Mobile setup these days

[eastsidertim]

Hey so just curious been several years since I’ve ran a mobile set up used to run an RCI 2950 with a Texas star 500 102 inch whip centered on the roof of a Camry with a trimag on good days I could talk from Iowa to New Zealand
so I have several TS 570 D’s thinking about playing with one of those in the mobile set up which would only be 100 whiskeys barefoot or I could add an RM Italy 503 HD to the Kenwood would this be a good match?
what’s your thoughts on that just curious what set up makes the most sense for a guy wanting to do five or 600 🥃 s these RCI radios that put out the big watts with no external amp it used to be it was a bad thing to have all that heat in the radio would be less work for installation jumpers and a second set of power cables just curious what all the cool kids are running nowadays and what has longevity and works good

Thank you

 

[slowmover]

The defining term today to, Hear, and Get Heard, isn’t “more power”, it’s adequate power from an NRC radio to gain hold Clarity.

— Overcome the deficiencies of the other mens rigs is the goal. 1-3/miles covers maybe 28-sq miles, but an average of 5-7/miles range covers up to 150. Last minute warning of problems is inadequate distance. Help may come away from one’s road. Pre-2022 experience is obsolete in understanding mobile today.

Best Mobile 2025

A general: what should I recommend to friends who want high performance in Citizen Band? Let’s ballpark it at $500 entry. Will last longer than the time they own the automobile. Seatbelts, Concealed Carry, and CITIZEN BAND. This thread aimed at YOU, not the guy who knows even less. However...

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An install:

Dang Ford..Could use some help on my antenna....

I have a 2024 F350 SD Platinum. I would like to put a CB radio in it for traveling with my 36ft 5th wheel. I installed a President Bill 3 radio with a 3 foot hood mounted Firefly antenna. I bought a Ford hood mount antenna kit from Right Channel Radio that was suppose to work good, I thought. I...

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1). Smallest chassis is QT80 for
AM/FM/SSB (NRC).

2). LARSEN NMO30 antenna + W640 whip; optional spring; roof center. Tallest (to 14’) and to 7’ TTL length (ideally not less than 5’).

3). Fused 12V from BATT and NEG to closest ground.

4). DRX-901 Speaker.

The radio always ready for use is the one which gets used. It’s not enough to turn it on, one needs to be a participant or even to help create participation. The Learning Curve is Use.

— The F350 thread at end found the operator talking on AM with a driver eighteen (18) air miles distant. Clear RX/TX. Good conditions with right radio and installation method.

.

 

[niceguy71]

I personally don't think people need an amp today.... we have ham radio's that look and act like a CB radio.. but they have 60 to 80 PEP watts ( Anytone 5555 N II also known as a Radioddity QT-60 ... Radioddity QT-80 ) both have incredible features and receive incredibly good.... the new "NR" noise reduction technology allows you to hear people very far away.
with a good mobile antenna these radios talk very far locally on AM and all across the country on SSB .. if used as a base they talk all over the world... no need for an amp in my opinion

 

[K9KLC]

The radio you mention has built in DSP which they're calling NRC in the other radios mentioned. Now I'll try and answer the question without mindless blabbering.

Have you talked much on that 570D on AM? Many of the true ham radios (as opposed to untrue ham radios I guess) suffer somewhat on AM modulation wise it seems. I have no personal experience with the 570D other than a brief time at a friends house and we didn't use AM, so you'd have to decide there if it's ok on AM. On SSB where I did use one a few times I was honestly pretty impressed with it.

As @niceguy71 mentioned, I also see no need for an external amp on a radio that already will do about 100 watts peak if it actually modulates that 25 watt carrier 100% which is desirable. Assuming the radio modulates the rated 25 watt carrier you already have a better radio than those mentioned assuming it's opened up to the CB band. I've had one or two thru out the years that did achieve that however, I did not try AM on the 570D my buddy has (had).

Nothing will work better than a centered 102inch whip so there's that. If you're happy with the 570D on AM both transmit and receive, I'd stay with that if you have room to get it all mounted and see what happens it's better than anything mentioned although somewhat larger. I see to recall the DSP in the 570D worked well on 10 meter SSB digging some lower level signals out of the noise.

Let us know what you decide and how it works out.

 

[slowmover]

570-D is 30-yrs old. Clunky

Better choices exist today for 11M mobile and are not expensive. $175-$300 covers most of them. They’re a genuine bargain given what they can do and won’t give up any performance in 11M. Will likely sound better (which gets responses when it matters).

Amp was a crutch. RF Bonding, etc, does what the crutch promised. 50-150W gets the job done for mobile. Zero point in irritating those whom you can’t hear. Match up RX/TX distance = modern radio system.

Antenna as a system is the crux. Permanent mount, roof center is the leverage wanted.

Get Power and Antenna Systems installed as you research just which radio best suits.

— The radio system always ready is the one which gets used.

I’ve coast-to-coast use of latest radio type (NRC). Your mobile unit controls should be simpler than an HF Receiver. Right packaging for mobile — today — trumps any fine controls.

Use as a toy, or as a tool: the latter precedes in importance the former, but doesn’t preclude.

.

 

[kc2asb]

(snip)
Nothing will work better than a centered 102inch whip so there's that. If you're happy with the 570D on AM both transmit and receive, I'd stay with that if you have room to get it all mounted and see what happens it's better than anything mentioned although somewhat larger. I see to recall the DSP in the 570D worked well on 10 meter SSB digging some lower level signals out of the noise.

Let us know what you decide and how it works out.

I agree with @K9KLC - use the 570D barefoot and see how it works out. If you use a center-mount 102" whip, you will put out a formidable signal.

No reason to buy new equipment right now, since you have "several 570D's". You can always buy a new radio later if the 570D does not suit your needs.

Good luck!

 

[slowmover]

For mobile this is a distracting toy, not a tool.

Mobile entails hazard.

A decent 12W SSB mobile from the 1970s is $1,200 in today’s money. A 40W Export is as low as $180.

Value is performance which includes controls layout. Too many worse than too few.

— A later decision about an amp plus necessary rig system upgrades to get out on SSB is where the dollars lay according to the originating post.

.

 

[K9KLC]

View attachment 196073

For mobile this is a distracting toy, not a tool.

Mobile entails hazard

A decent 12W SSB mobile from the 1970s is $1,200 in today’s money. A 40W Export is as low as $180.

Value is performance which includes controls layout. Too many worse than too few.

— A later decision about an amp plus necessary rig system upgrades to get out on SSB is where the dollars lay according to the originating post.

.

I can see where someone not familiar with the proper set up of "ANY" radio would think it's too complicated. Just like having any type of multiple push to reach any function on a mobile could get distracting. Just because something has a lot of knobs buttons and dials, doesn't mean they all have to be used during any particular moment while driving. The important controls here are very visible and easy to adjust without even looking more than one would have to do with any other radio mentioned here in this very forum. Compared to more modern radios of this type, this radio has the more important controls plainly visible, well marked and in view, not hidden in a menu situation. Just because you could not operate it safely mobile, don't assume others familiar with this type of unit cannot.

 

[kc2asb]

For mobile this is a distracting toy, not a tool.

Mobile entails hazard.
.

Perhaps this radio would not be suitable in regular use by a trucker, but for a hobbyist looking to make DX contactd from the mobile, it's fine. Just my 2 cents.

 

[slowmover]

Perhaps this radio would not be suitable in regular use by a trucker, but for a hobbyist looking to make DX contactd from the mobile, it's fine. Just my 2 cents.

Tool first, toy second.

 

[slowmover]

I can see where someone not familiar with the proper set up of "ANY" radio would think it's too complicated. Just like having any type of multiple push to reach any function on a mobile could get distracting. Just because something has a lot of knobs buttons and dials, doesn't mean they all have to be used during any particular moment while driving. The important controls here are very visible and easy to adjust without even looking more than one would have to do with any other radio mentioned here in this very forum. Compared to more modern radios of this type, this radio has the more important controls plainly visible, well marked and in view, not hidden in a menu situation. Just because you could not operate it safely mobile, don't assume others familiar with this type of unit cannot.

The difference between Basement Barney runs around his bubble and someone with a couple million miles is predictive ability.

Taking chances always catches up.

Tool, not toy.

.

 

[K9KLC]

Actually now that I think about it, in the mid 90's I had a guy come into the ship with a Yaesu FT-1000D on the dog house of his cab over. He had it set up with Memory Chanels, including some above 40, all 40 CB channels and some ham stuff too. It had a knob or to on it also. Seems maybe there were less accidents then than now, perhaps cell phones and people texting going down the road?? Given it was the only radio he had in the truck, I'd say it was used as a tool. Way more truckers on the CB then, than now.

Tool first, toy second.

Yes you have made us very very very clear this is your attitude about the situation. Fortunately for myself and countless others, we understand it's not the only tool needed to keep up with what's happening in the world today. In todays world with so many people on the road (truck drivers) without a radio, and many not even speaking English, I honestly start to question (at least in my surrounding area) if a CB has use at all as an informative means.

Opinions are just that, and often not shared by all others. You're entitled to yours, equally I, and others I've talked to off post, are also. Carry on...

 

[slowmover]

Huge bargain:

Flash bundle $249 QT80

Radioddity QT80 10 Meter Radio

Radioddity QT80 10-meter radio, designed for superior performance, this radio features an impressive 80W high power output, multiple operational modes, customizable TX & RX noise reduction, and an ASQ function. It's a powerful 10-meter radio, perfect for both amateur enthusiasts and professional...

www.radioddity.com

CB Forum thread. Thus, a radio best suited to CB functions.

Original post isn't about running HF with a Bugcatcher or screwdriver.

QT80 will run rings around an antique HF transceiver.

Educated opinion worthwhile.

Been there, Done That, Got the Right Radio System.

Willfully ignorant opinion? No thanks.

Doesn’t know what’s possible in 11M nor understands the sea change in highway demographic/traffic volume.

.

 

[K9KLC]

QT80 will run rings around an antique HF transceiver.

For the benefit of The OP, please expound on this. Obviously you have check side by side the TS-570D against the QT-80, or it would not be possible to make such a statement.

What kind of testing did you do? What equipment was used in the testing? Was this on AM, SSB, FM or which mode? Did you have a service monitor, or other commercial equipment to use check receive sensitivity or selectivity to make such a profound statement? Again I'm asking for information against the radio the OP asked about in the original question which might help him do decide to spend money vs running what he already has.

 

[K9KLC]

Educated opinion worthwhile.

Willfully ignorant opinion? No thanks.

Finally something we totally agree on.

 

[WSAC829]

I have nothing to gain or lose in this fight, but here’s my honest opinion after having owned and used multiple CB and HF rigs over the years.

If you are looking for AM use only, a CB / 10 meter radio converted to 11 meter will blow the doors off of 95% of any HF rig on TX. That’s what they were designed for. Most HF rigs are notoriously weak and underwhelming on AM. If you’re lucky they might sound like a Cobra 19 w/stock mic at best. There are some exceptions to this, but not many.

FM performance on 11 meter is pretty equal, and nobody really uses it anyway. So who cares about FM? Nobody. Yet.

For SSB the edge goes to the dedicated HF rigs. While most of the newer CB / 10 meter rigs are now mostly dead on frequency and are coming up in power output (most are now 25-80 watts on SSB), they still don't carry a candle to a 100 watt HF rig (even if its a 40 year old HF rig). Even with DSP/NRC the cheap CB / 10 meter rigs have crap RX filtering compared to HF rigs, don’t have adjustable RX bandwidth, and are generally horrible when it comes to interference from adjacent frequencies, lightning / static crashes, etc. The receivers on HF rigs are much better all around (as they should be for 5x - 10x the cost of a CB).

I personally would never use a full banded all mode HF rig in a mobile environment. Too big. Too clumsy. Easier target for theft at a larger cost if it’s stolen, and i wouldn’t want it baking in the sun in the summer or frosting up in the sub zero winters either. That’s what cheap sub $200 rigs are for. However if i had multiple Kenwood 570D's like the OP, maybe i’d sacrifice 1 for the cause. Maybe.

Radio / amp choices aside, the antenna is what you want to focus on. Wattage means little to nothing if you have a compromised antenna, mounting location, coax, ground, etc.

 

[K9KLC]

If you are looking for AM use only, a CB / 10 meter radio converted to 11 meter will blow the doors off of 95% of any HF rig on TX. That’s what they were designed for. Most HF rigs are notoriously weak and underwhelming on AM. If you’re lucky they might sound like a Cobra 19 w/stock mic at best. There are some exceptions to this, but not many.

This I agree with, for many years now, AM on Ham rigs has taken a back seat. I have only very limited time sitting in front of 570D and that was spent on SSB. I think he still has it, maybe we'll do some testing on the thing. That being said, I was pretty specific in my post about the "if's" and it panning out for him on AM. I ran a Kenwood TS-50 on HF mobile for multiple years and frankly it did ok, only really changed it out for an Icom 706 in later years and it did even a little better. I never had any complaints running the 706 AM as long as I didn't try and use high power on it. The best was the Kenwood TS-430 I had owned and occasionally it went mobile in my pickup center console, that radio had some work done to it however prior to me getting it. It was honestly set up for someone specifically for CB, with "a bit of knowledge" about how to get the right audio out of it.

I personally would never use a full banded all mode HF rig in a mobile environment. Too big. Too clumsy. Easier target for theft at a larger cost if it’s stolen, and i wouldn’t want it baking in the sun in the summer or frosting up in the sub zero winters either. That’s what cheap sub $200 rigs are for. However if i had multiple Kenwood 570D's like the OP, maybe i’d sacrifice 1 for the cause. Maybe.

Myself and who knows how ham other hams have used HF rigs mobile, frankly at times it's a hoot. Yep you run the risk of theft, that's the way it is today. I have a friend that has a van set up as a mobile rover and the standing joke is "take the van but leave the radio stuff". Obviously that's a special use case, and I know if it were mine, I'd be pretty worried about it, any time I'm not in it.

The whole reason for my original post was just that. He has multiple 570's already so there's absolutely zero outlay in $$$ for him to see what's up with it. In the end, only the OP knows what he's wanting to do. Is he wanting it only for CB? Is he a ham perhaps wanting to try something that covers more than one band? I dunno, maybe he'll chime back in and let us know some of these things. I probably spend more time on any other band, than the CB band but it's nice to have that option base, or mobile. YMMV and HMMV.

 

[kc2asb]

QT80 will run rings around an antique HF transceiver.

This "antique" HF transceiver has DSP (ie, NRC). Not sure exactly how the QT-80 would "run rings" around a high-end Kenwood with advanced DSP.

Again, as K9KLC and others have said, it all depends on the OP's requirements for a mobile setup. Perhaps he is not a trucker that needs a smaller, more practical CB radio for business. If he wants a rig that covers a number of the ham bands, the 570D, which he already owns, would be just the ticket.

 

[Token]

I personally would never use a full banded all mode HF rig in a mobile environment. Too big. Too clumsy. Easier target for theft at a larger cost if it’s stolen, and i wouldn’t want it baking in the sun in the summer or frosting up in the sub zero winters either. That’s what cheap sub $200 rigs are for. However if i had multiple Kenwood 570D's like the OP, maybe i’d sacrifice 1 for the cause. Maybe.

I, personally, do this (all mode, all HF band, HF rig in the car / truck) every day. Three of my daily drivers are so configured.

OK, I do not use the 570D, but rather I use radios with remote heads or faces. In my case the TS-480SAT with its remote face (2x of these setups) and the TS2000x with the RC-2000 head (1x). The remote head / face gets mounted in a convenient location, and the body of the radio goes in a different convenient location, say under the back seat or something similar. In some cases, because it is less deep, I think the remote head is easier to find a good location for than a "standard" CB would be. The remote face of the TS-480 is roughly 1.5-2 DIN tall and about 1 wide, and maybe 3" deep, the RC-2000 is its own size, but smaller than the TS-480 head, and far easier to find a location for.

I would never open up a ham radio for use on 11 meters, but, if I did ..... Programing channels works great, channel 1 - 40 can correlate to the "normal" CB channels. The clarifier works just like a regular CB for RX only tuning. Once you have it programmed the way you want, frequencies, power levels, mic levels, etc, at that point it is really no different from using a normal CB, just dial the channel you want and away you go. Of course, you can go down the rabbit hole of so many more tuning/control/settings options if you want, but at the most basic level you don't have to.

I live in the desert. In the shade temps are fairly often over 100 degrees F for weeks on end. I mean, never drop below 100, even at night, for weeks. Daytime highs over 110, in the shade, are common. While we never really have sub-zero temps, single digit temps as an overnight low are somewhat common. And most of my daily drive vehicles live outside, not in garages, so they are in that desert sun, with those temps, or out in that cold, all the time. OK, sorry for rambling, the point of all that is that in many years of use, decades, I have yet to see a failure (in an HF rig) I could attribute to those conditions alone. I have had vibration related failures, I have mechanical failures (broken knobs, etc).

More often I have had antenna failures. Big screwdriver antennas take a beating when you off-road with them. But if I wanted to use just a 102" whip that would simplify things a lot ... at the cost of not being able to also do (well) say 40 meters on that antenna.

The upshot of it is, I am not sure I would use something like a TS480SAT if I was _only_ doing 11 meters. Maybe, but maybe not. I would probably opt for a more specialized rig. But, having the option of _also_ doing 11 seems like a no brainer. Legal issues aside.

As for theft, sure, it is absolutely a possibility. But to tell the truth, the last time one of my vehicles got broken into they completely ignored the ham gear. The took the MP3 player out of the dash, pride the speakers out of the doors and back deck, took anything of value laying loose in the vehicle (leather jacket, change out of the ashtray, etc), but never touched the ham radio remote head that was right beside the ashtray. They also missed the radar detector hanging beside the rearview mirror, but that may have been "out of the line of sight" so they missed it.

T!

 

[K9KLC]

I would never open up a ham radio for use on 11 meters,

The problem is, I've honestly never seen a "legal" CB recommended here in this forum. I'm not saying it didn't happen but I've never seen it. All the radios posted are "10 meter ham" radios and then opened up" for the CB bands. Obviously given the feature set on these radios they're "meant" to be CB's but that's now how they are sold.

Programing channels works great, channel 1 - 40 can correlate to the "normal" CB channels. The clarifier works just like a regular CB for RX only tuning. Once you have it programmed the way you want, frequencies, power levels, mic levels, etc, at that point it is really no different from using a normal CB, just dial the channel you want and away you go. Of course, you can go down the rabbit hole of so many more tuning/control/settings options if you want, but at the most basic level you don't have to.

This is a comment from someone who knows how these radios work and have for many many years now. You are exactly right. I"ve had a chance to look at the users manual for a couple of the recommended radio and honestly they appear no easier and, in fact, some even harder, to get at some of the settings. But I digress a legal actually approved CB is not the recommendation here or not that I've seen. I could easily take my Yaesu 991A or 450D mobile and once adjusted, simply use volume, squelch and RF gain as needed without much other needed control other than channel changes which easily can happen from from the front or even microphone as desired.

The upshot of it is, I am not sure I would use something like a TS480SAT if I was _only_ doing 11 meters. Maybe, but maybe not. I would probably opt for a more specialized rig. But, having the option of _also_ doing 11 seems like a no brainer. Legal issues aside.

Correct, legal issues aside which in this forum honestly has never mattered to most, the OP has 570's at his disposal and at the least should try one and see how it works out for him. I don't know his actual wants in a mobile radio so, that's up to him to decide.