Second Operating Positon

Following my experience from Field Day 2012 I've been thinking. What can I do? I did help as much as I could with setup and operating, but I did not really contribute anything. So between now and the ARRL 2013 Field Day I'm trying to get things together. Being I am now a General Class operator with plenty of operating privileges I will be acquiring a HF capable transceiver. I've also recently gotten a mobile dual band rig. As written about previously.

What I did today was wire in a second operating position in my SUV. Version one of what I did was to simply run 2 CAT6 cables from the radio mounted area to the back of the SUV and crimped on RJ-45 connectors. I then used f-f couplers to hook everything together. This worked just fine, but had 2 flopping cables in the back. You know, flopping around. Well that was version one.


Version 2 is a little more buttoned up. I've maintained the same cables running to the back from the radio. Now, instead of 2 RJ-45 connectors at the end of these two cables, there are two keystone sockets. One to plug microphone and one for the control head. This way the look i cleaner and a little more flexible interface. To house all this I picked up a slim electrical box. I put some 3M Velcro strips to hold it in place. And finally I simply mounted my keystones in a 6 port face plate. See the keystones you buy with various sockets and plugs are a universal square snap in fit.

Why go through the trouble you ask? Well as I mentioned I'm doing this in preparation for Field Day. I imagine myself sitting in a chair working my radios from the car. This is so I can go flip the two cables and plug up to setup a station in the back. That simple. I don't have to un-mount the radio, find power in the back, plug everything in and then be on the air. 1 minute and I'm going. I would love to find some switching device that would let me jump back and forth without having to go to the radio and switch cables.

What do I have left? Well not much if I'm honest. Directly for this project I need audio in the back. 2 speakers. Specifically the MFJ 281 ClearTone Speaker. What I'm planning on doing is fabbing up a bracket to mount the speaker right inside the SUV to the roof. I'll setup an audio switch of some kind to send it to the back and I'll have either 1/8 jack keystones or hard wire it up.

Kenwood TM-V71A Dual Band: Installation in Dodge Nitro, Continued Part 3 - Mounting and Assembly

Figure 6

Figure 5

What I decided to do. The remote control head would be velcro-ed the a ledge on the dash. This ledge is slightly angled so that the display is angled upward for best viewing. I also have it rotated ever so slightly to even further improve the viewing angle.(Figure5 & 6)

Next, where to mount the body of the radio? What I came up with is under the front passenger seat, towards the back. With the contours in the floor pan and the rear bench seat the way it is, this is really, I think my best option. One day if I feel adventurous I may mount it under that bench, but not today.

Kenwood TM-V71A Dual Band: Installation in Dodge Nitro, Continued Part 2 - Disassembly

To continue with with my previous post about my mobile installation of my Kenwood TM-V71A dualband. So we are done figuring out the logistics of actually setup up the remote head. Now on to my method of mounting.

As mentioned I'm driving a Dodge Nitro SUV. I initially thought that this mobile install was going to be a pain. Actually it's not remotely difficult. Getting power into the cabin from the battery is super easy, opening up the dash is super easy, as is the center console and mounting both parts is easy.

Figure 2

Looking at the image to the left, figure 2, you see a picture of a Dodge Nitro dash. With the battery of the SUV being on the left side, drivers side, that is where I focused my efforts in wiring.

Looking at the image to the left, figure 2, you see the speedo cluster, the knee panel, radio area and center console.

Kenwood TM-V71A Dual Band: Installation in Dodge Nitro

This write up is on an installation of a Kenwood TM-V71A Dual Band VHF & UHF mobile amateur radio into a Dodge Nitro SUV. The Kenwood TM-V71A radio is a modern radio with remote control head capability. Technically a remote head kit available from Kenwood is required to take advantage of this feature, but in reality this isn't true. The remote kit certainly will make your installation easier. The kit would include a adapter and bracket to attach the head to and the specialized cables to hook the head to the body. The basic remote kit only includes an extended cable for the head to radio, no extension for mic to radio. There is an extended remote kit available that I believe has the basics, plus a extended mic and power cable adapters.

Ham Radio Project-Tram Dual Band Antenna Rehab

It's been a while since I've updated, which is unfortunate. I enjoy my forum here. For today though I'm stuck at work, so I've brought my newest toy with me. It's a Tram dual band, 2 meter & 440, base station antenna. It was an eBay find I acquired for a grand total of $28USD.
So, with the help of a friend and fellow ham operator, NI4SR, I have made sure that my propagates well across both bands.

So here's what I've done or am planning to do today.
1.) I've already, carefully, removed the sealant/glue applied by the previous owner. I then re-applied some white Stampede "hardcore" caulk/sealant around the none-moving joint. Taking special note to precisely caulk around the base.
2.) Then I let that dry for about two hours or at least tack up. It's not fully dry yet.
3.) Then I very lightly scuff sanded, with fine grit paper, the fiberglass body of the antenna. Just to promote adhesion.
4.) After that I wiped it down with a damp cloth to clean and get the dust off.
5.) Then I applied my first coat of flat white spray.
5b.) The bottom half of the antenna has absolutely no moving parts, so it got a few coats.
5c.) The top half does slide into the bottom and has bushings so it only get two coats.
6.) Re-assemble!

This is not a hard project and my $100 antenna that I got for $28 will look like, once again, a $100 antenna.

Finished Project 1	Finished Project 2
Finished Project 3	Finished Project 4