Ham Radio - HF/VHF/UHF

[RockyMountaineer]

Looking at replacing my BTECH radio with a Yaesu FT-857D with ATAS-120A on a Comet HD-5M mount on the back of Ruby.

* Opinions on this setup?
* Anybody else have installed an ATAS-120A on a Wrangler 2-door?

Thanks for any feedback!

I can't tell you anything about the antenna but I can tell you the 857D is an outstanding radio. However I would recommend a good deal bander as well. If you ever wish to run APRS/digital modes or need crossband repeat the 857 will either be lacking our unable to meet those needs.

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[Wotan]

I can't tell you anything about the antenna but I can tell you the 857D is an outstanding radio. However I would recommend a good deal bander as well. If you ever wish to run APRS/digital modes or need crossband repeat the 857 will either be lacking our unable to meet those needs.

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Thanks.

I currently have a BTECH VHF/UHF radio in the Wrangler, which covers 136MHz-174MHz, and 400MHz-520MHz, paired with a Comet CA-2x4SR 140-160MHz/435-465MHz (3.8/6.2dBi) antenna. I also carry a couple of Baofeng BF-F8HP, and a Midland 75-822 CB handhelds as backups - seems like in W. CO more folks are on CB than ham/GMRS...

I also have a Kenwood TM-D700(A?), which is currently not mounted anywhere, and I guess that would be an option to add in conjunction with a change to the Yaesu... My idea was to mount the ATAS-120A on the back, connected to the Gobi rack, and replace the Comet wide-band with a standard Larson 2m/70cm ham whip in the front; I guess I should be able to connect both VHF/UHF radio portions to the Larson.

The Kenwood gives me crossband repeater and APRS capabilities, if so desired. Decisions, decisions...

 

[kengineer]

I use HF/VHF/UHF in my rig. I have the Yaesu FT-817ND and a FTM-100D.

I use the HF side of the radio for Winlink operations.

In case you don't know what Winlink is. It is a way to send email using just your computer and radio. I love being able to send emails to my friends when I am on the trail. No internet needed!

If you want more information on Winlink just let me know.

Skip

Hello Skip,

The FT-817ND has 5 watts on TX on HF, correct? what kind of range does that get you? It probably depends on atmospheric conditions, right?

Thank You,

Kengineer

 

[TerryD]

Hello Skip,

The FT-817ND has 5 watts on TX on HF, correct? what kind of range does that get you? It probably depends on atmospheric conditions, right?

Thank You,

Kengineer

Entirely dependant on band, conditions and antenna. Could be the next truck in line, could be Italy.

HF wise, you'd only really be using in an emergency you get help or playing radio. 80m is fairly short most days but seems to get longer in the winter. The Virginia wide nets are on 80m. It would probably be a good band for checking into town with someone on a scheduled basis, but antenna size is a limit. 40 is generally a longer band, think nation wide as a rule of thumb and 20 is generally a good DX band. A friend and I have been playing with 6m locally, but it's a fickle mistress that can be local short one minute then working DX the next. I hit a short opening and worked the Cayman Islands using FT8 by accident!

Play with it and see what you feel suits your needs best! I want it all because I enjoy the radio hobby as well as the off-roading. Activating rare grid squares are what I'm wanting to do!

 

[06hyperion]

Does anyone run any LF bands? What's the lowest, or highest you'd go and why?

 

[Six Actual]

I can't tell you anything about the antenna but I can tell you the 857D is an outstanding radio. However I would recommend a good deal bander as well. If you ever wish to run APRS/digital modes or need crossband repeat the 857 will either be lacking our unable to meet those needs.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

I have the 857D and have grown to love it. It's a great radio out of the box, but as a new HAM, it was a bit daunting to learn all of the features. I got on 2m fine and set up repeaters easily, it was just tough to remember what the menu setting was to raise transmit power or scan the band for strong signals, etc. Especially because the Jeep wasn't my daily driver and I only used it when we go on the road. Over time, I started putting together cheat sheets that related to the functions I used and liked. That really helped a lot. Now that I am using digital modes too, I feel pretty comfortable navigating around the radio.

As far as the ATAS... I looked at mounting that on the Jeep, but felt that I would one day rip it off with a tree branch or something. I have a dual bander for my local / highway comms. I also decided to get a buddipole setup. My logic was that I would probably never use HF while driving... if I made a contact, I would most likely lose it quickly while on the move. Plus, HF is a little more finicky as far as tuning... another thing I wouldn't really mess with while driving, even with an auto tuner like the ATAS. I found that setting up the buddipole is kinda fun once we get to camp and I can get a really good signal. The other thing I have found is that while a smaller (coiled) antenna is convenient (to include the buddipole), the more real length and height you have, the better (in most cases).

Looking at replacing my BTECH radio with a Yaesu FT-857D with ATAS-120A on a Comet HD-5M mount on the back of Ruby.

* Opinions on this setup?
* Anybody else have installed an ATAS-120A on a Wrangler 2-door?

Thanks for any feedback!

Looking at replacing my BTECH radio with a Yaesu FT-857D with ATAS-120A on a Comet HD-5M mount on the back of Ruby.

* Opinions on this setup?
* Anybody else have installed an ATAS-120A on a Wrangler 2-door?

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[Wotan]

Thanks for the feedback.

Maybe I'll take my IC-706MkII with AT-180 along and just use it in camp. I agree that while driving, HF is kind of a moot point. I do have a homegrown dipole I can easily deploy, and the AT-180 is pretty good at tuning it. On field day, I did have very good results with this setup...

That would save me quite a bit of $$$ to use for Ruby farkles/mods :)

 

[RyanC]

I am thinking about a quick setup portable HF setup to run at camp

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[TerryD]

I've been considering a end-fed random wire for portable with my FT-897D.

Does anyone run any LF bands? What's the lowest, or highest you'd go and why?

You have to apply for permission to operate the LF stuff because of interference with powerline monitoring equipment that operates on similar frequencies and the antennas are impossibly long. Are you maybe thinking of the 160-40m bands which are still considered HF?

I have the 857D and have grown to love it. It's a great radio out of the box, but as a new HAM, it was a bit daunting to learn all of the features. I got on 2m fine and set up repeaters easily, it was just tough to remember what the menu setting was to raise transmit power or scan the band for strong signals, etc. Especially because the Jeep wasn't my daily driver and I only used it when we go on the road. Over time, I started putting together cheat sheets that related to the functions I used and liked. That really helped a lot. Now that I am using digital modes too, I feel pretty comfortable navigating around the radio.

As far as the ATAS... I looked at mounting that on the Jeep, but felt that I would one day rip it off with a tree branch or something. I have a dual bander for my local / highway comms. I also decided to get a buddipole setup. My logic was that I would probably never use HF while driving... if I made a contact, I would most likely lose it quickly while on the move. Plus, HF is a little more finicky as far as tuning... another thing I wouldn't really mess with while driving, even with an auto tuner like the ATAS. I found that setting up the buddipole is kinda fun once we get to camp and I can get a really good signal. The other thing I have found is that while a smaller (coiled) antenna is convenient (to include the buddipole), the more real length and height you have, the better (in most cases).

The ATAS uses a PL-259 (UHF) connector so you could always just run it on the highway and swap out to a hamstick for a favorite band or just cap it when you are offroad. Then you can just pop the ATAS back on when you get to camp and play radio a bit with a nice auto-tuning antenna. Just have to turn off the ATAS option in the menu when the hamstick was on.

 

[06hyperion]

I've been considering a end-fed random wire for portable with my FT-897D.



You have to apply for permission to operate the LF stuff because of interference with powerline monitoring equipment that operates on similar frequencies and the antennas are impossibly long. Are you maybe thinking of the 160-40m bands which are still considered HF?



The ATAS uses a PL-259 (UHF) connector so you could always just run it on the highway and swap out to a hamstick for a favorite band or just cap it when you are offroad. Then you can just pop the ATAS back on when you get to camp and play radio a bit with a nice auto-tuning antenna. Just have to turn off the ATAS option in the menu when the hamstick was on.

I'm not sure really.. all I have is a cb, so I'm weighing my options. I want to have a wide range of options for comms. It would be awesome to put some military grade c omms in the truck.

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[Wotan]

I'm not sure really.. all I have is a cb, so I'm weighing my options. I want to have a wide range of options for comms. It would be awesome to put some military grade c omms in the truck.

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Have you looked at the BTECH radios? I have a UV-5001 (http://amzn.to/2jNFBht), which is open (RX/TX) from 136-174 MHz and 400-520 MHz. I have that one combined with a Comet CA-2x4SR 140-160MHz/435-465MHz (3.8/6.2dBi) antenna (http://amzn.to/2ij1xRo; you can also add an optional spring section, if needed to protect from breaking, http://amzn.to/2jNvRE3.) Works great for monitoring Public Safety, MURS, GMRS, FRS, Marine, Ham, WX, ...

I program mine using CHIRP and have disabled TX on the memories the radio is not FTC-certified for, resp. I have no authority to TX on (could easily be re-enabled in case of emergency need...) While the antenna is not as efficient as my Larsen dual-bander, I am pretty much below 1.8:1 SWR across the whole 140-160 MHz/435-465MHz range; under 1.4:1 SWR on the ham bands.

I just use a handheld Midland 75-822 CB (http://amzn.to/2At5Wt8) for situations I need CB on a trail. It has a mic / cigarette lighter adaptor kit making in-vehicle use easy...

I would like to have HF mobile capabilities, but after considering the cost vs. the reward of "on the move HF," I have pretty much decided I'll just take along my old 706 with the AT-180 and a dipole; that lets me play at camp...

 

[TerryD]

I'm not sure really.. all I have is a cb, so I'm weighing my options. I want to have a wide range of options for comms. It would be awesome to put some military grade c omms in the truck.

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Start studying for your license. There are bands that are shared with military for use in cross-service communication during an emergency. There are special rules above those for general amateur use so you have to be aware of what's allowed and how to use it. Ham is much more versatile than what most people on here do with it!

 

[06hyperion]

Start studying for your license. There are bands that are shared with military for use in cross-service communication during an emergency. There are special rules above those for general amateur use so you have to be aware of what's allowed and how to use it. Ham is much more versatile than what most people on here do with it!

Sounds like a plan! Any additional exams for those bands or do I just have to know/follow the rules?

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[Wotan]

Sounds like a plan! Any additional exams for those bands or do I just have to know/follow the rules?

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From 6m (EDIT: 50MHz) on up, which is most of what you'd need on the trails/overlanding, (as well as 99.99% of EMCOMM,) Technician is all you need; General and Extra band restrictions are mostly on HF... Here's the ARRL bandplan, http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band Chart/Band Chart - 11X17 Color.pdf

 

[TerryD]

Sounds like a plan! Any additional exams for those bands or do I just have to know/follow the rules?

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You have to be at least a General class and know/follow the rules. You are considered a "secondary" service on those frequencies and should a military station come over the air on them, you are required to stop transmitting on them immediately to avoid interference with the "primary" service. There are more rules, but you'll learn them in studying for the license and in researching operation on those bands.

 

[TerryD]

From 6m (28MHz) on up, which is most of what you'd need on the trails/overlanding, Technician is all you need; General and Extra band restrictions are mostly on HF... Here's the ARRL bandplan, http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band Chart/Band Chart - 11X17 Color.pdf

6m is 50MHz. 28MHz is the 10m band.

 

[06hyperion]

You have to be at least a General class and know/follow the rules. You are considered a "secondary" service on those frequencies and should a military station come over the air on them, you are required to stop transmitting on them immediately to avoid interference with the "primary" service. There are more rules, but you'll learn them in studying for the license and in researching operation on those bands.

I signed up for the extra class on long island that will end in May approx. So hopefully by then I will be a hammy.

Side note.. I just saw a channel 2 storm vehicle.. wondering if there's any storm chasers in this group. That rig was awesome.

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[RyanC]

I signed up for the extra class on long island that will end in May approx. So hopefully by then I will be a hammy.

Side note.. I just saw a channel 2 storm vehicle.. wondering if there's any storm chasers in this group. That rig was awesome.

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I did take Skywarn training, but I don't think I will go looking for trouble.

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[Wotan]

Living in Western IA, I do go out during severe weather a lot. Also am an official emergency station in the county, and I used to be the primary link between the Western IA emergency nets and the State EOC in Des Moines via HF. Lately, a bunch of local clubs have banded together and are linking repeaters across the state directly and via Echolink, so the need to HF has become more of a 'real emergency' backup ability. We still use it though as part of the Ft Calhoun nuclear plant disaster drills...

But driving around, looking for bad stuff, uh, no, I'm too old for that :)

 

[TerryD]

I signed up for the extra class on long island that will end in May approx. So hopefully by then I will be a hammy.

Side note.. I just saw a channel 2 storm vehicle.. wondering if there's any storm chasers in this group. That rig was awesome.

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You might want to check and see if that's an upgrade to extra class. Most of the time you'll take the technicians classes first, then general, then extra.