Time to radio shop... (1 Viewer)

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DesertLake

DesertLake

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Joined
Sep 19, 2007
Threads
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1,191
Location
Washoe Valley NV
I passed the Technician and General yesterday. Now on to the fun bit - spending!:bounce:

I'll be equipping the XJ, then probably moving the gear to the 55.
(believe it or not I am making some progress there...)

How is the 2m repeater coverage in NV? We've been poking around some in the Gabbs - Ione - Berlin area, and from the online maps I've seen I don't think there is 2m out there - but its hard to judge where 50w can reach based on the maps. Are 6m or 10m at all useful if I get in a bind in one of those valleys where there is no 2m repeater, or is it not worth paying for the extra bands?
 
Well, your asking the REAL question now. Who's gonna hear me? From a technical stand point your on the right track that 6m and 10m have a better long distance potential, however from a practical point of view your better off with 2m or 70cm due to the fact that more people are on the those two bands. The thought beeing that eventhough you can't hit a repeater, there still maybe someone monitering simplex. If you really want to cover all your bases look at an all mode HF,VHF,UHF set up. That's way over my head though.
 
Congrats! I'm jealous.

That's another goal I missed this summer. Along with camping and fishing pretty much at all. Other than getting skunked on my deer tag I did not get out much this summer, and school starts today. But at least my wife now has a new riding arena (and I have a new horse as of Sat.)

Kind of like getting a mechanic to fix his own car, or a contractor to put that extra room on the house...I'll get to it, someday.
 
I would recommend you start with one of the entry level 2M radios.
I jumped in with both feet and wound up with a boat anchor* that doesn't really fit my needs and has so many features I need to reference the manual constantly.
(*FT8900, the biggest draw back is that it is a single mode radio and there is almost no activity on 6 and 10 M FM. I do like the dual receiver and cross band repeat but I wish I had started with a simpler radio. In retrospect I should have started with the FT2800 then progressed to the the FT8800, which is the same as the FT8900 but with 2M and 70cm only.)

The FT2900 got a good review in the last issue of QST. It's a 2M radio that replaces the FT2800. (I have the FT2800 in my FJ40 and love it.) It's very simple to operate, has great power at 75W, and it gets weather band, a feature I use a lot on all my radios. The would also make a good base station that would allow you to work most of the repeaters in the area.

They sell for $160 on line. So it's not a huge investment. You might also shop around and find deal on a used 2M on QRZ.





Wait until you start shopping antennas. Things get really complicated then.
 
Im thinkin about attaching 3 strings to my cups.
ken
 
6m and 10m are essentially useless in the mobile radio world, and I could not agree more with Rusty Dan. So the 8900 is more radio than you need or even want.

A good 2m only radio like the 2900 will suit your needs well and let you get started without spending any real money. It's simple to operate, works great and is highly robust. The 2800 (preceded the 2900) in my FJ60 has been in 3 previous trucks and still works like a charm.

Once you get into it and see the possibilities, a dual band/dual receive is the way to go. But I would start with a single band 2m radio.
 
I'm looking at an antenna kit at HRO, a Larsen NMO-150-B-K, which is a 2m 5/8 that includes the permanent mount. I may also buy a shorter antenna that fits in the garage for day to day use. The mount will be near the dome light, so reasonably centered on the roof. The question I have is, how much will my crossbars and whatever I carry on them affect the signal? They are about 3" above the roof, and will be 17" or closer to the antenna. I carry my folding chairs and big sun shade on top of those, so even more conductive material up to 12" or so high very close to the antenna. Is this a little problem or a big problem?
 
Congo ratz Desert im looking at getting my general as well in the near future will be an upgrade for me and the :princess:


Dan :cheers::steer::bounce::bounce2:
 
DesertLake said:
I'm looking at an antenna kit at HRO, a Larsen NMO-150-B-K, which is a 2m 5/8 that includes the permanent mount. I may also buy a shorter antenna that fits in the garage for day to day use. The mount will be near the dome light, so reasonably centered on the roof. The question I have is, how much will my crossbars and whatever I carry on them affect the signal? They are about 3" above the roof, and will be 17" or closer to the antenna. I carry my folding chairs and big sun shade on top of those, so even more conductive material up to 12" or so high very close to the antenna. Is this a little problem or a big problem?
Click to expand...
I doubt it will be much of a problem, maybe a little deflection in the field strength at low angles.
Think about the current distribution in the antenna during transmission.
 
Propeller beanie/ pocket protector crowd.:flipoff2:


I had one of those calculators that came with a holster when I was in collage. This was before laptops and PDA's.
 
rusty_tlc said:
Propeller beanie/ pocket protector crowd.:flipoff2:


I had one of those calculators that came with a holster when I was in collage. This was before laptops and PDA's.
Click to expand...

My iphone has an HP48 emulator.
Is there an app for propeller beanie?

Well I changed it up a bit and ordered this morning.
Since I had the cash, I ordered both a 33" and 14" 2m/70cm antenna, and an FT-7900 with extension cables. Radio under seat, face plate maybe next to shifter, external speaker (not sourced yet) maybe above the mirror.

And YES Keith I'm still working on the 55, I just bent the PS body mount brackets today...
 
Mine was an HP41CX, I think it was the first one with an LCD display. I still have it somewhere.

Back OT:
FT7900 is a good choice, I assume the remote face tipped your choice.

I have a Radio Shack external speaker, they work and won't bust the bank.
 
rusty_tlc said:
Mine was an HP41CX, I think it was the first one with an LCD display. I still have it somewhere.

Back OT:
FT7900 is a good choice, I assume the remote face tipped your choice.

I have a Radio Shack external speaker, they work and won't bust the bank.
Click to expand...

I have my dad's 41CX with card reader tape drive and printer...he wrote some very elaborate programs for it and the CV back when PCs didn't exist yet. Thats why I went with the 48 in college, I'd learned RPN programming his 11s and 41s and could never use a "normal" calculator after that. Still can't.

Yep, the faceplate is what did it. I just got outbid on that flat kenwood speaker, so I'll probably buy the radio shack speaker.
 
I ordered the Diamond NR73BNMO and NR72BNMO, and their NMO mount.
I also just found out a friend's body shop is ready to take on the 55, so I'll probably spend the weekend wrapping up my part on that and put the xj radio install off for a bit. That's how my time always works out...
 
Installed a new battery harness, routed the power, antenna, control, and speaker wires, built a bracket for the faceplate, mounted the radio, faceplate, speaker, antenna. All thats left is to solder on the PL259 then install the seat and I'm done, right? Then I overheated the connector and melted the insulator.:mad: Maybe Sandy's has connectors?

In other news the 55 got towed to the body shop today. I may not have much money, but I have even less time...
 
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