My mobile station is operational on the 40m through 2m amateur bands and the 27 MHz Citizen's Band. My commute to and from work each day is a 64 mile round-trip. My travel time averages an hour each way, and even longer if the weather's bad or there's an accident on the highway. If I didn't have a mobile station, the time I spend on the road would otherwise be wasted. So, instead of stewing about the traffic or listening to depressing news reports on the broadcast radio, I happily tune the bands in search of contact with the outside world! It's a great cure for "road rage". My first choice is the HF radio. My 2m FM operating is generally limited to Skywarn and other public service activities, although I do dial up the local repeaters for a chat from time to time. On road trips, I'll often have the 2m rig tuned to 146.52 MHz, waiting for possible calls from other motoring hams who've spotted my license plates or antennas. The CB radio comes in very handy when the traffic gets heavy. Listening to the truckers talk about traffic tie-ups helps me figure out an alternate route when my normal path is backed up.
THE VEHICLE:
My vehicle
is a 2009
Ford
F-150 XLT SuperCab pickup truck. It's roomy, quiet, comfortable, built
Ford tough, and it gets surprisingly good gas mileage. As I mentioned
above, my mobile shack is operational on 40m through 2m. Here is an
overall view of the equipment installation:
[PHOTO].
All of my antennas are installed on a diamondplate aluminum truckbox
mounted across the front end of the pickup bed. Here is a photo
showing how the antennas are arranged:
[PHOTO].
The only holes I've drilled in the exterior surfaces of the body are
the ones used to attach the truckbox to the pickup bed.
HF transceiver:
On 40 through 6 meters, I use
Icom's fabulous
IC-7000 transceiver. At the moment, I'm not making use of the
rig's 2m and 70 cm capabilities, although I may add the
necessary antennas at some point. The IC-7000 and
Comet CF-360
duplexer are mounted to the front of the center console on
a rigid aluminum plate. A compact AT7000 automatic antenna tuner from
LDG Electronics
resides on the floor under the driver's seat
[PHOTO].
Here are some detail photos showing the mounting arrangement of my HF
and CB transceivers from the right side
[PHOTO1] and the left side
[PHOTO2].
The duplexer is necessary since the IC-7000 uses the same antenna
jack for HF and 6m.
My external speaker is a Radio Shack 4" CB-type unit that's
attached to a plastic drink cup from Razzoo's cajun restaurant.
Here's a photo:
[PHOTO].
The cup fits snugly into one of the cup holders on the center
console. When I'm not using the HF radio, I can remove the speaker
and set it down on the floor out of the way.
Now you see it
[PHOTO]
, and now you don't
[PHOTO]. This system has
achieved the "XYL Seal Of Approval" (hi!).
My HF antenna is an
Outbacker
Perth
[PHOTO]
[PHOTO]
with the matching OB-SB spring and base
[PHOTO]. I've owned this
Outbacker since the mid 1990s and have used it on four different
vehicles. Although it wasn't cheap, this antenna is as tough
as they come, and it performs very well for me. I have the
3-1/2 foot stinger set at a point where I can simply select a
band tap from 40 through 10 meters without having to adjust
the stinger. I'm not a fan of 75 meters, so I haven't bothered
to set up the antenna for that band. The OB-SB base is mounted
on a custom-made aluminum bracket that's attached to the left
side of my truckbox. The aluminum skin of the truckbox is very
thin, so I included a massive stiffener made from 4" x 4" x 1/4"
aluminum angle stock on the inside of the truckbox to take all
of the mechanical load. The stiffener is bolted through the top
of the pickup bed using the same two bolts that hold the truckbox
in place. All of the hardware is stainless. Here are some photos
of the mounting bracket and stiffener:
[PHOTO]
[PHOTO].
My 6 meter antenna is a
Hamstick, tuned for the low end of the band (for SSB use)
[PHOTO].
It is installed on a heavy duty
3/8"-24 threaded "beehive" type mount that was made for the
professional trucker CB radio market
heavy duty 3/8"-24 threaded "beehive" type
[PHOTO]
[PHOTO].
2 Meter FM transceiver:
My 2 meter rig is a
Kenwood
TM-261A 50 Watt FM transceiver
[PHOTO]
[PHOTO].
I've owned it for many trouble-free
years. Some would consider it to be outdated, but I hang
onto it because its receiver is virtually immune to intermod.
I can drive around anywhere in Dallas and not hear a peep
from out-of-band signals (and believe me, we have plenty of
high-powered VHF pager and radio transmitters in Dallas!).
The TM-261A is an outstanding choice in a 2m FM transceiver
because of its low price and superb performance. It was
discontinued many years ago, but good used ones can still be
bought for $125 or less. I have the optional tone squelch board
installed, which also cuts down on unwanted signals.
For an external speaker, I'm using a little 2" x 4" oval job that
seems to have been intended for the cellular phone market. It was
a $3.00 hamfest bargain. The audio
quality isn't the best, but it serves my needs just fine and it
fits neatly at the top of the dash without obstructing my view
[PHOTO].
My 2m antenna is a classic 5/8 wave
Larsen
NMO-150. It's hard to beat a commercial-grade Larsen for performance,
dependability, and durability. I bought this particular antenna in
1994 and it's still going strong!
Citizen's Band transceiver:
My CB radio is a 1980s vintage Cobra
19XS 40-channel AM unit
[PHOTO]. This particular example was
manufactured in June, 1984. I like this model because it's very small
in size and it offers surprisingly good performance. My CB antenna is a
professional grade
Hustler model HQ-27
[PHOTO]. This classic antenna
has been around virtually unchanged since the early 1970s. It's hard to
beat commercial-grade antennas for performance, dependability,
and durability. The HQ-27 is 56" tall, center-loaded, made of stainless
steel, and fits a standard 3/8"-24 mount.
INSTALLATION NOTES:
DC power for all of my gear comes directly from the vehicle battery via
#10 AWG twin-lead wire. The power feed terminates in an commercial type
electrical junction block mounted on the inside of the firewall
[PHOTO].
I punched a 1" hole in the firewall on the driver's side to provide
a means of bringing the DC power cable and all four antenna feedlines
into the cab. I purchased a rubber grommet at the auto parts store to
protect the cables from chafing. The grommet is a generic replacement
intended for engine PCV valves. Here's a photo:
[PHOTO].
Both the positive and negative DC power leads run all the way to the
battery, and I have an outdoor-grade fuse holder installed in the
positive lead right at the battery
[PHOTO].
I *never* use the vehicle body or chassis as the return path for my
DC power! Doing so just begs for noise to be introduced onto the
power leads! I also *never* power any permanent mobile gear from the
fuse panel or cigar lighter. I do have a filtered, fused cigar lighter
power adaptor for my Yaesu handheld so that I can use it in rental
cars.
I'VE BEEN AT THIS A WHILE...
I've been operating HF mobile since the late 1970s, from many
different vehicles, using many different rigs and antennas. In
addition to the IC-7000, at one time or another
I've used the following HF rigs in the mobile
(in no particular order): Icom 730 and 706 Mk2G, Alinco DX-70T;
Ten-Tec Scout; Kenwood TS-130S, TS-430S, TS-440S, and
TS-520S; Yaesu FT-757GX; Uniden HR-2510 and HR-2600; Realistic
HTX-100; and numerous CB radios that I'd converted to 10 meters.
I've used many different antennas too: modified CB antennas
on 10 meters; a classic 1950s Webster Bandspanner; a Valor
Pro-Am 40 meter whip (similar to a Ham-Stick); a Hustler mast
and resonators; an Antenna Specialists mast and resonators
(virtually identical to the Hustler_; a WA5UHT Texas Bugcatcher;
the Outbacker Perth; a 9 foot CB whip fed from an Icom AH-4
remote auto-tuner; and
probably others that I can't recall. Don't ask me which one
worked the best, because I honestly never kept score, and the
installation varied from vehicle to vehicle. I do know that
I've always had great success with the Outbacker Perth, and I highly
recommend it for its durability and performance. By the way, the
Outbacker name is not just "catchy". I have traveled the roads of
the Australian outback, and I was amazed at the number of commercial
Outbacker antennas in use on tour buses, long-haul trucks, and
other commercial vehicles. When the nearest town might be 100 km
or more away, you need a dependable antenna, and the Outbacker
is it! If you can stand the enormous physical size and ungainly
looks, a Texas Bugcatcher is hard to beat, especially if you can
find one of the ones made back in the 1980s by WA5UHT. I always
opt for an antenna that requires no electric power and has no
moving parts (which means no "screwdrivers"). That means no
"band hopping", but I can always pull over and change taps on
the Outbacker if I really feel the need. (gee, how did we
survive for all those decades without motorized antennas?)
MY OPERATING SCHEDULE:
I'm usually on the air on weekdays from 0615 to 0715 Central
time, and again some time between 1630 and 1830 Central time,
depending on when I get out of the office for the day. Most
mornings, I'm on 40 meter SSB, usually at 7169 KHz. In the
afternoons, I'll be on whatever band is the most active.
I really enjoy working other mobile stations. It's always
fun comparing rigs,antennas, and operating and installation
tips with other mobileers. A bit of DX thrown in makes it
even more fun. I even do my best to crack the DX pileups
using the 7000's split frequency capabilities (and I've
surprised many DX stations with my mobile signal, often
walking right over the fixed stations!). I hope to meet
up with you some time while operating HF mobile! Thanks
for reading!