Ham Radio in camper

[Hootie]

Getting ready to start studying for my Ham Radio lic. For you all that has the hobby of Ham Radio in camper, what advice would you give as far as having one in camper for someone starting out. Thank you for your time

 

[LCBoyer]

2 meters is easy to get into. Many relay clubs around. Join ARRL

 

[TucsonJim]

Are you looking for long range communications across the country or even around the world? Or more local comms?

When you focus on local bands such as 2 meters, you will have much smaller antennas, but your range will be limited.

The answer will depend on how you want to communicate.

Jim

 

[Hootie]

Will be getting the Technician class lic for now. Get use to it and see if I want to step up from there after using it for a while.

 

[Dick Noble]

Many RV parks will not allow ham antennas. I have put a Hustler on top mine and if anyone asked I told them it is an experimental TV antenna. The comments about 2 meter is spot on. Get the repeater directory from ARRL and a good handheld and get on the air. As soon as you can (depending on your budget) get the General Lic. and an HF rig.

 

[2hams]

Many RV parks will not allow ham antennas. I have put a Hustler on top mine and if anyone asked I told them it is an experimental TV antenna. The comments about 2 meter is spot on. Get the repeater directory from ARRL and a good handheld and get on the air. As soon as you can (depending on your budget) get the General Lic. and an HF rig.

We’ve never had that problem, but our 33’ fiberglass push up pole holding a wire is not very obvious. It could also be the area of the county. How on earth could a park not want emergency communications capabilities...


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[Hootie]

Thanks for the replys, greatly appreciated

 

[johndeerefarmer]

A ham friend of mine has a Facebook group if you do Facebook: It's called Ham RVers

https://www.facebook.com/groups/223205694685470/

 

[Misfit]

WB0YD here,
extra class. Have a yaesu 897D hf/vhf/uhf with a comet 50 and a homemade 43' tall "flagpole" type vertical and also a chameleon hybrid. Never had an issue with the camp owners, ive always asked first after describing what I have and want to do. One park in Florida let me hang a wire dipole and 2 verticals. Study and take he tech and general at the same time, same price. I took all 3 and passed first time and if I can just about anyone can.

 

[Jimbuck]

Have not been online yet, Home is buried in the mountains and woods but. Also want to get out there especially when hitting the road.
Advice for taking the test. Myself and a small group of friends took the one day cram and exam class. Got it done and over with as the thought of learning more in detail after getting online. Several in my group did both exams the same day. I have the yeasu units and programming with my laptop was a snap. Just need to use it.

 

[Dick Noble]

Just finished mounting a winch on the front of our PU. What does this have to do with ham radio you ask -- well I intend to lower my 40 ft. tower next summer to put an antenna and rotator on the top. Need the winch to lower and raise the tower. There is always equipment to buy for ham radio.

 

[DaveMatthewsBand]

Do you guys have any say in your call sign or is it just randomly generated?



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[Misfit]

Your original call sign is issued by the FCC and is in sequential order for the next call sign by your class. Once this one is issued you may apply for a "vanity' call sign, but there are restrictions as to those as well.

 

[Misfit]

But your original call sign also goes by your call area. Like say AF7kd. It's an extra class call sign for the area around Utah.

 

[DaveMatthewsBand]

Cool thanks


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[Thorvald]

I use a Yaesu FT-817D with an LDG z817 portable tuner. Nice and tiny rig and the tuner allows me to just toss up a home made dipole or long wire anywhere. Toss it up across some trees and it just looks like a clothes line if people can even see it.

2 meters is really local stuff (unless you get crazy on repeaters), I prefer HF and mostly Morse for the site back and relax part. There are some awesome little paddle keys for the 817.

Cheers
Tim (VA3 TGF)

 

[JiMissy]

I run a 2 meter in the rig. I know it is FM but I get to keep up a bit
I would love to get back into some long distance CW work again but it is all about antenna portability

73

 

[Mainuh]

DMR is available to tech class and with a cell signal and a hotspot you don't need any external antenna. I winter in an HOA that's antenna restricted but it doesn't matter as I can talk around the world and don't even require a repeater in range. Read up on DMR... one of the fastest growing segments in amateur radio. N1AO

 

[Franco Bolli]

I have a Yaesu 8800 in the truck, which can listen to 2 meter and 70CM simultaneously, but I'm not here for the commercial to sell Yaesu radios...
My experience over the past 10 years of traveling with a 2 meter rig in the truck is that it takes some thought to set up your radio for where you're going.
What I mean is that HAM radio isn't like CB where there are defined channels that you just choose at the flick of a knob and then talk.
Unless your talking radio to radio (simplex) on the 146.520 MHz, which is the National simplex frequency, supposedly monitored by most folks when traveling, you will need to know some details about the repeaters in the area AND be able to put that information into your radio either ahead of time or on the fly. While it's not impossible to put in the specifics for the repeater while you're moving, my radio requires attention to detail to get the repeater offset, DCS or tone code, and transmit frequency set right and still stay in my lane.
That said, once you get to a location and want to find someone on 2 meters, I use the "repeaterbook" app on my phone to find local repeaters. I have an apple, so I'm not sure if it's available for Android.
It geo locates you and shows you the specific settings for the OPEN repeaters that are close to you, showing the mileage from you to the repeater. This is Very handy to have. There are a couple of places on the Oregon Coast I go to, south of Newport, that are small islands of NO CELL service. If you or someone you love needs help, the HAM radio can get you in touch with someone that hopefully has a phone. Realize that simplex, without the aid of a repeater, your talk distance may be less than 10 miles depending on too many things to mention here. An RF engineer friend told me that when you buy an antenna, you only have half of a transmitter, and the radio IS NOT the other half, your vehicle is, which makes up the ground plane. If you put a 2 meter or any other antenna on the roof or side of your RV, make sure it's grounded to the frame of the vehicle!
To add to this, I have my call sign on the back of my trailer with the frequency I'm monitoring while driving. My license plates have my call sign on them. I have talked with a total of 3 people while moving, and one of those guys was at a base station.
What am I saying here? Yes it's great to have a manner of communication while you're other wise out of cell service. But, don't expect that you will have 20 people waiting to converse with you while you're traveling. Admittedly, where I'm traveling, which is most often along the I-84 path between Idaho and the Oregon Coast, there are a lot of areas of very low density of people, let alone HAMS. Some cities have VERY active repeaters and you may have trouble getting to talk at all..
Either way, good luck and upgrade your license as soon as you can! SOrry for the long post. I'm sure you'll find several HAM's in your area that can help with set up on your RV.
Cheers
FB

 

[KatrinaAnon]

We use or 2ways when moving around gas pumps are in spotty cell phone areas. They are also nice in sparsely populated areas.