[FARC] HT's In Vehicle

Thu Apr 24 16:42:20 EDT 2008

Hi Kirk,

I used to use my Yaesu VX-7R in my wife's van with a 18" dual band
magnetic mount antenna on the roof.  It worked pretty well, I could
access the 147.06 and 146.73 repeaters for most of my trip to Herndon
Va.  Tone Squelch does help, I run it on everything I can.

My VX-7R really did get hot when I was long winded, hot enough to
really burn my hand.

Most rigs I've used can run from the car lighter adapter, this tends
to make them get hotter though.  Don't try to use the AC wal-wart
battery charger to transmit though.

73 de Joseph Durnal NE3R

On Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 3:30 PM,  <kirktal7237 at msn.com> wrote:
> Has anyone ever attempted using an HT in a car or truck with a mag-mount 1/4 wave antenna mounted on the vehicle roof?  I'm trying it and it sort-of works.  Two major problems seem to be HT speaker distortion when the volume is turned up high enough to overcome road noise and constant intermod on the 146.73 and 147.06 repeaters.  I've pretty much got the intermod problem licked with the tone squelch/decode function turned on but the audio and speaker distortion is pretty bad.
>
> As for hitting the repeaters I assume I'm doing ok with it.  Around the local area I use .5 watts or the unit gets too hot to hold in my hand so if you hear me and it sounds bad tell me and I'll stop using it.   I was just looking for a solution to having a viable mobile unit without using velcro strips, duct-tape, suction cups, wood blocks, and cutting holes in the dashboard for installation.
>
> Additionally, most HT manufacturers make a cigarette lighter battery charger for vehicles.  Can someone tell me is this for charging only or can it be used to operate the HT while driving?  I know, cigarette lighters shouldn't be used because they are not designed for the heavier current draw of ham radio equipment.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> 73
> KB3ONM
> Kirk
>
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