w0msn 2008

Mobile Station

truck
The mobile ham shack is a Dodge Ram 1500 Mega cab. There is quite a bit of metal on this truck so it does work pretty good for launching a signal. Its also has a very quiet cab up to about 70 mph.
The above photo was taken on the frozen south shore of Lake Minnetonka in Tonka Bay in February 08.
The radios in the mobile are an Icom IC-2800H Dual Band for 2 meter and 70 CM and a Yaesu 857D for HF. They are both mounted remote with the transceivers under the seats. I run an RF Concepts linear amp at about 100 watts with the 2 meter when I need the extra power.
mobile rigs2

T2800 black


Icom IC-2800H Dual Band Radio


I made a metal mount with feet for the Icom 2800 that allows it to just rest on the carpet under the seat. This makes it really easy to make changes or service the radio. This also allows for great ventallation and the feet grip the carpeting so the radios stays where you put it, The transceiver and the RF Concepts amp is positioned under the back seat.

2800
gFor the Yaesu 857D I used a similar installation method but I used 3/16 solid rod for the feet. The ends of the feet are sharpened slightly so it stays put on the carpeting. This radio is installed under the drivers seat. I have never had the radios move at all even during heavy breaking. There is pleanty of ventalation all around the rig. There is also less vobration than if it was mounted solid. I would highly reccommend this method for any remote head type installations. The transceiver is positioned under the drivers seat
857d
The antennas on the truck are a Comet mag mount Dual Band CSB 7000 for 2 meter and 440. 2M uses one 5/8 wave - 440MHz uses Two 5/8 waves. The HF antenna is a High Sierra Pro 1800 capable of tuning 80-6 meters. When I run 6 meters I use a shorter 15" whip. The standard 6' whip has a quick disconnect so it is easy to change whips. The antenna is mounted on the front of the truck box slightly left of center and heavely grounded. I tune the antenna with the manual HS-800 Pro Controller. You run the antenna up or down while listening for close resonance then fine tune with a 5 watt AM carrier checking SWR before runnng full power. The Pro 1800 can be removed from the mount in less than 1 minute. Not bad.
antennas on truck