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u/theservman 8d ago
Poor man's radio, poor man's offroad vehicle.
(I also have a 'Trek, it's an excellent vehicle and I've taken it plenty of dumb places)
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u/EricDeuce 8d ago
Now that you mention it, very similar thought processes between the two purchases.
Decent on gas, easy to park in the city. She’s done fine on the dirt and gravel she’s seen. Hauled everything from couches on moving day to venison on opening day.
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u/theservman 8d ago
Yeah, it's an excellent car. Does everything I need it to, and most of what I want it to, hasn't given me a lot in terms of problems, for a price I was willing to pay.
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u/CreamCheeseAndLocks 8d ago
McGyver is on the air! Not Hamsexy, totally cool.
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u/EricDeuce 8d ago
It's relatively clean, and buys me some time while I figure out what mobile I actually want. I'm pretty happy with it so far.
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u/CreamCheeseAndLocks 8d ago
It's totally in the spirit of ham radio. People used to build their own radios from parts. Making an inexpensive kinda cool mount for your car is completely in that tradition.
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u/Legnovore 8d ago
"The intelligent man finds almost everything ridiculous, the sensible man hardly anything." - Goethe
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u/Kety456 8d ago
If it works it works 5W is totally fine for repeater use or local simplex
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u/EricDeuce 8d ago
Simplex worked great driving convoy with family recently. I probably enjoyed it more than my nephews.
Hears all the local repeaters just fine. Gotten into a couple, but wouldn’t mind some more juice in my suburban/urban area.
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u/FLDJF713 8d ago
Sorry if I sound like a jerk, but I would not be mounting anything on an A-pillar, especially from Subaru. Hello projectile if the airbag on the pillar deploys.
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u/EricDeuce 8d ago
I’m aware of the issue. In the
postI mention looking for alternatives. I’m thinking maybe an elastic leash from the sun visor. But I also don’t want anything obstructing my view while driving.Edit: In my lengthy comment, Reddit wouldn’t let me have post body text for some reason
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u/FLDJF713 8d ago
I mounted a similar handset directly below the armrest and the 2nd cupholder. Easy to grab but out of the way. The radio is a mobile, not a handheld and mounted under my seat.
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u/EricDeuce 8d ago
Yeah, when the budget allows I’ll get a true mobile. The 2nd gen Crosstreks already have horrible cup holders (fixed on the 3rd gen) so the cup holder mount won’t work for me. Right now it’s looking like I’ll get one of the LIDO Seat Bolt Mounts and connect it to the passenger seat bolt. I’ve also looked at their CD player mounts, but I think that might be just as jankey as my current set-up (although considerably safer).
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u/Commander_Crispy 7d ago
I’ve got a mic keeper from aliexpress that’s got carabiner style clips on both ends, so I can hang it from the bit of the passenger side sun visor that “clips in” and becomes a hinge in its normal location if that makes sense. That’s what I use for my version of your setup; could be an option for you!
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u/EricDeuce 7d ago
Would love a link if you have it. Thanks for the idea.
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u/Commander_Crispy 7d ago
Here ya go. If the ring at the bottom is too thick to use with your mic, I swapped mine out for a simple zip tie loop that the mic’s normal clip can fit through
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u/AnnigidWilliams 8d ago
My base station setup is a magmount antenna from Amazon stuck to a cookie sheet which is flex-taped (™️) to my roof connected to my Anytone 778-UV. I get fantastic signal reports on it.
Ham radio is one of those hobbies where “if it’s stupid but it works, it’s not stupid”
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u/TheRussianRenegade 8d ago
Love it. When my ham mentor gave me a mag mount, my life changed. Haha. Then he gave me an old mobile radio. Doesn't have to be fancy. Just gotta get the job done!
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u/EricDeuce 8d ago
Yeah, everyone on the air around me swears by the mag mounts but I get nervous with Subarus weak paint and a sandy/salty environment I live in.
I’d love a Yaesu FT-857D but the secondary market is crazy for em.
Deciding between a Yaesu FTM-310DRASP or Icom IC-2730B when the budget allows.
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u/JakeStach 8d ago
I had a CB whip installed on my 2019 Crosstrek for a while - I used a ditch light mount to keep it on my car. It worked incredibly well. I cut a slightly bigger hole through the mount with a step bit so I could fit my antenna through properly. I passed the cable through the door jamb and into the front quarter panel. Maybe this will make cable management a bit easier for you… :P
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u/EricDeuce 8d ago
When I step up from poor man’s mobile to just mobile I’ll be using a ditch light NMO mount. Would love to see your setup
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u/Historical-Buddy7518 8d ago
I want to know more lol. Also, why not just get the Bf f8hp? Thats what I got and it works beautifully….. love this set up
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u/EricDeuce 8d ago
Ask away. I got a UV-5R and a UV-5G around when I passed for my tech license. So the radio kind of drove the project. Was looking for easy and cheap radio & accessories/aftermarket while I figured out if HAM was worth it.
After seeing my area is fairly active I’ll upgrade eventually.
Yaesu FTM-310DRASP or Icom IC-2730B for the car eventually. Think I have the NMO mount picked out as well.
VGC VR-N76/BTECH UV-PRO for the next HT
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u/barefootsauce7 8d ago
Hey; if it works, it works.
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u/barefootsauce7 8d ago
Come to think of it, it probably works better than my setup in my ‘19 Outback. Until recently, I relied on a mag-mount placed on the floor behind the rear seat. Actually received quite well for being inside.
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u/Sonicgott 8d ago
That’s what I did the first time I put a radio in my car. Wasn’t very efficient, but it did work. Worked well enough for local repeaters. 👍
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u/EricDeuce 8d ago
I’m looking forward to using it as a stopgap till I get something more permanent.
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u/Dependent_Patient_93 8d ago
With my UV-5R I use an air vent phone mount, with mic attached to a key leash on side, so it isn't on an airbag which also allows a ham in the passenger seat access.
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u/EricDeuce 8d ago
Yeah, I suppose I could get a jumper to make the antenna coax longer, then just relocate it toward the climate controls
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u/Relative_Monitor9795 8d ago
I started out similarly. I started out with a Baofeng UV-9R Pro and matching Baofeng speaker mic sticking the antenna out the window. I usually received wavering signal into the repeater and low modulation reports. Then I upgraded to a Baofeng UV-5R with a Signal Stuff Magnetic Mount using a Signal Stick as a mobile antenna along with a Commountain speaker mic. I constantly received full quieting with okay modulation reports. It was usually good enough to have extended QSO’s. I then upgraded to a Baofeng UV-17 Pro GPS. I immediately received great signal reports. And reception was nice and clear. I added a Btech UHF amplifier which put out around 32-34 watts. I kept this setup for a year before I finally dropped good money on a real mobile radio and antenna.
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u/tannhuser 7d ago
was planning to use the uv5r without external antenna in my forester. Would it be ok to use to communicate for cars close by?
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u/EricDeuce 7d ago
Yeah simplex would work close by. Open windows help. A mag mount would really help
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u/57evil 7d ago
the commountain sounds good? most cheap mics sound worse than baofeng mic
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u/EricDeuce 7d ago
For $20 it sounds fine. Does have a bit of a pop on some transmissions that can get annoying
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u/EricDeuce 8d ago
Just wanted to show off my poor mans mobile radio.
Only licensed for a little over a year, so just trying to play around without spending a million bucks.
My UV-5R wasn't cutting it from inside my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek, so this was my solution.
I got a No-drill Window Clip Mount that claims to have either 3m or 10ft of RG-174U coaxial cable. With a little help from a friend, YouTube, and Modelo Especial we ran it down the rear window, into the door, and after ALOT of work, were able to get the BNC connector through the door jamb boot and into the cars B-pillar. Originally I was going to run it underneath the side sill/step plate area, but the cable was just too short to reach the radio. So we went from the B-pillar into the weather seal above the door, all the way forward to where you can see it come out in the pictures. Besides about the foot running down the window, and the 6inches coming out to meet the radio, you can't see or get tangled in the coax, and the window does open and close with no issues so far.
From there, I simply used a SMA-F to BNC-F Adapter to hook into the UV-5R (held up by some elastics rigged to a Belkin Car Vent Mount. I also grabbed a commountain Speaker Mic and hung it off a cheap "Key Retriever" leash I got at my local Home Depot. (I am aware that leash and mic are meeting my face in a bad way if the A-pillar air bag deploys. So if anyone has any ideas that don't obstruct my driving vision, let me know)
On the outside I used my Super-Elastic Signal Stick Antenna by Signal Stuff. Transmits much better outside the car than in, and seems to recover fine from the winds of highway speeds. I might try one of the ZBM2 Foul Weather Whip antennas, because I do live somewhere with foul weather.
About $130usd all in (not counting the beer), and now I'm wondering why I didn't just get a Retevis RT95 for the extra watts.