Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

Most simplex (radio to radio) communication is on VHF for offroad. Almost all offroad racing teams use VHF in the 151-155mhz range which is considered commerical band. All of the repeaters I use and have programmed in my radio are on VHF also. I would say over 50% of the ham repeaters are vhf, at least in the areas i have been and travel to frequently.

You don't have to mount an antenna on your roof. A lot of guys mount theirs by the tailgate or on the hood. The center of your roof is the best location for having a solid ground plane. But it is necessary to mount it there.

 

Is VHF 2m? I was considering mounting an antenna on the rear corner of the bed or on a ditch light bracket. The size of the antenna will most likely dictate that decision.

 

2M is 146mhz, which is in the VHF band. You have plenty of options to go with. I am sure other guys will chime in to help soon. Do your research, read the ARRL ham test book for your technician license and join some ham forums. eham.net and QRZ.com are good ones to start with. And youtube has some great videos. Dave Cassler is an absolute legend on youtube for any new comers to the ham world. He has hours of video to watch, and it helps a lot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEWmiMotimY&list=PL07A7D1C9D7BF7F48

Hope this helps! Don't let the tech talk and other stuff discourage your interest in the hobby. There are a lot of things you can take away from ham radio. There are a lot of directions you can go with this hobby. Many of the offroader hams, like the guys on this forum enjoy emergency comms and survival type comms, like building "Go-kits/bags/boxes"

 

Thanks! I am slightly overwhelmed with information right now. All the different terms for frequency ranges and bands are confusing.

 

@MatthewMay1 have you considered the FTM-100DR? Dual band, digital, and APRS modem built in.

http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=71-002024

I have that for my base unit and an FTM-400XDR that will be going in my Taco.

 

I have not. What is the benefit of digital? I'm sure better audio quality, but anything else? Built in GPS sounds kinds cool...

 

Waiting on a mic extension? Just make one, should be an RJ-11 (6 pin). You can use an RJ-45 coupler or end. I build mine, have an RJ-45 plug in the dash that runs to the head unit. That way I can easily pull it to hide it if parking somewhere shady.

 

I know some of you guys have MFJ diplexers. Looking at either comet or MFJ. Has anyone had any problems with theirs?

 

What exactly are you trying to setup? If you are running only 1 radio and a single antenna, you don't need a duplexer.

 

Running 2 antennas (one 70cm and one 2m) off one radio.

 

Just get a dual band antenna

 

a diplexer is usually used the other way. 2 transceivers into one antenna. An example would be a Yaesu 857D feeding an ATAS antenna. Plenty of great dual band antennas for 2M/70cm cheaper than the diplexer route.

 

I have a couple dual band antennas. My apologies, i get the dumb dumb of the day award. I just thinking about the setup late last night.

 

Next part done. Got the Hondo Garage mount in the mail today. took my Dremel and sanded out a small spot on top of the interior trim to pass the control head wire through. Still need to run the power lead, mic extension wire, and USB extension cable. Trying to keep it as clean as possible.

 

Finally made some contacts! Was starting to worry about issues in my set up as I was getting repeater responses but no actual person responses. But finally this morning made two solid contacts- one from great highway in Sf up to the Mt tam repeater in marin- about 12 miles as a crow flies. Said I was coming in loud and clear. Had the baofeng f9v2+ set on high so likely somewhere between 5-8watts

Definitely realizing the limits of a "mobile" ht set up. Really need a clear line of sight to tx out. I think I may need to open up the mic hole in the baofeng handset as well. The external comet antenna seems to do a good job of picking up Rx.

Going to continue to run this set up for a few weeks but already thinking about a proper mobile set up

Looking at the ICom id-880h and the Yaesu ftm-100dr - I like the look and face plate of the ICom - the the Yaesu includes gps- biggest draw back of both is the single receive - can only listen to one channel at a time. The baofeng has a smart monitor that lets you listen to both a and b channels at the same time. I don't think I need a full dual transceiver radio but dual monitor might be nice


Question for those running proper mobile set usps- how much of a difference does power output make - ie 10/15 watts vs 50 watts for a less then ideal line of sight?

 

A lot. My 2 meter rig ICOM 2300h puts out 65 watts.

 

I'm looking into that FTM100DR also. From what I understand, you can't listen to two frequencies at the same time continuously, but it will instead flip back and forth every so many seconds and check on your frequency in the standby. Someone correct me if that's wrong

 

You are correct it is called "dual watch". I run one as my base station and just finished installing an FTM-400XDR today. The 400 is great if you can swing the extra and need to monitor 2 frequencies at the same time. Can't really go wrong with the 100 though. It is a solid rig.

 

The 400 is definitely out the head is too big...

The better half is away in a few weeks, might need to sneak over to HRO in Oakland and check a few out

 

OK wont post all the details here but just finished the install of my FTM-400XDR today. Here is a link to the thread.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/luckys-new-comms-ham-radio-install-pic-heavy.473757/