Just subbing to this. I am preparing for the test and would love to see which radio is best in the GX.
Lets see those HAM radios (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter half k cruiser
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Finally taking the plunge! Have been slowly researching and found a good deal on a 2980:
Haven't decided on hood vs rear hatch mount (also haven't decided on an antenna!) but I have plenty of time to think while I study and get licensed. Mud has been a super helpful place to research.
Mind sharing a link?
I bought mine on Amazon but the price was lower at the time .
For an antenna I couldn't decide between the SBB-1 and the SBB-5, so I bought both! Actually I thought it best to have the SBB-1 for all the tight trails around here and the SBB-5 for the desert and longer range .
Correct me if I'm wrong, but do the 1/4 antennas work better in canyons/valleys compared to the 1/2 wave? Something about vertical vs horizontal propagation?
For an antenna I couldn't decide between the SBB-1 and the SBB-5, so I bought both! Actually I thought it best to have the SBB-1 for all the tight trails around here and the SBB-5 for the desert and longer range .
Correct me if I'm wrong, but do the 1/4 antennas work better in canyons/valleys compared to the 1/2 wave? Something about vertical vs horizontal propagation?
NMBruce
SILVER Star
For everyone who question using HAM radios, on my trip to the Arctic Ocean when we left Eagle Plains YT head to Dawson City, YT, one of the guys on the trip, Chris took off before we did when the road opened up. At one point he was about 20-25 kilometer ahead of me and when we turned up the power to 25w, we could talk and it was as clear as being next to each other. I am sold on HAM radios
The antenna is 100x more important than which radio you use.
What is the lowest profile antenna that has good range?
Ha. That is a loaded question like what is the biggest size tire I can run and still get 18 mpg in our 120s.
Size, in this case antenna length, does matter. Define good range, tell me the terrain where you want the good range and tell who all do you plan to talk to, such as the other vehicles on the trail, your wife back home, or another country. Ham radio can easily do all that without cell service. But you have to have the right antenna to do it.
For example one of the things I like to do is hike up to some remote spot and with a wire antenna that can coil up into my pocket and a 5w radio get on the air and see how many other states and countries I can work. We call making contact with another ham working them. Those terrain conditions are not all that different from where people wheel their trucks so ham radio is a complimentary side hobby and is good for em comms as well as general comms among the group.
VHF and uhf radio wave propagation is line of sight. That is why you see tall antenna towers all over the place around cities and towns. On top of the hill after a rock climb will give much better results than in the bottoms. Flat desert is line of sight from antenna to antenna.
The longer the antenna the better it is to "catch" and send the radio waves. If you have true line of sight with no obstructions then a shorter antenna would work fine.
Personally I find that for vhf and uhf ham bands a 32" to 36" (1/2 wave) antenna works quite well on my vehicles. Particularly I run Larsen 2/70 nmo and Comet SBB5 mmo's antennas on my vehicles. For my handheld (walkie talkie) radios I use 1/4 wave flexible antennas which are 15" or so. BTW a black 36" antenna on the right front fender somewhat looks like a regular radio antenna on other vehicles if you are overly concerned about aesthetics.
Can a 15" 1/4 wave be used on a vehicle and a 6-8" be used on a handheld? Yes but with reduced, maybe much reduced, performance.
In the bottoms, I would much rather have a 1/2 wave or even a 5/8th wave antenna to give me the best chance of getting my TX out of the hole. Some of the antennas a more wispy than others and can very easily be bent by obstacles on the trails. Both my antennas mentioned above have been abused for several years and both still work great.
Great info thanks! I am mostly looking for trail to trail and trail to camp (30miles) comms. But you never know what kind emergency might require one.
Antennas are fairly inexpensive. You can try a 1/4 wave (15-18") and see if that will work for trail to trail. It may even work for a 30 mile talk if you have good line of site with few obstacles between.
Better would be a 1/2 wave like the two I mentioned. I have talked back to our local repeater (very high antenna) 80-90 miles away on my 1/2 wave running 50w. That is common and easy to do but cannot do that in a dip area on the interstate...must be on a flat area.
Best (without getting too long on a vehicle) would be a 5/8 wave. This is overkill for my applications but I have a couple of buddies who run them and they talk 60-90 miles on a good day with good line of sight. Don't expect that as the norm but I have seen/heard it.
Better would be a 1/2 wave like the two I mentioned. I have talked back to our local repeater (very high antenna) 80-90 miles away on my 1/2 wave running 50w. That is common and easy to do but cannot do that in a dip area on the interstate...must be on a flat area.
Best (without getting too long on a vehicle) would be a 5/8 wave. This is overkill for my applications but I have a couple of buddies who run them and they talk 60-90 miles on a good day with good line of sight. Don't expect that as the norm but I have seen/heard it.
I finally finished up my HAM install prior to my trip to Moab in March and tonight finally got around to uploading the photos.
Finished Look
And the Process!
Installed unit in the upper tray of my glove box. My GX didn't have a CD changer.
Finished Look
And the Process!
Installed unit in the upper tray of my glove box. My GX didn't have a CD changer.
Nice ... clean install.
I finally finished up my HAM install prior to my trip to Moab in March and tonight finally got around to uploading the photos.
Finished Look
And the Process!
Installed unit in the upper tray of my glove box. My GX didn't have a CD changer.
Thanks, it was a bit of work but a good excuse to clean the center console and doable in a day especially if you have taken apart the center dash before.
more detail on this cheapy setup.
My install is in the glove box and pretty similar to what others posted other than I am running an APRS ready Kenwood D710. I also used a mini ball mount on the head unit to get a better viewing angle.
This antenna is an NMO 2m 1/4 wave that is super flexible. Works well on 70cm as well. I use to run it only on trails with my 80 in place of my taller Larsen 5/8 wave. It was mounted in the center of the roof NMO on the 80. On the GX the 5/8 is too heavy for the aluminum fender mount I made and it causes a lot of flex in the bracket. I will not do a center roof NMO mount on the GX since I will be keeping the roof rack on all the time. I carry the 5/8 in case I need more range and keep it strapped to the attic rack out of the way.
My full HAM install can be found in my build thread.
This antenna is an NMO 2m 1/4 wave that is super flexible. Works well on 70cm as well. I use to run it only on trails with my 80 in place of my taller Larsen 5/8 wave. It was mounted in the center of the roof NMO on the 80. On the GX the 5/8 is too heavy for the aluminum fender mount I made and it causes a lot of flex in the bracket. I will not do a center roof NMO mount on the GX since I will be keeping the roof rack on all the time. I carry the 5/8 in case I need more range and keep it strapped to the attic rack out of the way.
My full HAM install can be found in my build thread.
Great info guys, I'm headed towards a permanent install, too. FYI check out Ronnie Dahl's video on youtube about this topic. He refers to antennas in terms of dB, and says that, for example, a 3dB antenna transmits in more of a sphere shape and can thus handle uneven topo better than say a 9 or 12 dB antenna, which according to the diagrams he shows flatten out and lengthen the transmission area. He says the tx/rx happens at the top of the antenna, hence the much better response you get the higher the antenna.
Does anyone know if you could mount an antenna on a ditch light bracket on the PS if you also have a snorkel, ie would both fit there? Seems like PS ditch light bracket might be a good compromise on all the issues noted here.
Last thing - if you guys are running wires, etc, through the firewall grommet, lube them with a little olive oil - works like magic.
Does anyone know if you could mount an antenna on a ditch light bracket on the PS if you also have a snorkel, ie would both fit there? Seems like PS ditch light bracket might be a good compromise on all the issues noted here.
Last thing - if you guys are running wires, etc, through the firewall grommet, lube them with a little olive oil - works like magic.
Mounted the radio and antenna bracket and ran the coax cable through the firewall. Radio still needs power but I can only handle one firewall battle per day.
Radio under the steering wheel:
Bracket up on the fender - any issue with it being that close to the windshield?
Radio under the steering wheel:
Bracket up on the fender - any issue with it being that close to the windshield?
Isn't that location a knee knocker?
Not from our preliminary testing, but if it becomes a problem it will be out of there in a hurry. I was originally planning on mounting it to the driver's side of the center console but it was going to be in the way of the seat moving all the way forward, which we do for sleeping in the back.
