Checking in

[ChuckW5KAV]

Howdy all from Washington state :hello:

Was directed over here from another RV form, the xyl and
I changed over from a Class C to a 5th wheel last summer
and enjoy camping along with amateur radio. Did set up
my 706MkIIG and AT-200pro LDG tuner with a outbacker
from the motor home but not much last summer from the
5th wheel since we didn't camp as much as the year
before. Look forward to getting on the air this year since
we will be camping allot more. Our first outing will be to
Sea Side Oregon for the hamfest in early June. :D

[Radio]

Welcome aboard! :welcome:

Nice bunch of folks on here, jump right in and join the ruckus!

[ke0me]

Chuck,

Have you ever had any problems with interference to other campers?

Just starting full time RVing in May, and adding a new HF rig to the travel trailer,

Dick KE0ME

[ChuckW5KAV]

You bet I have, still have even with filters and Toroid s around my wire
inside the 5th wheel, have ground rods I put in as well to my righ and
to the trailer. Problem is the inverters in some of the TT and
5th wheels and motor homes, you would go broke buying toroid s, new
inverters for everyone in the camp ground, Ugh. The other thing is
vertical antenna's have noise, lets face it noise is vertically polarized
and than another problem, so between inverters, and a vertical antenna
if you use one you have two strikes against you right off the bat, Ugh....

Like allot of people I use a vertical antenna's, either my Perth outbacker
off the TV or a High Sierra on a stand away from the 5th wheel. I work
allot of 20 and 40 meters digital so the noise base has not hurt me as
someone on voice....I'm not saying it dozen't hurt me, heck yes in
some case's but I seem to work thought it with my sound card modem
or hardware SCS PCI IIex. Every so often I wonder down on the other
end of the band and work a little CW which I can filter out much of the
noise but again not all........

So like you I wonder what some of the members of this site use to curve
the noise

73 :2cents:

[N3LYT]

The inverter noise issue in my camper was pretty bad on some bands so when I am working HF I turn off the inverter and go with just the batteries. I added a circuit to the breaker box just for the inverter so it can be turn off independently. It's a modern charger so it does not take long to recharge the batteries. I guess you have tried a low pass filter to keep you from annoying your neighbors.

[ChuckW5KAV]

yes sir, I have an old Drake low pass filter i have used for years,
I try to be a good operator and neighbor and have never had a
complaint.

[Radio]

So like you I wonder what some of the members of this site use to curve the noise

73 :2cents:

For power I use a big ol' Astron 35M. Heavy, bulky but I got it for free. Lives under the bed in the camper. Sometimes I'll use a marine deep cycle. I don't think I've ever had much inverter noise from my own rig, but if I did I'd just turn the thing off for the time I'm on the radio.

Now remember I'm a big state park camper, so I have shore power. But I did use the marine battery a time or two when there was no park power.

[ke0me]

Thanks for the info, I will try some different things and post any results.
Dick
KE0ME

[ChuckW5KAV]

Hello all again, after a real nice summer camping in a number
of states all over the western state's and playing radio it has
been real fun this summer.

I did take Wade's hint and started to use a 35amp astron this
summer, I installed a feed though for my antenna hook-up in
the one of the side compartment doors. Thus I used the
High Sierra screwdriver antenna on my truck this past summer
and worked allot of my friends on 20 and 40 meters.:)

I did install a ground lug from the frame up to were I setup
my radio, I then drove a 4ft ground rod close to the trailer
just for my peace of mind. I made sure I was not close
to the camp ground stuff like water, electric or sewer..
One of my camping neighbors ask me why I put the ground
rod in, I said that you never know when lighting was going
to strike, he walked away shaking his head :whistle:

All and all this has been a freat summer of camping and
travel, looking forward to next year....:bounce:

[N3LYT]

So far I have never had any complaints often I set up a half wave rotatable dipole on 24' of fiberglass poles on any thing from 10 to 17 meters. I never run any thing over 100 watts. I have used dog anchors for grounding (the screw in things) who knows maybe they work kind of hard to prove. I picked up a High Sheara screw driver at a ham fest and rebuilt that, it's going on the rear mount of the camper.

[wa8yxm]

Chuck,

Have you ever had any problems with interference to other campers?

Just starting full time RVing in May, and adding a new HF rig to the travel trailer,

Dick KE0ME

That was a good question Dick.. I am going to answer it.

I have one person here where I'm stuck claims I'm knocking him off the internet (Free park Wi-Fi) Trust me when I tell you that is not happening. But he still points the finger... However that said, I try to make sure I do not get on the air when he is home or,, well, Most of my opreating time is 3am-5am so it's no problem, the rest is 9-noon and he's not home mornings.

HOWEVER.. Just a few hundred yards away is a house, belongs to a cop, and I very strongly suspect he has a scanner so he can keep abrest of what is happening when he is at home.. It keeps showing up on my Green Dot radios I think I'll get some other color crystals for them some day) Which I use as an intercom with another Camper here. I can clearly hear it if I listen on the TS-2000.

[N3LYT]

We have WiFi repeaters at the local camp ground and they really cause interference on 6 meter fm. I also have a standard issue 5 port switch at the house that does in 147 megs they can get away with it we can't. What ever happened to "can not cause any interference"? Maybe we should be knocking on doors!

[NN5I]

HOWEVER.. Just a few hundred yards away is a house, belongs to a cop, and I very strongly suspect he has a scanner so he can keep abrest of what is happening when he is at home.. It keeps showing up on my Green Dot radios

Two questions: (1) what is a green dot radio? (2) since a scanner is a receiver, not a transmitter, how can it show up on anything, or knock anyone off anything?

[N3LYT]

DOT radio, 154.600 MHZ the frequency's are color coded. I guess his HF is getting into the scaner.

[wa8yxm]

I am thinking of going the dipole route for one or two bands....

For power: on my class A Damon gave me a Progressive Dynamics 9180 with wizard and a pair of Interstate U-2200's.. The U-2200's have died of old age (9 years) and been replaced with DEKA GC-20s (Another GC-2 class battery, 230 amp hours). they also have a trio of Group 29's (About 100 amp hours each) in parallel with them There is a long story here involving some short lived AGM's as well but those are history.

The Kenwood TS-2000 shows no difference in noise level if I turn off the breaker feeding the converter,, If the converter has power it can not tell if the batteries are connected or not (When rig was new I sometimes turned off the batteries by accident).

That's about 1,000 watts of 13.6 volt WITHOUT battery assistance.

The TS-2000 only puts out 100 watts, draws less than 200. so I have all the power I need.

Footnote: I have read many complain about RFI from the Progressive Dynamics intella power units.. But mine appears slient.

[N3LYT]

I am thinking of going the dipole route for one or two bands....

For power: on my class A Damon gave me a Progressive Dynamics 9180 with wizard and a pair of Interstate U-2200's.. The U-2200's have died of old age (9 years) and been replaced with DEKA GC-20s (Another GC-2 class battery, 230 amp hours). they also have a trio of Group 29's (About 100 amp hours each) in parallel with them There is a long story here involving some short lived AGM's as well but those are history.

The Kenwood TS-2000 shows no difference in noise level if I turn off the breaker feeding the converter,, If the converter has power it can not tell if the batteries are connected or not (When rig was new I sometimes turned off the batteries by accident).

That's about 1,000 watts of 13.6 volt WITHOUT battery assistance.

The TS-2000 only puts out 100 watts, draws less than 200. so I have all the power I need.

Footnote: I have read many complain about RFI from the Progressive Dynamics intella power units.. But mine appears slient.

Mine's pretty bad on 10 meters.

[ChuckW5KAV]

Hummmmmm N3LYT

I like the way you set your antenna up, I have two High Serra screw driver
antenna's, the 1500 like what you have and the smaller version, (forget what it
is called). I also have a the W7BUM whips and some Hustler mobile coils an
a outbacker antenna I used on my over-the-road semi when I was working,
now retired.....

I have played with moble antenna's and radio for over 30 years and fun
do so, I have seen, done the good, the bad and the ugly in mobile
operation LOL

[N3LYT]

The mount is home made there is a pin I pull and it folds down this allows me to put in my fiberglass poles in and the rotatable dipoles on the top and just walk it up and put the pin back in. It also makes it real easy to mount the screwdriver. With the masts I do have to guy it but the screwdriver is fine on a short post. The HS 1500 is an OK antenna I'm left a little cold with the spring arrangement instead of finger stock it lacks a lot that was part of the rebuild it was very hard to tune and very sharp. His reasoning for the spring was because finger stock wore out however I have never had problems with the Tarheel in the last 4 years and HS says to replace the spring every year for $16 go figure.

[ChuckW5KAV]

Ok on all, I ran my 1500 in my pickup for a few years, attached to the tool
box, grounded the tool box in 2 places and the bed of the truck in 4 place
to frame. I know about the springs. Have replaced them a few times, once
because I tried what was not recommended by High Serra, tuning with a
102 whip going down the road a 60mph, they were right Ugh :whistle:. I
been looking at push up poles, saw on here someplace were someone had
them listed pretty cheap off a web site

[N3LYT]

Living in Maine gives me a lot of mobile air time nothing is close! I have a Lil Tarheel on the back corner of my pickup, the Jet Stream 3/8 24 connector broke off (don't buy one they are cheap cast brass) and the antenna landed in the street my buddy was behind me and picked it up, bit of asphalt rash but other than that it was fine. Needless to say the new mount would make a nice tow hook.

[wa8yxm]

The inverter noise issue in my camper was pretty bad on some bands so when I am working HF I turn off the inverter and go with just the batteries. I added a circuit to the breaker box just for the inverter so it can be turn off independently. It's a modern charger so it does not take long to recharge the batteries. I guess you have tried a low pass filter to keep you from annoying your neighbors.

#1 on the list of reasons I choose a TRUE SINE WAVE inverter, After I got it I found several more reasons, but that was #! on the list.

[N3LYT]

#1 on the list of reasons I choose a TRUE SINE WAVE inverter, After I got it I found several more reasons, but that was #! on the list.
I seem to mix inverter/converter my problem was with the converter/charger the only time I use the inverter is to watch TV in the woods.