bikerglen

Hey, Adam, my call sign is KC0VXL.

I've thought about riding in the Rampart Range poker run some time. Being active in COHVCO and Stay The Trail Colorado, I know a few of the people who organize the dual sport and poker run rides in that neck of the woods.

I haven't participated as a ham in any large events yet, but from everything I hear, hams really do make the logistics of any event with large groups of dispersed people easier to manage. Our local ham club, NCARC, provides logistical support for tons of runs and bike rides every year and the event organizers are always impressed at their / our capabilities.

The capabilities of the D710 sound intriguing. I'll have to investigate that radio some more. When I was a young and naive ham, I bought an Icom ID-800 digital radio. I know only one other guy in town to talk to on that radio using the digital modes and the GPS location display stuff is near impossible to use. It still makes a nice mobile FM VHF/UHF rig though.

This is for other hams / potential hams that might be reading:

As for cheap, simple ways to get into APRS, I suggest either the Byonics TinyTrak / MicroTrak series of products or Scott Miller's OpenTracker 1+. For about $50, a GPS, and a handheld radio (HT), you can be sending (and receiving if using the OT1+) APRS reports. The OT1+ is open source too so you can look in detail at the underlying protocols and how to generate and receive the messages.

My current APRS project is to couple a Radiometrix FM transmitter module to an OT1+ microcontroller. (My circuit boards shipped today!) I'm also thinking about implementing the TX/RX AFSK layers in verilog, simulating them, and maybe stuffing them into an FPGA at some point just to learn a bit more about AFSK / FSK modulation and demodulation.

-Glen

Patchules

I am looking at Icom handhelds to add to the IC 2200H mobil. Have you played with any of the recent ones from Icom?

At some point I want to install a mobile with the removable front panel like you have done. It makes a nicer install and easier to remove to eliminate traces that a radio is aboard. The 2200H came out of my 05 Unlimited along with the marine radio where one fit in front of the shifter and one above the windshield. Somedays the JK looks like a porcupine of antennas with 2-meter, marine and CB for road travel.

Also the idea that a mobile in the JK can act as a repeater for the handheld is interesting. Let's see, maybe another battery to keep it powered up.....
Ah, more toys!!

HEK

Years ago when I was just out of High School and started driving tractor trailers cross country I was really into CB's, could not live without one, and I met another truck driver in Ohio that had a HAM radio in his rig, I wanted one but I lived in an apartment so having a home set up was out of the question.
Years later I noticed a few houses that have these massive antennas on the roofs and I know they must have a HAM radio, in use or not, but there are many around where I live, I know there are rules and a license you must acquire to operate one of these toys. There was a movie with Dennis Quade in which he is a Ham Operator and Fireman...the tittle escapes me, but one question, would this set up be better at home than in your JK, as I hate to multy task while driving and I see that you have many screens to keep an eye on, therefore how do you keep your vehicle on the road?...

bikerglen

I haven't used an Icom HT ham radio yet. I would recommend you seriously consider the ubiquitous Kenwood TH-F6A. Does everything well although the second time you drop it, the antenna connector will shear off. Fortunately, the connector is easy to replace and relatively cheap (9 bucks).

I do have an Icom GMRS radio (F-21GM). I have to carry the manual along with the radio because it's way too complicated to remember how to change settings.

-Glen

bikerglen

You're not looking at the screens!

It's actually not as bad as it appears.

The APRS transmission stuff is set it and forget it. The APRS reception stuff is just like reading your current position on a Nuvi or TomTom except it's your position and the position of dozens of fellow geeks. Besides, APRS from a static location gets to be a little boring after a while.

As for yapping on a repeater, I program all the repeaters in the area in to the radio. I can turn a single large knob or press a key on the mic to go up and down a repeater. Not any worse than changing the radio station or a CB channel. If I decide to talk simplex, I wait until I'm at a stop light to manually punch in a frequency. It's definitely easier and less distracting than dialing a cell phone.

I haven't tried HF communications on the road yet, but I do have an IC-7000 if I want to give it a try someday. I wonder how well the JK's airbag deployment computer is protected against RF interference.

-Glen

RubiConz

Let us know if you ever find out.