Hams on bikes?

[dbvanhorn]

Are there any other hams here? I'm KC6ETE.

I'm wondering about solutions for radio mounting and antennas. I have a ram mount on order for my VX8-DR, but haven't worked out anything to do for a better antenna.
I don't like the idea of the stock antenna vs the vibration into the radios SMA, and I don't like the idea of my dual band whip flailing around like a psycho cat toy in front of me.

Suggestions?

 

[CAMPYBOB]

No clue, but here's a BTT and a picture of HAM as it was in 1979, used to keep the tour director of TOSRV in contact with three food stops, ambulances, baggage trucks, stationary roadside relay stations and other mobile units.



HAM rig is front/center. Tour director is front/left.

 

[jhuskey]

Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB
No clue, but here's a BTT and a picture of HAM as it was in 1979, used to keep the tour director of TOSRV in contact with three food stops, ambulances, baggage trucks, stationary roadside relay stations and other mobile units.



HAM rig is front/center. Tour director is front/left.

I know of guys that have recumbents with a full keying unit for code. The photo is probably a 2 meter rig possibly using a repeater.
BTW: I am an Extra Class operator although I am not terribly active in radio.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

I'm guessing the stationary roadside HAM units were the repeaters?

Maybe every 15-20 miles there would be a station wagon or Suburban (pre-sport ute era) along the road side of the 105-mile route with a radio rig and 10'-12' tall whip. Sometimes the operator had a portable table setup facing the road and a white board with messages relayed to riders using the rider's registration numbers.

Weather conditions up the road and wind readings were also relayed and posted...very helpful folks. All this was long before cell phones.

I have seen some very small HAM radios on the firearm websites that are inexpensive. Basically, the size of a walkie-talkie or smaller. I have no clue as to their range or performance, but they would be easily stuffed inside an under-saddle bag or jersey pocket. The OP's Yaesu VX8-DR is a great example of HAM miniaturization. Perfect for cycling (waterproof enclosure? Yeah...it 'says' submersible...).

The only antennae I can recall seeing mounted on bikes were attached to the old Pletscher style rear racks.

 

[jhuskey]

Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB
I'm guessing the stationary roadside HAM units were the repeaters?

Maybe every 15-20 miles there would be a station wagon or Suburban (pre-sport ute era) along the road side of the 105-mile route with a radio rig and 10'-12' tall whip. Sometimes the operator had a portable table setup facing the road and a white board with messages relayed to riders using the rider's registration numbers.

Weather conditions up the road and wind readings were also relayed and posted...very helpful folks. All this was long before cell phones.

I have seen some very small HAM radios on the firearm websites that are inexpensive. Basically, the size of a walkie-talkie or smaller. I have no clue as to their range or performance, but they would be easily stuffed inside an under-saddle bag or jersey pocket. The OP's Yaesu VX8-DR is a great example of HAM miniaturization. Perfect for cycling (waterproof enclosure? Yeah...it 'says' submersible...).

The only antennae I can recall seeing mounted on bikes were attached to the old Pletscher style rear racks.

Those are 2 meter HTs that operate in the 140 MHZ range. The can have a hundred mile range using a repeater or shorter range simplex. The are generally 5 watts with base or mobile units going up to 60 watts or higher. The bigger rigs that operate on lower bands have a max output of 1500 watts and are the only reliable long range communication in some disater situations.

 

[dbvanhorn]

It's truly waterproof. I've washed it off with running water. I have no fear of rain.

It's a great little rig. For the moment, it will be on the ram mount with the springy whip, and I will deal with that.
Once I get a rack, my current plan is to run mini coax back to the rack, and mount a pair of dual band whips, one up (active) and one down (counterpoise) behind the back wheel.
I'll see how that does. The single whip on the radio is what most people use, but it's sub-optimal since the counterpoise is never really there in a handheld. I could use a half wave vertical, but that is twice as long and much more stress on the mount, and much "whippier".

If I'm active, you can check my rides by googling KC6ETE-7 There are several map servers that will have my tracking info stored, you can see it on a map, zoom in and out etc.
Hams can send me messages, (we had texting LONG ago!)

 

[dbvanhorn]

This one transmits on 50M, 144M, 220M and 440M (6m, 2m, 220, and 440 ham bands) Receives AM, FM bcb, shortwave, most of the VHF and UHF bands thru 1 GHz, does GPS, and you can use a bluetooth headset instead of being cabled to it. Great feature for a bike radio.

 

[jhuskey]

Originally Posted by dbvanhorn
This one transmits on 50M, 144M, 220M and 440M (6m, 2m, 220, and 440 ham bands) Receives AM, FM bcb, shortwave, most of the VHF and UHF bands thru 1 GHz, does GPS, and you can use a bluetooth headset instead of being cabled to it. Great feature for a bike radio.

I must be honest I entered your call sign on QRZ. I see that you are an Extra Class also.

 

[dbvanhorn]

And why shouldn't you? I'm good in the book.

I could have gone extra in High school, but code and I don't get along. It took a ton of work to get up to 5wpm to get my novice, and the moment the license came I went to a test and went tech. Stayed there for a long time, but they day they dropped the code, I walked in and tested through general, advanced, and extra. I also used to have a first class broadcast license, but never did anything with it.

Some people have a gift for code, I'm not one of them. But bring me something with 0201 SMDs or a microcontroller, and I'm all over it.

 

[jhuskey]

I went from tech to extra in 4 months. 13 words per min but I bet I couldnt do 3 right now.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

SOS...The only thing Sammy Morse taught me that stuck, sadly. I learned a little code in scouts, but that was quickly forgotten.

 

[dhk2]

Another ex-ham here. I took the General Class test way back in 1960 after a year as a Novice, which was code-only then. Let my license expire in 1970, so I'm sure my code is just a bit rusty too.

 

[dbvanhorn]

Well, that's one experiment down.

I tried the ram mount with the Maldol whip. The whip cracked at the base! I was pretty surprised at the amount of resonant flexing going on, and after only about 6 or 7 miles the whip simply fell off the radio.

My rack came in, so I'm back to the original plan, but I have to figure out how to mount the whip where it won't interfere with the bag going on and off the rack.
I'll probably incorporate a mount for my rear light there, since the bag on the rack conceals that nicely.

It's always something.. I'm going to be looking at vehicle mobile antennas since they take similar stresses in daily use.