complete and utter noob here.

[firefighter_21701]

Forgot I had a login here ( since 2012 and only one post but I did get excellent feed back, thank you for that) thinking of getting into amateur radio. First things first though I know I need my license and all that but I have a question and it may be staring me in the face but I have not seen the answer or as far as I've gotten into the rules have I seen it. Is it mandatory to have a base station? The reason I'm asking is I'm a full time truck driver out for months at a time and those left at home have not much interest in amateur radio but do like playing with stuff and I would not feel comfortable leaving the equipment at home till they either get interestedone and get a license or I have a shack built out in the yard for me alone. Title was supposed to say noob not noon.... Dang auto correct

 

[k6cpo]

No, you don't have to have a "base station." Many hams, especially noobs (as you put it) have nothing but a handi talkie or sometimes a mobile in their vehicle. I know when i started out, I had nothing but an HT for a while and I used it both in my truck and at home.

 

[firefighter_21701]

Thanks for the info. Now to study get licensed find a decent mobile and antenna. Then find away to mount antenna on this 2014 frieghtliner cascadia

 

[N0IU]

Do you own the truck? Can you drill holes?

Looks like something like this would work:

 

[firefighter_21701]

Do you own the truck? Can you drill holes?

Looks like something like this would work:

Those are actually stock mounts on models older than mine ( they may have offered them on the earlier model 14's not sure though). I do own and I can drill holes. It is a good idea if I can find replacement parts and find a better location so I can get a good ground plane right now I have this as a cb antenna mount. (Please forgive me, I'm not that tech savy but I'm picking things up one by one, but I have not figured out yet how to embed pics so I'll give a link)
Wilson Cascadia CB Antenna Mount for Freightliner Cascadia 305500 | eBay

 

[cmdrwill]

The mount you refer to has no groundplane, which you are going to need for VHF and UHF.

 

[firefighter_21701]

Pretty much the same as mine just with external antennas. Trucks ain't what they used to be. I'm just rambling now. I'll ask the antenna question when I get a couple of good pics and can post them. Thank you all for the insight.

 

[JnglMassiv]

It was years after licensing before I moved away from handheld radios and that was for HF rigs.

I'm actually kind of jealous.
While most folks starting out go for V&UHF at the beginning like me, the HF bands I most enjoy working now (low power on 10, 12 & 15 meters (21-30MHz) ) are primarily limited to daylight hours.
Since I'm usually at work M-F during the day, weekends are all I have for operating.
Of course, there's the normal weekend stuff to tend to as well. Yesterday (Saturday), I had snow removal, some shopping and then social calls tie me up almost all day. Total operating time: 20 minutes. I'll get a little more in today if I can drag myself off the couch here.
Besides those retired guys (and there's tons of 'em), you daytime truckers are right there in prime time.
Operating on the clock sure sounds nice.

Since they are higher frequency relative to the rest of the HF segment, the antennas are also reasonable length and would do well on a big rig.

All this is to say GO FOR IT!
I always say that the biggest obstacle to entry to amateur radio is wanting it or the initial interest in the hobby.
You've already overcome this and, come on, the Technician test is a piece of cake.

 

[k6cpo]

Those are actually stock mounts on models older than mine ( they may have offered them on the earlier model 14's not sure though). I do own and I can drill holes. It is a good idea if I can find replacement parts and find a better location so I can get a good ground plane right now I have this as a cb antenna mount. (Please forgive me, I'm not that tech savy but I'm picking things up one by one, but I have not figured out yet how to embed pics so I'll give a link)
Wilson Cascadia CB Antenna Mount for Freightliner Cascadia 305500 | eBay

The center of the roof is the best place for a VHF/UHF antenna. Most of the Cascadia pictures I saw on Google have the fairing covering most of the roof, so that's ruled out. A hood lip mount might be the next best option.