Ham/CB Radio Installation

[nhparrot]

**********************************************
*** Copied from Previous Board - nhparrot **************
**********************************************

Topic: Ham/CB Radio Installation
IZL
Moderator
Platinum TS Supporter

Member # 28

posted 02-19-2002 10:15 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe-

The resistance I measured from the doors and bed to ground wandered on my meter, but typically was no lower than 20 ohms or so.

I have the bed grounded to the frame in two places, one of which you can sort of see in one of the photos. I also grounded it to the back wall of the cab through one of the mast mount bolts. I completely agree with you that using the appropriate gauge power wire is a big help, and grounding will help performance as well. I have even heard of grounding the bumpers to the frame!

Regarding your increased SWR. R.F. does some crazy things and despite peolple saying the cable lengths do not matter, I think they can influence the match to some degree. In an ideal situation, neither the TVI filter or the cable length should effect your SWR. I would check the connectors on your mini RG-8, especially the braid. Many people do not solder the braid to the reducer (UG-176), but you really should. You might also try tuning the antenna, that is if the whip is adjustable.

For coax, I used the foam mini RG-8 to the VHF/UHF antenna. Many folks do not like foam coax in mobile or marine situations as the foam will absorb water over time. I carefully soldered the coax connections and gunked up the bottom of the NMO mount with sealant before I mount the stake pocket mount. On the HF antenna, I used a Belden 9913 equivalent, only the center conductor is stranded for increased flexibility. That stuff is also not the greatest for mobile/marine use as the dielectric is part air, i.e. it is hollow, so water can run down inside it as well. I selected it because of the flexibility, and I like the mylar foil shield (which is on the mini 8, too.)

Finally, you should get your amateur license. If you play with your CB radio much at all, you'll enjoy the ham bands that much more. You do not even need to learn Morse code anymore, at least for the lower class licenses, and there is talk of doing away with the Morse requirement altogether.

Mark

--------------------


Click here to Subscribe to TundraSolutions!

Get access to the excellent Technical Forums!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posts: 115 | From: Phoenix, AZ | Registered: Feb 2002 | IP: Logged

SATundra
Moderator
Platinum TS Supporter

Member # 73

Member Rated:
posted 02-19-2002 08:05 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Kraig said, nice job on the install. Mark you mentioned the "bed being another story". All I did was run an additional wire (14 GA) from the bed to the frame, but I guess I need to add an actual grounding strap to make sure the contact is good. I assume you are going to add some straps back there as thats where your antenna is mounted.

I removed my TVI Filter and antenna tuner plus the extra 6' of coax that goes with it the other day. My SWR's jumped from 1.1 to 2.75. Which in turn added some interference on my receive/output. I have never had a problem with alternator noise, guess my installs have been good in that department. As you mentioned I also get some interference from city electrical fields though, especially large neon lights. Have to add here that "I believe" running large gauge wire (10 Ga) direct from the battery is probably the single most benificial thing you can do to aliveate engine noise and interference. Ground, ground, ground as well.

My radio only has a range of 26.000 - 27.999Mhz so you guys are able to talk much more than I am. Guess I should pursue getting my license. After all 13 years with this radio and 27 years all told with no Ham license is putting it off long enough.

BTW are you all running the RG-8 mini foam coax? Is there anything newer/better that has come out than that?

Joe

--------------------


2001, SR5, V8, 4x2, Access Cab, Metallic Silver Sky

MODS: Better Built alum toolbox w/lights 2 inside 2 outside, lots of antennas, CB/Ham/Scanner/linear amp all mounted in custom made console, 10 disc CD player, DEI Sidewinder 5000 ESP alarm, undercarriage entry lights, extra set 55W reverse lights, underhood light, TRD add-a-leaf (ordered), Lund bugshield, chrome step tubes, UTR bedliner, hitch, tinted windows, fuzzbuster hard wired, 4 block power terminal under dash, 12V Acc plug engine compartment, synthetic oils, fog light mod, cargo light mod, acc plug mod, map light mod, back seat angle mod soon, 2 TS stickers (back windows), 2 TS license plate frames (front, rear)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posts: 461 | From: San Antonio, TX | Registered: Feb 2002 | IP: Logged

IZL
Moderator
Platinum TS Supporter

Member # 28

posted 02-19-2002 06:26 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kraig-

I did not do any formal testing for engine noise before I added all of the grounds.

I did all the ground work while I was waiting for the antenna mounts to come from the metal shop. I can tell you that with the antennas installed in a temporary configuration, I did notice some noise, especially on 40m. I have never noticed any noise or alternator whine on the VHF/UHF bands.

One of the biggest annoyances now is all of the electrical interference generated in an urban environment. All of the strip malls, with their lighting and signs is a terrible source of noise.

Lastly, I did use an ohm meter to check the resistance of each of the major body parts to ground. The engine, exhaust, and hood all read minimal resistance. The doors and bed were another story.

Looking forward to seeing your setup with the FT-100.

Mark

--------------------


Click here to Subscribe to TundraSolutions!

Get access to the excellent Technical Forums!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posts: 115 | From: Phoenix, AZ | Registered: Feb 2002 | IP: Logged

Tundra Ham
TS Supporter
Member # 139

posted 02-19-2002 12:06 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark,

Nice job on the install. Very clean. Did you do any experimenting with the grounding braid to see how it affected engine noise getting into your system, or overall performance on HF? I haven't been able to install my FT-100 yet, but I do have some engine noise present on weak AM stations on the factory radio, which I would like to solve. I have been running a dual band FT-90R, with no noise problems on either VHF or UHF. I haven't done any additional grounding work on my Tundra yet .

Kraig

--------------------
N7KCS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posts: 2 | From: Quinault, WA | Registered: Feb 2002 | IP: Logged

IZL
Moderator
Platinum TS Supporter

Member # 28

posted 02-18-2002 09:39 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As some of you will recall, before the Great Crash of 2002, I had started a thread related to amateur and CB radio installations.

Well, my install is close enough to finished that I figured I'd upload some photos to the web.

Click HERE to open the webpage. If you look, be patient, there are 12 images to upload.

If you are not familiar with amateur (ham) radio, it is sort of a geeky hobby (you won't get many chicks ), but I still enjoy it. Some of us can still copy Morse code . These new mobile HF/VHF/UHF radios are very cool toys.

Mark

--------------------


Click here to Subscribe to TundraSolutions!

Get access to the excellent Technical Forums!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posts: 115 | From: Phoenix, AZ | Registered: Feb 2002 | IP: Logged