Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

Kenwood TM281 fits like a glove in the pocket under the cig lighters / HVAC. I had to dremel out the back to allow the heat sink to protrude through about 1.5" or so. Radio is held in by weight / friction and some metal 'P' clamps I straightened out, bolted to the side of the radio chassis, and then bent around the back side of the dash pocket. Very firm fit, no movement at all. Antenna is not the gold standard of placement but my first comm check was just fine. Nice tough little rig for just over a hundred bucks. Now to play around and get it set up with my local stuff...

 

That feeling of joy when your call finally appears in the ULS.

 

Here we go! Sliding on down this rabbit hole

 

That's a great radio! I'm sure you'll enjoy it once you get the menu system under control...

 

I am looking forward to it! Starting to get the hang of the menus, and next will be getting apps all setup, and hopefully I can find someone near Williston ND to chat with. I found a couple repeaters, but haven't heard much from them

 

They may be sitting and waiting for you to throw your call out there to answer.

 

I have sent it out quite a few times with a baofeng going to an external Larsen antenna. I will hopefully have the ftm-400 setup in the next few days, and then we will try it again.

 

Anyone here familiar with using the Yaesu FTM-400XD as a Wires-X node? I just updated all firmware on it and my FT2D because of the new functionality. I've sent my registration on the Wires-X site, and am downloading the software. Any tips once I get my registration?

 

Pick a talk group and throw your callsign out there?

 

Well, yup! I guess I should have been more specific. Any tips on setting up the software once I have my registration and can access the Wires-X network. It's new enough that there's not much at all on YT. I know that there were all sorts of network issues with the HRI-200.

 

No clue to be honest brother. I'm running DMR for digital. Haven't messed with a Wires-x setup yet.

 

Yeah, I have a Pi-Star hotspot running YSF, DMR, and D-Star. Just thought I'd try the Wires-X thing with the new firmware.

 

Hmm. Ever tried to find the flat spot on a golf ball... Maybe a 5" magnet wasn't such a good idea.

 

Believe I’d just drill a hole for a NMO Mount in the center on that.

 

Dent puller/ Nmo mount?

 

I think I'm going to need more info on this one. There's got a be a story involved.

 

$2 says roof rack and driving Into garage

 

Yes, not much out there on YT so I'm in the same boat. I only have a Mac so I think I have even more challenges to link my 400 xdr to wires X. Looks like really close to making your first Wires x contact.... good luck and have fun!

 

Sadly the whole truck has been rolled, but it was fully paid off buy insurance and bought back, so I essentially paid half price and have no fear of taking it off road now.
(Full build thread here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/btnewmans-aluminum-falcon-reincarnation.171415/
)
And I would drill for a nmo mount, but I will be making a roofrack for it soon, and would rather mount the antenna to that when I get it done, and don't feel like building around the hole, just to move the antenna again.

 

I like the mount I have for my roof rack. I posted it in here somewhere