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Mobile HAM radio on motorcycle

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copb8 said:
Hey, I think I have a brand new Finger Mount in a drawer somewhere!! I'll give it a shot.

I'm not impressed with the X mount. Have it on my S10 for my phone. If I put the phone in the ideal location within the X it hits the side buttons. Never felt very confident in it either. Especially when the going gets rough.
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My RAM finger mount works great. Very secure. Maybe a bit big but you can't have everything.

Now I need to see if there's someone here who lives in the North Dallas area that would be willing trade some of their time for beer?

I really don't want to become a Ham radio expert, or even a hack. :giveup: I just want to get my radio programmed with the frequencies that my group will be using on an upcoming Mexico ride in April. I want to learn how to turn it on, pick the channel of the day, and interact. I started reading the instructions and just couldn't get interested to sift through all the complexities of a bunch of features I'm sure I don't need.

Anyone here willing to donate some time? We can do it at my place in Highland Village, your place, or some other place.

Thx!
 
Youtube should have something on programming you'd be surprised on what you can find there as far as Ham Radio programming goes.
 
If your radio van attach to a computer you might try RT Systems software and then AARL's Travel Plus.

the r software is in a spread sheet format and travel plus you can make a route and it will make a list of all repeaters along that route. Then you can import it to the RT software and then load it to the radio
 
Software cable and CHIRP. If I was home I'd program it for you. If you want to box it up and mail it to California I'll program it for you lol.
 
OK So I am now officially KG5LKJ.

Now comes the fun part. I have volunteered as a Motorcycle Marshal for the MS150 and they recommend a mobile unit and not a hand held (5W isn't going to cut it). I have a SMH10 on my helmet and a SR10 which I have in the past hooked a Midland CB through and it worked just great. I have found instructions on how to make a cable to connect a Yaesu FTM-10R to the Sena, but this radio is discontinued and I can't even find on on eBay !!

Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks in advance.
 
In-line amp.

Or a "HP" handheld such as a BF-F8HP or UV-82HP. Those put out 8 watts.

Honestly if you can't get it done with 5 to 10 watts 50 probably isn't going to cut it either. You're mostly antenna and terrain limited with VHF/UHF. It's line of sight.
 
Hey guys, thanks for the input and the tip to look on youtube. I think I got my channels programmed using this method

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1412074&postcount=451

The chart I was programming to had 4 places after the decimal on the frequency however my radio only supports 3. I just ignored the 4th digit. Is that going to work?
 
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Downs said:
In-line amp.

Or a "HP" handheld such as a BF-F8HP or UV-82HP. Those put out 8 watts.

Honestly if you can't get it done with 5 to 10 watts 50 probably isn't going to cut it either. You're mostly antenna and terrain limited with VHF/UHF. It's line of sight.
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Why would make a statement like that ?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Tx White Knight said:
does anyone use one through a AutoCom on the bike?
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I've used a StarCom in the past with my VX-7R, but not an Autocom.

scottie said:
OK So I am now officially KG5LKJ.

Now comes the fun part. I have volunteered as a Motorcycle Marshal for the MS150 and they recommend a mobile unit and not a hand held (5W isn't going to cut it). I have a SMH10 on my helmet and a SR10 which I have in the past hooked a Midland CB through and it worked just great. I have found instructions on how to make a cable to connect a Yaesu FTM-10R to the Sena, but this radio is discontinued and I can't even find on on eBay !!

Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Tx White Knight said:
it may have been replaced by the FTM 100DR? they may wire up the same
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I was quite unhappy when they quit making the FTM-10R.
The 100R doesn't have the weather-resistant features of the 10R

Most of the guys on the MS150 were running Kenwood units and had a ziplock bag to put over the head in the event of rain.

They do recommend dual-rx because they run simplex and a repeater when possible.
Downs said:
In-line amp.

Or a "HP" handheld such as a BF-F8HP or UV-82HP. Those put out 8 watts.

Honestly if you can't get it done with 5 to 10 watts 50 probably isn't going to cut it either. You're mostly antenna and terrain limited with VHF/UHF. It's line of sight.
Click to expand...

It's recommended that you go >10w. Sometimes that's not easily possible.

At the very least, put a good antenna on it.
I went with the Comet HP-32FHN. Rumor has it, it was beefed up for motorcycle use. I can tell you it's pretty stout.

There's quite a bit of information around for ham's on bikes.
One good resource is: http://www.ba-marc.org/
Also, if you're in with the MS150 motorcycle marshals, their site is another great resource.

Jeff, the guy in charge of the MS150 marshals, is a member here on the forum, though I forget his screen name.

Welcome to the obsession!
73s, KD5HSL
 
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maxped-M.jpg


Here's a nifty (I like using that word, brings me back to my youth) gadget to hold your UV-5R (or variant) if you like to position it, like I do, on the back of my Camelbak. Your choice of methods to attach. FYI I pass the longer VHF antenna through a loop on my Camelbak (not all models the same, YMMV) and it keeps the radio vertical. I like this method as the radio comes with me off the bike. YMMV.

FYI: You can use the slider to accommodate the increased length of the longer extra capacity battery if you use one.
 
I am just finishing up my install. I bought a very gently used FTM-10R and have installed that under the seat of my FJR with the head unit on a ram mount on the left handlebar. For an antenna I have installed a Comet SBB5 on a lip bracket on a length it 1x1/8 steel bar mounted under my rear rack. I am just waiting for a couple of resistors to wire a cable to connect the FTM-10R to my SMH10 via an SR10.

So far the only issues I have found is that the FTM-10R isn't computer programmable, but you can clone from another FTM-10R so I will have to get together with another marshal who has all the channels already loaded and try and clone their unit.

Now I just have to work out how to use the darn thing !!
 
I stopped trying on the external antenna. I may try at least one more time but honestly my 16in whip on the HT does great around here. I did enjoy having that 1/2 wave whip on the back of the bike when it did work haha. I was running an SSB5 as well.

I think I MAY have gotten the issue figured out. I found one of my spark plug wires had a break in the shielding. I'm going to give it another shot and see what happens. Maybe on the way to work tomorrow.
 
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I switched to a different halfwave from Comet and everything is working on the external now. SSB5 now lives on the Jeep. Got that worked out not long after my above post and never updated.

Scottie do you have any pictures of your finished setup?

1TallTxn here's some history on the HP-32FHN.
http://marc-hq.org/40.technotes/40.htm

Some talk over on STROM TROOPER gave me a wild hair and I picked up stuff to run CB on the bike as well. I figured I already had most of the ancillary stuff I needed to do it so swapping to CB when/if I wanted would be easy and I could still keep a HT with rubber duck on the bike when I happened to be running CB to easily switch to if I needed to.
 
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