Taking my Technician Test tomorrow morning, any advice on the Test?

 

you know it, you got it. Its easy if you read the manual. dont freak out. Ask for your general afterwards. Its easy too.





You got this

 

Thanks for the confidence boost.

 

How did it go?

I passed the Extra this morning.

 

Congrats!

 

I also passed this morning. Congrats for passing the Extra.

 

Congrats!!! Thanks!!

 

Just received my Callsign: KK6ONT

I guess I should stop dragging my feet and go buy a radio.

 

Congratulations to both you and JackDaRiffer
If you are looking for VHF/UHF without spending a bunch, the Baofeng UV5R is a heck of a deal. An external antenna can really make the 5W go a long ways. I bought one as a backup/loaner radio a year ago for $44. I see they can now be had for $33 and free two day shipping if you do Amazon Prime.
http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV5RA-136-174-Dual-Band-Transceiver/dp/B009MAKWC0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1408424027&sr=1-1&keywords=baofeng

I used my VX-7R (handie talkie) in my truck with an external antenna for a few years before going to a dedicated mobile radio. It is nice having a mobile radio always hooked up in the truck, but the $$ investment is a lot more.

Matt