Ham Radio and TearDrops

[Bill and Elaine]

I've been a radio amateur for fifty years. My wife is also licensed.
I took my LG Silver Shadow teardrop to the Hamvention a couple of years ago. I had a blast.

Bill

[captbobh2o2004]

That does sound like a blast! Having a Ham rig in the Tear Drop just makes camping that much more fun. I have a special QSL (post card) for contacts I make from the camper. We should hear "Tim" on the air soon. Congrads Tim on getting your Ham ticket "Stay Radio Active" 73's

[Bill and Elaine]

Capt. Bob...Wasn't that you and your wife I saw in the current issue of Trailer Life... in the letters section?

Teardrop camping and ham radio are two of my passions. It appears that we have a good size group of folks with similar interests here.

[Gold5one]

I'm making good progress on my Weekender2 build. It will have a counter across the front for one or two Ham operating stations- and a fridge in the center under the counter-- all coaxes for multiple HF antennas will go to the front counter and 144/440 whip on the roof. I will be installing a solar panel.
Mark
my build journal:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=61445

[Bill and Elaine]

I like the size of the trailer you're building Mark. You'll have a terrific ham shack on wheels. Well done!
Bill

[Gold5one]

I found a website for campers/trekkers-
http://www.campertrack.org
I see a lot of USA people plotting their positions with APRS on this map- It would be an easy way for family to log in and locate where you have parked for the night. I searched a camper's call sign and I can see their entire trip plotted on the map-- cool.
Mark

[Cosmo]

I am wondering what antennas others are using for HF.

I have VHF UHF and HF.I prefer HF. Have been sketching out the setup I plan to use. For the hand held’s I have a wire half wave 2M and 440 that is great for mountain toping and extending range. It fits in my pocket.

The HF antenna choice is a tough one. On cabin trips I have packed a 120 foot Windom dipole I use at home. It covers all the bands and on the popular bands. On 17 20 40 and 80 a tuner is not needed (on 80 I have to get it high enough to get by without a tuner). Only problem is its 120 ft. long. I have a shorter version which is 66 ft. long but it won’t work on 80M which I usually need at night. 80 at night has proven to be the most reliable band for the schedule with friendsI am keeping.

II am interested in fixed station antennas I can set up once I get somewhere. I have used random wires, trapped dipoles, coils and compressed length antennas etc. but never was impressed with the performance. Just about any antenna will get me contacts but maintaining a schedule is more challenging.

What works for you?
Cosmo

[Gold5one]

I am set up to use a long wire or dipole, but my 2 main HF antennas are an old Radio Shack 102" CB whip mounted on the front A-frame-- and I have a hinged antenna setup for the back upper corner for Hamstick type loaded verticals-- with a MFJ-1600T, 54" bottom extension to convert the antennas to a more efficient center loaded design. I have 30m, 20m, 17m Hamsticks.
I will fold and lock the antenna extension down and remove the Hamstick for travel.
I may experiment with a homemade loading coil for the 102" whip at a later date-
I am planning to replace my old antenna analyzer with a new one with a graphical interface that goes up to 150mhz.

[captbobh2o2004]

CQ CQ CQ de KD4HCR CQ CQ CQ Any Tear Drop Hams planning to make the Yuma Hamfeast in Feb 19-20-21 ? If so maybe we could park near each other and make it TD meet and Greet?

[AZ_Desert_Rat]

Like a couple of you, I've had a Technician license for years and originally got mine to talk to my dad. I lived in Phoenix, AZ and he lived near the southern border, some 190 miles away. We were able to connect and talk back and forth anytime we wanted without an amplifier, through repeaters.


Dad's a silent key now and I have moved to Minnesota... I am getting ready to mount an older 2m / 70cm TM-V7A Kennwood in the trailer; my XYL is also licensed and will be nice for communicating when camped (The cell works okay, but still sometimes loses coverage in the mountains. I decided to use a dual band J-pole on a pole with a flagpole style wheel mount I just built a couple of these dual-band J-poles and they work as advertised; however, I drifted from the plans slightly and used a store-bought antenna mast clamps in lieu of making my own .... Here's the link to the plans:

http://www.rberger.com/radio/Dual_band_ ... _model.htm

If you do a search on line for dual band J-pole construction plans, you will find a couple of these that vary slightly in radial length and bracket dimensions; there is one from Australia that is in metric.

73's and Good Luck,
Call sign removed

[Midget]

Back in 2010 we stayed at Stove Pipe Wells in Death Valley and my dad brought his HF rig. He has always been into building antennas and this was one of his contraptions that folded down and tied to the roof of his Explorer. It had a single vertical with 10 copper ground wires spread out away from the base. It actually worked pretty good. People we contacted were surprised we were transmitting from Death Valley.



Bob KB6LJM

[vincigj]

Hi Midget. What is that white blue trailer?

[Midget]

That's our Midget trailer. One of its uses is as a base camp for our off road adventures.

[TomMaj]

I've been a ham for decades. Frequently carried HF gear while tent camping. This year, now that we have the teardrop, we plan to participate in NPOTA National Parks on the Air. http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-national- ... centennial

Hopefully we can hit 5 or 6 parks this Spring, and I'm planning on getting special QSL cards printed up for each park.

Any other teardrop hams get on the HF bands regularly?

Tom N-three you-jay-emm

[rebapuck]

I just read this thread. I didn't understand a single word!! But ya'll sound like you're having fun.