2M Recommendations For Beginners Please!

[1911]

Does anyone run and "Export" CBs alongside their Hams? We were just looking into buying a CB and we stumbled upon the export models. 'Seems like a better CB to complement the Ham radio. 'Thoughts anyone?

My opinion only; some may disagree: CB is worthless for anything except as a trail radio in a close (bunched-up) group where that's all the other members have. Ham is far superior in every other respect. So, I do keep a standard 4-watt cb in my 4WD trucks just for that purpose, but other than that never use them. With a decent, tuned antenna, 4 watts is sufficient for that purpose. The big wattage on the illegal-to-use "export" radios don't give you anything that you can't have better and legally with a ham radio, so why bother?

 

[General Automag]

Having a CB for trail riding use is the only circumstance where we would need on as well. It's my understanding that you can't transmit/receive on the CB bands with a Ham radio. Its that correct? I reason that if we need a CB to talk to others on trail rides, we might as well get one that works well, hence the export models. I'd rather not have to buy and install a CB radio, but I hardly ever see anyone on the trail with a Ham radio.

 

[1911]

Having a CB for trail riding use is the only circumstance where we would need on as well. It's my understanding that you can't transmit/receive on the CB bands with a Ham radio. Its that correct?

You can buy a ham radio that will receive on cb frequencies (my Kenwood TS-480 will for example), but none that will transmit - it's illegal to use ham power on cb and it's illegal to mix different licensed and unlicensed radio services in the U.S.

I reason that if we need a CB to talk to others on trail rides, we might as well get one that works well, hence the export models. I'd rather not have to buy and install a CB radio, but I hardly ever see anyone on the trail with a Ham radio.

I couldn't tell you how well they work, but all they are is a cb radio with an amplifier to crank out 20x + the wattage. Certainly you'd have more range than a legal 4-watt cb, but again why bother for a trail group?

You are right, there are not as many ham operators as cb on the trail, but we're getting more hams all the time. You'll find a disproportionate share of them here on ExPo because folks that travel long distances can use ham radios to talk around the world not just to the next truck.

 

[omdavidk]

Hey guys,

I've combed over this thread as I'm trying to sort through the mist of radio information. Most of this 2m and HAM radio info appears to be for N. American based users. My main use is going to be Overlanding throughout southern and central Africa. I'll be communicating vehicle to vehicle, but we won't always be in close groups. On long dusty roads, we're miles apart at times.

Does anyone have a recommendation for this application?

 

[vicali]

Alright, I'm pulling the trigger on a dual band system at Gigaparts for my Tacoma;

Yaesu FT-7900R w separation kit.
Yaesu MLS-100 remote speaker.
Larson NMO2/70B.
Larson NMOK hard-mount kit.

I'm only concerned about the last one, wondering if I should be looking at a 17ft no solder kit from Comet or Diamond rather than the shorten to length and solder PL-259 kit..

I should mention the radio is going under the drivers seat and the antenna is going on the front fender with a WestCrystal mount.

 

[Saltriverfolk]

I don't know how wearherproof the NMOK kit is underneath. If it is made for roof mount you may have a moisture issue.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Saltriverfolk]

I like my ft7900 very much. Also get the programmung software. Also ham radio outlet does not charge freight.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 2

 

[1911]

Larson NMOK hard-mount kit.

I'm only concerned about the last one, wondering if I should be looking at a 17ft no solder kit from Comet or Diamond rather than the shorten to length and solder PL-259 kit..

I should mention the radio is going under the drivers seat and the antenna is going on the front fender...

Couple of things...

17' is way too much coax to go between the front fender and the driver's seat. If you went that way, you'd end up with a ton of extra coax that you'd have to put somewhere carefully - in a large-diameter coil that is going to be hard to hide.

Soldering a PL-259 on the end is easy, if you have any experience soldering whatsoever. Even if you don't, there are some great videos on Youtube that show you exactly how. You'll need something bigger/better than a cheapo soldering iron to do it. My personal preference is a small butane torch. They're cheap at Lowe's/Home Depot. Cutting your coax to length and soldering on a PL-259 will make your install much more sanitary and custom, you won't have any excess length to deal with and the coax will be invisible. It's also easy to fish the coax w/no connector through the existing firewall grommets.

If you really don't want to solder a PL-259 on, then at least buy a shorter pre-made coax and connector. Run a plain wire along the exact path you will put the coax to see how long of a cable you need, and then buy a pre-made one that is just over that length if possible.

 

[TimmiT]

I like my ft7900 very much. Also get the programmung software. Also ham radio outlet does not charge freight.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 2

Rather than the Yeasu software, download CHIRP. Easy to use, free, and can be used for different radios if you get more. I have used it to program my Kenwood TM D710a and cheap handheld.

Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 4

 

[lugueto]

Hey guys, didn't notice this section of ExPo.

I'm converting from CB as well, need more serious comms, although CB sort of sufficed this gives me more peace of mind knowing that i can communicate on much much longer distances. I will be taking my operator's test on january (this is in Venezuela FYI), but had the chance to research (learnt a whole lot) and bought my radio and antenna.

I bought a Yaesu 2900R, Larsen NMO 3/4" hole mount, coax & connectors and Larsen 5/8th antenna. Supposedly a fool proof, extremely simple & solid setup..

However, I need tips on the install. I already know the radio needs to be in an open space, and the antenna as high as I can. However, I have doubts as far as antenna mounting. I suppose the cable routing principles from CB installs apply: no winding, tight turns or routing it alongside any large power cables? I will be installing the antenna to a mount bolted to the spare tire carrier on the trunk door, will this have good enough of a ground plane??? Ground plane is where I'm a little confused with the install..

Also, what is the programming needed on these radios?? Why do I need to program it? how do I do it??

Thanks for any help!!

Luis

 

[1911]

I suppose the cable routing principles from CB installs apply: no winding, tight turns or routing it alongside any large power cables?

Yes, that is correct.

I will be installing the antenna to a mount bolted to the spare tire carrier on the trunk door, will this have good enough of a ground plane??? Ground plane is where I'm a little confused with the install..

It depends on the exact vehicle, but many trucks suffer from a lack of ground plane in that location. I have a 2M antenna on the spare tire carrier on one of my Land Cruisers and I had to use a 1/2-wave antenna to get the SWR in an acceptable range.

Also, what is the programming needed on these radios?? Why do I need to program it? how do I do it??

You don't have to do any programming to use the radio in simplex operation (one station to another), just select VFO on the front panel and turn the big dial to the frequency desired. But you will need to do some programming to be able to use repeaters. The radio must know (must have in memory) the transmitting frequency, the receiving frequency (or at least the offset between the two), and the PL or other control tone frequency of each repeater you wish to access. The programming just consists of storing these values in the appropriate memory locations and then naming that memory location. The instructions are all in the user's manual that comes with the radio, but Yaesu manuals suffer in translation from Japanese to English or Spanish. Read and re-read the section on repeater operation many times and you will eventually figure it out. If you are going to enter data for more than 5-10 repeaters, then it may be worthwhile to get some programming software and the cable it needs to connect to the radio. The programming software lets you put all the repeater data and names in a table (spreadsheet) which gets dumped into the radio all at once. If there is anyone local to you that already has a Yaesu radio, he could be very helpful to you.

Good luck with your installation.

 

[lugueto]

Oh ok, i've been reading up on the web and have a fair understanding of the duplex operations for the use of repeaters. I thought they had to be programmed with a computer or something...

The vehicle the radio's going into is a 90 series land cruiser, i want to have it installed under the best conditions possible, although I will be installing the radio myself to avoid having it done by someone who might not know what they're doing, so i need to take into account every single variable. Where would you mount a 5/8 antenna?? Aesthetically I think the spare tire mount is the best option, but this ultimately does not matter. Clearance is not an issue, I do not want to drill the roof, and that option is already out of the question due to the roof rack covering the entire roof...

 

[crawler#976]

Which Larsen antenna did you get? Some are no ground plane, some require a ground plane. If you are mounting it off the rear, it must be a no ground plane antenna. I've used several types of mounts, some had severe problems.

Here's and example of a couple that did work well:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...m-low-audio-limited-range?p=969187#post969187

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...-Jeep-Rubicon-Unlimited?p=1117089#post1117089

They look similar to some extent - both are hanging off the truck or jeep, both are using a Larsen NMO 2/70 no ground plane required antenna. That said, performance is not as good as a roof mount because of the distortion caused by being on the side of the vehicle. For the truck, I had better range to the left, and on the Jeep to the rear.

 

[lugueto]

The antenna is a Larsen NMO150B 5/8th antenna 200W and 3dB gain (with the ground plane..).

Wait, i finally understood ground plane. I thought it was proper electrical grounding, now I understand...

The mount is halfway up the rear glass, very close to the roof. Will this be a better setup than mounting it, say, on the front bumper?? It will be higher up..

 

[1911]

Where would you mount a 5/8 antenna??

In the middle of the roof, or on a flat front fender/edge of the hood. An expanse of sheet metal makes the best ground plane on a vehicle.

The antenna is a Larsen NMO150B 5/8th antenna 200W and 3dB gain (with the ground plane..).

Wait, i finally understood ground plane. I thought it was proper electrical grounding, now I understand...

The mount is halfway up the rear glass, very close to the roof. Will this be a better setup than mounting it, say, on the front bumper?? It will be higher up..

Either can work, though both are likely to need a 1/2-wave antenna to overcome the lack of ground plane. If it's really close to the roof, you may get some ground plane from the roof, but as I said before you need to check the SWR with a decent meter or antenna analyzer to make sure. All else being equal, higher is always better as VHF/UHF is mostly line-of-sight communication, so higher will get you longer range.

Here is my Larsen 1/2-wave on the spare tire mount of my 40-series. Like I said, I tried a 5/8-wave antenna there first but it wouldn't yield acceptable SWR. The half-wave tuned up perfectly with minor trimming of the whip.