New Ham equipment

[haligen]

So I've decied to make the move to 2m. I picked up a FT-7800 for $180 and paired it with a Diamond MR77 mag mount. I figured I needed a swr meter but wow the choices were all over the map. From $40 to well over $1000k. I just decided to take a chance after reading enough reviews to make my head spin and bought a Daiwa CN-103L. Found it on good ol flea bay. I guess my question is should all this gear play well together and make my transition a pleasent one or did I screw the pooch some where along the line?

 

[sdnative]

Should work great, and will get you up and running. It will also give you the opportunity to see what does / doesn't work for your use, then upgrade from there if at all.

Down the road, you may find you may want a dual-band / dual-receive like the FT-8800, and possibly a more permanent antenna mount.

One word of caution about using a mag mount: you will have brake dust collect around the edges of the magnet. This will scratch and eat away at the paint over time. Best to move to some form of permanent mount like a lip-mount (but this requires a no-ground plane antenna like a half-wave).

 

[Rambrush]

I agree with previous post, everything should play well together. More than likely you won't need a swr meter at all.
It won't take long and you will see why you would want a dual band unit. But maybe (I have not checked your area for coverage) you don't have repeaters for both bands available.
Drilling a hole in the cab is a big step and not to be taken lightly with all sorts of air bags and electronics hidden in the headliner. (They do make a special hole saw though to minimize the risk)
A foldover perm mount would be a great choice, but in my case I am already in the trees etc. before I realize it and its to late.
Good luck and have some fun

 

[haligen]

Thanks for the response guys. I kind of jumped the gun on equipment. My tech test isn't till the 21st. I thought the 7800 was dual band? As for the mag mount I was thinking the best ground plane would be the middle of the roof. I guess you don't have to tune the antennas for ham like you do a cb?

 

[1911]

As for the mag mount I was thinking the best ground plane would be the middle of the roof.

Yes, that is the best ground plane available on a car/truck by far. You could use a 5/8-wave antenna there for a little more gain (the Diamond MR77 is 1/4-wave on 2 M and 1/2-wave on 70 cm but it is short which is good for trail use).

One of the best things about an NMO mount is that it is quick and easy to change out antennas for different situations. You can even buy a mag mount with an NMO in it (Hustler makes one for example).

I guess you don't have to tune the antennas for ham like you do a cb?

Technically you do; the principles of radio operation are the same no matter what the band/frequency/wavelength. The main difference is that most consumer cb equipment is cheap junk, while name-brand ham equipment is higher quality (and thus higher-priced) and usually works decently out of the box. An antenna analyzer will be really useful when you either start making home-brew antennas or get your General license and start working the HF bands.

Good luck on your test!

 

[haligen]

I guess having more equipment then needed is never a problem lol. I looked at some lip mounted nmo mounts when I first started hunting, something from larsen I believe. Then I kinda got hung up on a good ground plane and wound up with the diamond magnetic. I have a fiberglass whip for my cb on the rack, do I need to ensure some sort of antenna seperation?

 

[bj70_guy]

I thought the 7800 was dual band?

The 7800 is a dual band radio. The 8800 is dual band/dual receive, essentially 2 radios in one box. With the 7800 you can only monitor one frequency at a time.

It's an excellent radio, works well and very easy to use. The backlit buttons and big display are nice.
I'm not familiar with your antenna, sorry. I really like the Larsen NMO 2/70 for a dual band though.

 

[opg4759a]

]The FT-7800 is a great radio. I've been running one for 6+ years with no complaints. Sure it would be nice to have dual receive once and awhile, that's why having a nice HT along for the ride is nice as well.

For the price you got it at it's a solid rig with a decent front end and it will server you well.

My only recommendation is to pick up the programing software from G4HFQ Radio Programming Software It makes programing up the FT-7800 so much easier than trying to do it from the front panel.

 

[haligen]

I'll definately have to look into the programming software. I haven't managed to get everything installed in the vehicle yet but do have it setup on the bench. Should I be getting swr's in the 3:1 range just because its not car mounted?

 

[opg4759a]

if the antenna isn't grounded you will not have a SWR match.

Be very careful since you can damage the finals with high swr

 

[rusty_tlc]

I'll definately have to look into the programming software. I haven't managed to get everything installed in the vehicle yet but do have it setup on the bench. Should I be getting swr's in the 3:1 range just because its not car mounted?

The M77 is a 1/4 wave antenna and will have an impedance of 75 ohms without a ground plane, with a ground plane it's impedance will be 50 ohms which will match your radios output. An effective ground plane will be about 1/2 wave length in diameter, ~40" for 2M or you can add some 1/4 wave radials at the mount angled down about 45 degrees.

if the antenna isn't grounded you will not have a SWR match.

Be very careful since you can damage the finals with high swr

Unlike CB's most modern ham radios have protection on the out put that will prevent blowing out the finals. It's still not good practice to key the radio up into a high SWR.

 

[opg4759a]

Unlike CB's most modern ham radios have protection on the out put that will prevent blowing out the finals. It's still not good practice to key the radio up into a high SWR.

It's more of you don't want to get in the habit of doing it wrong. for bench testing and programing a 50ohm dummy load should be used when not hooked up properly.

 

[rusty_tlc]

It's more of you don't want to get in the habit of doing it wrong. for bench testing and programing a 50ohm dummy load should be used when not hooked up properly.

As I said, not a good practice to Tx into a high SWR