For You Ham Operators Out There - Radio Installation
 

It's better than 50 degrees here in Syracuse, NY - I just HAD to do something on the car this weekend............

So far I cleaned the tail-lights - and installed new high output back-up bulbs.
Finally replaced all the fuses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND - Drum Roll Please - Installed the Kenwood TM-733 Dual Bander.
What a great weekend this was...............

Stephen
WA2FDU

Very nice installation. Where did you get/run the DC power? Did you put the radio in the trunk?

I have a D-700A, and will try your mounting when I get the rest of the console sorted out. I'd love to put the 'brick' in the trunk, but I'd need to get a microphone extension long enough to reach back into the cabin.


EDIT: Oh, yeah, swapped #1 injector with #4, didnt make any difference in 'nailing' sound. So, I'll live with it until I get the time/nerve to play with the injector delivery seals.

Lubed the hood latches with ATF, just because it was open. Wiped a lot of oil off of everywhere, because I had a roll of paper towels. Got inconlusive readings on vacuum to transmission, will have to play more.

The Grand Marquis has a miss, I think one or more spark plug boots have developed carbon tracking, and the low wiper fluid warning is always on, annoying the **** out of me.

I just keep adding to the list of automotive stuff to do!


73 de n8qmd

Well, I had nowhere near as much fun.

I took the passenger side footwell down and removed the sampler motor. Cleaned and oiled it up and put it back in place. No more squeal.

I chased down the reason that the washers don't work. Chased it all the way back to the combination switch. Had to remove the cluster to find the plug buried deep in the back.

I chased down the reason that the rear defogger does not work. After some jury rigged tests, it is confirmed that the combination relay is NG.

Replaced the passenger side sun visor with one without the cracked cover.
Still lights up!!

Confirmed that replacement seat trim pieces will fit on the outside of the seats. Unfortunately, the pieces cannot be installed unless the seat is removed. :(

Wanted to replace the CCU but never got around to it.



What does that unit that you added do, anyway, Stephen?

Everything is in the trunk, up high on the right side of the divider panel for the Fuel Tank. Velcro does work on the carpeting. Ran 12 gauge wire direct from the battery back there. I did purchase another Coin Tray to do this installation, so I could cut a hole for the cabling and still keep the original one in storage for later. FYI - You can use an Ethernet Cable as a Microphone Extenion, using a double female connector. I just happened to buy numerous remote mounting kits over the years so I used a Kenwood cable for this one.


This is a piece of Amatuer Radio (Ham Radio) equipment. Basically a much more elevated and controlled version of CB. A license is required to operate it. Through some newer technology called 'EchoLink', we can actually talk around the world from the car. If you are familiar with what a Repeater is - we have ours connected to the Internet and do VOIP (Voice Over IP) for far reaching communications.

Stephen (Enginerd)

Anyone interested in getting a license...

http://www.arrl.org/catalog/lm/

Ham?
 

If I reapply for my license can I keep my old call sign? Or just use it anyway. If they come looking for me I don't live there anymore (Bakersfield CA. for ex-felons and people in the secret witness program) :eek:

Haha DUDE you put that exactly where I put my VM-V7A Dual Bander.
Its a bit taller so it interferes with the cig. box but I never use that anyway.
I put my unit in the back by the trunk and ran all the wires under the carpet on the drivers side inside the wire/vac line channel thingy.
It actually turned out nice and the worst thing I had to do was take out the drivers seat (4 bolts).

I will take a pic of my install..it looks exactly like yours.
I ran all the mic and speaker wires up into that tray and then put the mic mount on the side and the speaker is in the center concole under the arm rest. This setup seems to work good so far, now I just need to figure out why my unit keeps remembering the memories but forgetting what settings I had last time it shut off :)

KD7INF

What does it do?
 

That unit is the remote control head for a VHF/UHF two-way radio. If you have a well-rounded personality, it allows you to converse within line-of-sight range. If there are defects in your character, it will take over your entire life, and you end up like me. :eek:

Q: What does it cost to be involved in Amateur Radio?
A: Everything you have, plus a little.

I'm planning a similar install in my 300CD, except I don't have the coin tray. I got a spare ashtray, unscrewed the handle so that I have a flat surface to work with. Now I'm tracing the control head outline, and I plan to use my router to carve out the wood. Then I'll drill a hole for the control head cable, and mount the slightly recessed control head. The TM-D700A goes in the trunk.

73, (ancient telegrapher's code for "Best Regards")

Its not so ancient...I use it daily...emails,etc....as do most everyone on the low ends of the band :D

- - . . . :o . . . - -
 

I am wondering when I will ever find time to reinstall the 6-sweep tube HF linear in the trunk. Or the six meter Rangr in the wagon, or the 900 MHz FM gear (Motorola GTX) in the W124. I have a big Leece Neville alternator for the '72 220 to run the 8877 linear in that car. Darned too many projects!!!!!!!
I was raised on rf!
1971 220 (gas) 4-spd manual 106441
1979 300TD w/ ’85 turbo engine 296650
1983 300D 243280
1985 300TD 223470
1987 300D 262300 :o

Just don't give me no 88's and we'll get along just fine good buddy!

I've been partial to thru-the-glass antennas lately, although I had a 10 meter 1/4 wave whip on the side of the Escort and a Hy-gain whip on the side of the Aerostar. I just haven't been able to get myself to drill a hole in any Benz yet.

FineOlBenz,

I think if your old call is available, you can request it. Maybe only after you get a new call though. I got my Dads callsign as soon as they opened up the vanity callsign access about 10 years ago.

-K8QKJ

I am a future ham. I bought a TenTec radio and am planning an antenna system. It has been a while since I studied for licensing tests and will have to pretty much start over. I have been eyeballing local elmer lists but haven't called anyone yet.

I can hear it now...
"DAMN I just lost a rare DX becuase the friggen engine stalled when I went to key..."

LOL...those Leece Nevilles are serious stuff though...I loved working on them...:)

KD7INF de N7CEU
 

Go into the menu, and set PM AutoSave back on. You must have done a reset; the default setting is off.

When Worlds Collide
 

WA2FDU, n8qmd, leathermang, FineOlBenz, KD7INF, W6MTF, K8QKJ, TwitchKitty, and I'm certain that there are still more hiding in the closet. I suspect this represents a clue as to the personality type that enjoys the struggle of keeping these fine old automobiles on the road. :D

I will check this.
If this is what it is...you are a Kenwood Genius.
I run a Yaesu FT-847 as a base rig
Old Kenwood TS-520 (tube finals!) chillin on the desk next to it.
Icom 207H was in the benz until dad's truck got it. Fits beautifuly in the ash tray spot :)
Now that Kenwood is in there.
Lots of handhelds kicking around.
You ever sport the low bands?
Its been ages since I listened to the wispy USB on 20m :)

added myself to the list =) long time since I keyed a radio while not wearing a military uniform...I seem to be the only guy in my unit who once had RF anything has a 'hobby'

-John

I am probably the only 18 year old in the college parking structure barking out morse code on my horn when I get bored sitting in the car listening to the radio or eating dinner between classes! :D

Extra class at 16 :)
Or was it 17...I forget lol...
www.qsl.net/kd7inf

AA9PW has a good site to practice the exams. You
 

can keep going over them until you know the correct answers. I think it's a whole lot eaiser than digging it out of the books.

Try his call with a .com

73 - kf4ovq

Practice Tests (The Actual Tests You Would Take) are available on-line at www.qrz.com

You can take them as often as you would like. It really helped me with my Extra, getting 48 out of 50 the night I took my test. My wife surprised me, along with some help from my friends, and got her ticket behind my back. One evening I was on our repeater and a station broke in. That station called me and at first I had no clue who I was talking with. Originally KC2MGS, now N2MGS. As luck would have it - MGS stands for 'Marilyn Got Stephen' - And did she ever......................

We have matching radios to keep the training simple - TH-78A's and TM-733A's. The house runs a TM-731A in Cross-Band mode 24/7 listening to our repeater. The HF Gear is a TS-440SAT

I did install a 'Glass Mount' Cell look alike on the SDL - I can live with the decreased performance - It's a pride thing.....

I am on 40M, 7.242, Sunday Mornings at 8:00 Eastern with some locals and distant friends that go back more than 25 years.

Our(small group of friends) Echolink Repeater is WW2N-R, Node Number 64224

Stephen (and Marilyn)

Low Bands
 

I'm on 7.272 most days at 12:30 Mountain for the Beehive Utah Net. I have to do it from the truck, I don't have the G5RV up at the new location.

The truck is a 1998 Ford Explorer, with a TM-D700A, and a FT-100 installed. HF antenna is a Hi-Q 5/80, controlled by a W4RT Antenna Boss.

MBZ Content: I am very much looking forward to HF from the 300CD, because of the reduced electrical noise from a Diesel engine. I will be installing the Hi-Q by way of a 2" receiver hitch. I just can't bring myself to start making holes in my coachwork. :eek:

QCWA Material
 

Licensed in 1979 at age 23. Extra in 2000, at age 44. Radioactive the whole time. :D

Blower motor makes the noise in my machine...even on VHF (ick!)
Its probably due for brushes though anyway.

Brandon

interesting reading...
 

all the forum members that are hams. i got a novice in '70 while in high school but never could make a contact. joined the navy and let my ticket expire.
got a codeless tech in 86 with my son; people were rude on 2M to him for being a newby, never got back into it. radios are sitting on a closet shelf somewhere.

Licensed in 1978 at age 17. General in 1980. Couldn't get to 30 wpm and missed advanced by one question. I guess I should have studied more than just the night before the exam.

I hear there is no code requirement anymore. Is that right?

MB Mobile Amateur Radio Operators
 

Quick question relating to amateur radio

Are you an amateur radio operator (ham radio) and do you operate mobile?

Alan

Yes and yes (only 2m FM in the MB).

Curt (K8AI)
84' 190D 2.2
Grand Rapids MI

Yes I do (KE7CEU)...2 meter as well in my 300D. I have a 45w Motorola Spectra mounted under the dash on the passenger side with a black 5/8-wave Larsen antenna mounted on the forward edge of the trunk lid (right in front of the center brake light). And no, it doesn't obscure enough of the brake light to be a safety issue.

The all-black antenna rig doesn't look all that bad on the back of the 124. It works very well and your eye is not immediately drawn to it.

The funny thing is, sometimes at certain frequencies the RF will interfere with the burned out bulb warning circuit and dimly light the indicator on the instrument panel.

Yes and no. The repeaters around me are filled with members of the "Grass Cutters Net". I used to run HF in my old Bronco II. I could make the car accelerate when I keyed up while it was in cruise...

Me too!
 

Yes (N6WFO) and no, don't currently have a radio installed in any of the Benzes. Just got my Yaesu dual-bander repaired, however, so I should get busy and install it before the Big One hits.

Jeremy

Yes

Not currently mobile, but planning on HF installation in the 300D by this summer. Gonna do mobile cw.

Mobile CW, very interesting. I can see you with a typewriter on your
lap, ear phones on, copying CW at 65 mph:D

I was a Radioman in the Navy up to about 22 wpm.

I now have a CB radio:rolleyes:, 10-4 good buddy:P

Charlie

Glad to see there are a few of us screwballs operating mobile. Currently I operate FM only, although I am designing a bracket that will fit onto the rear bumper mount of the 300D for a High Sierra Sidekick screwdriver antenna.
The antenna is currently mounted on my pickup. HF mobile is a different animal, being able to converse with stations cross country and overseas makes it all that much more fun.
I only know of one CW operator, 60 WPM, who operated 40m mobile. He mounted a paddle on the steering wheel of his work van. Amazing how you only need a few watts of power. I passed the General written exam and after several attempts at the CW exam I gave up. Now that the FCC rules have changed CW will not be so bad with a "cheat sheet" and a code reader.

Alan

Yes, KC4LDB, but not currently mobile. My 2m rig is in the garage waiting for a car to be installed in...as soon as I quit shuffling cars... and my 2m handheld Kenwood has been collecting dust for years. I wanted it because it was advertised on the back of my Novice theory book back in the 6th grade...in 1991!

You mean a MILL don't you? I had a friend who could copy high speed CW, but only on a mill. His wife found one a library was getting rid of (they used it to make labels for years) and gave it to him for Christmas one year.

I have an FT-100D that is going into the 240D very soon. The previous owner installed a trailer hitch (!!!) on it and will be the HF antenna mount.

I should get into this as well.. ^_^ I want a neat " AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR" plate .. that will get me all the hot hurricane displace chicks

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the appeal of ham radios nowadays? I remember when I was a kid and they permitted you to talk to people all over the world, but now there are so many ways to do that. What am I missing?

when a national disaster strikes or an EMP or w/e.. all federal and local radio's will be out

HAM and short wave operators will be the only ones with communications... so.... they license the operators and give them call numbers.. plus in FL special license plates to identify them in times of crisis..



thats what I remember being told

here is the wikipedia entry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAM_radio


I'm kinda interested in it now.. More research to follow

Important information
 

please share how you setup the system in your MB.
This could be important information when a local or national disaster strikes.










Thank you very much.

Yes (KF4RTG) and No. I am not willing to sacrifice the space inside the car for my current 2 mtr rig, and I am not able to buy a new one. It doesn't help that I haven't operated a radio since high school.

I will do this, with pictures. Finally an excuse to buy a digital camera.

Alan

I am a Ham as well. W0GMH is my call sign... Currently not set-up with rigs in either Benz as they are not daily drivers...

73,

-GH
W0GMH

I got my no-code tech ticket back in 2001 but lost interest in the local 2m repeaters after a couple of years. I recently installed my FT3000M in my 98 E320 wagon for listening only. Wouldn't want to transmit 70w thru my rear quarter panel window antenna!:eek: I pulled the obsolete analog phone out to make a space.

FYI, I found an adapter to convert the PL259 to a Motorola jack and used a Y adapter to put both my Becker Monza and the Yaesu on the same antenna. I couldn't find anyone who thought this would work but it worked fine.

In the pictures, closed and open, the small finger pull on the front of the Yaesu lets me pull it out to access the controls and push it back in so it's out of site when not it use.

At this point I don't have any plans to set it up for transmitting although I could do it pretty quickly with a mag mount and hardwired to battery.

Richard
KG6ERN

I would think dumping 70w into your Becker would be worse than dumping it into the window antenna :eek: ;)

Good point! :embarasse

I have a two, Kenwood TM-V7A...one is in the truck, the other waiting for a
good, integral fit into the E320. I have one capable of MARS/CAP. I'm
also a pilot and like the ability to camp out near Boeing Field and listen to the
the chatter.

What's the appeal of ham radio? When essential services break down, having
amateur radio gear circumvents landline and cellular services. Cellular operate
on .5 watt, requiring towers to function. Ham radios can be 10-100x more
power for UHF, VHF.....not to mention those with shortwave capability and
can expect longer communication distances.

Seattle has safety net, with local ham operators who can be deployed during disasters.

I have handhelds also, which can piggyback and use the mobile radios as
repeaters.

I need to get back on the ball and get certified..I want to be even more useful

Oh sweet! KD8JXL here, QRP with 5W on an ANGRY-9 out of Bay City, MI.

Just ordered amateur radio license plate for my car.

737373