HAM in truck recomendations for the newbe

[DaveInDenver]

X 2 trains

Plus you assume that a train takes the same energy as a 1982 DMC-12, which I would guess isn't the case. That 1.21GW is shown to transport one person + one dog and 2,700 lbs of stainless steel and rubber. It could easily take a lot more to get a whole train back to 1984.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Plus you assume that a train takes the same energy as a 1982 DMC-12, which I would guess isn't the case. That 1.21GW is shown to transport one person + one dog and 2,700 lbs of stainless steel and rubber. It could easily take a lot more to get a whole train back to 1984.

Soooooo how much does a train capable of hauling 150 passengers weigh?

 

[DaveInDenver]

Soooooo how much does a train capable of hauling 150 passengers weigh?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061007151346AAWdaRL

If you can believe the Internets, a freight train weighs around 10,000 tons. So if we know Doc Brown could take about 3,000 lbs back to the future with 1.21GW, then we are sure that 8.1 terrawatts would do it.

So how about some actual geeky stuff? If you combine all the power plants in the USA we have about 5,000 GW of generating capacity. That's just 5 TW, so we might not be able to send a train through time without adding a whole lot more power plants to the grid or figuring out a more efficient flux capacitor!

How about some more geekiness? An atomic explosion, like the a-bomb over Hiroshima which had about 1kg of U235 actually work (the thinking is it had about 35 kg inside and most of it didn't react), releases about 50x10^13 joules (50 TJ), so that's about 50 TW if it lasted 1 second. Or how about this, it takes about 10^13 joules (10 TJ) to put the Space Shuttle into orbit, which takes about 3 minutes. So that's about 55.6 GW for that 3 minutes. And, if that does not impress you, consider that for the 3 minutes of Shuttle launch the amount of energy our whole country uses goes up 1%. Or put another way, the energy used by the Shuttle to get into space could power around 1,000 average households for one year.

BTW, on a serious note about the Shuttle and stuff. This point of the year it's important to pause and remember the NASA astronauts who have died.
1/27/67 - Apollo 1
1/28/86 - Challenger
2/1/03 - Columbia

 

[Corbet]

I installed a Kenwood TM-V71A last year and have no complaints. I mainly picked it because the buttons all have backlights, so I can see them at night. Display can be switched to green. Otherwise its similar to the 8800 in features. I'm still a nob with it. Someday someone with more knowledge will show me how to really use it.

Link to radio:

http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Communications/Amateur_Radio/Mobiles/TM-V71A

Install here: starting at post #28

http://www.risingsun4x4club.org/forum2/showthread.php?t=6219&highlight=kenwood&page=3

I did not wire directly to the battery but to an accessory fuse block.

 

[nuclearlemon]

the antenna and base were picked up online, but i can't tell you where. i tried looking for their catalog that they sent, but can't find it and the website is saved on the harddrive from my crashed computer.

the company i got my mounts and antenna from are called the lakeview company. think this might be my antenna
http://www.hamstick.com/dbw.htm

 

[DaveInDenver]

the company i got my mounts and antenna from are called the lakeview company. think this might be my antenna
http://www.hamstick.com/dbw.htm

This is the antenna the Red_Chili is running, too.

 

[farnhamstj]

Went by HRO on the way to Mondays class. Parted way with some cash.

Yeasu FT-1802M $129 2m, small,
Diamond Antenna K400SNMO $79 clamp on trunk 13.5ft cable
Diamond Antenna NR-770HBNMO $65 1/2 wavelength 3.0 gain on 2m, 3ft long

I decided I wanted a small radio. 1802 is like 1/2 the size of 2800. And if I wasn't reaching where I wanted to at 50w, I didn't think Id make it at 65w. I considered the 7800 due to the removable face, But I decided I was going to mount the radio in the same place that I would have mounted the face. Also, I *think* an 8800 is really a better choice in the long run but.. I decided on the trunk lip mount, it included the cable and pivots to any angle, no drilling involved. The antenna is both 2m and 70cm (gives me more frequencies in the long run if I upgrade radios) Most Importantly it FOLDS. Almost as important, it has a cool swirly thing in the middle that ups the PIMP factor. I think I copied Romers antenna set up. A 2m non folding antenna was $35 and regular drill hood mount NMO about $35. So I spent a little extra. I saw the homemade antenna the RS club have been building. Cool and functional and defiantly the way to go if you are after the best value. But wife wouldn't want to look at it every time she drives.

The radio mounting I think I've got figured out.
On it's way from Crutchfield is a pioneer single din radio that will drive a behind the dash XM satellite radio. And a pocket below that fills the empty space. The plan is to mount the 1802 inside the pocket which I will cut out the bottom and back to allow some venting. I figure I'm mostly transmitting on 5w anyway.
The goal was to add the HAM and decrease the number of wires that I have to look at while driving.

 

[nuclearlemon]

a behind the dash XM satellite radio..

sure you want to be looking into those with the impending bankruptcy

 

[wesintl]

congrats Farnham. You'll like that radio.

Life is too short for qrp though.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Anybody familier with the Icom V8000? I'm thinking it would be a great 2m rig for Wildrice...

 

[Bruce Miller]

Ic-v8000

I have an IC-V8000 in one of my cruisers. At 75 watts, it's advertised to be the most powerful 2 meter rig in its class. Due to the high power, the rig must be installed in an area where the ventilation is good because of the heat it generates on transmit. Also, the high power will, over time, destroy a 2 meter mobile antenna. I tend to keep my transmissions on the short side. You can read more about IC-V8000 concerns by visiting the K0BG web site.

On a positive note, during my commute this past Sunday, I was able to make radio contact with Barbara in New Mexico, using the Sierra Grande, NM repeater, all the way up to Pueblo on I-25 before the signals began breaking up to the point where communications became very difficult. That's a distance, as the crow flies, of about 125 miles on 2 meters! By the way, Barbara was on an HT, 5 watts, using a vertical antenna about 10 feet high.

 

[MDH33]

Anybody familier with the Icom V8000? I'm thinking it would be a great 2m rig for Wildrice...

This one's on sale at HRO right now. $20 rebate plus $10 off coupon from HRO. Should be able to get it well under the $200 mark.

 

[rover67]

I just scored a V8000 for free from a coworker. still in the original box. Only thing he did was program it I guess! Man I am stoked!!

 

[Karst8835]

I just bought a FT-8800R and a Diamond NR-77OHB antenna for my FZJ80 from HRO. Where is the best place to mount the antenna? I don't mind drilling a hole in the roof.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I just bought a FT-8800R and a Diamond NR-77OHB antenna for my FZJ80 from HRO.

Nice combo, I like my 8800 well enough. If only Yaesu would put the guts of the 8800 into a package more similar to the 7800 in layout I think it would be hard to beat. The 8800 is an operate-by-braille radio, 'specially at night.

Where is the best place to mount the antenna? I don't mind drilling a hole in the roof.

Yup. The main downside to the roof is that it makes the truck very tall and you have to watch drive-thrus and garages if the antenna does not flex well. But it really is the best place performance wise. But door edges and rain gutters are OK, height is key.

 

[Karst8835]

Thanks, The antenna does has a joint at the bottom that enables it to be folded down.

Jack