DaveTheAffable Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Taking my test for both Technician and General license next monday. Any other hams / motorcycle mobiles here? QRP when hiking/camping? Link to comment
boatzo Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Hey Dave K3ZXV here, advanced class since 1964. I have not tried to do the mobile thing on the bike (yet). You will have a lot of fun with ham radio and make a lot of new friends. 73s Link to comment
Rocer Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Hi Dave. VE3 NTX here. Have been inactive since moving some years back - everything still in boxes. QRP was my interest so never really got off key on HF.Lots of fun with antennae designs to get that signal out ever further including using a weather balloon and a huge rhombic.Have QSL cards from as far away as Russia on 3 watts. Used to attend an annual "off the mains" (I forget the proper name) camping weekend which you are probably aware of as I think it's a world wide exercise. I encourage you to participate in one as you'll learn so much in the way of emergency preparedness. Probably will re-enter on 2m. when I get back into it just to keep in touch with locals although our repeater is widely linked so reaches out much further than line of sight. I don't plan on any ham activity on the bike tho' as I enjoy being away from it all and focused on the ride. Best wishes on the test. Paul Link to comment
WestTX RT Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Dave, KE5EXE down in Texas. I have a Yeasu FTM10R on the RT and love it. If you'll do a search on ham radio, you'll pull a couple of interesting topics. Good luck on the test. Darrell Link to comment
boatzo Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Used to attend an annual "off the mains" (I forget the proper name) camping weekend which you are probably aware of as I think it's a world wide exercise. I encourage you to participate in one as you'll learn so much in the way of emergency preparedness. Paul That would be the world wide Amateur Radio Field Day. It is a great event and a real learning experience. I even met my first ex wife at one of the camp outs .ugh !! Link to comment
DaveTheAffable Posted March 16, 2009 Author Share Posted March 16, 2009 Thanks guys! I'm sure there are others... My father in law, W6UYW Pete Kreager, went silent key just after the first of the year. I inherited his pristeen Kenwood TS-930S HF rig, and picked up a 2 month old Yaesu FT-60R for pennies from a co-worker. I've been taking the practice tests on QRZ.com, and passing consistently with 90% plus both tech and general. Link to comment
smiller Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 If you want to do the camping QRP thing and aren't great with code the digital modes can be a lot of fun since they are practical with minimal power and antennas. Now if someone would just write a PSK31 app for an iPhone... Link to comment
Art.. Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 WB2LWV here. Need to reup my license, will be looking into taking tech again. Link to comment
SageRider Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 KE6GYC here. Motorcycle mobile on 2M/440. Check out M.A.R.C. in your area (they meet in Placentia) to combine HAM radio and motorcycling for a worthy purpose! Link to comment
Heck Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 K6JMH here... active MC Mobile, APRS, not too active on HF for the last few years, although station is up.... Link to comment
skinny_tom (aka boney) Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 KG6NYN, no code Tech here. One of these days I'll upgrade to General. My base station has been out of service since we moved into the new house (4 years ago!) but I still use the mobile in my truck and on occasion the HT setup on my bike. Oh, and I've dabbled in APRS quite a bit but don't have a working setup right now. Link to comment
decorbin Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 N0DC here....extra since the mid 70's. My wife is a tech, and we use FTM-10SR's on the bikes. We went to those from GMRS due to poor cell coverage in a lot of the ares we ride in the Carolina's in the summer, but you can usually "hit" a local repeater in most places. Good luck with the tests. Link to comment
kcscout Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 KC0LTU Couple of good Ham threads on the board. Like this one. And, this one. Link to comment
sundaeman Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Hey Dave, KB3IKF. I've had a Yaesu FTM-10R on my bike for well over a year. I've also been playing with APRS a bit and hope to have something up & running in the next two weeks or so. One of these days I'll go for General when I've got some time to study. Good luck on the tests, the killer for me is memorizing the frequency ranges. -Joel Link to comment
ThomasJ Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 K6IUZ here...welcome to the Ham ranks....been one since I was 13...35 yrs ago. I have just returned to cycling after many years off and I'm looking forward to doing some camping with my mini hf rig...would like to get VHF/UHF up and going while riding but not quite there yet (not quite the ground plane a cage offers). Run mobile out of my commuter cage. Good Luck, 73 Tom Link to comment
Burt Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 W8DAQ. I haven't tried mobile yet, but would like to try to set my bike up for mobile. Link to comment
krussell Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 K7TRD here. Not active, but sure thinking about a radio for the bike. Link to comment
TechDirector Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 KG4KBC here. Now running my Yaesu FTM-10R on the '02 RT-P and a VX-7 through an Autocom on my '07 Adventure. I probably have more fun tinkering with getting the radio to work on the bike than actually using it... Chuck Greenville, SC Link to comment
TNT Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Dave, good luck with your test! I do hope that all goes well. Let us know. 73's Richard K7TNT DN74 Link to comment
DaveTheAffable Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 Wow... kind of neat we have so many. I'll give a report after the test on Monday the 23rd! Link to comment
BerryG Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 W6EZ here. Good luck with the test! 2M/440 on the bike. Link to comment
11101110 Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 currently inactive but seriously considering the FTM-10R for my RTP. Planing a big trip this year and plan to be out of cell range. But I have yet to decide on a decent antenna, any suggestions? Link to comment
Gnomad Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 De WD5G here. I've been licensed for more than 30 years, but don't mess with radios on the bikes. I have too much to pay attention to while riding. Dave Link to comment
TechDirector Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 But I have yet to decide on a decent antenna, any suggestions? This is what I use on my RT-P http://tinyurl.com/cp7ue2 Why do I like it? Not too long and the spring on the bottom. I ruined two other antennas by karate chopping them in half with my leg when getting on the bike! Link to comment
Bud Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 WB9VJA here. Good luck on the exam. Link to comment
Bud Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 But I have yet to decide on a decent antenna, any suggestions? This is what I use on my RT-P http://tinyurl.com/cp7ue2 Why do I like it? Not too long and the spring on the bottom. I ruined two other antennas by karate chopping them in half with my leg when getting on the bike! Nice antenna. ? how do you mount it on the bike? Link to comment
knight88 Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 AH6LX - since 1977 have a FT2800 on my bike, the 1150RTP is great since it has aux power, ant. mount, and a top box already there! Link to comment
BerryG Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Antennas? Ah.. Easy answer, since a good RF ground is sometimes hard to come by on a bike use an antenna listed as a "half wave". Then, matching is much easier. Hard answer, play around with hidden radials and such to get a "quarter wave" to match and then throw it all away and go to a half wave after all the wasted time. Yeah a half wave on 2M is big, but if you stick to 440 the size is very manageable. (I run a dual band so I have a big antenna..) Link to comment
TechDirector Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Nice antenna. ? how do you mount it on the bike? The RT-P has a radio mount with a small ground plane behind the radio box. Link to comment
xoomerite Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 A j-pole does not require a ground plane. I built one from aluminum rod several years ago for 2M motorcycling. It worked great. Just mount anywhere convenient, after tuning. K4AY Link to comment
Vic Purvis Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 NB4T here,I have been thinking about putting a Yaesu FT 8900R quad band on my RT,but haven't found a good place to mount the antenna.Might just use a Kenwood dual bander due to antenna space.I usually put an Icon 706 MK in the bag and a long wire antenna Vic Purvis 07RT/08GSA NB4T Link to comment
Zinnman Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 KC7BSX here in Oregon. I haven't tried m/c mobile yet. Been out of the ham scene for a few years and need to get the codes for the local repeater so I can get on. Seems like I'd rather be riding than talking on the radio. Link to comment
DaveTheAffable Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Wow... kind of neat we have so many. I'll give a report after the test on Monday the 23rd! And the report is... ... I passed. I took the Tech and General exams on the same morning, and passed both. I'm going to learn code too, I just havent figured out how I'm gonna do morse code while on the K1200. Link to comment
smiller Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Great job Dave. It's a great and varied hobby and eventually everyone finds their own niche. In some ways things aren't what they used to be in the old(er) days but then again because of all the new technology in other ways things have never been better. Learn about the traditions and experiment with all the new stuff... it's all good... Link to comment
boatzo Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Way to go Dave. Good for you on learning morse. I have gotten very rusty, but always enjoyed using morse and honing my skills. Field day was where it really came in handy. It was great for communicating with foreign countries also, there is no accent !! Link to comment
ThomasJ Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Hearty Congrats Dave...you will have a grand time. will look for you on the bands! Tom K6IUZ Link to comment
BerryG Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Congratulations Dave! Berry W6EZ Link to comment
Couchrocket Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Fine business! 73 de W6UBJ Link to comment
DaveTheAffable Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 I am KI6YCT ...Yankee Charlie Tango? ...Young Child Talking? Link to comment
k9gromit Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 KK2DX resurrecting an old thread here... Any other Amateur Radio folks kicking around? Considering installing a mobile dual bander on my RT once I get it home. I should have a couple of months of snow and ice to keep me in my garage and tinkering... 73 de KK2DX Link to comment
na1g Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 NA1G here. 2011 R1200RT for riding, TenTec Corsair for HF, Yaesu FT60 for VHF. Mostly DXing and casual contesting on HF CW. No plans to install the HT on the RT. I have enough to deal with just riding! Good to see so many hams on the forum and on BMWs. TNX es 73, pete Link to comment
leegarrison Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Well done, Dave. K1SPP here. Link to comment
cowchip Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 NK6A here in So. CA. Very active on HF with a Elecraft K3 (Contesting and DX). Also do hiking and camping with QRP gear (KX1). Bike is a new 2011 R1200RT. No plans for mobile. I do carry a HT and QRP on longer trips. Link to comment
Runnor Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 KCODT here in Kansas city. Been using some gear from home base, now want to find out how to get it to be viable on the r12020. John Link to comment
Oil-Burner Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 the wife and I just passed the Technician test too :-) I am in the process of installing a portable on the RT. So far I've mounted a Comet HP-32FHN antenna recommended by MARC on a mount that I engineered... now i just have to work out how to interface with the Scala G4. 73 KK4FNO Link to comment
BriSco Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 N0PGH here. I don't talk while riding, but do carry a Yaesu FT-60 and a roll up j-pole in my top case. I enjoy it while staying at a campsite or at rallies Link to comment
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