Ham & off road

:iagree: That's good advice from Flyinhawaiin. I've been licensed now for a month and so has my 13 y.o. son. We started off with the BaoFeng UV-82HP. Very pleased with them and if we drop one in a lake or it gets lost I'm not gonna be too sad since it is not expensive.

We added the Nagoya 771 whip antenna (makes a big difference) as well as the car top kit, DC connector, and external microphone. Able to reach lots of repeaters, even some as far as 30 miles away. That's the advantage of Colorado where most repeaters live around 11,000 ft.

Next up I install my dad's old Yaesu FT-7800R into the new 4R. This will give us more power. This will be fine until the market settles onto a digital standard.

Here's a great site for seeing how a famous ham around these parts installed a 3-band radio with dual antennas into a Tacoma: http://www.hamradioschool.com/going-mobile-install-a-station-in-your-vehicle-part-1/

Of course I'm not gonna be doing 10M from the 4R anytime soon...
 
Why not?!?!?! 10M from the 4runner wouldn't be too bad, I've run all hf bands except 80 on down from my '87 truck, with some cheapo hamstik antennas you can do some fun hf work when the bands are open!

HRO sells a bar for a hitch mount, its just a 3/8" thick aluminum plate with a few holes in it. One for 3/8" antenna mount, one for the hitch ball to pass through, and one small hole for a ground. That thing works quite well with a stick of some sort on the back end!

Of course, if you wanna get out even better than that, they sell some crazy mag-mounts with bionic magnets! Slap one of those on the roof and work some dx from the big mountaintops in CO!
 
DannyLlama said:
Hey dude, CONGRATS!!!

I'm still looking at getting a radio for the truck, I think i narrowed it down to Kenwood D710GA .. It has APRS built in (GPS Tracking)

TM-D710GA | Amateur Radio | Communications | KENWOOD USA

Would anyone be interested in a group buy? I can do the leg work if there is enough interest.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
APRS can be added to the V71A for much cheaper than the upgrade price to a D710. Bought a V71A and have no regrets!
 
Radio Info Here

Anybody who is interested in the answers to many of the questions posed in this thread can attend the FREE seminar on backcountry communication sponsored by Rocky Mountain Overland. The event is being held this Saturday in Denver, Colorado. More information can be found at Backcountry Comms | Talk to your world

As for the original question about which 2M frequency to use for off road use, my suggestion is to either monitor and use 146.52 (national calling frequency) or 146.46 (secondary calling frequency). There are other designated simplex frequencies, however the problem is often too few users and not too many.

As a community of people who like using very valuable radio spectrum, we really need to use it if we want to keep it. I encourage all hams, new and old, to make a habit of using their simplex freqs and repeaters when you are driving around. Please join us on Saturday in Denver if you want to learn the hows and whys of ham radio for back country use. There will also be an element on APRS and digital (tablet-based) mapping.

Lastly, congrats to all of the new hams!
 
KeithMaine said:
Anybody who is interested in the answers to many of the questions posed in this thread can attend the FREE seminar on backcountry communication sponsored by Rocky Mountain Overland. The event is being held this Saturday in Denver, Colorado. More information can be found at Backcountry Comms | Talk to your world

As for the original question about which 2M frequency to use for off road use, my suggestion is to either monitor and use 146.52 (national calling frequency) or 146.46 (secondary calling frequency). There are other designated simplex frequencies, however the problem is often too few users and not too many.

As a community of people who like using very valuable radio spectrum, we really need to use it if we want to keep it. I encourage all hams, new and old, to make a habit of using their simplex freqs and repeaters when you are driving around. Please join us on Saturday in Denver if you want to learn the hows and whys of ham radio for back country use. There will also be an element on APRS and digital (tablet-based) mapping.

Lastly, congrats to all of the new hams!
Click to expand...
Was already planning on being there. Work may interfere but we will see.
 
KeithMaine said:
Anybody who is interested in the answers to many of the questions posed in this thread can attend the FREE seminar on backcountry communication sponsored by Rocky Mountain Overland. The event is being held this Saturday in Denver, Colorado. More information can be found at Backcountry Comms | Talk to your world

As for the original question about which 2M frequency to use for off road use, my suggestion is to either monitor and use 146.52 (national calling frequency) or 146.46 (secondary calling frequency). There are other designated simplex frequencies, however the problem is often too few users and not too many.

As a community of people who like using very valuable radio spectrum, we really need to use it if we want to keep it. I encourage all hams, new and old, to make a habit of using their simplex freqs and repeaters when you are driving around. Please join us on Saturday in Denver if you want to learn the hows and whys of ham radio for back country use. There will also be an element on APRS and digital (tablet-based) mapping.

Lastly, congrats to all of the new hams!
Click to expand...

Excellent presentation today, loved the effort and organization to your event.
 
Noooo, I was looking forward to this but didn't sleep at all last night, finally got to sleep around 5, then overslept and forgot.
 
KeithMaine said:
I encourage all hams, new and old, to make a habit of using their simplex freqs and repeaters when you are driving around
Click to expand...

Good information right there, but as someone who has held a license for almost 20 years now, I've learned to avoid repeaters (at least in the DFW area) like the plague. Too many jerk holes camp on the repeaters and get pretty snotty to new comers 'breaking into their field'. As a result. they can make any new licensee feel pretty unwelcome. Sometimes it's just easier to swap call signals and go simplex.
 
el_kab0ng said:
Good information right there, but as someone who has held a license for almost 20 years now, I've learned to avoid repeaters (at least in the DFW area) like the plague. Too many jerk holes camp on the repeaters and get pretty snotty to new comers 'breaking into their field'. As a result. they can make any new licensee feel pretty unwelcome. Sometimes it's just easier to swap call signals and go simplex.
Click to expand...

Never had this issue with Garland
 
I know it's not off road ham, but I found the perfect quick erect base for setting up an antenna. Found it on Craigslist for $10. I'll get the tripod head modified to accept an NMO mount this week.

image.jpg1_zpsxmbkhvmd.jpg~original


To keep it 4Runner related: me exploring rampart range road today

image.jpg1_zpstfqcbma8.jpg~original

image.jpg2_zpsugsngcsg.jpg~original

image.jpg3_zpsehjdcyvn.jpg~original

image.jpg4_zpsf0cmdqki.jpg~original


I specifically made note of several areas that I lost cellular service. If I hadn't been lazy and had installed my radio months ago when I bought the truck I would have had a backup means of reaching out and communicating in case of an emergency.
 
Death Valley Frequencies

There are a number of frequencies and repeaters in and around DV listed here: Death Valley Freqs - The RadioReference.com Forums

Cell service in the park is spotty, at best, but a new antennae was installed at Stove Pipe Wells a few months ago, and there are a few spots in the boonies that have reception (Tea Kettle Junction being one).

Another option for getting a ham license is to find a local club (check aarl.org) and go to a ham cram. You won't learn anything except how to take the test, but in one day you'll get through it. My wife and I got both our Technician and General in the same day.

KK6FMY
 
Given the terrain, we were all simplex this past weekend in Moab. The geography tends to keep even the same frequencies fairly clean between groups since even 5w-8w doesn't go too far in that bizarre terrain.
 
LawnDart said:
Given the terrain, we were all simplex this past weekend in Moab. The geography tends to keep even the same frequencies fairly clean between groups since even 5w-8w doesn't go too far in that bizarre terrain.
Click to expand...

Vhf (2m ham) works better in open terrain since the wavelength is longer it likes to bounce around thing that are more spread apart. It hit 80 miles in semi flat areas at 75watts in my mobile unit using simplex. In canyons vhf doesn't work very well. Uhf (70cm ham) being a smaller wavelength is much better with bouncing around tight areas, and works great in areas like Moab.
 
I recently posted on another thread I scored a deal on the Kenwood 710G

p893334127-4.jpg


I just got it in the mail today and am starting to research Antennas.
I would like to use the APRS so what antenna recommendations can ya'll suggest?

Any suggestions on california installers?
 
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If anyone is interested in getting their tech class license, you can find the question pool (with answers) online. I have a copy of all the 200 possible questions and the answers and am happy to email them to anyone who wants them, if you can't find them online. There are 35 questions out of that 200 possible questions on the actual test.

Another good study resource is this online "brochure" authored by a guy who wrote it specific to the new Technician class test, it is broken down by test question with the answers and an explanation of 'why':

http://www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2014-no-nonsense-tech-study-guide-v20.pdf

The test is really pretty simple. You don't need to purchase study guides, simply read the questions and answers, review the brochure linked above, and have working familiarity with basic electrical principles.

As far as simplex channels, when I am on a solo trip I monitor 146.520. I rarely hear anyone. I have all my local 2m repeaters programmed, all my local simplex programmed, but I really don't scan much locally and tend to just leave one band setting on 2m national calling channel and the other band setting on the 2m local repeater that gets the most use, or the VHF public safety station I'm interested in hearing. I'm going to add 146.460 to my list... I already have it programmed in but I show it by it's local moniker of 'Arcata ARES'.
 
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DannyLlama said:
I recently posted on another thread I scored a deal on the Kenwood 710G

p893334127-4.jpg


I just got it in the mail today and am starting to research Antennas.
I would like to use the APRS so what antenna recommendations can ya'll suggest?

Any suggestions on california installers?
Click to expand...
For using APRS it doesn't really matter which antenna you use, it just needs to work for 2m (144.390). I've been happy with the Larsen 2/70NMO antenna.

As for shops to install it, look for places that do any kind of communication install for people like police, fire, etc. they should be to handle it no problem. Then again if you aren't going to drill your roof for an antenna, it shouldn't be a super difficult install.

When it comes to all things mobile ham radio, KØBG.COM is the bible.
 
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