Hi all. New to this board. Just found out about it.
I'm the new owner of a 99 Explorer (Eddie Bauer). Its beautiful, and I love it. I'm also KC5ZGH. I had a great setup in my old car with headrest mounted speakers to the ham-radio, good connection to battery and antenna, etc.

I have kenwood 733 dualband. I want to install this on my new truck. Any suggestions. The dash is pretty full on the eddie bauer.

I also don't want to put any holes in the body for the antenna. Has anybody ever used a ball hitch antenna mount? Has anyone ever used one of the screws for the roof rack to mount an antenna. I don't make any new holes on the car, but I'll use every hole I can find if it helps me.

Also, my old car was a 92 and didn't have anything fancy like airbags or anit-lock brakes. Is there anything I should be aware of when connecting the radio?

Thanks for the help.

Tay,

Welcome to the board and the premier Ford Explorer website on the planet! You can find info and answers to most of your questions here. Don't hesitate to post questions, but also you'll find that the search feature will likely bring up many threads and replys from archived posts... a real great resource! Of course, some info is purely opinion, and must be treated as such, but chances are whatever you're wondering about, someone else has had experiences with too.

As for ham radio, there are several licensed hams who are regulars on the board. In fact, Rick, the Founder and Webmaster is AB7FH, and his wife Char is licensed as well.

You've hit on one problem that we've called to the attention of the Ford engineers that have accompanied us on trail runs: They shouild make locations available in the dash or console where we can install communications gear that we need to enhance offroad safety! I have several radios in my '93, but in the earlier years they left room between the center console and the dash, where I could build a custom radio and switch console. I have a Kenwood TM742, triband VHF/UHF, and an Alinco DX70TH HF + 6 rig. The Kenwood is located in space created by removing the ashtray. The control head for the Alinco is below it, and the chassis is behind the rear seat, mounted on the tilting filler panel that folds down to fill the void created by folding the rear seat. It drops into the space created by the seat back moving forward.

Check out: this website, Home page, "Past Explorer Road Trips" bar, scroll down to "Truckhaven 2000", go to "Photos 2" and see the photo titled "Ray Hutchinson's Communications Center". Hope this gives you some ideas.

As for antennas, if you don't want to drill holes, go with mag mount, or hood lip mounts. Stay away from the rear bumper area of the car...too much QRN from the fuel pump.

I also have the TM-733. My 94' Explorer has the room under the dash as Ray said but since your newer Explorer dooesn't, have you considered getting the remote head cable for the radio. I've still seen them for sale in QST. I think AES has them. (DF9K is the model. I think.) This way you can put it under the rear seat and maybe mount the control head on the dash or even the visor. I never put a hole in the Explorer either and use a magmount out the rear hatch to the roof. It's worked fine for me. My call is N2IIE.

Also, Ray, my buddy has the same Tri-bander in his Explorer and also uses the remote head cable for it. It works great.

Tay, and Ronb:

I've read that there are two cardinal rules to ham radio:

1. You're not a real Ham unless you've drilled a hole(s) in a new car!

2. You're not a real Ham until the value of the radios , exceeds the value of the car the're installed in!

Also, I'm told that HAM stands for Had A lot of Money. ;-)

Actually I don't blame you about the holes, especially if you don't plan to keep the Explorer a long while, but many of us have done so many other mods, that any future owner won't care about a couple more holes. I still haven't had the courage to drill my '00 F250SD, after a year and a half. Mag mounts and lip brackets for me there.

Also,About your ABS/Airbag question: I have ABS, and have never experienced a problem, or heard of anyone that has with that system or the air bags.

I do have a friend that has a Brand X (J**P) Grand Cherokee, and his windshield wipers start anytime he keys up on 20M!

73,

Ray, my buddy, KE2EJ has, I think, 5 antennas mounted to his Explorer. HF, VHF, UHF, and 2 or 3 others I don't know what they are. He had the FT-900 in it but I think he traded it in for Yaesus newest portable HF last year. He has no problem, to say the least, with drilling into his truck but he spends A LOT of time on the radio when he drives. :D

My tally for radios and such in the last 12 years has been modest. I'd say somewhere in the $5K range. I still have never put my HF radio in the truck but ya' never know... eventually, I'll build a mount and put my TS-440SAT in when I finally upgrade it in the shack (I like that Yaesu FT-847 all bander ;) )

Yeah, I get a few comments, still, I don't have quite as many antennas as your friend. I take the HF antenna off when I don't plan to use it.(Outbacker-Perth) That leaves a 2M/440. (a 20" "shorty") and a 12.5" 220 whip. Those are NMO roof mounts. I have a Wilson 1000 10-12M also on a permanent mount on the roof. My Outbacker mounts on the brush bar in front, "Aussie" style. Then factor in the glass mount cell phone ant, and the AM-FM radio antenna, and it has a bit of the "tuna Fleet" look.

I'm surprised your friend traded his FT900. I have one that is my HF base in my shack, and I love it! Has all of the bells and whistles I need, get great audio and sig. reports, and bust a lot of pileups. That, with a Butternut verticle, up 7' on the side of my shed. Great Field Day radio too.

The FT847 is also an awsomwe radio! I understand from a good friends that works @ HRO that it excellent for Sat. work.

73,

Hey, that reminds me.....my 96 has a huge oem stereo unit, looks to be double tall. If I were to replace the existing radio with a regular height aftermarket unit, are there any Ham units that are the same size as a stereo and could fit beneath it in the dash? Hope I explained that right...

Also, are there any ham radios that also have CB band? Lastly, I've heard a lot of talk about the different ham bands..VHF, UHF, 2 meter, 440, etc. etc...is there a quick explanation of what they are each used for and what the different licensing requirements are?

Thanks.

The easiest place to start is what the definitions of the frequency spectrum is. Think about your AM Radio. The AM Radio Band starts about 600KHZ and goes to about 1.6 MHZ. These are considered the start of the High Frequencies or HF for Short.

For our applications, the Ham Band HF band starts at 1.8MHZ and goes up to 29.997 MHZ. The lower the frequency the longer the wavelength. so 1.8Mhz to 2.0Mhz is also called 160 Meters and 28MHZ to 29.997MHZ is called the 10 Meter Band. ) Since the CB Band is also called 11 Meters, it falls into these HF Frequencies.

So, you ask if hams can talk in these frequencies, why can't CB'ers? Well alot of Radio Services share the HF Frequencies. The Short Wave AM broadcasts are also in these HF Frequencies. Years ago , different governments got together and decided to establish Rules and Regulations concerning who can talk on what freqencies in the entire radio spectrum and together and individually, these countries decided on what is required for licensing on these frequencies.

The US no longer requires a license to operate a CB radio on the CB Band (They once did). That means anyone can operate a CB in the US within the frequencies the FCC specified for their operation. Now if a CB'er were to modify his or her radio to operate outside these frequencies, That frequency may require a license (like the Ham Bands or Short Wave Broadcast Bands). N This I've never been behind the newer dashes but most VHF/UHF Ham Radios Should fit with no problem.

The Great thing about the HF band is that due to Radio Wave Propagation, depending on the frequency, and other factors, you can hear signals from GREAT distances. Like Thousands of miles! To make it simple to understand, the higher the frequency the shorter the distance and time for that distance it is to get heard.

Above the HF Frequencies are the VHF (Very High Frequencies). So from 30MHZ to about 250 MHZ is the VHF frequencies. Consider we said 28MHZ is 10 meters. Well, 146MHZ is 2 meters. Most of the 2 Meter and higher frequency radios you talk on in your car operate FM which is basically line of sight (depending on height above terrain, Power, and other factors, we'll say 2 to 30 miles)

Above the VHF Frequencies are the UHF (Ultra High Frequencies. The wave lengths here are alot smaller. The 440Mhz Ham Band is also called the 70 Centimeter Band.

I've tried to make this as simple, but complete, to understand as possible. HF to UHF is a LARGE piece of Radio Spectrum.

Sundown,

First, Welcome to the Ham Radio forum! And although it's titled "Ham" radio we entertain posts about all forms of radio communications, and it's applications to Off pavement (and On) Exploring.

Second: You have asked several questions wrapped into one, but I'll try to field them as best as I can.

Yes there are ham and CB radios available that would fit below a "din" sized stereo/radio replacing the "double din" sized radio that Ford uses. You probably have to modify the new blank-out faceplate that you would get and then fabricate some sort of mount system for the communications radio. I haven't seen such an installation, but there shouldn't be any problem, with one possible exception: for a Ham radio, you would need to allow for cooling air circulation, as those transmitters typically run 50 watts or more, generating quite a bit of heat on transmit. In fact most have their own internal cooling fans, much like a computer, so there need to be a way to move the air. If the space you mount the radio in is open to the back, under the dash, it should work. I have a UHF/ VHF radio in place of my ashtray in my '93. CB radios at 4-5 watts don't generate too much heat.

There aren't any Ham radios which you can legally use use on CB band.

Ham Bands: first, under a recent "restructuring" of the Amateur Radio (Ham) licensing system by the FCC, there are now 3 types, or classes of ham license. Technician, General, and Extra classes. (There used to be 6). The requirements differ, and the privileges increase with each step. Getting the basic ham license, the "Technician"(Tech) license only requires you to take a fairly simple 35 question test.(No requirement to know Morse code) This test covers some basic radio/ electronics theory and FCC regulations.

Like almost all federal licensing exams (pilot, marine, etc.) it is a multiple choice exam, and the question pool with all the possible questions and all the possible answer choices are pre-published for study. Radio Shack carries the Amateur Radio licensing manuals by Gordon West. For about $5.00, you can pick up the "Technician Class" manual to study , then go take the test. Tests are administered by other hams who are registered as V.E.'s or Volunteer Examiner's. There are Ham radio Clubs that sponsor frequent tests in almost every city so they are relatively easy to find. A good place to start is by asking at the Radio Shack, if they don't know, go to
<www.arrl.org>. This is the website of the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) and has lots of info. I think the exam fee is now about $6.50. the license is good for 10 years, renewable indefinitely, at no extra cost.

With the "Tech" license or "ticket", you have privileges on all bands above 50 MHz known as the VHF and UHF bands. VHF includes the 6 meter (50 MHz band, 2 meters(144-148 MHz), 1.25 meters(222-225) MHz. UHF includes the 70Cm(420-450 Mhz) band and above(900 mhz, 1240 mhz and more). The most popular of the ham bands is 2 meters, with "440"(the 70cm band) being second. These allow FM communications for clarity and static free operation, and also allow you to use the thousands of Ham mountaintop repeaters around the country, for fairly long range communication (30-50 miles or more).
Simplex, (Car to car, not thru a repeater) you can frequently communicate 5 to 15 miles, often more. On big runs, such a the Truckhavens, Moab, Colorado Colors,etc., Rick and I have often communicated via 2 meters, between separate groups, several miles apart, when the CB's were useless.

Also, if you haven't already, check out Rick's Article here on the site about Ham radio and 4 wheeling.

I know this was a pretty long winded reply, but I hope you and others reading it will be inspired to try out Ham Radio.
It's been a lot of fun for me!

Ron & Ray,

Thanks for two GREAT explanations....I appreciate the time you both took to type that all out and I understand it much better now.

I guess I'm going to go get a book, do some studying, take the test(s), THEN buy my radio....

If one were to get a HF/VHF/UHF mobile unit, what is the practical range? They must be of lower power than the base models, and I'm sure that the limited antenna height will hurt them. So, are they practical for communication other than relatively short range within a known group? I won't be speaking with someone in Cuba from my Explorer, for instance.

Not that I need to speak to Cuba very often, but if I get into this, I'm wondering if I'll need to get a lower powered mobile and a zooomie high zoot rig for the house with an antenna the size of WABC.

Sundown

Sundown,

You've got the sequence right, study, test, then equipment shop. During the course of study and especially the testing, you will probably meet will some Hams who will be willing to explain the many factors and feartures of the various ham equipment. There are many brands, and types of radios available. It's almost as challanging as buying a first car, when you are just starting to drive. Don't be daunted though, most Hams enjoy helping out each other and newbies.

There are a few HF/VHF/UHF radios that just have recently come on the market, but persoanlly, I prefer separate radios for the bands. Like "putting all your eggs in one basket". if all redios are in one and you have a failure, you're shut down completely. Personally, my HF radios are separate from the VHF and UHF stuff. Combining VHF and UHF into a "dualband" radio is pretty common, with 2M and 440 being the most popular combination these days. BTW, with the first, or "Tech" license, you would be restricted to VHF/UHF (50 Mhz, or 6 meters and above). To gain access to the HF bands, you need at least the General Class license. Another written test, and 5 words per minute Morse code copy. The HF bands are the really long range or World Wide Bands (10, 12, 15, 20, 30,40, 80, and 160 Meters)

As for offroading, the Tech license is definitly sufficient for virtually all applications, and the range and clarity of VHF and UHF FM, with or without repeaters, is generally far superior to CB. Again, the most popular Ham band is 2 Meters, VHF. Many Hams only have radios for this band!

As for base / mobile radios: Withn the miracle of solid state and miniaturization, Most people have the same type of radios for base and mobile. Most Ham radios are manufactured to work on 12 V. DC, and we use a power supply unit that plugs into 110ac to operate the radios as base. Some HF radios come in a package that might not fit too well in a vehicle, but others will fit quite nicely.

Yes, A bigger antenna is possible on a fixed installation, but not absolutely necessary. For VHF/UHF as small ground plane on a roof vent pipe will work fairly well, depending on your home location. For HF, I've worked stations worldwide with a wire antenna in my attic!

Of course some Hams do have giant towers and antennas, and they do work better, but they aren't necessary.

The thing that makes Ham Radio an excellent hobby is that there are many different faucets of the hobby. Besides just talking with a microphone, there are various other modes of operation.

Digital modes - with an adapter to your HF, VHF or UHF radio to a computer, you can type in real time) to other hams locally via Packet (VHF/UHF) or around the world (HF) via RTTY, AMTOR, PACTOR,etc...

Morse Code - Considered by some to be obsolete, the magic of tapping something with you finger and someone on the other side of the planet understanding your tapping never stops amazing me.

Amatuer Television - UHF mode that lets you talk and look at the people that you converse with. Use your video camera, a Ham Television Transceiver, and an amplifier and you got your own TV Studio.

Sattelites - A mode that allows you to use Ham Sattelites to talk to hams over long distances on VHF/UHF.

Contests - There are all different type of contests sponsored by many different countries that send you a certificate based on the number of contacts with other hams in a certain amount of time (usually a weekend).

Certificates - The American Radio Relay League offers awards for such things as (1) confirmed contacts with hams in all 50 states. (2) 100 countries (3) All the countries....... etc....

Public Service - ARES and RACES are a ham public service for Emergency communication during disasters and also a message fowarding service to and from prople all over the globe. MARS is a message fowarding service between members of the armed forces and home. This was extremely helpful during Vietnam and the Gulf War.

The thing is the idea behind Ham radio was to allow private citizens to experiment with the state of the Art in communications. Public Radio wouldn't be the same without talented ham engineering discoveries.