Mobile HF - Considerations?

[Gary Stockton]

Thinking of putting a mobile HF radio in my Cruiser, and have shortlisted ICOM and Kenwood kit - what else should I consider (brand / model) and what else do I need to know to get a decent, practical rig set up that won't break the bank - some of this stuff is way too expensive

I'll be doing my basic ham course shortly I hope, and then will move on to the next stage so I am not too restricted ito of output wattage ...

I think this is another can of worms though, with no one ideal setup....

The assumption is I'll fit the antenna to the new front winch bar when I finally get there ...

 

[Crispin]

I've always preferred ICOM but for no other reason than it was my first bit of kit. ICOM, Kenwood and Yaesu, I suspect you'll find pros and cons to each?

Not overly helpful other than brand loyalty

 

[TobyJug]

Kenwood....

again not much help but pure brand preference..

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I think you need to set a budget to be able to find what suits you best Gary. One manufacturer may have an ideal radio costing about £1000 (ICOM 7000) and another might be more like £500 (Yaesu FT-857). Both are nice radios with pro's and con's besides the price and of course there are other choices but for any given budget there are usually very few to choose between. You might also want to consider what antenna you will use for HF because those two letters cover a number of frequency bands with different antenna requirements You can get mono band antenna to suit your prefered frequencies and swap between them if you want to work a different band, or there are a variety of motorised antenna that can be tuned to a very wide range of frequencies. some radio / antenna combinations are easier to set up than others so that could also affect your choice

My choice for a starter all band / mode mobile radio on a relatively low budget would probably be the Yaesu FT-857. The main con with this radio being a fairly small display that's not particularly user friendly but it doesn't take too much getting used to.

I would definately go for one where you can remote the head.

 

[Steve Wright]

Thinking of putting a mobile HF radio in my Cruiser, and have shortlisted ICOM and Kenwood kit - what else should I consider (brand / model) and what else do I need to know to get a decent, practical rig set up that won't break the bank - some of this stuff is way too expensive

I'll be doing my basic ham course shortly I hope, and then will move on to the next stage so I am not too restricted ito of output wattage ...

I think this is another can of worms though, with no one ideal setup....

The assumption is I'll fit the antenna to the new front winch bar when I finally get there ...

Hi Gary

With space and heat being a problem in the newer cars I would suggest a rig with a remote head, so the main body can sit in the boot or alike and the heat from the heater will not let the rig over heat.
Also trying to fit just a head is much easer to fit.

As for the antenna, the best location is slap in the center of the roof, but I know you are saying you have a tent up there ! but you need the antenna as high as possible, but another comment, running a antenna on something that has not got a good earth, you might have problems, so see if you can find a location for a mount to get a good earth.

Any way good luck with the "GM"

Steve