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Thread: Antenna placement effects on power output

  1. #11
    Nope, the firestik is CB only.

    You can find good used equipment. Ham radios are typically much better built than CBs.

    QRZ has a classified section: http://forums.qrz.com/forumdisplay.p...-Gear-For-Sale

    or you can roll the dice on eBay. Yaesu, Kenwood, and Icom seem to the be the winners. I love my Yaesu but might get a Kenwood later down the road.

    As discussed around here, the Baofeng UV-5R is a great HT radio. I have one and will be buying a second soon. They are by far not the best radios, but they work well, especially for the price.
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  2. #12
    Sounds like I need to some serious reading lol. I have time to do some research on it while I count and save pennies for welding tools.
    98 3rz 4x4 5spd- Monstalined, 99 Talls, 4.30 E-locker, Extra Lights
    In Progress:
    Tundra/Rear Disc Brakes w/parking brake
    Roof Rack/Rear Ladder
    Sliders
    1st Gen Rollbar Shelf

  3. #13
    Yeah, I think we might throw a ham FAQ together for the site. Really focus it on what mist of us use it for, and not a lot of the more hobby related topics.
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  4. #14
    HAM is great if you're traveling with others that run it as well. It took a couple years before I could get wheeling buddies to jump on board. Although I use it for things other than wheeling it's nice to have everyone on the same type of communication. CB is still used a lot on trails and I think still a valuable item to have when traveling especially on trails that are also used by enthusiasts.

    ICOM and Yaesu make decently priced mobiles that have useful features (like a forward firing speaker or high output or size). The exam is easy and there are links here in the communication section about what you need to do. A handheld radio is also useful but very limiting due to it's power output and depending on the the model of handheld the antenna and/or available antennas. If you're in a group on a trip you can get away with an handi talkie and mag mount antenna. Adding a battery delete with full time power and a hand mic you'd be happy but have a lot of wire running around.

    FWIW a decent hand held maxes out at 5 watts (fast battery drain at this level) whereas a mobile radio has a low setting around 10 watts.

    I've got a Yaesu FT-2800 and an FT-8800 as well as assorted handi talkies. Sean runs an FT-7800, Paddlenbike an FT-1900 and Troy a Kenwood I believe. Lance has a Kenwood TM-D710A. So feel free to ask questions or search for our radio posts.

    I currently have the 8800 in the 4Runner and if I had to do it all again I'd still have the 8800. If the TM-D710A was much smaller it would be a contender but the size and complexity of the radio (even for small things) makes it a tougher choice. Yaesu's are easy to navigate and have intuitive menus.

  5. #15
    sean that sounds pretty good. Something simplified so its as easy to understand as CB. Its such a huge topic if you google and it doesn't need to be.

  6. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Seanz0rz View Post
    Yeah, I think we might throw a ham FAQ together for the site. Really focus it on what mist of us use it for, and not a lot of the more hobby related topics.
    I like that idea too. If you need a gunea pig for reading through it I can volunteer lol.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk
    98 3rz 4x4 5spd- Monstalined, 99 Talls, 4.30 E-locker, Extra Lights
    In Progress:
    Tundra/Rear Disc Brakes w/parking brake
    Roof Rack/Rear Ladder
    Sliders
    1st Gen Rollbar Shelf

  7. #17
    Yeah I have been reading for the better part of today when I get the chance and there is a lot of ground to cover. A lot of it is dealing with stationary setups. I understand to a point I suppose. I am somewhat familiar with HAM though by being in the military but lets just say I can talk on radios....but I don't know what makes them tick lol. You can drop a lot of money very quickly on some of this stuff. I would say a solid HAM hobby would rival a rock crawler any day of the week lol. I was taking a gander at the Yaesu 8800 and 7900 as the price seems fairly reasonable and they have good capabilities from what I can tell. Of course there isn't anything stating that it's a DIN or Double DIN installation. I have no idea how big these radios are.

    If I'm not mistaken these radios are very similar as far as programming channels in. Once you know what band you're on and what freq they are on then it's a matter of plugging in the numbers and presto. You're in. My dad is big into this stuff and I'm afraid that I only get to see them every 3 years or so just because of logistics and the fact that I am kicked around the globe like a soccer ball.

    Now I have an extremely random question about call-signs. In the military world when you're talking within your unit various handles are used to identify individuals. Some....wait....most of them are either highly motivated and violent or cheeky and funny if you know the person. Can those be used on a Ham net?
    98 3rz 4x4 5spd- Monstalined, 99 Talls, 4.30 E-locker, Extra Lights
    In Progress:
    Tundra/Rear Disc Brakes w/parking brake
    Roof Rack/Rear Ladder
    Sliders
    1st Gen Rollbar Shelf

  8. #18
    You won't find a din or double din radio (at least one that you'd want to buy). You can make a custom mount, but my preference is to mount the body somewhere else and put the faceplate somewhere convenient (if it has a removable faceplate).

    I'll toss something together soon, hand it off to Mike and Troy for review and then we will post it.

    As for call signs, not really. you will be assigned something like XX#XXX, KK6BQA is mine. You can apply for a vanity call sign, but it will just be letters and a number. That being said, on the trail, especially in informal groups, we just use first names and rarely, if ever, give a call sign.
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

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