Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2004 09:29:44 -0700
Reply-To: David Marshall <mailinglist@FASTFORWARD.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Marshall <mailinglist@FASTFORWARD.CA>
Subject: Re: A good ham setup
In-Reply-To: <4183A4D0.4040605@adelphia.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
I'm not an Elmer - heck I'm 'only' 32 years old, but I think thing the
permanently installed VHF / UHF radios are over rated. I mount my Icom W2A
dual band hand held on a mobile phone holder next to the speedo pod. At the
holder is a 12V plug for it and I have a speaker/mic plug for it so I don't
have to pick the whole radio up to talk, just the mic, mount the speaker
some place nice. I do not have an external antenna and for the most part I
don't need it. I have external HF and 6m antenna though (see pics of my
TriStar). VHF / UHF is basically line of sight and the communications to a
repeater generally don't need a whole lot of punch - at least in mountain
country. If you want more punch, an external high gain antenna will work -
6bB gain is like taking the 5W radio and making it 20W - then you can just
plug that antenna into the top of the hand held radio via a BNC plug. The
nice thing about this is it takes 2 seconds to remove the radio from the
holder so when you are gone from the vehicle you have a radio you can talk
on and someone else won't tempted to take your radio.
David Marshall
Fast Forward Automotive Inc.
4356 Quesnel-Hixon Road
Quesnel BC Canada V2J 6Z3
http://www.fastforward.ca mailto:sales@fastforward.ca
Phone: (250) 992 7775 FAX: (250) 992 1160
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-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
Of Rocket J Squirrel
Sent: October 30, 2004 7:27 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: A good ham setup
This is veering away from pure Vanagon content into ham radio geekery,
but younger hams with Vanagons may benefit from the collective wisdom of
the "Elmers" (hams with know-how) on this subject.
My question: I'd like to put a small VHF/UHF mobile rig into Mellow
Yellow, but have no knowledge of the affordable rigs, nor which would
mount easily. So I'd like some advice on this. The good, easy-to-find
used models? Where you fit 'em (I have my CD changer mounted on the
ceiling above the rear view mirror, and under my butt is the aux
battery), a good affordable roof-mount antenna (Mellow Yellow is a
Westy), and any Handy Hintz to help me get set up ragchewing while on
the road in an inexpensive manner.
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)"
KG6RCR
-=-=-
... "A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well."
-- Unknown
