Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

What’s going on in here?

I passed my Technician exam last Friday, now just waiting for the government to get back up and running so I can get my callsign.

 

Too much handwringing over "grounding". A C-loaded antenna (i.e Diamong SG7900) doesn't need a groundplane/radials so it doesn't need to be grounded at the mounting location. I've mounted them on plastic motorcycle luggage before.

I use a trunk lip bracket for my tacoma.

 

Having used these for years in Baja, I recently picked one up (not this one) but other than having to program each channel by using a computer and cable, they are hard to beat for quality (Commercial Quality, 110 watts). I will be running my Yaesu 7900 (for trail running) and this for when I really need power - like when chasing Mexican races - and no that is not a racial slur.

 

The JB weld is a far better solution. My roof needs a repaint so I was fine with doing a few tacks and touch up the paint on the top. Great idea.

 

Is that a half wave antenna? How was tuning and do you have any issues getting out? I was thinking about putting a 1/4 wave antenna in the same place or maybe even further down the hood to distance myself as much as possible from taking a dose of rad's to the noggin as much as possible. I haven't bit the bullet yet with all the debate on radiation straight to the face seems like a not good idea.

 

SG7900 is a 7/8wave on 144 and 5/8 (3 element ) on 440. C loaded.
It doesn't requirerequiere tuning,
there is no way to tune it. i rarely transmit on VHF or UHF so i don't care about exposure
from those bands.

 

Icom 2730a and I have 2 antennas. SBB1 for around town and tight trails and an SBB7 for camping and highway.

 

The right 2m antenna depends a little on what you use it for. Talking through repeaters around orange county, I could use 25W and a wet piece of string, so whatever looks and feels right is OK. Car to car on the road/trail, everyone (external or handheld) can hear everyone when we are all in a row. Nothing works if you are alone in a canyon. A "high gain" antenna (anything longer than 1/4 wave) gets it gain by focusing more signal a low angle, less at a high angle. If you are on a flat road, somewhere on the Great Plains, high gain will help. If you are in an area with repeaters on high mountain tops, high gain will be worse. A quarter wave mag-mount antenna in the center of the roof radiates efficiently in all directions, except straight up, so if you Taco is at a 45 degree angle, you are sending almost the same amount of signal in every direction. Making a hole in the roof will improve grounding a little, but I have seen the calculations for grounding through paint and rubber pad at 146 MHz, and it's better than you might expect. I have scraped my mag-mount on many overhanging branches, and in the worst case, it makes a lot of noise when the magnetic base start to pull up then settles back down. In case it ever does get knocked completely off, I have the cable running down the back of the cab, so the antenna will fall into the bed. The only thing to consider is that you should pull it up and wipe the dust off the roof and base, and maybe move it around, so that you don't sand a little circle in the paint. If you have a double cab, you can pop out the plastic storage bin under the back seats, drill a small hole, put in a rubber grommet, and run the cable through that, so that you can close the back window all the way.

Anyway, that's what I do for 2m.

 

A wet piece of string...you da man!

OH, welcome to TW! Great first post!

 

We've got those mounted in our ambulances -- double control units and everything. We keep meaning to upgrade but the damn things just don't break and our counties haven't gone digital yet.....so here we are. Great radios.

 

Hey Guys I am in a bit of a decision predicament, I just recently passed my tech exam, got my call sign and picked up a

$50 UV-5R 8Watt UHF/VHF Radio with 2 Rechargeable Battery, Portable Radio for Adults with Earpiece, GV-771 Antenna, Compatible with BAOFENG Programming Cable (3rd Gen)

UV-5R to play with. I plan to put a stronger mobile radio in my truck at some time but would like to get an external antenna set up for my UV-5R in the mean time while I save up. Then eventually using the external antenna for the mobile when i purchase one. I have read through countless threads and know that drilling the roof and dropping an NMO mount is the best place for antennas. However, my garage door is 6'8" and I park in a 7' parking garage for work daily. I am not going to go with a mag mount because I don't feel like putting it up/taking it down 4 times a day, and I like my paint job.

I have been debating on whether to place a lip mount on my hood or get a tailgate mount. The hood mount would have more of a ground plane with the flat metal area on one side however once I get a stronger mobile radio I don't want to take exposure to the face when transmitting. Placing it on the tailgate (DCLB) would place the antenna well away from me however there is practically no ground plane. I would like to keep a 1/4 wave antenna for daily height requirements then maybe a larger antenna for when I am out on trips or don't have to worry about low hanging areas.

I live in Indiana so most area around me is flat and I would mainly be monitoring repeaters. Given the choice between hood lip mount and tailgate mount what would be a better choice?

 

I say hood lip mount. It will probably be rare that you actually use 50 watts, and some people say that 50 watts isn't going to cause a problem in that location.

 

is there a particular NMO mount with the cable attached that you guys recommend? im mainly concerned with the seal, since my truck is parked outside all year round, but my main use is comms support for forest rally races, so im out in the sticks trying to hit a (usually) far off repeater. im almost wondering if i might be better off with a longer antenna mounted to my cap instead of a 2/70 stuck to my roof.

 

Definitely not better. Unless your cap is metallic. You're better off in the truck, because of the ground plane. I've never seen an NMO leak. Ever.

 

It actually is, it's one of the aluminum construction style caps with toolboxes in the sides. Forgot to mention that. Id assume I'd have to ground the cap to the truck though.

 

Moved my yaesu 7800 over my rear view mirror today. I used a dash cam kit and 6 pin wire extension both from Amazon. It was in the cubby in front of my manual shift but I decided to move it for easier control plus I relocated my brake controller in its place.

 

Do you have any pics of the radio face mounted in the cubby? Maybe I've already seen them. How did you mount it? I'm working on the same plan, just waiting for my NMO mount to arrive.

 

When I'm doing rallys I'll get myself some lmr400 and a jpole 30 feet up in a tree. When some guys are pushing 50 watts to get heard, I'm farting out 5.

 

I like it. I replaced my mirror with it thoug.

 

hmm. that sounds like a much better option, since the next event i have coming up you usually are in one place all day.