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Show us your ham radio installations

Discussion in '2.5 Gen Tundras (2014-2021)' started by fours, Nov 30, 2019.

  1. Jan 1, 2020 at 10:14 AM
    #151
    FoghornTX

    FoghornTX Proud American and Infidel since 1968

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  2. Jan 1, 2020 at 10:51 AM
    #152
    abomb60

    abomb60 Maker of things

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    Yeah for the price point that is a good place to start with SDR but if you think it's something you might get in to a little more seriously you might want to spend a couple extra bucks and get something like this instead ... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079C4S2BT.
    Gives you a couple antenna options, has a SMA antenna port and includes a bias T in case you ever need to power an active patch antenna or a LNA.

    With any SDR or radio your weak point is going to be the antenna. If you really want to pull in signals you need the correct antenna and you need to mount it as high up as you can. For most of what I listen to with SDR I run a wideband discone antenna mounted high up in my attic and that works great for anything from 25MHz to 1.7GHz (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QVPGKHU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). If you want to go lower into the HF & shortwave frequencies you'll need an antenna for that as well as something like a Spyverter to get you below 25MHz. This is where the better SDR with SMA connectors and the bias-t comes in :)

    Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!
     
    Last edited: Jan 1, 2020
    FoghornTX[QUOTED] likes this.
  3. Jan 1, 2020 at 11:05 AM
    #153
    abomb60

    abomb60 Maker of things

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    Also if you have a spare laptop you can put that close to your antennas up in an attic or such and run Spyserver which is included with SDR Sharp (and it's free). That allows you to connect to the Spyserver from another computer and use the SDR it's connected to.

    I'm actually using it right now to connect to my laptop in an upstairs room that is connected to a L-band patch antenna so I can work some Inmarsat satellites from my main computer in the basement office. Also saves you from having to buy tons of good quality antenna cable :)
     
    Petrone likes this.
  4. Jan 2, 2020 at 8:58 PM
    #154
    TransNone13

    TransNone13 New Member

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    Got the HT up and running, works pretty well. It's ridiculous that the two transceivers don't use the same programming software and that certain things like beacon status wildcards don't seem to be the same. <head scratch>
     
  5. Jan 6, 2020 at 8:07 PM
    #155
    TransNone13

    TransNone13 New Member

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    Has anyone had to upgrade their stock battery? There's a gnarly voltage drop directly wired with the truck off.

    Edit:

    Screw it, I just bought a northstar battery after seeing how many more amp hours were over stock and well, AGM.


    https://vimeo.com/383210211
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2020
  6. Jan 13, 2020 at 6:40 PM
    #156
    Petrone

    Petrone New Member

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    How's that antennae working from the hood?
     
  7. Jan 13, 2020 at 7:04 PM
    #157
    fours

    fours [OP] New Member

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    Woo hoo, I made a contact on my Yeasu ht-60 that hadn't had a battery charge in over four years plus!!!


    73s
    KD0LAS
     
    Petrone likes this.
  8. Jan 13, 2020 at 7:08 PM
    #158
    TransNone13

    TransNone13 New Member

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    Absolutely zero issues, coming in clear and strong most of the time depending on topography.

    Does it do APRS? I guess no.
     
    Petrone[QUOTED] likes this.
  9. Jan 13, 2020 at 9:30 PM
    #159
    Petrone

    Petrone New Member

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    Hey Adam, which suction cup attachment to the windshield did you use? Just got mine in the mail a couple days ago and still looking at all the options. Thanks in advance!
     
  10. Jan 13, 2020 at 10:22 PM
    #160
    TransNone13

    TransNone13 New Member

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    For what it's worth I used the Yaesu one, I believe he did as well
     
  11. Jan 14, 2020 at 4:04 PM
    #161
    TransNone13

    TransNone13 New Member

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    How are people routing cables through the bed for.those who have those mounts? I would like to see how that looks on mine with overlander stuff.
     
  12. Jan 14, 2020 at 4:10 PM
    #162
    fours

    fours [OP] New Member

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  13. Jan 14, 2020 at 6:18 PM
    #163
    fours

    fours [OP] New Member

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    For now, as this is my only current option, this works pretty good in the cup holder with natural amplification!

     
    Mountun Goat likes this.
  14. Jan 14, 2020 at 6:46 PM
    #164
    fours

    fours [OP] New Member

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    For any noob HAMs out there, download one of the many ios/android apps to study for an exam. It's pretty simple and you can do all three exams at the same time- "Technician", "General", "Amateur Extra" at any testing location (http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session). At the very least, get your "Technician" license. This way you can communicate via the amateur radio bands and not just "CB Radio" (Citizens band). Just find your testing location and study for a few weeks on your smart phone and you'll pass no problem ;=

    Besides simply poking around on "Ham 2m radio" (most common when local [5-100 miles]), one could poke around with "APRS" which transmits location data. This would be relevant to any Tundra owners that go off-road and would like their family to know what's yo ass is doin`!!! If this is your case, check out this site that's running Toyotas: (https://myoffroadradio.com/) . I have no affiliation with them, but, I just found it and thought I would share ;-)
     
    Sunnier likes this.
  15. Jan 14, 2020 at 6:47 PM
    #165
    TransNone13

    TransNone13 New Member

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    Major updates to come, early promotion present to me!

     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2020
  16. Jan 14, 2020 at 6:51 PM
    #166
    fours

    fours [OP] New Member

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    :worthless:
     
  17. Jan 14, 2020 at 6:54 PM
    #167
    TransNone13

    TransNone13 New Member

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    I posted a list of the items I just ordered.
     
  18. Jan 14, 2020 at 6:58 PM
    #168
    fours

    fours [OP] New Member

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    Oops... Okay, "This Thread is Worthless WITHOUT more Vids!!!", lol... is that better ;-)
     
  19. Jan 16, 2020 at 5:35 PM
    #169
    fours

    fours [OP] New Member

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    Are any of you guys/gals programmers and Mac users? I just converted EchoMac (EchoLink) from `svn` to `git` and published it on github.com. We're looking for programmers with time to kill ;-)

    https://github.com/panreach/EchoMac2
     
  20. Jan 27, 2020 at 6:59 PM
    #170
    TransNone13

    TransNone13 New Member

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    If anyone is curious, I was finally able to setup a Wires-X PDN with my 3DR and 400XDR. Pretty cool stuff...
     
  21. Jan 31, 2020 at 2:48 PM
    #171
    fours

    fours [OP] New Member

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    2m experiment for home. Still looking at mobile...

    For HF, should I go with an end fed or try a dipole? 73

    KD0LAS

     
  22. Jan 31, 2020 at 2:55 PM
    #172
    TransNone13

    TransNone13 New Member

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    Dipole hands down!

    I had good prop with the buddi-pole.
     
    fours[OP] likes this.
  23. Jan 31, 2020 at 8:02 PM
    #173
    FoghornTX

    FoghornTX Proud American and Infidel since 1968

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    Here's a thought.
    If you don't use the FM antenna, is there a mod out there that will allow you to use it for amateur radio? I mean even if you don't use the antenna, can the cable be reused if you terminate the cable end that's being plugged into the radio?
     
  24. Feb 1, 2020 at 4:53 AM
    #174
    MT Madman

    MT Madman Just an ordinary guy

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    If I understand you, you want to reuse the cable for an FM radio. FM radio receivers typically use 75 ohm cable and antenna impedance while ham radio transmitters/receivers use 50 ohm giving you a mismatch.
     
    BLONGTX, KK6PD and Sunnier like this.
  25. Feb 1, 2020 at 6:33 AM
    #175
    FoghornTX

    FoghornTX Proud American and Infidel since 1968

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    Thanks for the clarification on that MT Madman.
     
  26. Feb 1, 2020 at 9:05 AM
    #176
    twistedcricket

    twistedcricket New Member

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    TRD rear sway bar, power fold tow mirrors, Firestone airbags, LED OEM fogs
    I stumbled across this thread and I'm really curious about how to get into this, but have a few questions.

    Is there a "how do you know you'll like this" for HAM Radio wanna-be folks?
    I don't go off-roading, but I take a lot of road-trips, even more when camping. I'm also partially interested in joining the local weather spotters as they seem to do that AND are HAM radio enthusiasts. (I've been reading about that separately.) I've been considering a CB, if for no other reason than it was entertaining listening to OTR truckers on past road trips.

    Anyone set this up on a motorcycle? I've taken more half-cross country road-trips on two wheels than 4.

    Thanks in advance!
     
    Sunnier likes this.
  27. Feb 1, 2020 at 2:23 PM
    #177
    Zero One Actual

    Zero One Actual Member among Members

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    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow1hxClR5J8
     
  28. Feb 2, 2020 at 2:34 PM
    #178
    InfernoPRO

    InfernoPRO Technicolor BASTRD

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    Finally got my speaker installed in a location I like. Keeps everything looking clean. Just needed a metal strap and a few screws. 2A07690A-B8D5-4D1F-9B0B-C760DC3ADE50.jpgA56601CB-15B0-49BE-85A9-DF84EC7A7422.jpg 04AF47DA-0131-4F72-BF7D-80EDA3875685.jpg
     
  29. Feb 4, 2020 at 9:13 PM
    #179
    TransNone13

    TransNone13 New Member

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    Wouldn't a Balun be able to address this?
     
  30. Feb 4, 2020 at 11:58 PM
    #180
    Zero One Actual

    Zero One Actual Member among Members

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    What speaker is that model in case any other member wanted to do this setup? How does it sound so far?
     
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