How many members do we have here that are Ham radio Operators ? I am one and I was wondering what rigs have you put into your trucks to run 2m and 70cm.
I would like run a military radio for 2m with a military antenna but I dont think its going to happen.
been a Ham for 20 years or so. haven't keyed up in better than a decade. thought about putting together an old 2m rig for the deuce, but i'm out of the loop with local hams and none of my friends have thier ticket. so it seems a bit of pyrrhic endevor.
side note, 2m and 6m are probably good choices. both are very close to military frequncies that you might find in surplus radios. years back i remember seeing pallet loads of military radios at ham-fests being sold under the guise of re-crystaling for Ham.
well i figured with todays repeter offsets, dtmf tones,pl tones, it was hopeless....i have an icom v8 that was used in iraq i use it alot but its open to the public to buy from icom....if i ever get a shelter for my truck i have alot of stuff that will go in it but untill then oh well....
I am planning on using the radio rack in my M1009 to mount commercial 70cm, 2M and 6M radios when the weather warms up. I will be using a using a big military antenna for the 6M, one of the raised feed point antennas for the 70cm and a commercial 5/8 antenna for the 2M. All the antennas will be mounted to the military antenna brackets.
I've got my Technician license. I got it in 2007 before I got too heavily involved with a demanding career AND trying to farm on the side.
I never talked much on it, but recently dug what little gear I own out of the closet since (a) I lost the demanding career and (b) it's much too cold to do anything around the farm at the moment.
Boucing off repeaters lost it's appeal in the first week or so, and I don't have the ticket for any phone work below 2m. Not proficient enough in CW to attempt any communication there, so, I'm not sure what I'm going to get into.
I thought about purchasing an HF rig just to do some listening before I go for my General. It seemed to me the Technician Class was very limited to long-range transmissions, the stuff i was interested in.
I've been licensed for about 9 years, have my Extra class license, but not very active on air. I have an Icom 2m rig in my daily driver truck (Dodge RAM) and have been thinking about how to use a 2m rig in my deuce. Due to the noise, some sort of headset/noise canceling microphone is prettty much mandatory, and they are available from companies such as Heil (which is expensive, but makes a terrific product I hear).
Nosliw, look into IRLP operation, which uses 2m radios to connect to the internet, then you can communicate with other hams around the world when they connect locally to the internet in their area.
I would probably just use a commercial 2m/70cm antenna on the deuce, but I've always like the look of a military antenna mounted on the rear bumper and bent over and tied down at the front. If anybody has any pictures of their ham rigs mounted in a MV, please post them.
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1966 Kaiser Jeep M35A2 wo/w
1964 Johnson Furnace Co. M105A2
Military Vehicle Preservation Society of Tidewater
Here are some pictures of my Unimog 404, 1965, ex-German radio truck. I have a setup of the original SEM-35 low-band VHF FM transceiver and antenna matching unit, and some modern ham radio equipment. The radio box has 5 antenna portals on the roof and AB-15 base mounts with various series antenna elements as needed for length for the bands. I use magnet mounts for 2m and 70cm bands.
I drove this truck as a daily driver for about 5 years but have replaced it with a newer Unimog. The radio truck is happily parked in the shop now but has seen some interesting places as seen in the pictures. It is a nice ham shack and useful for emergency communications and ham radio events (field day photos shown).
You guys with Technician licenses can get on SSB voice on the 10m band between 28.3 and 28.5 MHz. With the solar activity increasing this will be a fun band in the near future. Antennas are cheap and easy, too.
Bob, WB4ETT (licensed since '65)
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1952 M-38
LST-178 Lube and Service Trailer
M-105A2 trailer, bare
M-105A2 with sides, bows
'old' Onan 115 v radar power generator, 4 cyl opposed
2 x S-250 Shelter, 318 shelter
1957 Unimog 404 flatbed, French NATO (Germany)
1965 Unimog 404 radio truck (German Army)
1970 Unimog 406
1978 Unimog 406
1982 Unimog 406
1988 Unimog U-1300L MIL contract, Fire Service life (red over OD paint)
For anybody interestred in ham radio, there is no code requirement to get a license or to upgrade to general or extra. You can study for the written exam at QRZ.COM QRZ Ham Radio Practice Tests Find a ham club in your area that does the testing and you'll be on your way to the world of HF.
Just got my technicians license last month. Im in the Texas State Guard and they encourage you to get one so I did. Right now I just have 2 meter but more soon to come. Gonna setup the M1009 with some HAM gear just for fun.
Amateur Radio
