Ryan Harden

Finally came in. Ham testing session next week I should be able to make in my area.



Got the new Topsy JL Wrangler mount from Eric Baier for the other side of the hood.

Looking at getting the Comet SBB-5NMO 2M/70cm Dual Band Mobile Antenna https://amzn.to/2Q7f7aq


And the Browning WSPBR1015 Enclosed NMO wire next. https://amzn.to/2W4m7ui


I'll then make a video of how I installed it. I think I'm moving the radio stuff from under the seats to someplace above the cab? I just don't want to puke out of a water crossing situation in fear of the radios. What they need to invent is a seat back CB mount haha.

Do they use FM on the trail or do we have to buy the stone age CB

FM as in rig radio FM or HAM FM? Almost all rigs in this area still use CB for short-range communication. Many of us are shifting to HAM radio though.

If you're talking about FM radio broadcast via FM radios that everyone has in their rigs, I do have a FM broadcast system for that but that's no fun as you can't talk back. The conversations are usually very humorous and Trail Guides like myself will also talk about trail and location history on rides using whatever radios people have in their rig.

So My Jeep has this now, but I also have -

Motorola TALKABOUT T800 Radios for guiding - https://rl4wd.com/training/comms/forums/beartooth-vs-motorola-talkabout-t800-radios
and the Cobra C75WXST Handheld CB Radio - https://rl4wd.com/forums/jeep-wrangler-jl-cb-setup-topsy-products-hood-mount-antenna-review-rl4wd-4x4-communication

Personally, I want to switch my main communication to ham stuff, we have troubles with CB on big rides... our groups are so big that sometimes I can't hear the sweep rider. We talked about breaking up the group on big rides to make it easier to manage and then there is far less waiting in groups of 5-10 lead by Trail Guides, this again would need ham radio and APRS so all guides could see all groups over an entire area. We're not there yet, but some of us are going to do it this way, then big events will be better IMHO.

Nice, My wife and I are past ham Tech plus operators....N9UHQ and N9UMY. I still have my FT 2500m and VX-8r. Both are Mars modded.

Amazon has these now at seemingly the best price and the reviews are amazing! https://amzn.to/2XSNity

Added a ton of videos to the post about functions and such. This radio is very powerful and does a lot of things.

Looking for antenna options

I can do long antennas with the Cannonball but my Daily Rubicon and the Brute will require shorter options.... yes I understand range will be effected....

Cannonball

Comet SBB-5NMO 2M/70cm Dual Band Mobile Antenna https://amzn.to/2Q7f7aq really happy with this antenna and it's not tall but has really amazing range!

Here's how the short antennas look on the Jeep.

I have the same antenna on my Jeep and it works well too, it is pretty flexible and I hear it slapping my hard top if the wind is just right.

Just saw this $100 off coupon. https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/ysu-ftm-400xd

Don Mascarella and I got to use the group monitoring and sending text messages features of this amazing radio last weekend. We also used aprs which was very helpful.

I just picked up a Yaesu FT-3DR handheld with an extra battery, 32G microSD card, and MARS mod for $425 on eBay. It's basically the handheld version of the FTM-400XDR with all of the features and abilities.

Darn you Ryan - You cost me about $1000 since you get your license!