Thank you for the reply!! Your setup looks great.I'm running both ham radio and CB. My ham radio also gets used for GMRS when needed (not technically in compliance with the regulations, but I follow all of the other rules and I'm licensed for both services). My club uses CBs, and it's nice to have every option available should I decide to join up with a random group when traveling.
My CB radio is a Cobra 75 WSXT, which works great for the Jeep. I'm using the Topsy Products dash mic bracket with a Magnetic Mic for quick and easy access. My antenna is a 4' Firestik FireFly antenna mounted on a Rebel Off Road Multi-Purpose Mount. I originally started with a Cooltech antenna mount, but found that the Rebel mount worked better with my 35" spare on the back.
My ham radio is a BTECH 25x4. The radio works great outside of urban areas, but for anyone considering a radio for use in the city, I'd recommend a higher quality radio since it blasts noise every time I go past a hospital or other facility with a pager transmitter. Since I use mine for mostly trail communications and the radio is cheap enough that I'm not going to freak out if it's stolen when I have the doors off, it works well for my needs.
To mount my second radio, I used the Quadratec universal quick disconnect radio mount designed for the JL. Since this particular radio is small enough, I was able to mount another Magnetic Mic mount next to it on the Quadratec bracket and the mic sits right next to the radio. I have the antenna coax running behind the center stack to the drivers side, where it exits the hole where a clutch should be into the engine bay. My antenna mount is a Topsy Products JL Fender Mount NMO Antenna Bracket.
The ham radio antenna itself is a hybrid between a Nagoya TB-320A tri-band antenna and a STI-CO VHF Flexi-Whip antenna. The antenna hits my garage door frame, so I replaced the stiff top section of the Nagoya with the STI-CO antenna, after trimming it to the right length. STI-CO Flexi-Whip antennas are made of Nitinol, so it just bends easily out of the way when I hit things and then pops right back up.
Here's a shot of my radios in my very dirty jeep:
This one:
I don’t have any group I wheel with yet to check with unfortunately. Maybe I’ll find one once my Jeep is finished being built it would be cool to have some buddies to run trails with.
Another ham here. I am also considering using my ham radio on GMRS (yes, I have a license). Does anyone give you any grief about using the ham radio on GMRS?
What’s the advantage of a Ham? Just curious
It is a totally different hobby. If all one is interested in is car to car, there probably isn't a huge advantage. However, there are significantly more ham radio repeaters, and higher power is allowed. The big point to ham is the long-range radios. There is also automatic position reporting and other sub-hobbies in ham radio.
Nobody has ever given me grief about it. Like I said, I’m 100% compliant with the rules except that the radio isn’t type accepted for Part 95. I would say your risk of someone complaining about it would depend on who you wheel with. I’ve had my ham license for almost 30 years and I’ve met more than a few busybodys and scolds in the amateur radio community, but haven’t seen many of those in the jeep community. Either way, it’s worth noting that the FCC has never filed an enforcement action against an individual whose only infraction was using a non-type-accepted radio.
Your setup looks awesome!I've got both CB and GMRS and use both frequently. For the CB, I've got a Cooltech antenna kit with a Bearcat CMF 760. It works really well and takes up little space. I've also got the Midland MXT275 GMRS. Both have all the buttons and speaker in the mic. The Midland has a second speaker in the base, as well, that can be used at the same time, increasing volume. My big issue was to have them perform well in a compact package. They do both well. The Cooltech CB mount and antenna work particularly well with transmission/reception on the CB. I highy recommend them. Both of these radios have weather band, which is nice.
I use both because some Jeeps I run with use CB and some use GMRS. So CB still has a place. Plus, it does still occasionally come in handy on the highway, mainly for asking truckers which lane is open or just talking to them to kill some boredom.
Lol, under the passenger seat with some hook/loop. It stops being so fancy when it gets to where nobody can see it. That's when my inner slob comes out. But it works and the stuff you can see looks pretty good.
