W5AOX APRS Bicycle Mobile
W5AOX Bicycle APRS, Setup, Photos, Etc.
I've been using APRS on my bicycle for several years now. For what I think are obvious reasons,
I believe APRS is even more valuable for a bicycle trip of almost any length than for a motorized vehicle.
Biking is fun and great exercise. I've noticed my belly getting flatter and I'm able to eat more of what I enjoy
(I'm an insulin dependent diabetic.) BUT - It is DANGEROUS. Maybe no more dangerous than walking across a typical city street,
but even in Albuquerque, where we have over 130 miles of non-motor vehicle bicycle/pedestrian paths,
most of our "bike lanes" are shared with cars and trucks and all the other high speed inattentive potential tons of destruction.
My 2 meter fiberglass J Pole not only is more effective than any other antenna I've tried (both VHF and UHF work well on most 2M Jpoles),
BUT it also visually attracts attention from passers-by and drivers, hopefully helping them MISS me as they pass.
PICTURES Etc:
My view of the GPS and TH-D7 on the front handlebar bracket
1/2" blue fiberglass pipe/tube moved to Recumbent that the Jpole drops into for riding
close-up View of Powerpole connections on Back of Recumbent seat
close-up View of GPS mounting on Recumbent
Another View of the Meridian GPS and TH-D7.. powered off 12 Volt cable with 3 Volt adaptor for GPS
The C cell nicad pack is recharged every night when I get home
View of cheap Bell red rear flasher clamped to rear foam spine of helmet
This was built as a lash-up mount and works so well it's stayed in place.
A rear view of the GPS and Radio mount. This is a �sandwich� with aluminum plate on top, copper clad PC plate on the bottom, with 1� foam packing as the center of the sandwich mount. This was throwaway material from shipping packing and has lasted several years thus far (foam is gray, not white)
View of the motorcycle mount earpiece. The kit comes with 2 earpieces, I used only 1 with black duct tape to fasten it to the chin straps near my ear. Again, surprisingly, this has lasted for years thus far.
Close-up of the headlamp mount and microphone boom mount. The helmet was drilled and tapped for 6-32 screws for the boom mic and the light was Zip-Tied on with black sun resistant zip ties
Headlamp Source: Home Depot or Lowe's
Motorcycle Headset Kit source: Amazon.com and Ebay.com
