XJ Ham Radio Contest Rig

nosigma · Mar 2, 2016

UHF/VHF FM only single operator class.

Altitude is king. What better way to get there, especially in winter, than in an XJ with 24" of ground clearance, 35's, lockers and in winter, chains.

15' 144 MHz Yagi
6' 440 MHz Yagi
Diamond X-30 dual band monopole
LMR-400 cable
Yeasu FT-8800
Mast comes down through the roof to a manual rotator indexed in 10 degree increments. Cables run inside the mast with the radio mounted to the mast inside the rig.
Pax seat removed, and put where the rear seat use to be, rotated 90 degrees facing driver side with a table for writing (logging) and all controls in easy reach. Power is from a very large deep cycle RV battery that can be connected/disconnected from the primary battery for charging and to insure I dont kill the primary battery.

Remi: I owe it all to you bro.

73
KM4KMU
John

Shorty · Mar 3, 2016

ET phone home???

nice set-up....... WAY above my pay grade, though!!

jeepdreamer · Mar 4, 2016

Holy cow!
I scored most of this mast system from the dumpster in germany.
http://blueskymast.com/mast-systems/al1-standard-series/

Now you're making me want to find a way to adapt it to the jeep.

Anak · Mar 4, 2016

Very cool.

My purpose for getting my XJ in the first place is for transmitter hunting. I too am running a pole through the roof, but mine is to be controlled by hand while driving.

That is a seriously involved setup you have there. Nice job.

nosigma · Mar 4, 2016

jeepdreamer said:
Holy cow!
I scored most of this mast system from the dumpster in germany.
http://blueskymast.com/mast-systems/al1-standard-series/

Now you're making me want to find a way to adapt it to the jeep.

I too found my tubing in a "dumpster". Actually I was at a land fill dropping off an lawn mower and saw about 50 sticks of fence top rail, brand new still shrink wrapped, in the metal recycle pile so I grabbed a half dozen sticks and got to work. Amazing what people throw away isnt it?

Your just a few mile away from me, whats you call sign?

John
KM4KMU

WB9YZU · Mar 4, 2016

Pretty neat.

jeepdreamer · Mar 4, 2016

nosigma said:
I too found my tubing in a "dumpster". Actually I was at a land fill dropping off an lawn mower and saw about 50 sticks of fence top rail, brand new still shrink wrapped, in the metal recycle pile so I grabbed a half dozen sticks and got to work. Amazing what people throw away isnt it?

Your just a few mile away from me, whats you call sign?

John
KM4KMU

I hate to admit I haven't gotten far into ham outside it being a curiosity to me. Plus I like the idea of it being one means of viable comms should bad things happen. I've only just recently been looking at different units and been picking folks brains. In the next year, after I'm well into being a civilian, I hope to delve into it deeper. Then I'll test out and apply for a set of digits.
Do you get any interference running your setup from the jeep or is it actually acting to help with signal? I've been on retrans sites in Bosnia and caught hell pushing signal sometimes. Weather mostly but occasionally a loose ground wire.

Jay Sco · Mar 4, 2016

I'll be honest, I have no idea what I'm looking at! But it looks like you know exactly what you're doing, so good job!

nosigma · Mar 5, 2016

jeepdreamer said:
I hate to admit I haven't gotten far into ham outside it being a curiosity to me. Plus I like the idea of it being one means of viable comms should bad things happen. I've only just recently been looking at different units and been picking folks brains. In the next year, after I'm well into being a civilian, I hope to delve into it deeper. Then I'll test out and apply for a set of digits.
Do you get any interference running your setup from the jeep or is it actually acting to help with signal? I've been on retrans sites in Bosnia and caught hell pushing signal sometimes. Weather mostly but occasionally a loose ground wire.

I have had no ground problems or noise from the Jeep electrical system. Whether on battery power from the deep cycle or with the engine running while charging the deep cycle its very quiet. The XJ has had a lot of mods for off road. The suspension is all on solid bushings, the exhaust is welded to the chassis via hangers with no rubber and the doors make good electrical contact with the chassis. The mast rides on HDPE bushings that I made but it is grounded to the chassis via the tiller arm for pointing it.

The cross arm that holds the Yagi's is 15 feet above the roof of the Jeep so there is no ground plane effect from the roof. Guess I have been lucky. I certainly didnt have to run ground straps all over the place. Of course problems with noise are much more common at HF than at VHF/UHF and the is probably the biggest factor along with not having he antenna's anywhere near the vehicle where they could be affected by engine and alternator noise. I do run a ground strap (1 inch wide copper) from the static discharge arrestor (mast mounted inside the vehicle) to the chassis (floor) and then out the hatch to a 4 foot ground rod.

John

Kejtar · Mar 11, 2016

ET Call Home

markw · Mar 14, 2016

You should get featured on hamsexy.com

That's a lot of yagi there. I've just got a mag mount, and hand held arrow antenna.

GSequoia · Mar 16, 2016

What a dork.

:cheers:

nosigma · Mar 24, 2016

GSequoia said:
What a dork.

:cheers:

My dork is 23 feet tall and can reach out 164 miles!

John

nosigma · Sep 28, 2016

Update:

Did the September UHF/VHF contest. I did really really well. Not sure if I won, but if my score holds it would be the 3rd highest ever recorded in FM Only.

Yes, that is my SoCal NAXJA

hoodie. Still warm as get out and super comfortable. All the best dressed Virginia Hams wear them.

John

Wayne Sihler · Sep 29, 2016

You didnt get a pic of my rig, when I visited........

lawagoneer · Sep 30, 2016

And people gave me a hard time for the 102" whip I had on my old pickup truck.

nosigma · Oct 17, 2016

Wayne Sihler said:
You didnt get a pic of my rig, when I visited........

Your right I should have. But its all about me, at least until I snap a break adjuster cable at 2 a.m. going down 10 miles of steep asphalt grade and have a rear brake lock up. Then its all about finding you, who has the only XJ Dana 44 brake adjuster cable within 100 miles!!!!

Humbly yours

John

cloudedjudgement · Oct 17, 2016

So consider me dumb, but what would honestly be the point of this other than in a SHTF scenario? Don't get me wrong, I fault no man for any hobby that they find interesting, just wondering what it is exactly that you do with the setup on a regular basis.

Anak · Oct 17, 2016

My own answer (not intended to be the answer for the OP, he may have an entirely different POV): It is about figuring out how to communicate with other people independent of any utility system. Call it a form of independence. Add to it some pride of achievement, both in technical ability and skill in crafting your own equipment.

As a point of comparison, it is not often that anyone has a real need to go crawling along a trail at a quarter mile an hour, but building a rig to do so and actually succeeding at it provides a sense of satisfaction.

old_man · Oct 18, 2016

I am planning on putting a CB, FRS, and 2 meter rig in this. For the wife's sake, I even have Directv. I am just a couple of hours from being done. All I have left to do is the wiring and plumbing the water.

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