Wyoming B.S. Thread

Next you'll be wearing pocket protectors.

 

Yeah 2m is usually better.

The cable antenna works very well. Still need to tune it but is an easy option for a longer range antenna. Though idk if you'd get that kind of range really with 2m. Usually to get multiple state or countries you need 6m or higher.

Still pretty cool though all things considered

 

Mike, just wait for the retractable antenna to go up outside my apartment. They’ll never notice

 

@IDtrucks

Monte has given good advice, I'll throw my two cents in:

Simplex Frequencies (radio-radio) - Please don't just pick a random frequency and start using it. Frequencies require a certain "spacing" between them to prevent interference. You won't know if you're fouling up a repeater or public safety freq. Each state has a coordination group that assigns frequencies for different uses and deconflicts interference between frequencies. They reserve some frequencies for simplex use. Pick one of them and you know that won't be interfering with another system. These are HAM frequencies though and you need to be licensed to use them. A license free option is MURS, five frequencies in the VHF (151-151 MHz) range or GMRS in the UHF range (462 MHz)

I'm not sure what state your trip is in, but I'll give you the WY and ID lists of simplex freqs:
Wyoming:
146.400 146.475 146.550 147.435 147.510 147.585
146.415 146.490 146.565 147.450 147.525
146.430 146.505 146.580 147.465 147.540
146.445 146.520 146.595 147.480 147.555
146.460 146.535 147.420 147.495 147.570

Idaho:
146.400 146.500 147.400 147.500
146.420 146.520 147.420 147.520
146.440 146.540 147.440 147.540
146.560 147.460 147.560
146.480 146.580 147.480 147.580

MURS:
151.820
151.880
151.940
154.570
154.600

GMRS:
462.5500
462.5750
462.6000
462.6250
462.6500
462.6750
462.7000
462.7250

 

Repeaters - Program them in, but don't count on them being that useful. You need to get on and spend some time monitoring the repeater to see if anyone is even using it before relying on it in a emergency. In Lander there is a repeater by the airport and a couple in Riverton that I can hit from my house. In the year that I've been monitoring them I've heard 2 conversations. Maybe there is someone who has it on and would help if you called, but I wouldn't count on it.

Public Safety / SAR - Most of the public safety, law enforcement, fire etc. have moved to Digital/Trunked radios. They're a whole different animal and you won't be able to monitor or talk to with them on a normal HAM radio. The National SAR (NASAR) frequency is 155.160. I'm not sure how useful it would be though. For our team (Lander, Fremont County) we primarily use Sheriff Dept (Digital) radios for team-dispatch communications if we're in range of the towers. For backcountry communications we've moved exclusively to inReach Satellite messenger systems. The only time we use our NASAR radios is a big search where there are lots of teams out (team-team) or local area (top to bottom of a cliff) during a technical rescue.

You know your group and your trip, but I would only plan on using the radios for short range comms within the group and make sure someone had a satellite device (inReach/SPOT/Sat Phone) to call the cavalry if someone has a serious emergency...

 

Do you have cedar mountain repeater? Should be able to hit that. It's on top of cedar mountain above the wind river canyon. It's looped into our repeater network. People talk on it all the time.

 

Copper Mountain? I've got it, but I'm using a little Baofeng handheld with a hacked-up DIY 2m antenna. I can receive Copper Mtn, but at 5W I don't have enough a$$ to transmit from the house. I can usually hit it mobile once I get north of Riverton. I've monitored the Big Horn Basin linked system when I'm driving up to MT, usually some traffic on there.

Interesting Map of Wyoming Repeaters

 

@Blackdawg

Have you gotten onto the Montana Repeater Link Association system yet?
http://www.wr7mt.club/locations-map.html

It is a linked system that runs from Billings up to Great Falls along I-90 and I-15. It was fairly quiet, but sometimes you could get someone to talk. There was one of the Bozeman repeaters, I forget if it was on the MRLA or not, that you could manually link to the Intermountain Intertie out of Salt Lake and could (theoretically) be talking from the Canadian border at Sweetgrass, MT all the way into NV and AZ.

 

These are perfect! Exactly what I was looking for! Ya thats exactly what I was trying to figure out, I was reading lists and lists of designated frequencies and I didnt want to just "pick one" that I didn't see on a list. Having that list of simplex frequencies for idaho and wyoming is perfect (where almost all of my back country skiing is done). I'll program in the gmrs/gmurs frequencies as well.

I totally understand what you're saying about the repeaters and people may not be listening. I will of course not rely on them for emergency situations. its just good to have as an extra back up. But exactly what you are saying about using them for short range comms, thats the exact purpose. Its just good to know what else is around me and what options capabilities we have with them as well.

 

The freq lists are kind of hard to find, which makes it a pain to find an "acceptable" freq. 146.520 is always safe, it is the "national simplex" freq. Wouldn't be a problem for backcountry use, but might be an issue for convoying since it is suppose to be a "make contact and move off" freq.

Something to monitor to see if you've got your freq programmed right and how active the local HAM club and repeater are:
The Jackson Hole Area Amateur Radio Club hosts a Net every Monday evening at 8:00 PM on the Teton Amateur Radio Repeater Association's repeater in Jackson Hole. The TARRA repeater operates on 146.73 MHz with a minus 600 KHz offset and uses a 123.0 Hz PL tone.

 

Yup! I saw that when I was looking for local repeaters. We’re going to try and get the radios programmed before the weekend, and I’ll get that one in and see if I can listen in if I did it right

 

I spent 3 hours trying to make a map that should take 30 minutes . This is going to be a long winter working on gov computers .

 

yesterday I took the truck to get an allignment and the tires put on over lunch. 2 hours later I ask what's going on and let them know I need to get back to work. The damn mechanic stripped my camber bolt and replaced it with a grade 8 bolt to get me around until one shows up.

I can barely turn now because my passenger front tire was moved back and it rubs like crazy.

I have the worse luck with trucks.

 

hope they ordered an OEM bolt. The Moog ones are terrible.

Tell them you need more positive castor.

Shitty deal..

 

Which UCAs do you have? I can't remember. Are they stock?

 

Stock, but I have the ones I bought from Marc (Blanking on the brand) like two years ago that will be put on in a few months (finally).

 

Getting enough caster can be a challenge after we add lift to our IFS. And alignment techs sometimes have to be 'managed' to be able to get what you need. Because of this I usually lead them to exactly what I want. I ask for as must caster as possible without compromising camber and toe. Ideally you want 0* of toe, 0* of camber and +2.5* of caster.

Most aftermarket UCAs dial in an additional 2* of caster. Installing the UCAs you got from Marc will likely help immensely in how the truck drives and wheel clearance in the pinch weld area.

 

Adding the UCAs will make the rubbing worse by moving the top of the spindle back.

I shoot for a degree of negative camber, which allows me to dial a little more caster in the LCA cams and helps in the corners.

BTW @SconnieHailer I still owe you a beer or $5 or whatever it was for that bet about camber.

 

What?

I thought UCAs added positive Castor...which is pushing the top of the spindle forward..thus the snap to center tracking..