[Rover] Choice of Rover Vehicles

Tue, 3 Feb 2004 20:09:18 -0500

I had a similar dilemma. I wanted more bands and could not fit them all.
I choose a Minivan for space and comfort. Full size vans are Rover'd
often but they guzzle Gas AND the roof of the Van is so high you can't
put much on it before you start worrying about bridge clearance. I
wanted 11 foot because that is a bridge I must clear to get out of my
own neighborhood easily. I went all out and put a SIX (6) yes, 6 foot
dish on my van by picking my antenna's and discovered by accident that
having a lot of big high gain antenna's did not work as well as one Log
periodic antenna WAY up in the air! 2m and 432 are Way better if you can
get them higher up! In VHF and above the rule holds: Higher = Better.

More details:

http://www.eham.net/articles/5214

,,, Tim KE3HT/R
http://www.ke3ht.org/rover

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of Dan Evans
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 7:01 PM
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: [Rover] Choice of Rover Vehicles

I would like to suggest a discussion topic:

Choice of Rover Vehicles.

In the last couple of years my old reliable truck has become just my old
truck.  And it looks like I may well be in the market for another Rover
vehicle.

Here are a few of the things I think are important in a Rover vehicle:

1.  ROOM.  My current setup is a 1992 Ford Ranger pickup.  With just the
bottom 4 bands, there is just barely room enough in the truck for me and
the
rigs.  A second op is out of the question, unless I strap them to the
mast!

2.  Antenna mounting options.  Right now with my pickup, I set up the
antennas on a push up mast mounted in the bed of the truck, and braced
by
the truck racks.  This way I can leave the antennas in place, and just
extend the mast when I reach a new grid.  As a solo Rover, ease of setup
is
a must for me.

3. Comfortable.  My first few Rover trips I borrowed my Dad's old van.
It
had LOTS of room, but man it was hot in July, August, and September.
Maybe
I'm just getting 'soft', but it seems like Air Conditioning is almost a
necessity.

What are your requirements?

What am I missing?  I'm thinking about going with a van or mini-van.
But I
haven't came up with a good way to mount the yagi's on a van.  I could
go
with a trailer hitch setup, but I use 12'+ yagi's and I don't like the
idea
of 6 or 7' of antenna trailing behind the van.  I could build a
'roof-rack',
but I hate to loose the extra height and rotation of the pushup mast....
It's a tough decision.  I may end up getting another pickup.  A full
size
pickup may give me enough room for the rigs and leave room for a future
second op...

What do you use?  How do you mount your antennas?  If you were going to
choose a "better" vehicle, what would you choose?

Hey, it beats discussing CW regulations.......

73
Dan
Dan Evans K9ZF
Scottsburg, IN 47170
{EM78}
K9ZF /R no budget Rover
ex-N9RLA
Check out the Rover Resource Page at:
http://www.qsl.net/n9rla
QRP-l #1269
Central States VHF Society
IN-Ham list administrator

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