Ham Radio on the Road
I carry a duo band rig in my toad and also in the front
of the motorhome. While parked, I have an Icom IC 706 MK II for HF
operations. I have this rig sitting on a shelf
next to my big oversize easy chair. The rig is feeding a screwdriver
antenna
mounted
on the ladder at the back of the rv. I tune this screwdriver with
a switch placed in a convenient location near the rig. While traveling,
I have the 706 on the dashboard, feeding an Icom AH4 tuner, coupled to
an AH2B whip mounted a little lower on the ladder so
I miss overhead bridges as we travel down the road. The screwdriver
will tune 80-10 meters and the AH4 will tune 40-6 meters. The screwdriver
is also mounted with a crank up device I obtained from Doug KB6RRX that
allows me to drive down the road with the antenna nested securely in a
horizontal position.
I also carry a variety of dipoles that I put up from
time to time using my trusty slingshot and fishing reel combo to put lines
as high as I can in any convenient tree.
On vhf I have been using a Kenwood TH 7DA for APRS, but intend to trade this in for the newer TM D700A at a hamfest in the next few weeks. This rig also allows one to run APRS while driving down the road, connected to my GPS. This allows our kids, who live in Florida, to log into the internet and find us no matter where we are. (as long as there is a digipeater in the area)
Update 07/19/2002 I have sold the AH2B and AH4 Tuner. I now have a High Sierra screwdriver mounted on the ladder for all bands and I have my full size R5 Cushcraft mounted on the tip up mount on the other side of the ladder. We also have a new desk that was custom made for our D along with a little tower arrangement that holds all of my HF radio gear mounted on the top of the desk.
Libby and I each carry the Alinco DJ C5 duoband credit card size hts. We use these at rallies, hamfests, or when one of us wanders off in campground or big box store.