Thursday, May 5, 2011

Radio Installation

I recently got my HAM radio license. I spent the day last Saturday installing a Yaesu Ft-7900 in my pickup. I went out this morning and I was able to hit a repeater that was 30 miles away. Excellent radio. It is a dual band radio that transmits in the 2 meter band and the 70cm band.

I put the radio body under the passenger's seat, the control head on the center console, and I mounted the antenna on the roof with an NMO mount. Being under the seat, it was a little hard to hear, so a mounted a speaker to the back of my console. I can hear it just fine now.

I also have a handheld radio in the 2 meter band. I want to get one or two more, and at $120 each, they are quite affordable. Add a base station to that, and another item is checked off my list of things I need for the zombie apocalypse. More on that later.

1 comment:

TOTWTYTR said...

I've had my ham ticket for more than 30 years. It's a fun hobby, with a lot of different areas to explore and enjoy.

Currently I have a Yaesu FT8800 dual band in my truck and a Yaesu hand held dual band that I use occasionally.

Wouxun makes some pretty cheap radios that you can put into your emergency cache. If the emergency is bad enough, no one is going to care if you use those as FRS radios. Their equipment is supposed to be pretty good for the price.