New HAM mobile recommendation
- Thread starter Vulture
- Start date
oooooh, I need to go find pictures.....
Current setup is Icom ID-5100 - head unit on a ram mount above the mirror and body is under the seat with an external speaker on the roll bar. using a Comet SBM-7NMO on the taillight mount works great.... accept for no APRS. (yes it has DPRS, no its not really the same)
So I built an APRS "box" stashed in the back near the hardtop with an old Land mobile radio and a raspberry Pi (remind me and ill take some pictures of it)
If you can swing it Yaesu FTM-300 (or FTM- 400, but the just discontinued it and the 300 is actually better). Even better would be the Kenwood D-710G (good luck finding one) is a killer radio. Full functionality APRS and the radio itself is a high quality transmitter/receiver. Overkill for the casual user but really nice to have. I have several of the TYT mobiles and other Chinese brands, they're "OK" but ultimately a frustration. If I could do it over again I would save up initially for a quality Icom or Yaesu unit, they're a nice middle ground of 90% of the quality of a Kenwood/Motorola at like 50% of the price.
HRO (Ham Radio Outlet) is local to me and sells quality radios at a very fair price, good people there and they'll cut you a fair deal with great customer support.
Current setup is Icom ID-5100 - head unit on a ram mount above the mirror and body is under the seat with an external speaker on the roll bar. using a Comet SBM-7NMO on the taillight mount works great.... accept for no APRS. (yes it has DPRS, no its not really the same)
So I built an APRS "box" stashed in the back near the hardtop with an old Land mobile radio and a raspberry Pi (remind me and ill take some pictures of it)
If you can swing it Yaesu FTM-300 (or FTM- 400, but the just discontinued it and the 300 is actually better). Even better would be the Kenwood D-710G (good luck finding one) is a killer radio. Full functionality APRS and the radio itself is a high quality transmitter/receiver. Overkill for the casual user but really nice to have. I have several of the TYT mobiles and other Chinese brands, they're "OK" but ultimately a frustration. If I could do it over again I would save up initially for a quality Icom or Yaesu unit, they're a nice middle ground of 90% of the quality of a Kenwood/Motorola at like 50% of the price.
HRO (Ham Radio Outlet) is local to me and sells quality radios at a very fair price, good people there and they'll cut you a fair deal with great customer support.
A recent acquisition, Yaesu FTM-200D. A little less coin than the 300, but still has full GPS/APRS capabilities. It's only a single receiver, unlike the 300's dual receive feature, but it does have dual watch.
I have the faceplate mounted with a Lido quick disconnect mount. The main body is behind the center console.
The other radio you see in the first pic that at the bottom of the dash is my GMRS mobile.
I have my Ham antenna on a tail light bracket and my GMRS antenna on a A-pillar mount.
The Ham antenna is a Diamond. I don't recall the model, but is a dual band. The GMRS antenna is a Midland.
Edit: congrats on getting your Ham ticket!
I have the faceplate mounted with a Lido quick disconnect mount. The main body is behind the center console.
The other radio you see in the first pic that at the bottom of the dash is my GMRS mobile.
I have my Ham antenna on a tail light bracket and my GMRS antenna on a A-pillar mount.
The Ham antenna is a Diamond. I don't recall the model, but is a dual band. The GMRS antenna is a Midland.
Edit: congrats on getting your Ham ticket!
I feel like the single receiver on the FTM-200 would be annoying, but then again I'm a little bit of a Radio Guy.
I have the opposite feeling about that. I'm not smart enough to listen to 2 people talking at the same time, lol! I do like the dual watch though, but I'm a simple Ham and haven't been doing it for that long. To be honest, the 200 wasn't my first choice. I had a Anytone tri-band radio on order. It had the true dual receiver and crossband repeat features, which intrigued me. I wanted a removable face plate, but after waiting 2 months for the boat from China to bring them in, I canceled and went with the Yaesu. I do like the Yaesu quality.
Been looking at that tri-bander Anytone 578 for shack duty. Does a lot of stuff in one package if it is a little finnicky to make work. They just came out with a bluetooth remote "HT" that gives you full radio control, kinda cool
Off topic but what seat covers are those? (or are they custom upholstry?) I really like them
Custom Upholstery, guy in Dallas did them for cheaper than new seats (mine were falling apart) fabric is actually OE for a 75 mustang 2
Don't have great photos on the phone, but had the rear seat done as well. dude does great work and couldn't be happier with the color and pattern, really ties the jeep together.
I just have an old Yaesu FT-8800. Face mounted above the mirror w/ cables running down to a remote mic plug and to the chassis which is in the dash above the stereo h.u. Have an extension speaker on the left side of dash.
Run a Larsen 2m/70cm dual band NMO antenna at the rear corner.
Run a Larsen 2m/70cm dual band NMO antenna at the rear corner.
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Thanks for all the replies everyone. There is a monumental amount of equipment out there to choose from and hearing everyone's comments is very helpful!
Kenwood TM-281A 2m ham; Uniden Pro520XL CB; Arizona Rocky Road overhead mount; Teraflex tail light antenna bracket; Breedlove drop-in NMO antenna mount; various Larsen antennas. [CB uses Teraflex tail light antenna bracket, Breedlove 3/8" stud mount and brass quick disconnects, various Firestik Firefly antennas.]
73
KG6LMV
73
KG6LMV
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Retivis RT-95 here:
Which is the same as an Anytone something-or-other plus a couple of others. Its a bit clumsy to operate for me, but it gets the job done.
I'd like to add an HF rig with a crank/slide up antenna on the rear bumper.
Which is the same as an Anytone something-or-other plus a couple of others. Its a bit clumsy to operate for me, but it gets the job done.
I'd like to add an HF rig with a crank/slide up antenna on the rear bumper.
I’d like to see and hear a bit more about that switch panel / power distribution box…
HAM is mostly useless as few other people bother with it since a bunch of old farts made it unapproachable for the younger generations. In the unlikely case of emergency - no one is going to give a shit if you have a license or not.
As such, I'd return the expensive radio and buy a GMRS unit since that's likely what anyone you wheel with will have. If they don't, grab a few uv5rs for $20/e and have some loaners.
As such, I'd return the expensive radio and buy a GMRS unit since that's likely what anyone you wheel with will have. If they don't, grab a few uv5rs for $20/e and have some loaners.
Or even other "new" hams who are old farts themselves. I went to a local, "regional hamfest" that was full of grumpy old bastards too busy talking amongst themselves to discuss ARES with a newcomer. With that said, my VE when I took my tests was a pretty cool dude.
I worked for many years with a HAM/radio dude. I emailed him my experience with the hamfest - he said "Yep, that's your typical ham!"
It's like all hobbies, theres good people and bad. Unfortunately the bad ones tend to be a lot louder than the good ones.
Ham is great, around town and just chatting with friends, I actually wheel mostly with hams, but thats a unique situation. I definitely did not MARS mod the 5100 for GMRS frequencys, and I definitely do not drop power and just use it in place of a proper GMRS rig. Jeep cabins are tight.
