Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

Finally finished installing my kenwood into my taco. Homebrewed a head extender with some RJ45 and a female to female connector and it worked flawlessly as far as I can tell. Haven't done the same to the microphone since I read that it can cause some interference when you tx, plus the cord isn't short enough where I've got it to really warrant it yet. All said and done it was an easier install than I was expecting. Now I've just gotta pick up a cheaper swr meter and see if everything's lined up properly.

 

Hi everyone, KM6MKK here. Got my license last aug in san diego during my month of comm-based certifications. Looking forward to getting a tacoma hopefully soon so I can get it set up with a decent radio and antenna.

 

Welcome, there is a wealth of knowledge in this thread, so I'm sure you can find what you are looking for. If not ask away.

W1FOY

 

Thanks!

 

I've had my ham license for a few months now and I'm looking to upgrade to a nice mobile unit. I was wondering anyone can recommend a good radio. Preferably not too expensive and I like the radios with detachable faces.

 

Really like my tyt 9800 FWIW. Quad band with CB reception (not tx) can function as a crossband repeater.
Detachable face. Speaker is in the body though so depending where you mount it, you may want a remote speaker too. I got the amplified uniden and I can hear it at highway speeds with the windows down and the radio cranked

 

Link to that amplified speaker? I am looking for an external speaker for my radio.

 

Nice, I'll look into this. Where did you mount your radio?

 

Radio is under driver seat. Detachable face is under temp controls. I used a thin but stiff piece of metal. Popped out the temp controls and slid the metal below them. Speaker is occupying the left cupholder in front of the shifter (pulled the rubber square).
This install allows all wires to get tucked into the console with no drilling.

 

Uniden Communications Speaker (BC23A)

Uniden (BC23A) Bearcat 15-Watt Amplified External Communications Speaker. Durable Rugged Design, Perfect for Amplifying Uniden Scanners, CB Radios, and Other Communications Receivers. , Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009TNAGDA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_MQWOAb53003RD

The small phono plugs are bidirectional so I got a splitter and now cb, ham, and gps are all plugged in to the same speaker.

If you dont think you need amplified, I have the first one I tried. Just wasnt loud enough for me. Some radios put out more than others through the signal cable so amplification isnt always needed.

 

Does anyone know if they make a ham radio like this CB? Something where everything is built into the hand mic?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005N5WW/ref=twister_B00M53URDU?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

 

So can we talk about SATCOM for a second?

Especially in Utah with all the 2m and 70cm repeaters, etc would it offer me any sort of usefully additional capability, or would it fall more into the "expanded hobby" category?

Really, I just want a reason to put an X-Wing on my roof rack

 

Not really. There are a couple 10m units- which I believe are mostly modded to transmit on 11m CB bands (illegally).

I actually wish the opposite... I wish they made CB's with detachable face's like Ham radios... Ive got the face of my Yaesu 100dr up above my mirror, and the mic drops down between the seat and the center console when Im not using it and want it hidden, radio body is under the seat. It makes for a really clean hidden and functional install while still having a full screen. I was looking at nicer CB's, since everyone here in the NE seems to still be on CB for trail runs, and all the nice ones with SSB and what not are massive... I ended up going with the Uniden 760 (Similar to the Cobra 75- all in the mic) so that I could have an easy hidden install.

I think I big thing the Ham radios deal with is a ton more options and ability to do more with the radio and it's hard to put all that into a tiny mic screen - with that said handhelds do it...

What do you want the Ham for? If you just talking to buddies on the trail an handheld will do fine. If you want to reach out further and talk with repeaters and what not, possibly get into the APRS game, then your better off with a nice mobile and you'll want the full screen for it.

 

I really just want a mobile unit for the power. I have a CB in my truck so I can talk to people on the trails but I like the capabilities you have with a HAM.

 

More power for???

Just want to know where your coming from so we can direct you a bit better.

When I was in Cali most the Tacoma crew was swapping to ham so I went straight there, and then had a very active group of repeaters around me and my commute so I actually talked a fair amount on it, just to waste time on my long commute. Now that I am in the Boston area I really havent been on it much, although I am starting to figure out the busier repeaters and might hop on again soon. My radio is mostly used as a scanner now as it picks up most of the local FD and PD frequencies. I have played around a bit with APRS, and sending messages with APRS, but havent been able to test them in the backcountry yet. The power will get you out there, but if there is no one to talk to it doesnt do much.

Edit--

Haven't paid attention to this thread a ton. Just noticed your call sign under your name. What radio are you running now? External antenna?

Also thought some more on it, most mobiles do have a full mic with a number of buttons so you can do alot on the radio through the mic and hot keys and what not.

If your just looking for power, there are some simpler mobiles that run 2m only, but do not have detachable faces... same issue with most the more intricate CBs... but if your looking to do more with the radio there are a number of options. Check out the Yaesu 100dr, I think its one of the best "bang for you buck" radios out there right now. Its only a single receive radio, but operates on both 2m and 70cm, has a built in GPS transiever for APRS use, comes with all the brackets and a extension cord for the remote face and a face mount all at about $300 or so. Everything you need to run it as a remote face. I added a Scan Gauge mount above my rear view mirror and it makes it easy to operate while driving without taking my eyes off the road- although mostly I just use the mic buttons.

 

Right now I'm using a Baofeng and I believe its 5 watts. The Baofeng is what got me into HAM and why I got my license. I drive about 30 minutes to work everyday and I've tried having conversations on the repeaters. The response I usually get is that I'm coming in and out and its hard to hear me. I did buy a Diamond antenna which helps a little but it isn't practical inside my truck. The antenna flops all around and is just annoying. The Yaesu 100dr looks really nice but it's a little more than I want to spend. I was looking at the Kenwood TM-281A which is a little cheaper but it doesn't have a detachable face. I like all the mounting options with a detachable face.

 

Your baofeng would work infinitely better with a simple mag mount antenna on the roof.

 

So you are using a diamond antenna directly on the BaoFeng inside your truck?

If so that is your biggest hurdle--- the radio being inside the metal cage is whats hurting you the most. If your willing to try it- bump up to an external antenna either mag mount or hard mount and that should make a huge difference even with the BaoFeng. Mag mounts can be had for pretty inexpensive, then you just need an adapter (they make a single brass adapter or a small coax adapter) for your BaoFeng antenna mount to a standard PL-259 connector. ---- I used this one ---

$22 RF HF VHF Handheld Radio coaxial Jumper Antenna Cable SMA Female to UHF SO239 Female RG58 Made in The USA RG-58 MILSPEC 3 Ft

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ANDQKJE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I started with a BaoFeng like you and looking for more performance went to an external antenna. I added a PanaVise mount on the side of the temp controls that I clipped the BaoFeng too, and got the BaoFeng remote mic ( I had to enlarge the input opening a little to help with my quality) and the battery delete (12v adapter). I then used a BAMF tailgate mount and a 3/8th NMO mount with 25 feet of coax - ran from the mount behind the tail light then down along the frame, and up through the rubber grommet under the passenger seat. I started with a comet antenna which worked pretty well with the BaoFeng. I was able to hit a repeater 15 miles away quite easily, and receive quality went way up.

Here is a few photos -






Shortly after I got a mid height shell and the comet antenna was only an inch or so above the cap, so I bumped to a Diamond 770 antenna, this help reception a little.

Shortly after that I decided it was time to bump to a proper mobile and a cleaner setup (less random wires). Spent a lot of time looking at the Kenwood V71 and 710, the Icom 4100, and the Yaesu 400dr and 100dr. At then end of the day the Kenwood 710 was the radio I really wanted... but far to expensive... the Yaesu 100dr gave me almost everything I wanted at a great price. I picked up the 100dr mounted the body under the passenger seat, and initially used the panavise for the head... but I found it to distracting and hard to see mounted low so I picked up a scan gauge mirror mound and moved it up above the mirror. Used the same coax, antennna and antenna mount I used for the Baofeng.

Here's two photos of the 100dr-





So your able to do it in steps if you want - start with an external antenna for the BaoFeng, then when your ready bump up to a mobile of your choice.

 

Hows that uniden speaker working out?

I am adding a CB to the truck and was thinking about getting an external speaker since its the

$158 Uniden CMX760 Bearcat Off Road Series Compact Mobile CB Radio, 40-Channel Operation, Ultra-Compact for Easy Mounting, Large 7-Color Backlit LCD Display on Mic with Built-in Speaker Mic, Black

Uniden CMX760 with the speaker in the mic... hopefully I wont need it... but If I do I was hoping I might be able to run the ham and CB through the same speaker. No kickback to any of the other electronics while on a different one?

 

Thanks for the info! I've seen some mag mounts online that were made specifically for the baofeng so I'll pick one of those up. The head mounted with the scan gauge mirror mount looks really good. I'll have to think about doing that if I get a radio with a detachable head.