Ham Radio

[Byron Kinnaman]

Today was the day to add to the metal on the roof. Those antennas should help both VHF/UHF radio and TV.

[Donna D.]

Byron, looks like you should add lights to the top of the mast to help those low(er) flying planes!

[GMike A]

Looks Good. Not like to good old days of Ham radio when you could mess up everyone's TV within a two block radius.

[Night Sailor]

Originally Posted by rcadmus

I just acquired a 2005 scamp 13 for use mainly as a portable ham shack. <snip>. ray W0PFO

Ray, I had the same idea--portable ham shack. I travel with my dog often and would like to stay in touch and meet other hams while boondocking and have a few eyeball qso's.

I am still in the construction phase perhaps people can post descriptions of their radios amps and antennas here.

As for me my aluminum truck camper still needs a lot of work and I enjoy designing and building it. My free time is limited as I am working on a boat project at the moment. I am working on a camper wiring plan now and that is rather complicated because of the radio gear and space is very tight. I plan to use Wago wiring terminations on DIN rails as i have discovered I like them better than Anderson connectors. Has anyone else tried these? They make for a very neat installation and if used with a numbering system and labeling key, they are easy to modify or expand.

For radios I have an Icom 7000 and a couple of dual band Yaesu FT-8500 mobile radios, two of FT-50R portables.

I am toying with the idea of building two horizontal bar(s) across the back and top of my camper that I can rotate to raise several mobile type antennas in those two spots so that they lay flat against the top or back when traveling and yet stand up straight when fixed and yet two seconds to swing into place.

I have several Ham sticks for the low bands and an Icom antenna tuner. For HF my hams sticks work but not well. They make sense for mobile antennas; they are light and can be screwed in place yet take up very little space. The solution might be to get them higher and set them up in pairs as dipoles. I will provide some bulkhead terminations for external antennas in case I decide to try any wire or loop.

I want wifi, cell booster, TV antennas as well as various ham antennas on the roof. I was just gifted a decent marine (pie plate Type) TV antenna. I mostly watch movies and the news. A satellite dish has a very small appeal and costs too much.

I'd like to seek out mountain tops and do mostly weak signal VHF/UHF work with horizontal Yagi-Uda antennas and use my stacked vertical dual band on the mast for lower elevations. The vertical antenna is 17' long, 7.8 dB gain on 2 and 11.8 dB. I also have a 25' galvanized telescopic mast in my basement I never used that would work well with a hitch mount or under tire mount. It might be too much weight to carry for regular use but could but fun occasionally. The idea of a Yagi and a tall vertical on that 25' mast has great appeal. A wifi Yagi up there would be nice also.

[GMike A]

Big shopping list. This is what comes to mind at first choice but I will think about your comments.

[Night Sailor]

Originally Posted by GMike A

Big shopping list. This is what comes to mind at first choice but I will think about your comments.

I have everything but the cell phone booster and some of the Wago terminals. For the Wago's wires are crimped into a square cross section with a ferrule crimper. I need to pick up more ferrules too.

http://www.wago.us/products/274.htm

[GMike A]

I bought a Wilson and really like it. I have it mounted in my car but its flexible enough to move around. I intend on having my rig in my egg but probably not to the extent that you are doing. Will be interested to see how yours comes along

[NicoletRamblerAl]

While camping this last summer at a National Forest campground,,NWS issued severe weather warnings for the area.The Jeep has 2 meters and the Scamp has HH dual band with external antenna.It was great being able to contact local hams on their repeaters to know what they were seeing on radar,and advise others in the campground as to what was happening.

Al,KC9DOR

[Rod P]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Byron, looks like you should add lights to the top of the mast to help those low(er) flying planes!

or drones!

[Rod P]

Originally Posted by GMike A

Looks Good. Not like to good old days of Ham radio when you could mess up everyone's TV within a two block radius.

I still have my old equipment including a booster. I just need an antenna and thought about firing it up for the fun of it. Maybe I will run down to RadioShack to see what they might have these days other than toys and cell phones.

[rcadmus]

I'm not planning to mount any antennas on the Scamp. At most would mount a pipe to act as a socket for a vertical. I use mostly a PAC-12 at this time but have just built a buddi-pole and buddi-stick that I need to get tuned and set.

All my operation is QRP using one of a variety of rigs. Primary is probably the KX-1 but occasionally use an IC-703 or FT-817 on SSB.

Last time out my only contacts were via PSK-31 using a PSK-20.

To be honest - the intent is as much to get together with some of the other portable, QRP ops and BS as much as play radio

Regards,

ray W0PFO

[Ed Harris]

Right after the Joplin Tornado hit I was called up by Satern and unleashed upon them Ham in Egg!

We used my 7000 and Buddi-Pole to run the Sarern Net every day that I was there and the antenna was just mounted on a single speaker tripod with painters pole extended and we got decent signal reports like that somehow?

I have 2 main portable setups that I bring in the egg.
1 is the 7000 and an FT90 in a Pelican case with power supply ready to be opened and feed line attached in under 30 seconds.

The other is the same idea but with an 817 and LDG Tuner along with a small 2 meter amp in an even smaller case.
There is a Super Antenna in there and a Miracle whip and a Beach Bob ground plane for 2 and 440 in there too!

I have thought of mounting something in the trailer but most of my time in radio is in public service really and it is handier for me to have them all ready to go in a box at all times.

I have actually developed a simple but universal radio mounting system that allows for standardization and reconfiguration in very short times and I can move any radio in any box that I have it in in less than 5 minutes and be portable again in differnt setups.

I also always have some wire with me and have hung dipoles and windows in the parks but carefully.

I bring a tripod for my TV antenna and can mount another antenna to the mast for that one as long as I don't use them at the same time and let smoke out of the TV!

I am looking for a Hot Stick for flipping pole mounted high voltage disconnects now.
We use them for MS Ride net control and they are amazing and expensive.
If I can find one cheap enough,it will be mine!

I also love mountain top HT work in Colorado and I have hit 250 to 300 miles with an HT from several 14ers to the Denver repeaters,it is a thrill for sure.

I also listen to Shortwave in the Egg and it is great when there is less noise on the bands than in the city where I live.

[Byron Kinnaman]

I carry my hf radio (FT-857D) in a home made box that's patterned after a sewing machine case. The top lifts off and the radio, signal link, and seldom used tuner are there ready to use.
I carry a couple of antennas with me, 20 Meter EndFedz, 40 meter EndFedz, 10, 20, 40 meter EndFedz. The Triband is only good for 25 Watts. The two mono banders are good for 200 watts. I also carry a Buddie Pole with extended length mast.
To deploy the EndFedz antennas I have two telescoping fiberglass poles, one at 52' one one at 19'. With these I can make the EndFedz antennas slopers. To hold the fiberglass poles I pound into the ground two short steel fence posts and lash the fiberglass poles to them with bungie cords.

The radio is powered by a 50 amp hour gelcell battery which is recharged with a 65 Watt Solar panel. Set up and take down 15 to 20 minutes each.
Sometimes only one fiberglass pole is used and I operate on the tailgate of the truck. Sometimes I move the battery to a table and operate there. So far I haven't really operated from inside the trailer, but it wouldn't be difficult to do, just the antenna coax and the power wire in through the 120 power cord opening. Set the battery under the trailer.

For VHF/UHF I have a FT8800 mounted in the tow a pretty short antenna on the truck can be easily switched out for a supergainer.

[GMike A]

Thanks for sharing all the info guys. Good read!!!!

[Night Sailor]

Originally Posted by NicoletRamblerAl

While camping this last summer at a National Forest campground,,NWS issued severe weather warnings for the area.The Jeep has 2 meters and the Scamp has HH dual band with external antenna.It was great being able to contact local hams on their repeaters to know what they were seeing on radar,and advise others in the campground as to what was happening. Al,KC9DOR

What do you use for an antenna on the Jeep. Is it a Wrangler? I have been wanting a Wrangler for years and may get one in the next few years. A friend of mine had a 2 meter Icom on his Wrangler. He used a mast on the back.

I was also wondering what you had for an dual band antenna you had on the scamp.

[Night Sailor]

Originally Posted by Rod P

I still have my old equipment including a booster. I just need an antenna and thought about firing it up for the fun of it. Maybe I will run down to RadioShack to see what they might have these days other than toys and cell phones.

I would avoid Radio Shack. Ham Radio Outlet can deliver anything in 24 hours.

[Night Sailor]

Originally Posted by rcadmus

I'm not planning to mount any antennas on the Scamp. At most would mount a pipe to act as a socket for a vertical. I use mostly a PAC-12 at this time but have just built a buddi-pole and buddi-stick that I need to get tuned and set. <snip> Last time out my only contacts were via PSK-31 using a PSK-20. To be honest - the intent is as much to get together with some of the other portable, QRP ops and BS as much as play radio Regards, ray W0PFO

Not sure what a buddy pole is. Is that an external pole on stand offs? It sounds like a great idea.

I am a rag chewer too Ray.

Conrad

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Night Sailor

Not sure what a buddy pole is. Is that an external pole on stand offs? It sounds like a great idea.

I am a rag chewer too Ray.

Conrad

Buddi pole antenna is portable dipole antenna. I also have one that I use at times. It's proven to be pretty effective.

Check it out here.

[Night Sailor]

I bet that would work great for mountain tops.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Night Sailor

I bet that would work great for mountain tops.

Surprisingly one of the most long distant contacts I made with it I was at the mouth of the John Day River in Oregon. The mouth is where it dumps into the Columbia River. Almost a mile from the Columbia and in the canyon.

It's a pretty good antanna.
Pluses -- Can be made resonant on all bands.
Portable
Free standing

Negatives -- Takes some fiddling to get tuned.
Must be retuned for each band.

It's kind of funny, some times I can get it tuned easily other times I have to fuss with it and fuss with it.

The other antenna I use is an Par Electronics ENDFedz mono band wire antennas.

73
AK7EE