Posted: 11/6/2010 6:14:56 AM EDT
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I found at our local "Army/Navy" surplus store yesterday a watertight, airtight, approx 18" cube shipping container. It is aluminum and appears to be brand new! No dings, dents even the paint has no scratches, even all the latches are working and can be adjusted for "tightness"!! It is build by General Dynamics and supposed to be used for transporting magnetic tapes! This is a good start! looking aroiund the house found about 4 ft of one inch aluminum channel and 3 pieces of 1x12 from another project, should make good shelves and the channel should allow for sliding the shelves in and out or even removing them for operation. Have a 30 amp switching power supply, will also build this in a way that my FT 897D will be used in the box when deployment needed but still on my shack desk as my digital rig. Antennas will be decided on as I go along. I have ideas from others as to how to get external power to the box and have multiple 12V AGMs and a couple of 12V 7aH batteries, that may go directly into the box, got to think on that point.
OK here is the "current" issue I need help with! I know the FT 897 will do 2m/440 BUT I want a dedicated 2m rig for the box to be able to monitor 2m and HF at the same time. I've looked on eGay, QRZ, QTH and eHam classified sections and there are lots of 2m rigs out there. Most folks are truely "in love" with their 2-3 generation old 2m mobile rigs asking, in some cases, MORE than a new rig would cost! So I'm coming to my fellow ARFCOMers for assistance. Anyone have a good usable 2m mobile lying around that you don't use/need? I would really like it to be something like a Yaesu, all my radios are Yaesu, FT 1802/2400M/2800 that genare at a decent price. I appreciate any help you can give with this issue! 73's and as soon as I can figure out how to post photos I will do so. Not much to see right now but the box alone is interesting! Sarge |
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I have both the FT-2800M and FT-1802M. (Yaesu replaced these last year with the FT-2900R and FT-1900R.)
There are two differences, one minor, the other meaningful. They both have the exact same features BUT the smaller 1802 and 1900 are rated 50 w and 55 w respectively. The larger 2800 and 2900 are rated 65 w and 75 w respectively. In actual use there is really no advantage to 75 w over 50 watts. Your limiting factor will be more related to antenna design and height. So, just forget the power thing. For a go kit, the 1802/1900 is much smaller, about 40% less volume occupied in the kit than with the larger 2800/2900. And room in your kit is very important. So, that's something to look at. Do you really need 70 cm? |
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I've got a Icom R75, which covers 6m. I've been a SWL for several years before becoming a ham. I've never heard anyone on 6m. Not once. You're just not holding your head at the right attitude.....gotta tilt your head just right to hear 6 meters. The voices I hear inside my head are on 6m, sometimes.... 
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I've got a Icom R75, which covers 6m. I've been a SWL for several years before becoming a ham. I've never heard anyone on 6m. Not once. You're just not holding your head at the right attitude.....gotta tilt your head just right to hear 6 meters. The voices I hear inside my head are on 6m, sometimes.... I KNEW it....see?  |
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What do you folks recommend for a power supply for my go box I want to build?
I am using a Pelican Case (1500) model here are it's dimensions and the two radios i am looking at. Pelican 1500 Interior (l/w/d) 16.75"42.5 x 11.18"28.4 x 6.12" Kenwood TM-G707A which requires 13.8 VDC at 11 amps or Yaesu FT7900R which I don't know what it requires... I plan on using this antenna with it for ease of storage in the box. Slim Jim Antenna |
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I've got the N9TAX straight 2m version, without the coax. Works great!
There are 4 antennas from him: 2 m, 2m with 16' of coax, 2m/70cm, and 2m/70cm with 16' of coax. Prices are such that if you have to buy anything, well, don't just buy one. They work very well. Unless you already have a Pelican 1500, check out the boxes here, too... much cheaper. http://www.seahorsecases.com/ |
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I've got a Icom R75, which covers 6m. I've been a SWL for several years before becoming a ham. I've never heard anyone on 6m. Not once. You're just not holding your head at the right attitude.....gotta tilt your head just right to hear 6 meters. The voices I hear inside my head are on 6m, sometimes....
I hear a lot more CW on 6m than phone 
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I already have the pelican I have a few of them lying around...what about power supplies?
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I've got the N9TAX straight 2m version, without the coax. Works great! There are 4 antennas from him: 2 m, 2m with 16' of coax, 2m/70cm, and 2m/70cm with 16' of coax. Prices are such that if you have to buy anything, well, don't just buy one. They work very well. Unless you already have a Pelican 1500, check out the boxes here, too... much cheaper. http://www.seahorsecases.com/ |
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I hear a lot more CW on 6m than phone I was tuning around 6m yesterday when I did hear a CW CQ. Listened to it for a few minutes before I realized it was a local club about 10 miles away! 6 meters IS the magic band. Sometimes you'll hear absolutely nothing. Sometimes you'll hear the guy down the road. And sometimes you'll hear somebody on the other side of the planet booming in while running 15 watts. I think by "magic" they meant "schizophrenic" 
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Power Supply? Compact? Powerfull? Able to maintain a battery too? Get the IQ4 version.... http://www.iotaengineering.com/dls75.htm Buy once, cry once.
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Power Supply? Compact? Powerfull? Able to maintain a battery too? Get the IQ4 version.... http://www.iotaengineering.com/dls75.htm Buy once, cry once. Good point, here is a place that sells them, I don't think I need a 75 amp model the 45 amp should do me fine.. IOTA PS |
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Try this power supply ! Friend bought one for his go-kit and it is light, rugged and does the job without completely draining the bank account. Also the specs are pretty impressive.
http://www.gammaresearch.net/hps-1a.html |
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Try this power supply ! Friend bought one for his go-kit and it is light, rugged and does the job without completely draining the bank account. Also the specs are pretty impressive. http://www.gammaresearch.net/hps-1a.html You could build something similar for a lot less. It's basically using a 2A charger to float supercapacitors. |
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Put up a 6m antenna on Monday and checked into the local 6m net on Wednesday. From where you are you ought to be able to hit it.
I've never heard anyone on 6m. Not once. Every wednesday night after the SELSA 2m simplex net. 2100 local at 146.520 FM on vertical polarity then 50.170 USB. The 2m net typically runs half an hour or a little less. NCS is in Jackson, LA. We do relays on both nets if required. Back to the OP topic. I don't see a need for 6m for a go-box. Unless your area has 70cm traffic I don't see a need for that either. For power supplies the Samlex units are the standard on this forum. Haven't heard a single complaint. Does anyone think cross band repeat is a useful function for a go box? My thinking is I could walk around with a 70cm HT running a watt or two, ping the go box which then TX on 2m. Cuts the leash of being tied at the station all the time. |
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Does anyone think cross band repeat is a useful function for a go box? My thinking is I could walk around with a 70cm HT running a watt or two, ping the go box which then TX on 2m. Cuts the leash of being tied at the station all the time. Yes. That's one of the main reasons my box has an FT-8800 in it. Use it that way with my FT-60. Member "rebby" a while back linked to his blog on this topic. Crossband repeat with Yaesu FT-8800R |
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Do you really need 70 cm? That is like saying, "do you really need 6m?" 
Well... no.... umm....
I use 440 just as much as 2m around here. equal amount of repeaters in surrounding towns. so, depends on what is available locally... 70cm is great for talking to your group when there's a lot of 2 meter activity. Hamfests are a good example - 2m is typically saturated, and you get a lot of desense from all the transmitters around you on the same band. 70 cm is usually a lot emptier. 6m is usually dead, which makes operating 6m AM on the little Yaesu radios fun
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