/what electronics are needed to start?

Kimber22

Kimber22

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Des Moines
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Been going over what is going to be on the dash. I already own a Cobra CB, an iPad mini for On X and etc, a Baeofang radio that I got from BattlBox, and of course our phones. What would I need to pair with this in the midwest? No plans for the mountains for a hot minute. I still have her kitchen to finish. Oh and I have a Garmin 64S too. Plan on taking it off the 4 wheeler and doing RAM mounts for phones, mini, and the GPS. What are your thoughts?
 
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We are planning some trips to the middle of nowhere, so I am getting a Starlink for communications and entertainment. Garmin has the inReach that can be used for emergencies communications also.
 
That is a lot of stuff, I have the following

  • Cell phone with Torque for engine monitoring - Engine temp and voltage primarily although It can check and clear codes as well
  • Kenwood dual band VHF - 1 for Voice and 1 for APRS head is mounted low on the dash body in the rear
  • Garmin GPS with on-road/offroad maps
  • Puck GPS to provide a signal for APRS
  • Adding a Garmin Inreach for my wife's peace of mind as I often travel solo, this will just sit in the above windshield storage
  • Baeofung handheld to transmit to logging trucks - separate freq range from HAM VHF and you main can legally do both - got to love government sometimes - it just sits in a cup holder
 
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For many years I used paper maps. No electronics at all. Map and a compass.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying I don’t have it. I am saying you don’t need it to have a good time and still be safe. GMRS base in car, 2 handhelds, iPhone, garmin, IPad, Gaia. Hand held gps, but the best is to research before you go.
 
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I have paper maps as back up. I have iPhone 14 which has sat SOS built in and works GREAT (had to us it). I also have an ipad which i run OB1 on and I have a Garmin Montana GPS as well.....
No cb, they are not used much anymore, got GRMS and Ham handheld.

With OB1 I download maps for the area I will be in and surrounding areas, then it does not matter if "offline" I still got the app working.

Jim
 
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@Kimber22 It sounds like you have all of the electronic gear you could possibly need. I see 2 radios, 2 navigation units (Garmin/tablet), 1 satellite communicator and I assume you also have a smartphone that can become a nav unit. You have plenty of redundancy and should be set for any kind of adventure you want to take.
 
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It sounds to me like you've got it dialed, except for the Baofeng. Make sure you get some local programming in case of emergency.
 
Hmmm, I have paper maps, a couple of compasses, and an Iphone that gets shut off once we are off grid. I ditched the CB radio as it was an old dinosaur that took up valuable space. The GMRS was moved to the CBs old spot. We also carry a PLB and will be carrying a-la-cart health and extraction insurance anytime we leave the country. In a very worst case scenario, we grab our backpacks and start hiking to a well traveled road. It has been said that MOAK is an electronic devise curmudgeon. I cannot argue that point. peace out!!
 
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MOAK said:
Hmmm, I have paper maps, a couple of compasses, and an Iphone that gets shut off once we are off grid. I ditched the CB radio as it was an old dinosaur that took up valuable space. The GMRS was moved to the CBs old spot. We also carry a PLB and will be carrying a-la-cart health and extraction insurance anytime we leave the country. In a very worst case scenario, we grab our backpacks and start hiking to a well traveled road. It has been said that MOAK is an electronic devise curmudgeon. I cannot argue that point. peace out!!
Click to expand...
Which GMRS do you have? I know nothing of those
 
Kimber
The baofeng is a good hand held that does 2meter (144mhz) and 70cm(440mhz)although it is a low power 5w radio make sure you have the programming cable and software to add in new frequency and repeaters I have one I also have a Kenwood TM733 mobile rig that does both 2 meter and 70 centameter and a very small magnetic mount antenna about 9" tall max output power is 45 watts if either of those do not work then I have my Kenwood TS590S that covers 160 m, 80m ,40m , 20 m, 10m and 6m output is 100 watts and I use front mounts on my brush guard for the antennas
And also a quick up diy simple 1 wire dipole antenna for when I'm not driving

I hope that I haven't over whelmed you with all
The info this is just what I carry with me use what you're comfortable with I hope this helped
 
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one thing that i overlooked for years, but glad i bought within the last 2 years is a little battery jumper pack for jump starting a car. when i started going out on solo trips, it was hitting me that if i had a dead battery, i could be stuck for a long while until someone else rolls around to give me a jump start. i shopped around and ended up trying the one in the overland bound store when it went on sale and i've been really happy with it. i've loaned it to friends, used it to help people in my neighborhood jump their cars, and jump my own cars when i haven't driven them in a while. its good piece of mind and also you don't have to worry about positioning a vehicle in the right spot for jumper cables to reach.

this is the one i got.

store.overlandbound.com

iOnBoost™ V10 TORQUE

Put this on your overland gear checklist. The Wagan iOnBoost V10 TORQUE provides you with 1000 peak amps of power to get your engine started, and puts more power at your fingertips without having a bulky device to lug around.
store.overlandbound.com store.overlandbound.com
 
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Speaking of jumping...solar panels and a separate house battery. Have killed my vehicle battery a few times and recharged with solar which has been a godsend. Especially with all those electronics ;-)
 
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