Data point re: range with 2M

[Mark W]

Not a comprehensive test by any means. but for what it's worth...

Just got back from a hunting trip. I was heading in a day after my buddies. We were running Icon V8000s. I had a 5/8 wave and they were using a 1/4 wave at the other end. With the radios on high (75 watt) we easily established communications, loud and clear and well above background noise at a range of about 40 miles. Now, I was sitting atop a high point (the picture below was taken while I was on the radio). But the folks at the other end were beyond the hills and ridges in the picture, and some higher terrain not shown here.

My antenna is still running out of the box tuning and neither mounting location is ideal on either rig.

With the terrain that we were dealing with I am confident that from my location I could probably have reached them at double the distance. Espcially if we do some work with antenna mounting.

I have been very pleased with my tweaked CBs and amps. But there is no comparison between that and the 2M performance.




Mark...

[Kofoed]

Elevation is everthing. Best I have done is 140 miles into a machine. Best simplex was 80 miles with some terrain in between, 50 watts, 1/2 wave antenna. YOur 75 watts and 5/8 probably has 3db on me

I now have the V8000.

[LandCruisers4Life]

I bought a Wilson silver load antenna which says 5/8 on the package. Says good for am and fm... Does this mean I can use it for CB or HAM? Maybe I should clarify that. I bought it for my CB, but with what it says on the package, I was wondering if it can also be used with a HAM radio.

[BC_FJC]

Originally Posted by LandCruisers4Life

I bought a Wilson silver load antenna which says 5/8 on the package. Says good for am and fm... Does this mean I can use it for CB or HAM? Maybe I should clarify that. I bought it for my CB, but with what it says on the package, I was wondering if it can also be used with a HAM radio.

No, as it is 5/8 of the CB FRQ not Ham FRQ... unless you have an antenna tunner. Sorry

[Cruiserdrew]

I've done 100 miles truck to truck and much further into a repeater. There just is no comparison to CB.

Regarding your CB gear--it is not useful in the Ham world so give up that fantasy.

Fortunately, excellent performance like Mark's is available for not much more than a good CB rig.

Mark-How did you mount your antenna on the 40? I've already switched mounts twice looking for best possible performance. It is much easier to mount 2m antennas on a wagon.

[Mark W]

I'm not particularly happy with the setup that I have on the '40 right now. I've got a mag mount on the cowling. Centered, right behind the hood. Based on my experience with CBS, I expect that performance to the rear of the rig will be significantly degraded with the antenna in this location. This is just a short term solution so that I can swap the radio and antenna back and forth between 3-4 rigs until I pick up radios for each of them.

I've been going back and forth, trying to figure out where I want to have the antenna when I' done.

The leading solution right now is;

Use some spray adhesive on the inside of the fiberglass roof and then lay foil over it to create a ground plane (use a ground wire to the foil so that it really is a gound plane, not just a reflecting surface). Silicon a piece of sheet metal to the center of the roof. Probably about 2x2 (?). Use a mag mount antenna on this metal surface. I might us a permanent mount instead of the mag, if I can put together a 5/8 wave steel whip with a spring.

I have always avoided even thinking about cutting/drilling holes in the body or the roof of a '40. But I'm getting over that.

Anyway, this approach should give good height, omni-directional coverage and a good reflector/ground plane. I hope.

I may try the same "foil under the fiberglass" approach for the roof, but mount the antenna to the front of a roof rack. Hoping that the hood will work as a reflector/ground plane to the front and the roof to the sides and rear.



Mark...

[Kofoed]

Originally Posted by Mark W

Use some spray adhesive on the inside of the fiberglass roof and then lay foil over it to create a ground plane (use a ground wire to the foil so that it really is a gound plane, not just a reflecting surface). Silicon a piece of sheet metal to the center of the roof. Probably about 2x2 (?). Use a mag mount antenna on this metal surface. I might us a permanent mount instead of the mag, if I can put together a 5/8 wave steel whip with a spring.

Get a 1/2 wave antenna, no counterpoise or ground, other than the coax(mis-named as ground plane) required. I ran one on my old 4Runner and the signal strength went up 3 S-units when sitting on the fiberglass over mag-mounted on the metal cab.....Just look for a 1/2 wave or other ground independent antenna, like a marine application antenna

[FJ40_owner]

Originally Posted by Cruiserdrew

I've done 100 miles truck to truck and much further into a repeater. There just is no comparison to CB.

Regarding your CB gear--it is not useful in the Ham world so give up that fantasy.

Fortunately, excellent performance like Mark's is available for not much more than a good CB rig.

Mark-How did you mount your antenna on the 40? I've already switched mounts twice looking for best possible performance. It is much easier to mount 2m antennas on a wagon.

From my house in Cameron Park Ca I have worked ships at sea off the Farralon Islands. A rough estimate would be 180 miles. I was running a 3 5/8 verticals in phase pushing 100 watts.

I worked a guy in a smoke tower in Downeville CA from Modesto CA. He was running a 5 Watt hand held into a home brewed J pole. He was at 10,000 feet and I was at sea level. Full quieting.

2 Meter propagation will suprise you. In the Winter distance usually increases and the noise goes down.

Here is my 40 installation.

73, de N6KML

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All:

Where does one purchase a "Icon V8000" 2m radio? I did not find any sources in the North America on a casual Google search.

Thanks!

Alan

[Mark W]

Misprint on my part. Icom..."M" not "N".


Mark...

[Cruiserdrew]

Playing with the new 1/2 wave mount on my FJ40 today-I was talking to a ham in Reno, on one of the Reno repeaters. Now Reno is roughly 100 miles from my driveway and the Sierras are between me and there.

Mind you this is with an inexpensive ($30) Larson steel whip antenna. on an NMO mount. The base plate is welded to the rollbar.

[Mark W]

How far from the repeater were you?


That is, was the repeater up on high ground between you and Reno, or out on flatland on the other side?

In my world, repeaters are not often part of the picture. Simplex is the issue.


Mark...

[Cruiserdrew]

I don't know the physical location, but I would assume a high spot somewhere.


Simplex is funny-On the dead flat of death valley it can be fairly short range-Maybe 15-25 miles. Add any elevation at all, and the range increases spectacularly. I've mentioned before 100 miles easy when we were at 8000 feet or so, and our friend was at 1000 feet or so.

Other times we have talked 40 miles or so with several ranges of mountains in the way when we were both at altitude.

Actually I like 2m best for the simplex, and the repeater access is just a bonus.

There have been times when the repeater access was very handy-like talking to one of our group in the Bay area from Loon Lake at the start of the Rubicon, to bring up some spare parts that were urgently needed. Without that, we would have had a 30 mile drive to cell phone access.

[FJ40_owner]

Originally Posted by Cruiserdrew

I don't know the physical location, but I would assume a high spot somewhere.


Simplex is funny-On the dead flat of death valley it can be fairly short range-Maybe 15-25 miles. Add any elevation at all, and the range increases spectacularly. I've mentioned before 100 miles easy when we were at 8000 feet or so, and our friend was at 1000 feet or so.

Other times we have talked 40 miles or so with several ranges of mountains in the way when we were both at altitude.

Actually I like 2m best for the simplex, and the repeater access is just a bonus.

There have been times when the repeater access was very handy-like talking to one of our group in the Bay area from Loon Lake at the start of the Rubicon, to bring up some spare parts that were urgently needed. Without that, we would have had a 30 mile drive to cell phone access.

Andy, what freq was the Reno repeater on? I may know where it is located. As was already stated it most probably is on a high mountain that looks down on reno and Sac. Or it could have links like 805 to the Tahoe side.

Nice looking antenna

See u in 2 weeks...