HAM/Amateur Radio Install Help

T@Buhura · May 2015

Our Jensen head unit has malfunctioning buttons - it'll turn itself on (won't ever turn itself off) and sometimes the buttons become non-responsive. I was going to replace it with a newer Pioneer unit with Bluetooth but decided the DIN slot would be best used by my new (to me) ICOM ID-880H. Has anyone done an install of an amateur radio in their T@B?

I'm new to T@B/RV (and HAM - still waiting on my call sign) and I would love guidance on wiring and also ideas on antenna placement. If you've installed one do you have pics of the install or finished setup? I'd really appreciate it!

ChanW · May 2015

Great idea.

It might be smarter to mount the antenna on your TV, to give the signal a ground plane in the vehicle body. ie: the Tab has so little metal in its body, that you wouldn't have any ground plane, unless you were to lay out wires for your ground plane.

It'd be easier to find a mount designed for a vehicle too.

I don't do ham, only did some CB, so I might be talking out my tail-end here. Been known to do that. :-)

Michigan_Mike · May 2015

I'm not a Ham radio operator but had an uncle who talked to people around the world. It was fascinating and he had post cards from every corner of the globe. there is a ton of "how to" information on YouTube and the guy below has some videos posted and there are many videos available that might give you the information you are requesting.

I searched via Google and there are RV groups out there as well and forums that can probably give you valuable tips. Here is one such group and I did see that they have a section dedicated to antennas:

Open Roads Radio.net

https://youtu.be/kFLxeASa05k?t=165

kybob · May 2015

Greetings from AB4BK! Congratulations on you upcoming ticket. I have not been active in ham radio for a few years, but am thinking I might want to do some hamming from some remote sites in the future as I travel with my T@B. I, too, will be following this post with interest.

source3 · May 2015

I will be mounting my radio sometime later this summer. Have not gave it much thought as I am waiting delivery of the T@B. I have a friend that mounted his in a travel trailer. If you can wait a few months I will pick his brain and report back. The friend is currently riding his bicycle across the USA and is sort of out of communication.

T@Buhura · May 2015

Thanks everyone for the responses! It's great to get some feedback about installing a HAM radio. I've ended up ordering a replacement Pioneer for a nice replacement to the Jensen and fear not, I'm still planning on installing my HAM as well.

@kybob - Thanks so much! Hopefully we'll get to phone when I get my call sign. It's been nearly 3 wks and I'm still waiting to be listed. I've been enjoying listening on my HT in the meantime and haven't attempted to install my mobile unit yet.

kybob said:

Greetings from AB4BK! Congratulations on you upcoming ticket. I have not been active in ham radio for a few years, but am thinking I might want to do some hamming from some remote sites in the future as I travel with my T@B. I, too, will be following this post with interest.

@Andrew - I'm looking forward to sharing ideas. One of my big questions is what to do for a ground plane and how to tap into power. I'll be researching in the meantime as well and our local overland group is having a "HAM Radio New User" class that'll include tips on installations. Traditional car install thought is to go directly to the battery, but in this case I'm wondering if it might not be better to just go to the converter. I just had it replaced with a new WF-8725P (25Amp version) since the original one was faulty.

source3 said:

I will be mounting my radio sometime later this summer. Have not gave it much thought as I am waiting delivery of the T@B. I have a friend that mounted his in a travel trailer. If you can wait a few months I will pick his brain and report back. The friend is currently riding his bicycle across the USA and is sort of out of communication.

kybob · May 2015

If my antenna still works, we'll set up a schedule when you get your ticket.

T@Buhura · June 2015

Success!!! It was great, this weekend I had the chance to use our T@B with my 9yr old for an impromptu trip to Hamfest where I discovered an awesome antenna - the j-pole and I met HAMs from Jpoles.com. The best part is it takes care of any ground plane dilemma - they don't require one; as they explained, "it's a j-pole" and can be mounted on anything from a tree to a fencepost... the only thing they actually didn't recommend was for mobile application only because they make them pretty stout and it's to protect the vehicle. One of the guys mentioned he'd tried it on his semi once and he destroyed the passenger side mirror and the top of the door frame when a tree branch snagged the antenna. They really are that solidly built! So the third time I went back to their booth I showed them what I had in mind and then they were really excited and thought it would be fine. I was thinking the back so snagging it on most things would be difficult (although still possible) plus the handle is structural. I would imagine the antenna would give first.

They were great to meet and they make an amazing antenna (stainless steel rods and mounting hw). The most exciting part is it mounted beautifully and without any drilling onto the T@B. Their j-pole brackets with custom stainless steel u-bolts were a perfect match to a T@B handle.

Last night I did a test install with all of the wiring in place and it worked wonderfully. I managed to make a local net last night (still just listening) and hear all of the excitement about the ISS flying overhead. Tonight I'll figure out the exact placement and use CAT6 to extend the microphone range from the unit. I'm also thinking of placing it in such a way that would be easy to move the radio between T@B and car but have an antenna, and wiring already in place in the car as well so it would just plug and play.

The best part of this install - no holes! To fish the RG58 coax to the outside I used the foam grommet already in place by the converter through the floor and then used wire clips to hold it up along the aluminum channel using the already available screws and the trim does a wonderful job at masking the coax until the actually connects to the PL259 on the antenna.

source3 said:

I will be mounting my radio sometime later this summer. Have not gave it much thought as I am waiting delivery of the T@B. I have a friend that mounted his in a travel trailer. If you can wait a few months I will pick his brain and report back. The friend is currently riding his bicycle across the USA and is sort of out of communication.

Joe · July 2015

Hello from K5BRY. Congratulations on your ham radio license. I'm an active ham radio operator and an owner of a T@B trailer. A couple of suggestions. First, if you end up with a 100 watt HF radio, I suggest you do not connect it directly to the battery or converter. Instead, invest in a power supply that will convert AC to DC for you; plug your power supply into an AC outlet and connect your radio to the power supply. At 100 watts you will be drawing over 15 amps on transmit and that will drain an RV battery pretty quickly, unless you will only be operating for short periods of time. On receive, your battery will last much longer. Ham radios do not usually include a power supply so you will need a DC power source.

Second, I wouldn't mount the radio in the trailer. Instead, keep in stored somewhere and get it out when you want to use it. This will give you the flexibility to use the radio inside the trailer or outside.

For an HF antenna, a couple of suggestions. A Buddipole is a great portable alternative. (You can Google it.) Or, think about a wire antenna that you can pitch up on some trees. Ultimax makes some great antennas. (You can Google it.) The Ultimax 100 covers 80 through 10 meters. It's small, easy to transport and setup and it works great. Of course there are other alternatives, but these are two portable antennas I'm familiar with and use.

Good luck.

HAM/Amateur Radio Install Help

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