CQ-CQ all Fun Hams.

[WildBunch]

I applogise to all you Funsters who don't understand what I am talking about, it's fully understandable.
Hopefully, there are some Radio hams out there.
Firstly what kind of antenna do you use when out mobile on 2 & 70 Cms, in your Moho. I am using a 5 watt hand held (Yaesu FT5D) for mainly repeater & Fusion.
As my Hymer is all plastic there is no suitable ground plain for a mag mount. Also not magnetic to fix the antenna.
I have glued a small bit of tin plate to the roof of the Moho approx 7" X 10" . It's OK to fix mag mount, but maybe small as a ground plain. The other problem is you can't use a tall antenna on top of a already high Moho. I have been using a home made short whip (400mm) antenna, it sort of works with an acceptable SWR, but not very well. Any Ideas to improve.
Secondly. I am going to the Netherlands for 1 month approx. I hope to take the radio with me. I believe I must use the prefix of PA before my call sign.
any other help & comments in operating in the Netherlands.

 

[starquake]

I'm only a foundation holder (M7DCJ) but from my understanding I can't use that in Holland/Netherlands. You need a Full license for that, and yes, there is thern a prefix for it -> I think you can also use /M but I'd need to read my exam notes to be sure . If you only have a foundation like me, my understanding is operating TX in Netherlands isn't allowed, but happy to be corrected (this was part of my exam, so I'm pretty sure). I think Intermediates may qualify for internation "novice" so you may be okay with that, but I think I'll save doing my intermediate for a bit so not really researched it. You can listen however just fine as "normal", just limited on TX. I have seen some of the hubnet people on facebook with some vans where they attach an antenna pole to the vehicle behind the cab which seems a good option if doing lower frequency work.

Ref; Antenna on MH I've not really tried, I use a "better than stock" antenna on my 2 handhelds (one is DMR, one is FM only) and I've had some sucess from felixstowe getting stations in NL and Kent succesfully, and from a site in near Bridlington onto Hull on DMR via a hotspot near the humber bridge using a full 5w TX. DMR is a less good than fusion as needs more programming when you go to "random" locations so I would need to program for that if going abroad. I also have a DMR hotspot to allow myself to roam around 500m from the van if needed on extremely low powers (low power tx via radio to the van then via wifi in the van then onto the wider DMR network).

 

[Lenny HB]

DBK Your field I think.

 

[DBK]

As starquake says you need a full license to operate outside the UK. If you have one then I think you will be fine adding PA before your callsign. In France I use F/ but Spain is slightly different. You can add just EA/ but Spanish operators like you to add the region designator so you use EA5 or EA7 etc, depending where you were.

I can't help much with your technical questions as I don't operate from a vehicle but from memory folk have fitted metal plates on their roofs but generally bigger than you mention - a couple of feet across as a minimum.

I not sure how you will get on with VHF or UHF in the Netherlands but it would be interesting to hear how you get on.

 

[nicholsong]

I have always found the issue of radio licences by different departments unintelligible, even comic.

As an airline pilot I held (probably still do, as no expiry date) a VHF licence, but this is not valid for marine use, for which I should have held a marine licence. I never bothered, as if taken to court, I can imagine the Magistrates caustic comments about the prosecution.

I also hold an HF licence(restricted, because we used pre-selected frequencies in our aircraft Tx/Rx). This also is issued by CAA but not recognised by other licensing authorities.

Many times on the ground in say Heraklion we called Niton Radio, in those days, to be patched through to Monarch Operations. We had enough power from the aircraft electrics to easily reach Niton. Very handy to get Ops to contact UK ATC to take a clearance restriction off - saved £'000s

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[daveandsan]

Firstly what kind of antenna do you use when out mobile on 2 & 70 Cms, in your Moho. I am using a 5 watt hand held (Yaesu FT5D) for mainly repeater & Fusion.
As my Hymer is all plastic there is no suitable ground plain for a mag mount. Also not magnetic to fix the antenna.
I have glued a small bit of tin plate to the roof of the Moho approx 7" X 10" . It's OK to fix mag mount, but maybe small as a ground plain. The other problem is you can't use a tall antenna on top of a already high Moho. I have been using a home made short whip (400mm) antenna, it sort of works with an acceptable SWR, but not very well. Any Ideas to improve.

I use a door lip mount on our Motorhome with a Sharman NR-770R antenna when mobile just for rx and then when static I exchange it for a Sharman SG-7900.

 

[DBK]

I use a door lip mount on our Motorhome with a Sharman NR-770R antenna when mobile just for rx and then when static I exchange it for a Sharman SG-7900.

Having just looked both those up that seems like a good choice. What door lip mount do you use? A quick Google threw up some ranging in price from about £10 to nearly £100.

 

[Neil n Pat]

the trick for good mobile operations is having a good RF bonding strap to your chassis. Strip back some RG213 then remove the screen then gently pull to get a flat looking bonding strap. Connect one end to the base of your antenna then the other to some suitable bolt. Car seat and door bolts are best. Make sure you can see clean metal though. Lip mounts are fine for mounting the antenna however the grub screws which press against the flat plate then your door lip don´t give a good ground connection and even if they did your ground to chassis would have to go through the door hinges which are usually greased given a poor ground connection. Bonding is the way ahead. You must have a full license to operate in other CEPT countries.

73 gm0vpg

 

[WildBunch]

Guys thank for your responses so far, all helpful. FYI, I have a full (G6IMQ) licence. I have reviewed the relevant info on the RSGB site on operating in the Netherlands, hopefully I can comply.
I like the look of the Sharman antennas & may go for the mobile one to start with. I am undecided as yet on a mag mount or a door lip mount. I am not sure if the door on my a class Hymer Exsis I 678 is metal or plastic. I will have to check once it is out of storage. If I go for the mag mount it can be used on the car. What size metal ground plain would I need for 2 & 70. If I go down the lip mount on the door I can see the RF bonding being the way to go.

 

[tonyidle]

Simple answer to groundplane problems, whatever the mount, is to use a hairpin or loop groundplane just below the aerial and above the mount. 19" (for 2M) does not make for a huge groundplane of either type. Use a mobile whip on the mount.

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[I2C]

Only use my Yaesu hand held with an upgraded (screw-in) antenna - remember reading an answer on ham.stackexchange about ground planes a while ago, hopefully it’s helpful and relevant.

 

[starquake]

I have always found the issue of radio licences by different departments unintelligible, even comic.

Agreed. TBH If I wasn't UK based I'd have picked up a US license a few years ago when was doing 2-3 mo stints in US. Their path to "full" equivelent licence was a lot easier than the UK/EU faff of regulations. And the US equivelent of foundation can AIUI be used abroad too (their "novice") according to my US colleagues at least.

That said, I would reccomend getting a UK foundation if nothing else, as it's about £40, a simple exam, and theres some great training stuff from essex ham available for free/small donation. It allows legal operation on many bands (admittedly not Marine) with a 10W limit, which is to be honest all I feel need to qualify for! The only reason in my mind for doing a Full for me would be usage abroad/in Marine environment.

RSGB in their defence are modernising and do offer direct to full paths now too, but it's also considerably more complex to revise for..

 

[daveandsan]

Guys thank for your responses so far, all helpful. FYI, I have a full (G6IMQ) licence. I have reviewed the relevant info on the RSGB site on operating in the Netherlands, hopefully I can comply.
I like the look of the Sharman antennas & may go for the mobile one to start with. I am undecided as yet on a mag mount or a door lip mount. I am not sure if the door on my a class Hymer Exsis I 678 is metal or plastic. I will have to check once it is out of storage. If I go for the mag mount it can be used on the car. What size metal ground plain would I need for 2 & 70. If I go down the lip mount on the door I can see the RF bonding being the way to go.

Be careful of your antenna choice, some are not recommended with a mag mount.

 

[daveandsan]

Having just looked both those up that seems like a good choice. What door lip mount do you use? A quick Google threw up some ranging in price from about £10 to nearly £100.

I bought the Nagoya one but not sure of the model number, when I get back home I will look at bag it came in.
Both Sharman antennas are just cheaper versions of the Diamond models.

 

[WildBunch]

Hi.
After a lot of looking on line I have ordered a Diamond MR-77S. It is a mag mount, I can use both on my car & Moho. As advised by Daveandsan some whip antennas should not be used with a mag mount, I found this with the Sharman antennas.
I also have worked out that I can extend the ground plane on top of the Moho using some self adhesive aluminium tape. Just go to work out how long to cut the tape to suit the space I have on the roof. I think I will also look at a home brew coax co-lin. or flower pot antenna for next season.

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[Realist]

Jeez I’m way behind the times and forgot a lot but reading the above brings back memories.

No gear now but still have my ticket.

Regards,

GW0WGW

 

[WildBunch]

Great, there is a lot of whiskey in your call sign. Hi.
I know what you mean, I have been off the air for 20 years except for the odd contact. I have just swapped out my old all band / all mode base station for a Yaesu FT5D hand held.

 

[DBK]

Jeez I’m way behind the times and forgot a lot but reading the above brings back memories.

No gear now but still have my ticket.

Regards,

GW0WGW

That's some callsign in CW! I love a bit of palindrome, which GW is.

 

[Realist]

When I first started quite a few thought I was a special station lol.

Yes CW was a finger full.

 

[Reallyretired]

I mounted an antenna on the bike rack and earthed the rack to the motorhome chassis. It didn't work well though. I had more luck using chinese antennae with a radial ground plane on 70cm. There's some on ebay, dirt cheap.

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[WildBunch]

Hi thanks for all the replies. I have purchased a short mag mount antenna, a Diamond MR77S, for 2 & 70. It seems to work OK, it will be tested on my trip to the Netherlands. To fit a mag mount on the plastic roof of the Moho, I have glued using white Gripfil, a small tin plate 300 X 200 mm approx. To improve the SWR I have also extended the ground plane by installing some aluminium self adhesive tape, 1100 mm long in one direction & 770 in the other direction. This gives a very good SWR on both bands. Happy Days.

 

[daventess]

No help at all, but whenever I hear "radio ham" I think of Gyles Brandreth ...

 

[DBK]

No help at all, but whenever I hear "radio ham" I think of Gyles Brandreth ...

I suspect more of my vintage think of Tony Hancock.

 

[WildBunch]

Hi,
I applogise again to all you Funsters who don't understand what I am talking about, it's fully understandable.
Hopefully, there are some Radio hams out there..

Having returned from 4 weeks in the Netherlands, I have totaled up my Ham radio activity during the trip. I had 15, 2 way contacts. Using a total of 7 different repeaters, on both 2 & 70cms. These contacts were in England, Scotland, Netherlands, Germany & South Africa. The DX contacts in England, Scotland & South Africa were made using Fusion (C4FM).
The Netherlands has a great selection of 2 & 70cms, repeaters. However there are not many Fusion repeaters away from the main cities.
My Yaesu FD5D & the Diamond MR77S antenna worked very well. Given the low height of the antenna on top of the Moho (2.1 meters agl) I was able to access the repeaters at 12 to 18 miles & be heard clearly.
I was thinking if only the Parachute Regiment had the use of modern VHF & UHF radio during operation Market Garden in 1944 the outcome may have been very different. A lot of my contacts were in the Market Garden area.
The Dutch Hams were very pleased to talk to me. Their English was always very good. On one occasion I was invited to join their Sunday morning net on the local repeater. When I called in they immediately stopped talking in Dutch & spoke English to enable me to join in. They always asked me where we were / town name. A simple question you would think, but my Dutch pronunciation was not good. Try Nivewvogelzang. One contact name was (spelt phonetically) as Fokker, thus I avoided using his name during the QSO.
If any body is thinking of doing the same I would recommend you down load the "repeaterpage" app, as this works very well in the Netherlands & I expect elsewhere in Europe. I enjoyed my bit of Ham radio & even the good lady enjoyed some of the contacts. This was surprising as my wife has ,in the past, likened Ham radio to calling a random number in the phone and telling them your name , location & the color of the phone. All good fun.

 

[starquake]

I need to get a C4FM handset myself, I have a DMR handset myself at moment. The impressive thing as like C4FM, local repeaters can access the "world" -> I've used a Hull based repeater from Bridlington, and picked up someone in Brazil !

The issue being, not all these contacts are "local" due to the global networks between repeaters, its completely crazy. I've personally found local nets to be of fun.

The issue wih DMR unlike I think C4FM is you need to program a radio for the various repeaters, eith DMR I have all the K ones loaded/updated regularly so if I was travelling like you were, I'd have to program via the laptop to get additional local repeaters -> I preseume I am understanding C4FM correctly WildBunch -> which is why before travelling and getting the correct license, I'd also want a C4FM or fusion radio.

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[WildBunch]

Hi starquake.
A couple of points about your post.
I did see quite a few other digital mode (DMR & Dstar) repeaters on the "repeaterpage" app. I can't help with them as I have not used them myself.
One of the Fusion repeaters I used would not let you select other rooms but was locked on "hobbyscoop-NL. Other than that it worked fine.
By the way C4FM & Fusion are the same thing. I can recommend Fusion as it turns out to be simple to use, as there is no programming required to access the system.
There is a lot of information on the web about the Netherlands repeater system. You may be able to find out the codes to pre program the DMR codes in advance.
I understand that you must have a full licence to operate abroad. Other than that it is quite simple. This may change soon to allow intermediate licencees also, when they review the licence terms. I suggest you look on the RSGB web site which gives full details of how to operate abroad. They include tips on what documents to take with you etc. By the way to operate in Netherlands you have to ad "PA" before your callsign. It turns out to be a quite mouthful "PAG6IMQ/Portable". try saying that a few time phonetically. Good luck with your travels.

 

[DBK]

I must confess I have little experience of digital modes like Fusion or DMR. My radios are Icom, who have their own proprietary system, D-Star. We had a D-Star repeater locally, now turned off, but when it was working I did try it a few times and it was amazing to hear people in say Texas in crystal clear audio. Even without the local repeater I could still use D-Star with the Doozy app on the PC but it doesn't do anything for me.

There is a 2m and 70cm repeater for voice FM in Cornwall on Carradon Hill which has recently been upgraded. I've given them some feedback on coverage in my area but I know they are a bit disappointed by the low usage. This is because the SW is a bit of a VHF/UHF desert compared to other parts of the country.

But great to hear from WildBunch about their positive experiences.

I've been thinking today how to run HF from the MH, without trying to erect a mast on the ground and string a dipole, which is what I've done so far but there is rarely the space to do this, especially on aires. A mast and vertical antenna attached to the back of the MH is the obvious answer. I already have a weatherproof ATU at the bottom of the mast in the garden I could re-purpose. The problem is I don't want to keep moving the ATU from one place to the other and I can't afford two of them!

I'll get there in the end I hope.