SOFA_KING
Member
Years ago I had my old mini-van loaded with piles of Motowiz gear and Yeasu HF gear. I also had enough holes in the roof to ruin any resale value! Well times have changed. I still have all the great commercial gear, but I just wanted to hear my great digital scanner and play a little digital amateur radio in my new van. Most of the old gear was not digital, so new gear was in order along with a modest setup that did not take up too much space....and NO HOLES this time. The antennas I use now work just fine. More on that later.
I have installed my GRE PRO-197 for monitoring just about anything AM/FM/N-FM/P25 above 25 MHz, and my new Icom IC-91AD D-STAR amateur radio (VHF/UHF), which can come out quick for portable operation. The install is almost complete. Two items will be added to complete this setup, although I can run low power now as I am using a hadset mic. I am looking for a Mirage BD-38G (or non-"G" model?) dual band amp (not produced anymore) to take the heat off of the HT and give me up to 80/60 V/U watts. I am also awaiting an HM-75A speaker/microphone I just ordered which has some function controls that will be helpful in the mobile environment. Only the mic part (not the speaker) will be used. For a speaker I am using an old Motorola metal style amplified motorcycle speaker that sounds super loud and has great sound quality (don't make those anymore either!). The scanner is using a newer style motorola speaker. Both are on the floor. If you look close you can see my FM Broadcast filter for the GRE scanner on the right.
The antennas are NMO mag mounts that I can change antenna types on the fly if I need to. Both shown here have the old Antenna Specialists low profile NMO mounts (no coils inside) with the old chrome springs. I love those! I use the 54" whip on the scanner. This works great even on 800! No cell site overload and great range, fantastic low band reception, and resonant 3/4 wave on VHF HI. Even UHF works well enough. The 19" whip on the back is just fine on VHF and UHF for the Icom. The whip is a bit thick, so bandwidth is very good. UHF is also tuned well as a 3/4 wave. Works great on both bands!
The IC-91AD is not just resting there. I have a loop fastened to the ashtray cover that the belt clip slips into. Everything is secure enough to even press the keypad buttons without a problem. It is easy to reach and see. The wires are out of the way, and that coax with the right angle SMA is good stuff (low loss). DC power comes from a 12 battery power pack under the center tray (also has an AC inverter for 110 VAC needs) that is charged when the key is in the ignition. The pack filters the DC and allows 5W TX on the Icom anytime. The battery on the Icom can be removed or can be charged during operation. One last detail you may not notice is the mic extension cable I made to allow me to plug in an external mic. It is on the left side of the scanner bracket. My headset is plugged in now until I get the HM-75A.
Overall this is a very functional little setup. I can hear alot with these two radios...even shortwave stations on the Icom. I can hear D-STAR (and talk on it), and the scanner hears much...and hears it well. HF would be nice, but then I have to mount that big honkin HF antenna you see on my old van. I do have a tow hitch and a tow hitch mount that HF antenna that goes in it, so I could, but where do I mount the FT-100? Food for thought!
Phil
I have installed my GRE PRO-197 for monitoring just about anything AM/FM/N-FM/P25 above 25 MHz, and my new Icom IC-91AD D-STAR amateur radio (VHF/UHF), which can come out quick for portable operation. The install is almost complete. Two items will be added to complete this setup, although I can run low power now as I am using a hadset mic. I am looking for a Mirage BD-38G (or non-"G" model?) dual band amp (not produced anymore) to take the heat off of the HT and give me up to 80/60 V/U watts. I am also awaiting an HM-75A speaker/microphone I just ordered which has some function controls that will be helpful in the mobile environment. Only the mic part (not the speaker) will be used. For a speaker I am using an old Motorola metal style amplified motorcycle speaker that sounds super loud and has great sound quality (don't make those anymore either!). The scanner is using a newer style motorola speaker. Both are on the floor. If you look close you can see my FM Broadcast filter for the GRE scanner on the right.
The antennas are NMO mag mounts that I can change antenna types on the fly if I need to. Both shown here have the old Antenna Specialists low profile NMO mounts (no coils inside) with the old chrome springs. I love those! I use the 54" whip on the scanner. This works great even on 800! No cell site overload and great range, fantastic low band reception, and resonant 3/4 wave on VHF HI. Even UHF works well enough. The 19" whip on the back is just fine on VHF and UHF for the Icom. The whip is a bit thick, so bandwidth is very good. UHF is also tuned well as a 3/4 wave. Works great on both bands!
The IC-91AD is not just resting there. I have a loop fastened to the ashtray cover that the belt clip slips into. Everything is secure enough to even press the keypad buttons without a problem. It is easy to reach and see. The wires are out of the way, and that coax with the right angle SMA is good stuff (low loss). DC power comes from a 12 battery power pack under the center tray (also has an AC inverter for 110 VAC needs) that is charged when the key is in the ignition. The pack filters the DC and allows 5W TX on the Icom anytime. The battery on the Icom can be removed or can be charged during operation. One last detail you may not notice is the mic extension cable I made to allow me to plug in an external mic. It is on the left side of the scanner bracket. My headset is plugged in now until I get the HM-75A.
Overall this is a very functional little setup. I can hear alot with these two radios...even shortwave stations on the Icom. I can hear D-STAR (and talk on it), and the scanner hears much...and hears it well. HF would be nice, but then I have to mount that big honkin HF antenna you see on my old van. I do have a tow hitch and a tow hitch mount that HF antenna that goes in it, so I could, but where do I mount the FT-100? Food for thought!
Phil
