Ham Radio in A/S

[ffwilliston]

Greetings from AF4MB (Air Force for Myrtle Beach) in Myrtle Beach, SC. Am installing a Yaesu FT-8900 in our Airstream. Perhaps later, when (if) I talk the boss into it, I will also install all-band HF SSB capability. 73s, Fred

[joecolao]

Hello All,
Joe from Riverhead, Long Island, New York!
KC2RAR

[jwgreen]

I've been licensed as W9CJX since 1961, had a Airstream trailer since 1991, and a member of WBCCI (#4432) since 1993. I currently have a 1999 Excella 34 ft. that I tow with a 2005 Dodge Ram 3500 Cummins diesel dually. I have a Yaesu FT-1500 2M FM transceiver permanently installed in the trailer above the dinette and a 2m quarter wave antenna on the refrigerator roof vent. Total coax length from radio to antenna: 6 ft. I also use a Yaesu FT-847 in the trailer with the Yaesu ATAS-100 auto tuning antenna on a pole at the rear of the trailer. The mounting arrangement is my own design and photos are available if anyone is interested. I remove the antenna when traveling and screw it onto the mount when the trailer is hooked up. I use an power supply for the radio, however, I installed a 12 VDC feed in a '91 trailer I had before 2006. I've had great results with the antenna and radio, working Europe (France, Wales, Italy, etc.) on 20M SSB getting 57 reports running 100 watts. The aluminum counterpoise works great!!!

The WBCCI Amateur Radio Club, call WB8RC, is still active and is responsible for the RV service nets that are currently active on 20M & 40M. The do have 2M nets at rallies (International) and welcome local check ins to their nets.

I'm also a vendor, Premier Aqua Solutions, and I travel to RV shows and rallies of other brand RV's and clubs. For example, the Holiday Rambler RV club has 2M nets at their international rally. They have always welcomed me to check in even though I don't have an HR brand RV.

John Green
Eureka, Illinois college home of former president Ronald Reagan

[warbler5]

Welcome to the AirForums, John! Thanks for the info about the WBCCI Amateur Radio Club....now that I am a WBCCI member, I plan to go check it out.

My uncle and aunt are Holiday Rambler owners, and they go every year to the HR events....their group doesn't seem to have political upheaval going on that WBCCI has. They encouraged us to join WBCCI or the FMCA (I think only motorhomes can join that group).

btw.....this thread has lit the spark under me to order the General Manual and study for my upgrade! I easily passed the written back in 1991 or 1992, but I never got my code speed up....then, life kind of got in the way. Now, it's time!

73's

[RoadKingMoe]

I should add my wife, Barbara, got her Tech on Valentines Day 2008. Then she attended a local course for General and aced that as well. She plans to learn code this winter. Her call is W8FCJ.

[Airstream25]

Originally Posted by jwgreen

I have a Yaesu FT-1500 2M FM transceiver permanently installed in the trailer above the dinette and a 2m quarter wave antenna on the refrigerator roof vent. Total coax length from radio to antenna: 6 ft. I also use a Yaesu FT-847 in the trailer with the Yaesu ATAS-100 auto tuning antenna on a pole at the rear of the trailer. The mounting arrangement is my own design and photos are available if anyone is interested. I remove the antenna when traveling and screw it onto the mount when the trailer is hooked up.

John Green
Eureka, Illinois college home of former president Ronald Reagan

Hi John,
Please do post your photos.
I park my AS in a garage and the limited overhead clearance prevents any permanent antenna mount on the roof.
Jerry

[Aluminutt]

Hi,
N2MTW in SW NY with a 73 Argosy getting set up for full timing next summer I hope. Have a IC-746 in trailer and 706 in truck. I bungee several sections of aluminum conduit to the awning wraparound to hook togather for mast to hook diapole center point to for HF. Have a fold down CB antenna and a 2m/440 mag mount on a high nickle stainless plate riveted to the roof of the Argosy for 10m, vhf and uhf.
Steve

[Airboss]

Dont know if I ever posted on this thread or not.. Hello to all from KW8G In Michigan!!

[airstream66]

Hello all,

Still new to the forum. My dad has his liscense. N9SFA, I think, in Indiana. He used to be the Pres. of his club. I keep encouraging him to get an A/S. He tells me he doesn't want to work on something for recreation and doesn't want to spend the money on a newer one. Told him it would be great at 'Field Day'(that's what he calls it) the last weekend in June, and the Rally's would be great for him and my Mom as well. He also says he has to get rid of the Vette before getting one. Does anyone know of someone looking to trade their A/S for a '74 Vette? I will probably have to start a new thread for that. I will have to keep working on him. I see quite a few going up for sale this time of year.

Cory

[raebaker06]

VE3CZN /VE3RAE Been a Amateur since 1961 I took my rig with me across Canada to Victoria Island and to Signal hill in Newfoundland. My vehicle transmissin started to give me trouble in the Island so when I got home I wrote an account of the trip and named it to the Pacific and back on one transmission. Yuk Yuk.
When on signal hill Newfoundland, I thought my rig was down , BUT it was just the absense of noise. worked 5 European countries on 75. Locals came up and drank a galloon of Rum. (of course). Had a great time. Fog rolled in and I could not see the step on the Arosgy.

73

Rae

[pixiehat]

Howdy,
Am going up state to pick up my 75 27ft Overlander/International mid December. Just retired from being a Radio Officer in the merchant marine. Originally baught the airstream because I'm too lazy to build a regular ham shack. All these years I have only hammed aboard ship. Now we plan on traveling a bit. Anyhow will be loading the trailer with a TS2000 and an AL1500 plus a sb220 backup. For an antenna I plan on a butternut for home and a 30 foot comercial alumanum whip with an SGC coupler for on the road..

73
Lee
NI7I

[Lothlorian]

I have always been interested in ham radios and cb's but never have owned either. What are the benefits and fun things with these types of radios. I have the cell phone but I was wondering what additional things you get from these types of other radios.

Lothlorian

Brian

[warbler5]

Originally Posted by pixiehat

For an antenna I plan on a butternut for home and a 30 foot comercial alumanum whip with an SGC coupler for on the road.

Back in the early 1990's, when I first got my ham ticket, I worked 120+ countries on 10 meters (phone only), using a Butternut antenna. It works even better if you can elevate it and add a bunch of radials. In the Airstream, we use the DK-3 antenna built by W6AAQ, which uses a cordless screwdriver motor to tune the antenna to the various frequencies.

73's, N6ZWC

[pixiehat]

Been using verticals aboard ship for 25 years. Probably work DXCC everytime I make a trip. Since I dont really have room for any wire or a tower, a vertical is what I'll use now. Traveling it's also the logical choice but in this case it will be a 30 ft aluminum whip with an SGC coupler.

73
Lee
NI7I

[NevadaGeo]

Originally Posted by Lothlorian

I have always been interested in ham radios and cb's but never have owned either. What are the benefits and fun things with these types of radios. I have the cell phone but I was wondering what additional things you get from these types of other radios.

Lothlorian

Brian

Brian, just read this thread and you'll get an idea about Ham radio. You'll see lots of unknown friends out there to give you directions, advice, assistance, from lots more bands of frequencies than the Citizens Band is allowed. Citizens Band is actually one small part of one Ham Radio band that was carved out years ago.
With CB you can communicate with close by folks, but anything more than line of sight is quite iffy. Ham Radio you can communicate around the world with a little experience. Using locally owned repeaters on hilltops you can talk over that hill to the next valley, or the next state. You can dial certain repeaters and patch into an internet connection and come out on a repeater in England or some other state if you want, I was listening to that some here last year.
CB is allowed legally 5 watts power, with Ham Radio you can use up to 1500 watts in certain bands. Some folks are into bouncing messages off the moon. Most of the astronauts are Ham licensed and regularly talk to Ham Radio operators, sometimes they give science lessons to earthbound classrooms on a Ham radio. You can listen to the space station when it goes overhead. (Not on CB I don't believe). R/C (radio controlled) airplanes are on Ham bands I believe.
Some folks are into the contesting, seeing how many contacts they can make around the world on a contest weekend. Around here I hear some hikers and mountain bikers using Ham radio.
Ham radio has little swearing, enforced by fines and loss of license. CB, well. I stopped listening to CB years ago for the swearing so I don't know.
Ham Radio is lots of fun, with all kinds of specialty areas you can specialize in if you want to.
N7YS
Perry

[aircooled4]

Theres also DIFFERENT ways of communicating with other hams...Morse code, voice, sending data from station to staion(packet), teletype(keyboarding with another station), bouncing signals off the moon, using the internet to talk through distant repeaters. Thats just a few....Im involved in ARES/RACES which is Amateur Radio Emergency Services. This past summer the local sheriffs dept utilized our county wide group to assist security due the extensive flooding in central Wisconsin. Overall, its a much more technically skilled group than youll find on CB....

[mistermike]

W1RC from VT is QRV.....

73,

MisterMike

All Airstreamers are welcome at NEAR-Fest,
Best Hamfest on the Planet!
www.near-fest.com

[joecolao]

KC2RAR for the winter at Travelers Rest Resort in Dade City Florida.

[Airboss]

KW8G In Michigan checking in....

[Branson]

K0lgt since 1956