Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

"I was thinking of getting one and mounting it to my steel roof rack with some kind of 90° folding bracket. That way I could lay it horizontal for traveling and clearance issues and then pop it and lock it upright for usage. The rack floor is expanded steel mesh. Super simple to use bolt, couple of washers and a nylock nut."

Yes but don't forget that the entire antenna assembly metal tube and all is the antenna so you have to isolate it from the truck body ground a lexan plate would work.

 

So what would you use to make this 102" whip work on 6 meters and possibly 40 meters? Is it a tuner much as a tuner is used to match a long wire antenna to a base radio? I am new to amatuer radion and just 2M and 440 MHz so far. I like the idea of this rugged whip.

KG7DDR

 

40 no, 102 is way too short, you'd have to use something else for 40

but 15, 10, and 6 all tune up on 102 I use
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamtune/3702.html

 

Okay thanks. I did not know that. Indeed, I reviewed the Lil' Tarheel II install manual and they make it clear that the ground connection must be at the base of antenna. Okay I got that now. Thanks.

I have a question about modes. Is SSB more popular than AM for voice?

 

What I want to know is if I can put my lunch in this basket and crank up the watts to 200, have a 15 minute QSO and have my lunch all warmed up.

 

Yes SSB is far more popular it has more punch. With AM you are txing with both side bands so your 100 watt radio is only about 25 watts carrier on AM and the duty cycle is greater. That being said there are many AM enthuses with amazing setups with high fidelity audio that SSB just can't provide. I do both HF and 6 meter AM just about all of it is short distance unless there is a lift on maybe out 200 miles. Some of the guys I talk to are running amps with 125 watts of carrier or more I all ways get teased by the guys using old tube rigs and amps with $300 mikes patch into the modulator circuits calling my radio a “rice box”. Yeah the old AM stuff does sound better but if you like DX SSB is the only way.

 

Tuners do amazing things and you could probably tune 80 meters with a whip but what you need to understand the only thing is it is fooling is the radio into thinking it's a good match. You could toss a random wire in a tree that is not resonate any where and a good tuner will tune it. If you looked at the antenna with an analyzer it maybe 6:1 SWR but the tuner matched it to 1.3:1 so the tuner did not "fix" the antenna it still is 6:1 but the radio is fine because the tuner presented a 1.3:1 match.

 

Anyone have a suggestion for a good antenna for a 2 meter rig? I want to use my BAMF tailgate mount I already have installed for my cb. I just want to change out the antenna with a 2 meter one.

Suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

Hmmm Jerry's mount accepts 3/8 X 24 Thread antennas as far as I know. Those are used in the CB world but not for 2M ham.

You're much better off finding another way. I recommend NMO mounts for mobile. And if you care to know, the tailgate mount is probably one of the worst locations to put an antenna. The best place is to drill a hole in the center of your roof. If you don't want to drill a hole, you can get a gutter mount and put it by the hood.

Here is place to help you shop for 2M antennas:

http://www.theantennafarm.com/catal...mhz-vhf-195/amateur-vhf-2-meter-antennas-456/

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I definitely don't want to drill a hole. I've been looking in antenna farm and hro, among other places. I found a 3/8x24 antenna for 2 meter 440 by High Sierra Communications (on their site), but didn't like the look of it.

I'm more concerned with a clean install than getting the absolute best performance. I can hit about 5 repeaters from inside my house with my HT, so I figure just about any mobile setup will perform perfectly.

 

BAMF, i think, has a bracket that goes in the corner and connects to the track system. It even has a bottle opener on it. I am not sure if the whole is pre-dilled big enough, but you can always enlarge.

IMO... NMO mounts are great if you are going to drill a whole in your roof, for all other mounts I prefer the UHF mount (SO-239). That is also exactly what the guys at HRO told me too. I think my Diamond dual band was ~$50. quickly unscrews, even folders over for going into a garage. The only mod I did to it, was use heat shrink to cover the coiled part in the middle. Might as well buy a dual band antenna now, even if you only have a 2m rig, you will upgrade at one point

Hope this helps.

 

I heard this but never really understood the end result. While the tuners DO provide a safe load (impedance match) for the transmitter, you still have a compromise on the efficency of the antenna as compared to an antenna that is dimensionally resonant on the transmitted frequency, right?

 

Yes

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antenna_(radio)

 

Yes and as I understand it, the lower you go in frequency the larger the compromise. A 102" whip would have very little useable RF at 75M, but work great on 6M.

 

IMO, the cleanest installs are the ones with holes drilled. It looks professional and provides the best performance. Also, if you're going to place an antenna in a less than perfect location do yourself a favor and make sure the antenna you choose is 1/2 λ. The 1/2 λ antenna is unique in that it can still radiate effectively without a proper ground plane.

I did a quick search and found this post with a bracket for NMO and bedrail attachment.

 

Thanks for the input, guys! I really appreciate it! I was thinking I should go the 2 meter/440 route with the antenna in case I decide to upgrade the radio later. Good call on that.

For the UHF mounts......will it work with the BAMF bracket? Maybe I'll drill it out to modify if needed. I have a solid fold bed cover, which is why that bracket is perfect for my needs.

I'm with you on the cleanest install being a drilled nmo mount. I'm just too much of a p**sy to drill the hole in my roof! Hahaha

 

n1rnd saying hello, been licensed since the 70's. Operate 10&11 meter mobile in the work truck 18 wheeler and ssb/cw hf bands at home.

Only had my '11 taco for three weeks, will eventually set it up mobile.

73's

 

Yes there is nothing wrong with that setup you could use pretty much any antenna you want a 1/2 wave, 5/8 whatever will work fine. A 1/2 wave is ground independent and works where others may not but where it is it's all the ground plane you need. The one on the back of the bed of my truck is a 2/70cm and a 6 meter made up of multiple wave lengths stacked 5/8's stacked 1/4's and a single 1/4 wave. The bracket I use is a homemade nothing more than an aluminum angle bolted to the two bolts just below where the antenna shown is mounted very good ground bolted directly to the truck body.

 

Good deal! I run 10-80 meters in the tuck and UHF/VHF. At the house 6-80 meters do a lot of AM on 6 and 80 meters (50.4 and 3.875/3.885) plus DX SSB on all the bands.Got to admit I have even tuned 11 meters in probably 25 years but it's a good thing to run in an 18 wheeler. DE N3LYT, Tim