So I've settled in on a radio and went with a Yaseu FT-891 I added the M/C mod to it and got the separation kit. I spent a little more than I wanted but my plan is to get into the HAM hobby. I do drive the truck more in the summer months so Ill use it for sure. Also I do use it to listen while traveling solo with my family. The only thing I need to figure out now is if there is an antenna that will cover multiple bands, other wise Ill have to run 2 antennas. I'm still not convinced on drilling a hole in the roof, but I don't like the fender mount either so I don't know what I'm doing there either.

I should have the radio in a week or so by the time they mod it. Ill keep the thread up to date as the project moved foreword.

Thanks,

Sarge

 

Sarge,

Welcome to the amateur radio hobby. I am K8MEJ in Central Ohio. Last Summer, I drove from Columbus to Sampson State Park in your neck of the woods on Field Day. I had my 2m/70cm rig on the entire trip and only heard activity on 2m around the outskirts of Cleveland. And that was on Field Day. Around these parts, 2m is effectively dead, except for scheduled nets. I can drive for hours and not hear a peep on 146.52 (national calling frequency). I hope it's different for you in UPNY.

I say that because I wouldn't suggest you spend a great deal of time & effort on antenna mounting until you find out how active you will be on the radio in the truck. On my F-150, I used a Comet fender mount as has been previously noted and I used a Comet dual-band antenna. It made the install quite a bit easier than drilling or routing wires through the headliner. If you are still highly opposed to a fender mount, then there are a variety of other mounting options you can explore. If your stake bed pockets aren't blocked by ladder racks, tonneau covers, etc., then you might consider using a stake bed mount. One place to look is https://www.breedlovemounts.com . For mobile radio information, look to k0bg.com. Both sites are geared more toward HF mobile operation, but both have some VHF information you might look at. A Breedlove stake pocket bracket with an NMO mount would work well for you, I think.

I got my F-350 in January and I haven't put my VHF/UHF radio in the truck. I haven't decided if I'm going to bother, but I will probably go ahead and do it since I have the gear. I just need to get a new coax run and NMO mount. I have briefly considered getting an IC-7100 so I can play with HF in the truck, but except for a couple of longer trips per year, I don't spend enough time in the truck to justify the time and expense. Running HF is a whole lot more effort to do right.

Good luck!

 

Here is a good looking option. Depends on what you are doing with the bed though, topper, cover, etc.

https://www.breedlovemounts.com/fron...l-bracket.html

 

Thanks,

The only reason I went the HF route is so I can also use the CB bands too. There is quite a bit of activity up here, I know a couple of folks that are quite active that a re steering me in the right direction. I was going to buy a knock off radio, but the more I thought about it the more I felt if I was going to do it I may as well do it right. Honestly, if I could have bought a truck with bucket seats and a standard console I would have. My Galaxy CB was a great radio and it worked well, but Ive had my tech license for some time and I may as well use it. Sadly I was never told how limited that license is, so I will be testing for the general license soon.

I like the Breedlove mounts, but I have a tonneau cover on the truck. I may get a magnum rack and Ill be able to have the antennas mount there and that'll be that. I just need to figure out if I want that on my truck and what I would do about a cover as I have an over the rail now, and I would most likely have to change to a flush mount. If I did the magnum rack it'd be easy, Id get a fire stick and a ham stick and it'd be done, just the racks are pretty expensive to just want antenna mounts lol. I never pick the easy route.

Sarge

 

I'm a relatively new ham myself. I don't know what you studied, but the books I read AND the test itself make it clear that technician class license holders are primarily limited to VHF and up bands, with very small allocations for CW in the HF bands. I think techs have some phone privileges on 10m. As for being "told" that, well, I don't know how to respond to that.

The general class test isn't hard either. I can recommend the ARRL study guide for that exam. The Extra class license was much more difficult. I tried to do all I could to learn the material. For tech & general that was pretty easy to do. Extra wasn't. There was about 25% of the Extra material that I simply had to memorize to get through the exam since I'm not a EE.

Good luck with general!

 

I guess what I meant was I didn't know how limited it was until I signed up for and took the test. Had I known more about it at the time I would have taken the general license and skipped the tech license.

 

Got ya. Well, you can't take your general exam until you pass the technician, so you're not out anything :-) I sat for tech & general in the same day for that reason. The material for the general exam isn't difficult and it's fun. Hopefully you find the same thing. Good luck!

 

 

I'm well aware that its not legal. I was told that and knew that. I'm looking to do it to be able to talk with the people I travel with and keep tabs on them since they have no desire to get their HAM license. As stated in my first post I'm not looking to talk over anyone or do anything stupid, just looking to stay in contact and kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I'm not a "talker" to begin with so its used more for monitoring and listening for when people are pulling off to fuel, fix an issue, or stretch their legs.

Sarge

 

Maybe a pair of these on the back of the cab. 1 for the 27MHZ and 1 for the Hamstick?

Sarge

 

You can't skip, but you could have taken the general right after you took and passed the tech.

 

I know that now and Ill go back and take it, I didn't know it at the time and its been a good 8 years. So I'm going to be re-learning all of this again.

Sarge

 

Easy breezy:
https://www.bellscb.com/products/cbr...cat_CMX760.htm

I'd rather have a Pres Lincoln converted, but where the heck would I put it? I might just put an antenna mount on one of the box link plates.
https://www.bellscb.com/products/ten...Lincoln_II.htm

 

My dad has that Uniden in the first link and he hates it. It doesn't have very good range even with a Wilson 1000 and its out put isn't that great either. I was considering the Lincoln, however I didn't want to mount it to the side of the console and there aren't any other good options.

Sarge

 

Thanks.

I'm thinking about making a mount out of the floor cupholders. That way I can unsnap the whole radio and dump it in the bottom center seat storage when I have 3 people up front.

My Galaxy 55v was a super clear talking and listening beast for a decade. I have a hunch that's why we see hams converted to CB. It had a habit of blending the CB channels into more than one band, and would need a tuneup to get rid of that ($35).