Comms gear for beginner

I used a coat hanger to route it through the side plastics. Power is run up the a pillar to center, antenna is run from the rear of bed, to a grommet in the back of the cab and up the c pillar to center of roof. From there, I ran a coat hanger from the dome light and fished the antenna cable to the front of headliner.

I ensured to not impede the coax line by not doing any tight turns and such. Swr is ultra low, I have a 6' firestik NGP that gets me a good 5-7 miles in Houston traffic.

The ham however gets anywhere from 10-75 miles.

 

Are you running the BaoFeng T1s? I have 4 of them in my BOG that I bring with me when I go for longer drives.

 

nah, should have clarified: GMRS/FRS = Motorola T460, CB = President Andy, HAM =

$40 BaoFeng UV5R Dual Band 3800mAh Rechargeable Two Way Radio Walkie Talkies for Adults with Earpiece,Speaker Mic and Programming Cable Full Kit (Black-1Pack)

BaoFeng UV5R

 

Having a manual 3rd gen, and being a CB person, I went with the Midland handheld 78-522 like @will.i.was. This had better reviews than the Cobra off-road style CB. Space is tight in the cab, so it’s a good fit. I do have GMRS handhelds and would take a couple if I knew they might be needed. I would love to do ham, but haven’t had time yet to take the tests and dive in.

 

You'll enjoy the Midland for sure! Gmrs is plenty useful as well. I wrangled in a buddy of mine a week before I took my ham test. He took about 20 practice tests and actually scored higher than me by a question. I had studied for only an additional week before he started.

It is relatively easy questions and if you are adept at electrical work, it will be pretty darn easy. There are some good guides out there as well. I actually bought a few to assist my studies.

 

What was your method to clip the cb on the ceiling?

 

I have two equipment ratcheting lines at the top of the radio and middle of the line. I drilled some holes and ran the lines through and anchored the fasteners inside the headliner and plastic upper console.

A magnet on the base of the radio and inside the headliner keep it in place.

When I use it, I can let go and the equipment lines pull it close to the headliner and I pop it back in place. It's convenient and allows me to disconnect the Midland 75-822 and transition to a handheld cb in seconds.

The ham however is hardwired and a bit more permanently mounted lol

 

Thats clever

 

The group of people I wheel with decided that GMRS was the way to go for us. Applied and paid for the FCC License today and ordered a MTX275 MicroMobile direct from Midland. I'm curious when it will show up with Covid-19 messing with shipping. I know Amazon said April 23rd was the quickest delivery... we'll see.

 

Amazon has only been a few days slower. Prime deliveries typically take 2 days but I've noticed it's been a solid 4 days. So it reflects the typical shipping time from any reputable online retailer

 

I've had my cheapie handheld Baofeng (and a magnetic antenna) since I got my technician's license. The couple of guys I normally hang with are both ham, so that works fine. I also have a cheapie handheld CB (with matching magnetic antenna) that I throw on when ham isn't an option.

Normal usage for me and my buddies is that we're not 5 miles apart at most times, so both CB and ham are pretty effective. Mot of the time we can see each other and just want to warn someone about a road hazard or shoot the shit.

I've spent maybe $100 total between the two radios, and I don't feel bad about not having nicer ones. Don't get me wrong, I'll have a nicer ham setup someday, but right now I'm blowing my money on other toys.

 

I'll update when it shows up.

 

The Baofang and HAM very popular in SoCal.

 

Yeah it's uses are dependent on location and your crew. Wheeling wise we were never far apart and cb is more common. Only a small percentage roll with ham.

Ive had to use my han for emergency situations down here in Houston pretty often. Flooding and inclement weather is common. My friends and I have a habit of hopping on ham if critical infrastructure is compromised (which has happened far too often recently) and are actually registered with a few county ARES (amateur radio emergency services) groups.

Ham does have its place but frs/gmrs will suit 99% of uses out there. Both can be equally expensive haha

 

Ill throw my two cents in. Ive been wheeling since the mid 90s and have always used CB. Whether it was a Jeep club, random groups of people or Toyotas, everyone that has been wheeling more than 3 times seems to have CB. Last year a few of my friends went the Bao Feng

$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 route so I snagged one of them but we only use it as a two-way radio.

 

What up with the MX115, 15watt?

 

I run a ham radio. It's easy to get the license, you'll have a lot more ability with a ham radio.

 

I've been toying with getting my license for years now...I have time on my hands these days lol.
However, for my use, a CB is likely the better fit for me. Long term, both in the rig is the best option.

 

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