Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

Another good Field Day in the books for us... Quick safe setup, accomplished lots of eating, then a good safe breakdown before the storms came through...

 

Yea heard yall had a bad cell come through, all we delt with was all the mosquitoes by the edisto river

 

Yea, it got sucky really quick. We had a 20 Meter beam up on a 40' porta-tower. It's quite a bit of work to get together, but totally worth it.

 

A 3" mount is nice you won't rip it out of the roof you'll just break the antenna. If you live in the woods or drive in the woods eventually you will rip a standard antenna mount out of the roof or break the antenna with a stronger mount that's why mine is mounted by the tail gate.

 

BTW - turns out you two were right.
On Sat, i was with the family going on a short day trip to the lake. Hit a gas station to top off, and what do you know...... won't start up again. Power on my radio, and it showed 10.6 volts sitting on the battery.

So, got a new battery, and now good to go (for those curious, got an interstate MTP-27F... should be a good battery). The battery replaced looked original to the truck, so i can't complain (and thus, given the age, is why i dont suspect the alt - when its running, the radio reports anywhere from 13.6-14v).

 

A good battery lasts 4 years or so. You got your money's worth out of it. I replaced my battery in my '11 about 3 months ago

 

It looks OEM, but I guess I can't really say. Hoping to get a good life out of the interstate battery... Having to get it in the middle of nowhere meant it was even more expensive than it should have been...

 

The Toyota batteries last less than 2 years in my 06. Oh, I live in Phoenix if that says something about how hot the battery gets in the summer.

 

had mine since 11, just waiting for it to die, no optima battery for me. May get a rebadged odssey for sears tho, heard good things about those, theres a good long thread on Pirate 4x4 that goes into all the battery Companies

 

There are only about 3 major battery manufactures in the country but many battery names most all batteries are re branded. Chances are pretty high that it will be made by Johnson Controls.

 

Yep that's what kills batteries.

 

I had the best luck in my previous vehicle with the Exide Orbital.

 

A battery in Phoenix usually only last 18 months or so. I think Sear's Die Hard series has the best history for surviving in the desert. I always pay the extra bit for the best warranty, then I usually just get a new one for free when it goes out... rinse and repeat.

 

It's hard be a ham and not get involved in battery technology. I do like working with low voltage systems. For my Tacoma I have an auxiliary battery in the bed of the truck in a battery box. It's a walmart EverStart 96AH Marine battery, probably not a true deep cycle battery--but I don't care, it cost $95 and works great. For my application I buy cheap, use, abuse and replace as necessary. The battery has been performing very well for 1.5 years so far. It's primary function in life is to operate the dual band radio, 12v ARB fridge, LED lights, SPOT satellite tracker, Cell phone and tablet charging ports, power for air compressor, air mattress pump, +12v tent fan, and other accessories as required. In an emergency I can jump start myself, or even replace the starting battery if I had to.

I really like my charging solution. I am using a CTEK D250S DC-DC charger. I ran fused 10 guage wire from starting battery to the CTEK. The CTEK is wonderful because it uses proper voltage set points during the charging stages (bulk, Absorb, float) to fully and properly recharge the axillary battery. It's nice to see +14.4v @ 20A, in bulk charging phase.

Another great feature is that it has a built in MPPT solar controller! And I have 75W solar panels mounted to the roof rack. When the truck is off the CTEK will continue to charge the aux battery as necessary. If the Aux battery is fully charged, the CTEK will switch and float charge my starting battery at 13.5 volts.

I love it! I think it has a 5-year warranty too, and the customer service reports that I have seen have been excellent.

Lastly, with any system, it really helps to monitor the health. I have a dedicated volt meter in the cab for the starting battery, and one for the axillary battery too, plus I added an additional meter in the back of the truck shell so when I flip open the door I can see it instantly.

Here is a pic of when I was testing this meter

 

I have been doing some research into added a 2nd battery and a solar panel. Mainly I have been looking at smaller panels that will fit inside my sun roof. The one I have been looking at, can't remember the brand, are designed for farm equipment use. As I am not running anything other than my mobile radio when the engine is off, sometimes charging the spare battery for the HT, I am not to worried about it just yet. But soon.

My UG has a decent volt meter, I know it is only for the UG unit, but it gives a good idea of the overall health of the system. I have also upgraded the alternator MORE POWER. One of the benefits of being a MT, I can get the truck started in almost any situation.

 

I am just about to add my second battery here shortly. I am using the electrical kit provided in the link below and installing two Optima Yellowtops using an ArmorTech Offroad battery tray. Hopefully be adding in a solar kit sooner rather than later. I use my Kenwood D710A on dual band repeat for search and rescue quite often. Don't want to come back to a dead truck or batteries so low that I can use my winch on the trail out.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/ma...lectrical-system-upgrade-now-available-8.html

 

While true, JC, like other OEMs, make the batteries to what the client requests. Better brands may require better materials, or tighter QC standards. I have learned long ago that the same maker is never a guarantee of the same quality..

A spare battery would be awesome.. I wish the engine bay had room for a second full size...

 

It does. Lots of people rotate the battery 180°, purchase a custom battery tray and two will fit in that same space. Alternatively, some folks have room under the hood over the passenger side wheel well--that option requires the factory hydraulic brake booster I believe.

Search around, and you'll find plenty of examples.

 

Well fine... Just go shoot a hole in that theory.... Lol
Got spare cash for me to put it in? ;-)

 

IMHO best battery install