SaltWaterDrinker wrote:KE7WOX wrote:Nice install, a few questions.
- Did you put the mount on the bracket after running the coax? I have yet to see an NMO that can be mounted that way, all the ones I have seen you start by running the coax through the hole and then tighten it.
I am definitely thinking about getting one of those but with a whip that will do 27-30 so I can swap the CB for a 10m radio, given that I have no use for the CB except when traveling and maybe the PA speaker if I do go with one.
-What is the Spectra for? is it for VHF Ham?
We ran it before mounting it; I cut the end off and then we ran it thru with a wire snake.
The Spectra is for CAP, Ham, and local public safety primarily - doing MURS is the tip of the iceberg and is rarely used at this point.djthumper wrote:I have seen some that are generally used for a trunk lip mount but I have sen a few others.
He is using the spectra for MURS, though that is a bit overkill of a radio service limited to 2 watts. Which would mean the radio is either modded to go down to 2W or he is running it out side of the limits of the service.
The mount was originally a lip mount - if you look in my old build thread, you can see it on the front of the vehicle. We bent this into shape to function as it does today.
I originally caught onto this trend when I heard a group of aspiring communicators waiting to take their ham test; they were out of Cherry Hill...and further South. One guy was running 110 watts out of a trunk mount spectra, the others were on iComs or something with amps and directional antennas. "Free VHF," they said - "Modified CB Radio...without the idiots." They had their own PL tones and everything...it was really intricate.
Mind you, this was back when I had my EFJ-5300 in service; I've never heard or communicated with someone so far away before on simplex.
Since then, they stopped - moved on to bigger and brighter things. I talk to them on the BEARS network every now and then.
Ah, you had never mentioned that you were a ham before. There are several of us that are hams. I am actually running several different modes on the ham bands, GMRS and LMR all in the truck.