Brand Spanking New in Vermont

[N1VWD]

Greetings to all in the Group!

My wife Judy, N1YSB and I have just purchased our first RV a
FunFinderx189fds.
This will be our first experience RVing, so we have a lot to learn.
One of the things on my todo list is to get my IC-706 up and running in the RV. One of my first of probably many questions is what do you use for
antennas for 2m and hf when you are camping. My FF has an aluminum tubular
frame with a vinyl roof, so I can not use a mag mount for 2m. What do you use?
What do most of you use for HF in the camp grounds, how much grief should I expect from the camp grounds about HF antennas? This is all new to me.
We just purchased our TT and with our first snow last night we will not get to use it till spring, so I will have time to get it ready.

Thank you all in advance for any replys you might give.
Brad
PS as I am writing this I see I can add 5 tags to this thread, what are tags???

[WD8QBQ]

First off welcome Brad, nice to have you aboard. :bounce:

If you are comfortable with a mag mount antenna you could bond to the roof a suitable piece of steel (painted on all sides and edges, as an automobile) with mastic (Sikaflex 292) and or sealing pop rivets (often used on boats) onto which the mag mount will stick. This is a good way as if you should knock it on some low lying object it will depart without hurting the roof.

A wire antenna slung over a tree is popular as is a vertical on a tripod stand close to your camper.

You might get comments about antennas in the trees and bushes and on stands, but if it is mounted to your camper I do not see how you can be discriminated against, unless you cause interference with/for others camping nearby.

JIM

[KE5ZRT]

Welcome! I also am new to the group and also new to RVing. My wife and I will be full-time timers in less than two weeks. I have decided on a rooftop tilt over tripod mount with a 10' mast holding a rotor and a 144/440 beam, but I haven't given any thought to HF as I do not have an HF rig yet. Again, welcome to the group!

P.S. tags are keywords that help people search for content in your post.

[aintgotnun]

Welcome aboard!!

Tags are key words you can attach to your post for searches. I usually don't mess with 'em but some folks like 'em.

[wa8yxm]

Those aluminum ladders are not as strong as I'd lke.

For 2 meters I use two antennas, For the cockpit radio I have a Diamond dual band NGP type (no ground plane) antenna that I mounted on one of the VELVAC mirror arms.

For the "Main" radio in the "Shack"/half bath I have a J-pole encased in 1/2 inch PVC pipe (nylong clamps) to the back of the rig.

It is strong enough to survive a tree strike'

For improved range I use a flag pole with an antenna platform and another "J" (Actually a "T" pole, that is 2 J-poles, kind of hard to explain without a picture)

What I"d recommend for you is a flagpole buddy on the ladder, then a 10' section of either 1/2, 3/4 or 1" PVC (or 3/4 inside of 1" with a J-pole inside for 2-mtr FM parked

The Diamond on the mirror works great for mobile.

[W9WLS]

You might take a look at the "Eagle One" antenna for hf , fairly quick & easy to set up and with a tuner work's well with most newer rig's.
A friend who has a "all plastic" shell tag-a-long rigged a "tube mount" on his rear bumper (where the sewer hose is stored) and carries a military surplus sectioned mast (he can put up about 36 feet with guy lines) and a comet duel band mobile antenna on a plate (for ground plane effect) and a ground wire running down the pole.
The set up work's well for him .
73, John

[N1VWD]

I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to answer my questions.
Please keep your suggestions coming , you have a great pool of knowledge out there.
Tnx es 73
Brad - N1VWD

[Radio]

I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to answer my questions.
Please keep your suggestions coming , you have a great pool of knowledge out there.
Tnx es 73
Brad - N1VWD

Brad,

Welcome to ORR.net :hisign:

Unlike some other forums we actually enjoy new people coming on and asking a lot of questions. It gives us something to do. And I think you'll find ORR.net one of the friendliest, flame free places on the net.

Jump in and join the fray, tell us all about your RV and radio adventures.

Again, welcome to the forum :headphones:

[KF5BET]

Welcome aboard Brad:

Come back often and post often as well....

73's

Galen
KF5BET