New Ham Here: what's your setup?

[paulsingh]

I received a Baofeng HT as a Secret Santa gift for Christmas and used it as an opportunity to take (and pass) the Tech exam. Now that I've been using it for a little over a month, I'm gearing up to take the General later this month.

Once you make that first contact, it so easy to start wondering how much more you can do as a ham.

I'm leaning towards picking up an iCom ID-51A Plus2 as my daily HT and to start experimenting with D-Star. For now, my plan is to use the HT exclusively (as opposed to buying a mobile unit for my tow vehicle and/or the Airstream).

I've already installed a Larsen 2m/70cm antenna on my pickup truck but I'm curious to see how others have installed external ham antennas on their Airstream. Any pics?

[Rob Edgerton]

Paul, we have a 23FB so a little different setup than yours. On our rig the closet is next to the refer. The refer has an outside vent and access panel. What I did was have Airstream NW drill a hole through the panel between the closet and the outside access area for the refer. Into the hole I installed a bulkhead barrel connector. This is a safe installation since it is sealed in the panel with silicone and the barrel connector is such that no potential for gas to migrate through. When I get to my destination a PL259 connected to the inside and to the radio, and outside the same connection but the on to the antenna via the outside vent panel. I have actually found that with using RG8X you can even still get the panel to close and not pinch the coax. Easy setup and tear down, no holes in undesired locations on the AS, and it works well.

Good luck, 73.

Rob Edgerton, K7RBE

[dbusse]

Hi, Paul-

We, too, have a 30' 2016 Classic. I just added three antennas. If you remove the inside ceiling light fixtures, you'll be looking at the insulation on the roof. Wiggle a hole, and there is the outer skin. I did NOT use a NMO mount, as it is made for a steel body. Under the light by the lav hallway, I used a 3/8" stud mount and used a flange washer to back it up. The outside looks like a NMO, but it spreads the stress over a broad area of the softer aluminum skin. You'll be able to snake a wire into the closet easily. In my case, I installed my gear under the seat in the kitchen below the TV. In order to do that, I had the dealer pull the refrigerator and route the wires the last few feet (they wanted no part of drilling the roof, but I had no expertise in pulling the fridge). I added WiFi and cellular, as well as a VHF wideband antenna (ham and commercial both). I am happy the way it all turned out.

So, the issue is to determine where you want to put your equipment. The antennas were easy. Routing the cables can be difficult to get them to the exact spot you want.
I now have a bi-directional amplifier for cellular, WiFi, and GPS with the antennas all in two domes, plus the VHF whip. DC was already under the seat in the master wiring bundle.

I'll have to snap photos when we get it out of storage in March.

Oh, and I am in the midst of adding a radio to the GMC truck as well. Gotta use Motorola commercial stuff, as my wife is not a ham.

Dan
KAØTER

[Rocinante]

New ham here as well, passed the Technician class exam today. Will go for General in the near future. No call sign yet, but will start looking at radios.

[Mgieselman]

I've had both Yaesu and Icom radios, I prefer Icom and dstar.

The ID-51a is a great handheld, Kenwood has a dstar compatible radio recently released TH-D74A that might be worth considering.

[Rocinante]

That Kenwood looks pretty sweet. Spendy, but very nice.

[STREMN]

Congratulations on your new tickets!

Sharing a few thoughts on getting into operation on the road using either UHF or VHF repeaters. Operating conditions play a big role in how well things work for you. I.E. how well the repeater receives, topography, distance, elevation, location, etc... and the radio you choose to use.

A portable or HT is usually max power of 5 watts. That will limit your ability to get into a distant repeater, especially while in motion from inside your TV, Car, Trailer, etc... You may hear the machine fine on receive but getting into it can be the challenge. An external antenna will improve that experience. Don't expect to be able to do everything with the HT. There's a movie quote that went something like "A man's gotta know his limitations".

A mobile is usually 5-50 watts of output power. Much more effective to get into that distant repeater. Mobile mount in the TV or setting up a base inside the AS you'll want an external antenna. Mag mounts, Mirror mount, Cargo carrier mount, Trunk or hood lip mount, NMO (drill a hole), external flag pole mast(while stationary) etc... lot's of options. You can usually expect much better performance with the more powerful mobile rig.

I use both on the road for different purposes. The mobile (Icom ID-5100) is in the TV with an external antenna. It can be used for Analog comms, DStar digital, WX band.

I also use an HT (Icom ID-51) to operate a DStar Mobile Hotspot. The hotspot is a Raspberry PI computer with a DVMega board attached to it. The DVMega board transmits and receives the HT using super low power. The PI is connected to the internet and runs software that lets me talk to other DStar users around the world. No repeater required...just an internet connection.

There are many different modes of operation available today. HAM Radio and digital modes have grown into many different forms over the past few years and continue to evolve. Right now the most common digital modes are DStar, DMR, and Fusion. Each require their own radio to use that mode. Work is in progress to build a combination radio that will do multiple modes, but we're not there yet. On the other side of the coin, hotspot's are evolving that allow the use of all these modes in one device. You still have to have the appropriate radio for using each mode.

Congratulations! Welcome to the hobby!

73 - Tom

[jwgreen]

Paul,
Here's a description of my Airstream shack: I have a Yaesu FT-847 inside the trailer and a Yaesu ATAS-100 40M through 70cm mobile antenna on the roof. I mounted the base mount of a vertical baffle between the A/C and the cap on the fridge flue. I has to install a flat aluminum strap between the baffle and the fridge cap for mechanical strength. I run the coax through the rubber gasket on the slide out. An alternate route would be through the cavity behind the fridge. I have a 2M/70cm J pole made from 300 ohm ladder line held up by a small rope over a tree lime outside the trailer. In other locations, I use a telescoping painters pole and a Hustler 2M mobile collinear antenna up about 15 ft. I use 2 Harbor Freight Tools suction cup glass carriers on the side of the trailer and secure the painters pole to their handles with ball bungee cords.

I want to plug the WBCCI Amateur Radio Club as a great group of Airstream hams. The club website is www.rvsvcnet.wbcci.net. The club sponsors the RV service nets that meet daily on 40M SSB. More info is available on the website. You don't have to join WBCCI to belong to the radio club. A newsletter is published twice a year with issues in May and November.