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Mobile HAM radio on motorcycle

Downs

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Location
HUNT COUNTY
First Name
Joshua
Latest video. Enjoy :rider:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeb1PjllFAQ"]Motorcycle Ham Radio Setup on my VStrom - YouTube[/ame]
 
First thing I see is his radio, and I already know it's a Baofeng UV-5R, and I have one (two)! I just need to get the upgraded antenna and whatnot like I've been planning to. These suckers are seriously underrated and do so much for so $little$.

I know what I'm doing when I get my bike :sun:

Thanks, Downs!

EDIT: Oh my god I just realized, you're the video maker. haha. You're awesome man! Hope to see more from you!

EDIT 2: I have to ask, could you share a few links as to where you got some of those gadgets for the Baofeng? Like for example, the 12V battery adapter, the PTT button (which I have always searched for but have never found), and the wireless headset. I had a 2 pin adapter for my Kenwood radio, but for some reason, when I tried to use it in the jacks, it just barely wouldn't fit, and that's how I broke my first Baofeng by stuffing it in there. It looks to be the same as yours, but yours fit without so much as a struggle. Just wondering how you got all this to work how you did, I love this stuff!
 
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Sure thing. But the remote PTT is a SENA product that hooks to the SR10 not a BAOFENG product.

Keep in mind these are all new prices the SR10 I picked up used on ADVRIDER a good while back. I originally picked it up for a CB install and then started getting into HAM radio and the handheld CB now sits in a box for the most part.

Radio

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV5R-Dual-Band-Two-Way-Radio/dp/B007H4VT7A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433688501&sr=8-1&keywords=Baofeng+UV-5R"]Amazon.com : BaoFeng UV5R Dual-Band Two-Way Radio, Black : Frs Two Way Radios : Car Electronics[/ame]


Antenna I use on the bike usually.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Authentic-Genuine-NA-701-SMA-Female-BaoFeng/dp/B00KBZLOHC/ref=pd_sim_422_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1F3D5M0RPBKY40CCK9PY"]Amazon.com: Authentic Genuine Nagoya NA-701 8-Inch Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna SMA-Female for AnyTone, BaoFeng, and Yaesu: Car Electronics[/ame]


12v adapter

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BL-5-12V-Battery-Eliminator/dp/B00KZ6VGUW/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1433688811&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=baofeng+12+volt"]Amazon.com: BaoFeng BL-5 12V Battery Eliminator for BF-F8HP and UV-5R Radios: Electronics[/ame]


SENA headset with universal mic

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sena-SMH10-11-Motorcycle-Bluetooth-Microphone/dp/B0087NB088/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1433688725&sr=1-2&keywords=SENA+SMH-10"]Amazon.com: Sena SMH10-11 Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset/Intercom with Universal Microphone Kit: Electronics[/ame]


SENA SR10 This will come with the remote PTT switch in the package.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sena-Bluetooth-Two-Way-Radio-Adapter/dp/B005TMAU2C/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1433688846&sr=1-1&keywords=SENA+SR-10"]Amazon.com: Sena SR10 Bluetooth Two-Way Radio Adapter: Electronics[/ame]


Adapter cable for KENWOOD 2-pin radios (Most Chinese radios use this connector including Baofeng Except for the older UV-3R)

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sena-SC-A0110-Kenwood-Twin-Pin-Connector/dp/B0068EPYP8/ref=pd_sim_263_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0XTAH55YSJSMNWY1QXCV"]Amazon.com: Sena SC-A0110 2-Way Radio Cable for Kenwood Twin-Pin Connector: Automotive[/ame]



I haven't had this problem with the SENA cables but what happens when the plug ins don't work usually is there's a rubber gasket where the jacks are that can cause issues with the plug not going all the way in. Most people fix this by either trimming plastic off of the plug or cutting the rubber out of the radio. I prefer to trim the plug though I've only had this issue on one cheap programing cable.
 
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Hey, Downs! I hate to revive such an old thread here, but I'm planning on doing this setup now fairly soon.

I've used repeaters in the Dallas area, and I've gotten mixed results on different occasions in different conditions; but then again, I'm using the stock rubber duck and no other additions - I was wondering, the way you have things setup, do you usually get pretty good feedback going down the road and good frequency receive/transmit? Is your audio pretty clear?

Look forward to your response!
 
I love those Baofeng UV5R radios, my entire family are paraglider pilots and we use these radios. They are great value, we have had them a few years and never had a problem, they also will go out of HAM range and allow us to use the paragliding authorized frequencies 158.400 MHz. I am a licensed Ham, and my wife and daughters have all passed the USHPA license test and have licenses to use the 5 authorized USHPA frequencies. We have 4 of the radio, we tried several other cheap Chinese makes, but they all had issues, the Baofengs have been the only radios that work reliably. Highly recommend them.

Gary
 
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What are these used for? Are they like a CB radio on steroids? Like a desktop HAM?
 
Hey, Downs! I hate to revive such an old thread here, but I'm planning on doing this setup now fairly soon.

I've used repeaters in the Dallas area, and I've gotten mixed results on different occasions in different conditions; but then again, I'm using the stock rubber duck and no other additions - I was wondering, the way you have things setup, do you usually get pretty good feedback going down the road and good frequency receive/transmit? Is your audio pretty clear?

Look forward to your response!

Yeah the BAOFENG rubber duck is garbage. This thing. It's practically
AT-5R.jpg


You can grab a NAGOYA 701 (8") or 771 (16") for less than 20 dollars on Amazon. I've really gotten to like the AV-85 antennas that now come on the UV-82s and the BF-F8HPs. You can get them for about 5 or 6 dollars and some folks testing has shown performance as good as the NAGOYA 701 antennas.

ub-b5-antenna.jpg


All of my feedback has been positive both simplex and repeater. I attribute this mostly to my headset setup. Most times they can't even tell I'm on a motorcycle unless I forget to close the visor. When my buddies and I are riding and running Simplex audio is crystal clear but all three of us run the same SENA setups.

I love those Baofeng UV5R radios, my entire family are paraglider pilots and we use these radios. They are great value, we have had them a few years and never had a problem, they also will go out of HAM range and allow us to use the paragliding authorized frequencies 158.400 MHz. I am a licensed Ham, and my wife and daughters have all passed the USHPA license test and have licenses to use the 5 authorized USHPA frequencies. We have 4 of the radio, we tried several other cheap Chinese makes, but they all had issues, the Baofengs have been the only radios that work reliably. Highly recommend them.

Gary

Those paragliding freqs aren't AM? I did Ultralights for about a year and we operated on standard airband frequencies all the time. I used a little talkabout a few times to coordinate with my at the time girlfriend when doing long flights or just poking around the airfield. I just ran a Yaesu FT-310 on a mount for that stuff and kept the talkabout tucked into a pocket on my flight suit.

What are these used for? Are they like a CB radio on steroids? Like a desktop HAM?

They are used for short range local comms. They are like a CB radio in the fact that they use radio waves haha. CB radios tend to be much larger and clunkier and the frequency range they operate in isn't nearly as suited for local comms like these little UHF/VHF radios. CB also operates on AM (Amplitude modulation) vs FM for most UHF/VHF handheld radios.

I've found that the range on these radios is more than adequate for most riding situations and take up less space and weight than a CB radio.

These operate on the same bands a Base Station or mobile HAM radio would operate at but at lower power. HTs are limited on power for various reasons the biggest being the amount of battery you can pack on board, the available area to act as a heat sink and RF exposure limits. Anything much past what these Handhelds operate at and you don't want it to be that close to your brain haha. You limited to 1500 watts total power. To put that into perspective most HTs run on 4 or 5 watts. Or about 300 times less power than is legally allowed. But most VHF/UHF radios dont' operate nearly that much power. 50 to 75 watts is pretty standard for mobile and base station radios set to "high" power.

I still have a CB mounted in my Jeep but the only reason for that is some of the local Jeep clubs still use CB but not many. With the proliferation of the little HAM handhelds and the ease of getting a HAM technician license (I spent 5 dollars to take a 35 question test I completed in 10ish minutes and the FCC had my callsign loaded the week after) most clubs are pushing for their membership to get these radios and make the switch. In recent years CB has become almost useless except at very close range due to a variety of factors. IMO the biggest one is the proliferation of high power inline amplifiers that guys have taken to using (illegally) on their CBs which basically blows out the whole band.
 
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I have the Yaesu FT 60 which I love. I can hit repeaters about 30 miles away.
 
YOu can do the same with these cheapos. All about the antenna height and terrain. I've done a few 98 mile simplex contacts from a 5000 foot ridgeline. Using both the 8"and 16 Inch whip antennas, and hit repeaters just a hair over 100 miles from a different peak at about 5500 feet. In the Western part of SD county the terrain is the biggest obstacle for simplex but all the repeaters here are up on high peaks so you can get great coverage from them. Out in the desert east of San Diego (city) you can get some great simplex ranges and the few repeaters out there are as high as they can get them. One covers from the mountains all the way to Yuma on the state line.

On the bike riding with a group I'm not looking for crazy range like that. We're rarely more than a mile apart from the lead to the trail bike. Sometimes we can get strung out a bit futher than that.
 
They have Helmets with built in communications now pretty good range on some of the newer bluetooth models
 
I've been running SENA SHM-10s since they came out for the most part. They are very terrain limited. Over open ground they have good range and they have the advantage of being full duplex comms but in the riding out here especially the dual sport stuff the terrain keeps them from being as useful as they could be, they operate in the 2.4 GHZ range so they are pretty much stopped by any kind of terrain in the way.

The HTs make up for that deficiency in range that the Bluetooth units suffer from in Terrain. It's still not perfect and you aren't going to be getting 10 or 12 mile contacts with them but they will cover a mile or so in hilly terrain.
 
Whew expensive. 340 dollars before you buy the 80 dollar Bluetooth adapter. Then another 80 if you want to use their bluetooh headset. I'd have to look into it more but it seems that it only works with their Bluetooth headsets.

It is a nice radio though. Quad band, water resistant, onboard APRS, ect.
 
Ive got a throat mike and ear piece combo for my Yaesu FT 60, sorta like what you see the secret service use. Works pretty good, used it hiking with some friends who have a Wouxun HT and throat mike earbud combo for their model. Don't know how it would work on the bike while moving but when stopped should fit the bill what your looking for. Just a thought.
 
I've tried throat mics in the past and my experience on motorcycle use is the vibrations of the wind moving over your body and gear make any transmissions unreadable.

I'm not really looking for anything I've got my setups right now that work for my purposes. When I stop and setup camp the bike is usually very close by and I just run a roll up j-pole into a tree and hang a handmic off the handle bars. If I want to use it in my tent I can either pull it off the bike in a few seconds since I run on battery power anyway or pull the backup radio off of my go bag and bring it in the tent with me and run my roll up j-pole under the vestibule.

On bike my setup is in the original video.
 
I have a slim jim that works for me also an ELK for SAT Bounce on Two meters, tried to get the Space Station a couple of times when it's over head but I think the times I tried they must've been on a rest cycle.
 
There's an APP for the I phone that will show you when the Space station and some Satellites are in range. There's several programs free for the computer for AMSAT work. Last year I bounced a signal off a Satellite with my HT using the hand held ELK Beam antenna to someone in CA on 2 meters.
 
There's an APP for the I phone that will show you when the Space station and some Satellites are in range. There's several programs free for the computer for AMSAT work. Last year I bounced a signal off a Satellite with my HT using the hand held ELK Beam antenna to someone in CA on 2 meters.

I've got a few of those apps. The one I like the best so far is HAMSAT on my iphone.

Problem is the windows for most of the contacts even when they pass directly over you is pretty small. Less than 15 minutes usually so you have to be on your toes and ready to be setup. Problem for me there is I always seem to be doing something when they come over and when I do manage to make it outside to monitor there's not a lot of traffic.

SO-50 is another popular HAMSAT to use to communicate across the US with. Usually really busy though.

It can be a tricky way to operate for sure and you really need some equipment to do it up properly such as the above mentioned Beam antenna which you can handhold if you want. I've seen some guys use a camera tripod to keep the antenna steadier and make tracking your intended target easier.

Alpine Ridge not sure of your level of knowledge of radios but a Beam antenna is a directional antenna, in other words it radiates nearly all of your power in one direction instead of in a 360 degree pattern like a whip or omnidirectional antenna. Link below for your reading. HAM radio can be a rabbit hole if you aren't careful that's for sure haha :giveup:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagi-Uda_antenna

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_SvIVRv-Ok"]ISS Ham Radio Reception in Raleigh, North Carolina - YouTube[/ame]
 
Thanks for this thread but you guys are killing me, who in the heck is going to adopt me and pay for this??? ;-)
 
Hmmm my XR600???? ;)

I did know you can do astronomy with HAM too, that is pretty cool.

I picked up a manual for studying to my license
 
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