2 meter radio install

[captamerica]

i am putting in a 2 meter radio. any suggestions

[Scrambler82]

:cool:

Do it right the first time...

Run power from the battery, both the black and red wires, fused as close to the battery as possible.
Run ground wires with star locks and non corrosive paste.
Sometimes it is necessary to run an additional ground wire from the chassis of the radio to the metal body.
Run an external speaker, good quality if $$$ is there.
Antenna - get a 1/2 wave antenna with folddown mount. 1/2 Wave antennas are less likely to need a ground plane to operate to their best.
Check the SWR of the antenna just to see but I have never had to adjust my VHF antennas straight out of the box.
Make sure the antenna mount is grounded also.

I could keep going but those are my thoughts.

Luck,

Oh ya, run good quality coax like Belden or Times, small diameter is OK but I would use at least RG-8x, sometimes I use teh Times 400 coax depending on how many bends there are in the coax route.

[captamerica]

thanks for the info. which antenna do you recommend?

[b1pig]

The antenna issue is totally vehicle specific. Some work better on one vehicle and suck on another. A 5/8 wave is the typical antenna that is used in vehicle operations. My info tells me that the 5/8 wave is less dependant on a ground plane by the vehicle.

The dual band antenna I have on my ZJ is a Radio Shack model made by Diamond antenna. The one on the van is a Larsen. I have had very good reults with both. The one on the ZJ is far more efficient, though.

I say shop. Look at the specs and the mounting type that fits your needs. I have a NMO mount on the van and a UHF mount on the ZJ.

BTW... If I recall the antenna is supposed to be sensed as a 1/2 wave in 2M and 5/8 wave in 70cm. Center Coil loaded.

[Scrambler82]

:cool:

Hey Man, I am sorry for not responding, I not really been reading the post here.

I always thought that the Diamond Brand antenna was the best but I have found out that they don't hold up in mobile applications.

I am running a Comet triband mobile at this time.
It is a 2, 220, 440 and the 2 meter is half way.
Which ever antenna you run, try to get a half wave on the freq range you want to work the most.
The half wave antenna require less ground plane than other wave lengths. i mount this antenna on a roll bar application on a pick up and it worked great.

Later,
any other questions please feel free to e-mai or PM.

[Corey]

what exactly is a 2 meter radio??

[Jerry Bransford]

Originally posted by Corey:
what exactly is a 2 meter radio?? It's a 2-way ham (amateur) radio that operates in the two meter frequency range, right around 145-150 MHz which is a way higher frequency than CB is. You do need a ham radio license to legally operate a 2 meter radio. A 2 meter radio usually sounds much clearer than CB radio does because they most commonly use FM instead of AM like a CB uses. 2 meter radios do have drawbacks mainly centered around the higher frequency band they operate in that limits how far they can transmit to line-of-sight range. However, hams have installed "repeater" (receives then re-transmits what it hears) systems over most of the U.S. that greatly expand the useful range by re-transmitting what you transmit over a wider area. I have a 2 meter and CB radio in my Jeep but find for offroading, that CB is far more commonly used.

[Corey]

thanks for the great explanation!

[Scrambler82]

:cool:

Jerry is a pretty knowledgable indiviual isn't he ?

:D

[b1pig]

Originally posted by Jerry Bransford:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Corey:
[qb] .... right around 145-150 MHz 2 Meter HAM band is 144-148MHz. Also, the 2M band is not exactly "line-of-sight". Simplex (radio to radio) communications, I have held clear conversations with others with as much as 10 miles between us with NO problems with 20-50ft pine trees between us. Outside 10 miles, the signals often get scratchy and staticy. This is in most weather condiditons. Bad weather worse. Sometimes better than that.

Repeaters work by sticking the anennea (receive and transmit) on a tower or another high place. I have hit the 2M repeaters around here anywhere from 20-40 miles out. On a good night, I can hit the VARC repeater from my driveway... over 20 miles away... on 5 watts.

HAM radio is not a great medium for trail communications under most circumstances. I will however disagree with you, Jerry. FAMILY BAND radios are more "line of sight" because of a .5watt-or-so rating on a 462-467MHz band. The 440 HAM band we use... typically on anything from 2-35 watts is less likely to experience this based primarily on the power.

HAMs can get around the distance issues by being able to operate up to 1,500 watts in most conditions. smile.gif

:D

[RelaxinBob]

I'm looking for good antenna mounting places. I have an Icom 2710 in my YJ, temporarily wedged between the glove box and heater assembly. The remote head is velcro'd to the dash and an external speaker is mounted under the dash.

The antenna, however, is just not cool :confused: It's a good Larsen antenna, but it's on a mag-mount right in the middle of the hood. My wife calls it a unicorn horn :rolleyes: , especially since this used to be her Jeep. (She got the '03 TJ).

Anyway, I'm thinking of mounting something to the spare tire / door stop on the right rear. I'm open to suggestions and don't mind breaking out the drill if necessary. I gotta get rid of that mag-mount, though.

To make matters worse, I'm also thinking of an APRS setup, so I'll need TWO 2m antennae. For the non-hams, this is a GPS receiver coupled to a "radio modem" and a 2m radio. The information is taken from the GPS and fed out through the radio. The vehicle can be tracked through other similar setups, or through the web. (http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/aprs.html)

[b1pig]

Hi, Bob... welcome to the board.

First thing I'd ask, is are you going to be using two separate radios? One for voice, one for APRS?

I helped PWP install his anenna on the spare tire stopper on the right rear corner. He had a NMO mount 1/4 wave antenna. I used a CB antenna mount bracket flipped upsidedown with the big hole up. I then used a super large washer with 1/4 of it cut away so I could bend the washer how I needed it. It was installed as a stop-gap measure so He'd have HAm on the trail the night before a run. But as he told me it stayed on there for quite some time and transmitted flawlessly. His radio was an Icom 207, I think.

By theory and math, the middle of the hood would be the best place to mount and antenna on any SWB Jeep, but most antenna are not that affected by the soft top, and only slightly more by the hard top since it is fiberglass.

Here are a couple of options. You can get a different antenna that uses the same mount as the CB... Firestick and others use this arrangement. Then you can use the CB mount that goes on the spare tire stopper on the body.

Hitman and I made a bracket from sheetmetal (it was free ;) ) for that kind of mount on the rear of a TJ he had. It worked real good. I mounted it on the hinge, removeing two of the bolts, I think... and istalling it on top of the hinge.... If you looked at the mount, it was "L" shaped when we cut it out flat. We took the short leg and floded it 90 degrees and mounted the antenna to that. Big leg went to the body. It was thick and flexed very little... enough to be spring like. Never bent.

If anything else pops into my head, I'll psot it later. Off to work. :D :D

[RelaxinBob]

Yeah, the intention is to use two radios, the dual-band for voice, and a dedicted 2m for APRS.

Thanks for the input. I'm leaning toward a decent dual-band antanna for the tire stopper, probably using the FireStick style mount, for the IC2710.

APRS is currently a low priority, but I don't want to block its future use.

Now that the location for the main antenna is figured out, who makes decent a decent antenna for that mount? I'm heading to the Dayton Hamvention in May, so I need to stat on my shopping list :cool:

[b1pig]

You should start by going HERE (http://www.hamradio.com/) and requesting a catalog if you haven't already. I have ehard good things about both Larsen and Diamond, though each truly has his own opinion. I have a dual band antenna from Radio Shack that was manufactured by Diamond if I'm right...

It is a great antenna, though it is the UHF style mount. I got my mount from Radio Shack also, to match the antenna. Don't think my model is currently available, though.

Also, AES (http://www.aesham.com/) which has thier catalog available online via PDF or ZIP files.

[Jerry Bransford]

Originally posted by b1pig:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jerry Bransford:
Originally posted by Corey:
[qb] .... right around 145-150 MHz 2 Meter HAM band is 144-148MHz. Also, the 2M band is not exactly "line-of-sight". Simplex (radio to radio) communications, I have held clear conversations with others with as much as 10 miles between us with NO problems with 20-50ft pine trees between us. </font>As a ham with a General class license (N6TAY), I'm more than familiar with the exact frequencies used by hams on the 2 meter band. That I didn't include the EXACT ham frequencies only means I was referring to the general range of 2 meter frequencies, not the exact legal 2 meter ham band limits.

And line of sight does not imply you can't transmit through trees, it has to do with the curvature of the earth or mountains/hills/buildings etc. between the transmitter and receiver. It means the transmitted frequency will not be bounced by the various atmospheric layers so it will not "skip" long distances. If the receiving antenna is below the horizon from the transmitting antenna, the signal will not be heard at the receiving end. That is really what "line of sight" means, not that bushes and trees can block the signal just because you can't see through the bushes and trees. smile.gif

Trust me... the 2 meter band is above where "line of sight" frequencies begin.

[Scrambler82]

:cool:

Just remember that when you do add the APRS antenna that it will require a minimum of a 1/4 wave leght between antenna, more if you can, maybe the windshield.

I use a Comet, VHF Mount (SQ239 mount), Tri-Band Antenna. It was mounted on the roll bar and worked great.
The trick in setting up a 2 meter radio with questionable ground plane is to get a 1/2 Wave Length Antenna. The Tri-Bander that I use is 1/2 Wave on 2, chosen because that is the band I use the most around my area.
The Comet folds down, nice, and has held up well.


I have used my Kenwood 741 with this and one other antenna for 10 years and it still outperforms most Radios on the market on 2, 220 and 440 Bands. I've added an extra box that allows me to run 6 & 10 FM and it has a slot for an additional band too; all based on the Kenwood modules.

So, if there is a question about good ground plane, think about 1/2 Wave Length antennas.

Later,
n1mau, 73

[RelaxinBob]

Sorry to sandbag for so long - been busy at work and such. I'm planning to use the tire stop for the main antenna, then decide what to do with the APRS one when I get around to creating that setup. Using the tire stop should give a good enough ground. I got one from JCWhitney a while back and never installed it. It has a top surface that I can drill through for the mount.

Good thing the Hamvention isn't too far away :cool:

[Scrambler82]

:cool:

captamerica,

Where's the install going ?

What id you do about the antenna, which one and where did you mount it?

How about hte radio, where inside a YJ did you mount it ?

Also, how did you run the coax ?

Let us know.

I will be running a CJ/YJ soon and will be installing my Kenwood 741 (2/220/440/10/6/?) and am thinking of an overhead type of mounting system.

Later,

[Scrambler82]

Originally posted by captamerica:
i am putting in a 2 meter radio. any suggestions :cool:
What's happening with the install ?

[Scrambler82]

Originally posted by RelaxinBob:
Sorry to sandbag for so long - been busy at work and such. I'm planning to use the tire stop for the main antenna, then decide what to do with the APRS one when I get around to creating that setup. Using the tire stop should give a good enough ground. I got one from JCWhitney a while back and never installed it. It has a top surface that I can drill through for the mount.

Good thing the Hamvention isn't too far away :cool: :cool:

Het,
How did the Tire Stop work out for the 2-Meter Antenna ?
I am interested in the minimun ground plane effects.

Thanks,
n1mau, 73