Jeepjunky

so in my xj i al ready got a CB radio mounted in between the 2 visors on the roof and its hooked up to 2 106" stainless steel antennas i got from radio shack. well i was up at LSPR rally races in the U.P. and was a marshal so i got to ride with official people who run the whole event and how they communicated was by ham radio. so now im thinkin of puttin a ham radio in my xj but had some questions.

1) i know i need a licenses to be able to talk in it, wondering if u can take that test online or where i would need to go.
2) if i hook up the ham radio to 1 of the 106 whips, will it blow out the radio
3)best place to mount and wire it

thanks

Jeepjunky

o ya, i was thinking bout gettin this one, any thoughts?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Magnum-Rapto...item2564983238

prerunner1982

You need to decide what band you want to use before you decide on the radio.. For most local stuff 2m and 70cm are popular. The official people at the event were probably using 2m, but without knowing what kind of radio they were using it's hard to know for sure.

1. As far as I know you have to be tested in person by a Elmer, check with local Amateur Radio Club as they most likely have monthly testing. They may even offer classes.

2. Just like your CB you will need an antenna tuned for what you are using. Each band you use needs a different size antenna. 2meter vs 10 or 20 meter for example. I know a guy that runs a whip like yours on his Ham radio, but he has a multi-band radio and uses an auto-tuner to adjust the load to make the antenna work with most all the frequencies, not great on all but good on some. It would be better to have an antenna specific to the band you want to us. Also like your CB you should have an SWR meter to properly tune the antenna so that you don't blow your radio and get the best performance.

3. You could mount the radio on the passenger side of the transmission, under the dash on the driver's side, or put it between the visors and move the CB to either of the previously mentioned places. Figure out which one you will use most and mount it in the most convenient place. I would bet you will use the Ham more... CB at least around here is just full of crap unless you find the occasional Jeeper. For best performance the ham radio antenna would be best mounted in the middle of the roof via an NMO mount. However if you don't want to drill a hole in your roof you could do a fender mount or like you said use your whip antenna and cut it down to the correct height.


You might look around the forums on RadioReference.com. There may be other good radio forums that others could suggest. Again check out your local radio club and perhaps attend some meetings or radio events.

prerunner1982

Also the ARRL is a good resource for Amateur radio..

http://www.arrl.org/licensing-education-training

Jeepjunky

i work with a guy named elmer lol
with an auto tuner, would i need to trim my antennas like i have just read, cuz i never tuned them when i put my CB in

prerunner1982

Auto-tuners are if you are running a multiple band radio on a single antenna, however this typically requires a higher license. I would decide what band you want to use and what radio you want. If you are only going to start small and use the 2m band than get a separate antenna or cut the one you have to the right size. No reason to get an auto tuner for a single or dual band just so you don't have to cut down your antenna. You can get 2m/70cm antennas pretty short.

prerunner1982

You still need a SWR meter....you could burn up your radio (CB or Ham) if it is not properly tuned to the antenna. Also you aren't getting the full performance out of your radio if you have a high SWR.

Patrick L Thompson

most modern radios or modern quality radios will not even key up if swrs are to high, if you get a 2meter/ 70 centimeter dual band you can get dual band antennas pretty cheap for them and run a single antenna, and 10meter/11meter will use the same antenna, 11 meter is cb if you didnt know, i have 2 antennas on mine borh dual bands 10/11 meter and 2m/70cm,

downs

I've yet to run into a CB that has that protection built in. Most will transmit with the SWRs maxed out. Even many of the Chinese HAM mobile radios do have that protection though. Go figure. You can't test for HAM online. You can get your FRN and apply and pay for a GMRS license online. You'll have to link up with a local Amateur radio club that does testing to get your test done. Young kids pass the test all the time so it's not that difficult. YOu can go online and find practice tests to take.

But you also need to do some learning cause there's more to HAM radio that just hooking it up and pushing the button like on a CB. Also you need to get a SWR meter on that CB. SWRs that are too high can burn your radio up.

BlueRidgeMark

It's an eight year old thread! Let it rest in peace!