Hf radio mounting.

Jesus! Is that really the size of a Land Mobile HF radio!?

My Yaesu FT857D (100W on HF, 50W on 2m, 20W on 70cm) is about 210L x 150W x 50D and it only cost A$1000.

Mike Harding

Hi Mike, with your Yaesu, do you TX Rx on the VKS 737 network with it, if so what antenna do you have/use...........I have a Codan NGT in the Landcruiser, but thought that a Yaesu would be handy when I am away on country trips in my Car.

Ummmm. . . yep
I don't know how old it is, but it works a treat, found on Ebay, Got change out of $1K with aerial (multi-tap of course), bloke I got it from help with setup and ensured that I fitted correctly (Did some-one say EARTH) and the aerial was tuned.
I am sure that the newer ones arn't anywhere as big as this and I, like the large general public, dont have a clue where to seek alternatives other than Codan or Barret.
Shane

>with your Yaesu, do you TX Rx on the VKS 737 network with it

Of course not Mike! That would be illegal as many on here will lecture you in regard to :) Although few of them will understand the differences between a "Type approved Land Mobile" and an Amateur Radio - anyone game to state them?

In regard to antennas - at HF frequencies; a bit of wire in the trees will beat a vertical whip anytime. Sometimes I use a Famparc whip but mostly I use an inverted vee dipole - the inverted vee, with an antenna tuner, lets me chat to people across the world.

Mike Harding

>I, like the large general public, dont have a clue where to seek
>alternatives other than Codan or Barret.

Of course you don't! And a lot of people would like to keep it that way.

How else would they make ridiculous profits out of HF radio otherwise?

Mike Harding

Thats why I said it.
Shane

Mike..........are you saying that even if you are a member of VKS 737 and have permission to use their frequencies, that you are not allowed to TX RX on your Yaesu Radio ?????

Hi Mike

>are you saying that even if you are a member of VKS 737 and have
>permission to use their frequencies, that you are not allowed to TX
>RX on your Yaesu Radio ?????

Yes that's correct. Only "Type Approved Land Mobiles" are, legally, permitted to be used on VKS737, it's a similar situation with CB.

There is some sense to this; in order to obtain "Type Approval" for a radio the major requirement is that it be "Channelised" ie. the user is technically prevented from transmitting anywhere other than the frequencies approved for his system - VKS737, CB, etc. Whereas an Amateur Radio will allow the user to transmit anywhere on the band.

For people who are technically inept this is, probably, a good thing but for those who are able to handle a modicum of technology (can you programme your VCR etc?) it's needlessly prohibitive and enables manufacturers/resellers of Land Mobile HF radios to charge a significant premium for their product. NB Codan/Barrett et al produce a quality product but it is seriously overpriced.

In reality what happens is that many people who understand these things buy an Amateur Radio to use on VKS737 and those who don’t buy Codan etc. No one polices the situation. Amateur Radios usually lack Selcall but a Jenal mike will fix that.

Jenal

Finally: someone mentioned his Land Mobile covers the Amateur Bands… not really it doesn’t. Sure it’s possible to programme specific frequencies into it but Amateur Radio is not channilised and having fixed frequencies is virtually useless eg. I have a regular schedule on 3.682MHz but if that frequency is busy we’ll go to 3.677MHz or 3.563MHz or 7.105MHz or…? You cannot change the programming in your Codan to accommodate that.

Mike Harding

mike_harding@fastmail.fm