Any hams out there?

[rogerthedodger]

Welcome to the forum. I was licensed K6DWU in 1953 at age 14. Now W6ROG. I haven’t tried to install anything In my motorhome yet, so no help here.
Roger

[ifallsguy]

Tech license N9XGZ and wife is KB9NJB. Licensed in MN, now living in the wilds of southern GA.

We normally work VHF but have been using DStar. Kenwood TH-74A, Icom ID-51A and ID-5100A in the truck. Also monitor VHF/UHF National Call Frequencies.

[RoyBraddy]

Originally Posted by ifallsguy

gnat capitol of the world

I ran into the GNATS back in my early AIR FORCE days (late 1950s) stationed at Warner Robins GA...

Then as luck would have it my working career days had me in the Hawkinsville GA area for the Space Surveillance System that stretch from GA to CA up until I retired in 2012...

You could get a mouth full of gnats in a heart beat haha...

RV Camping around SC along the East Coast the gnats turned into those real small mosquitoes that fly right through a standard window screen and not even slow down hehe...

Just some of the things you have to put up with when you are having the time of your life I reckon...

Roy Ken

[RichR]

General class K3EXU here. I got my novice license, WN3TDF, in 1972. Then became technician class a year later. Somewhere along the way I got my General class and have stuck with it. In 1997 I took my dad's call, K3EXU, after he passed. Most of my operating has been on 2 meters but I am HF equipped but haven't done much operating there. 73

[Sun N Fun]

I'm relativelly new to Amateur Radio and installed a Yaseau 2 meter rig in my tow vehicle. When I recently discovered the C4FM chat rooms. Are there any rooms designated for RV'ers? WV8PFW

[Iraqvet05]

Originally Posted by Sun N Fun

I'm relativelly new to Amateur Radio and installed a Yaseau 2 meter rig in my tow vehicle. When I recently discovered the C4FM chat rooms. Are there any rooms designated for RV'ers? WV8PFW

None that I have found. There is (was?) a DMR room for RV users and travelers but I rarely heard traffic on it.

[Motorhommie]

I am thinking attach a pole to the ladder with a J-pole antenna, run the antenna wire under the rig and come up to inside where you will have your radio.

On my bus I glued the heck on a painted 2’x2’ steel plate, chalked the edges, put a magnetic antenna on it and ran the antenna through the roof but the sidewalk is a good idea too.

[edatlanta]

I installed this antenna recently on my RV. My goal was to increase my 2m/70cm range and be inexpensive and above all easy up/down for travel in the RV.

The antenna is the DBJ-1 available from e-bay or direct from the manufacturer, https://edsantennas.weebly.com/. The install included one section of thin wall pvc for the antenna itself (info in antenna spec sheets) and another 10' section of standard thickness pvc for the mast. I did include a screw connector between the two sections for easy disassembly with a dab of anti seize compound on the threads.

Note the picture of the ladder "hook". I just cut the pvc to the correct length to hook over the ladder step at the height I wanted. I have added a cap to the bottom of this hook since I took the picture to keep critters out of the pvc. In my installation the top of the antenna is 17' above the ground.

This installation works great and allows me access to some FM repeaters in my area that I could not get to with an HT only, but mostly I use the antenna for my Wires-X node. I am usually monitoring my node which is room 43046 or I might be in Alabama Link room 28933.

73

[oldmanjim]

Hey Craig, congratulation on getting back to Ham Radio!



As for the antenna for 2M, it would be my opinion that you don't need an elaborate ground system to 2M. Actually I had thought about a 2m rig for my 5er and was just going to mount a 1/4wl antenna up toward the top of the ladder. There are alot of ways to mount one on a ladder but a small "L" bracket and u-clamp with a saddle that would fit the ladder tubing would work just fine. Be careful not to over tighten the u-clamp because you could crimp the ladder tubing. Then you could run your cable down the ladder and bring it in to the RV just about any where you wanted.



If you thought you needed more antenna a 5/8wl would work very well. But you have to worry with the extra height when moving down the road, etc


BTW you can buy some very nice saddles from DX-Engineering but I would recommend that you use the self-locking nuts so that they won't vibrate off...



OK, I first got licensed in 1978 and have been very active on HF over most of those years. DXing, Contesting, general operating... In fact this is the first time that I have been without a HF rig in my truck in 30 years. I got the radio wired up but just have not put the screwdriver antenna on the truck. Having the 5er complicate the location of the antenna on the truck.


OK, Pal, have fun and perhaps will cu around the Ham Radio campus!



Jim/KC4HW