Steward I
I just passed my technicians exam. I want to get a sutup for my rig, but I have no clue what to get, i.e. radio and antenna. HELP! If it makes a difference, I mainly got the license to talk with others on group trail rides.
Recommendations for a rig setup
- Thread starter TxJeeper75
- Start date
Member III
- 2,771
- First Name
- Rolando
- Last Name
- Nispiros
- Member #
-
17011
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KN6JJS
Such an open ended question with a gazillion possibilities :) I'd first find out what type of radio people who you might be riding with have. Also people with a similar rig as yours as size, fit, location, etc. will be important, I'm assuming. For the antenna I'm also guessing it depends on placement. Do you have space on your roof, on your hood, on your bumper, etc. People with a Jeep should probably chime in.
Personally I have a Kenwood V71A dual band radio.
Then I got a roof magnetic mount as I did not want to drill any holes on the roof of my truck.
Ham Radio has a good selection of radios, prices, and delivery - You are being redirected...
Same with Gigaparts - GigaParts - Amateur Radio, Computers and More! GigaParts.com
Personally I have a Kenwood V71A dual band radio.
Then I got a roof magnetic mount as I did not want to drill any holes on the roof of my truck.
Ham Radio has a good selection of radios, prices, and delivery - You are being redirected...
Same with Gigaparts - GigaParts - Amateur Radio, Computers and More! GigaParts.com
Steward I
Lol, I didn't think it would be that tough of a question. I've seen a lot of Jeeps with the antenna on the front bumper. As for the radio, I don't want to break the bank, just something to communicate with. Thanks for your comments. Hopefully some Jeepers will chime in.
Member III
- 2,771
- First Name
- Rolando
- Last Name
- Nispiros
- Member #
-
17011
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KN6JJS
It's tough in a sense that there are so many choices, options. etc. It all really depends on things such as your real estate space in your rig, technical knowledge of installing radios/antennas, etc. but to me more importantly what your 'group' uses and/or features that might be fun to use in the future.
Member III
Do you want D-star? Fusion? DMR? Mono band? Dual band? Quad band? VHF? UHF? HF? Single Unit? Separate control head? SSB? NFM? AM? APRS? Dummy track or fully functional with messaging , email, and mapping? etc...etc....etc...
There are so many options and what works for me, may not and likely won't work for you so it can be difficult to just make a recommendation without knowing what you want out of it.
Member III
For trail/convoy type comms I wouldn't worry as much about the digital voice modes (D-star, DMR, Fusion, etc). They can be good but their use may vary depending on region so while it may be popular with your local ham groups it may not be used in the next state over and isn't really necessary for vehicle to vehicle comms though they do have at least one advantage... they can maintain good signal for longer than an analog radio can but when it fades, it fades fast.
I typically suggest a dual band radio with a remote head for easier mounting. That way you can mount the body of the radio under the dash or seat or in the cargo area, wherever and only need to mount the control head on the dash or pedestal mount, etc. Also a dual band, though it cost a bit more will allow you access to most any repeater in the country whether it be a 2m or 70cm repeater. You could get by with a 2m only radio and I thought I would go this way as well but then I found out that the largest linked repeater system in the state is on 70cm so I saved up some more and got a dual band radio. If it is a dual receive radio this also allows you to monitor more than one frequency, simplex and a local repeater as an example or simplex convoy freq and local forest ranger frequency..
In VHF/UHF vehicle to vehicle comms antenna height is key, the higher the antenna the further away you can talk (not accounting for terrain, vegetation, buildings, etc). Luckily VHF/UHF antennas can be fairly small and are more forgiving of where they are mounted than CB antennas due to requiring less ground plane. If you don't have a metal roof or roof rack to mount to, the front fender is a good place. You may also find antenna mounts for the rear of the vehicle and they aren't typically the preferred location though many people say they have good experiences with them mounted back there.
APRS is a nice tool to have as it can be used to track yourself and others as well as send messages to other APRS users, SMS text messages to cell phones, and emails. The tracking relayed to a website, SMS text, and email are all very dependent on infrastructure so they aren't 100% useful all the time. APRS can still be used within a group to keep track of each other without having to call to each other over the radio. Some radios have APRS built in and still allow you to use the other "side" of the radio for voice comms, some have APRS built in but it's either APRS or Voice not both at the same time. You can also add a separate radio set up for APRS later and being independent it can run all the time if you wanted.
Hopefully this gives you an idea of what you may want to look at.
I typically suggest a dual band radio with a remote head for easier mounting. That way you can mount the body of the radio under the dash or seat or in the cargo area, wherever and only need to mount the control head on the dash or pedestal mount, etc. Also a dual band, though it cost a bit more will allow you access to most any repeater in the country whether it be a 2m or 70cm repeater. You could get by with a 2m only radio and I thought I would go this way as well but then I found out that the largest linked repeater system in the state is on 70cm so I saved up some more and got a dual band radio. If it is a dual receive radio this also allows you to monitor more than one frequency, simplex and a local repeater as an example or simplex convoy freq and local forest ranger frequency..
In VHF/UHF vehicle to vehicle comms antenna height is key, the higher the antenna the further away you can talk (not accounting for terrain, vegetation, buildings, etc). Luckily VHF/UHF antennas can be fairly small and are more forgiving of where they are mounted than CB antennas due to requiring less ground plane. If you don't have a metal roof or roof rack to mount to, the front fender is a good place. You may also find antenna mounts for the rear of the vehicle and they aren't typically the preferred location though many people say they have good experiences with them mounted back there.
APRS is a nice tool to have as it can be used to track yourself and others as well as send messages to other APRS users, SMS text messages to cell phones, and emails. The tracking relayed to a website, SMS text, and email are all very dependent on infrastructure so they aren't 100% useful all the time. APRS can still be used within a group to keep track of each other without having to call to each other over the radio. Some radios have APRS built in and still allow you to use the other "side" of the radio for voice comms, some have APRS built in but it's either APRS or Voice not both at the same time. You can also add a separate radio set up for APRS later and being independent it can run all the time if you wanted.
Hopefully this gives you an idea of what you may want to look at.
Last edited:
Steward I
Holy cow! @RoarinRow wasn't lying. That was an open ended question. I did not know there were so many options. Looks like I have some researching to do. Thanks @Prerunner1982.
Steward I
Thanks, this is a big help, and it does give me a head start. I already have an 8ft whip in the rear for my CB, and there's not much room left back there with my Jerry can and shower tank. Not that I use my CB all that much, but I still like to have it just in case. I will look into your suggestions. Luckily I have a ham store in town. I think I will drive by there in the next week or two, and see what they have to say.
Steward I
Wow! I had no idea there was so much involved with this. I thought it would be as simple as someone saying "Most people use this model.", or "You should go with this one, for xyz reasons.".
After reading what Prerunner1982 had to say, it emphasized what you were saying. I now see how green I am when it comes to the radio art. I feel like I jumped in the deep end before learning to swim. I see a lot of thread reading in my future. I am sure I will find the help I need on here. Thanks again for yours.
Member III
- 2,771
- First Name
- Rolando
- Last Name
- Nispiros
- Member #
-
17011
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KN6JJS
Most welcome Mike! I’m new to Ham as well and was really hoping someone like Prerunner would chime in with their expertise. Maybe go to a local OB meet and talk to some folks as well. I watched hours of YouTube videos on trail communications, top 10 Ham Radios, APRS, etc. I started with a Beofang handheld, played around with it, then it made me realize what features I wanted in my rig unit. Good luck on your research!
