Outdoor Adventure USA

Well, i had a spare Yaesu 2500m laying around from a buddy so i figured shoot, why not put it to use.

I already have two antennas on the LC so my thought was to use one on the trailer as a basecamp setup when we're not on the road.

Getting out of canyons is my main priority since thats usually where we camp. Shoot if it was flat country the 5.5 gain monster Diamond SG on my bumper can hit 80-100 miles on simplex just fine. This usually isn't the case.

So i researched this pole from a company here locally in SoCal. I asked them if mounting an antenna on it would work and they said it would work just fine. I ended up heading over to HRO and they actually stocked it. So that tells me right there people are using it for this application. What it is, is a fiberglass 4ft telescoping flag pole that can extend up to 22 ft in minutes. Super lightweight and simple. Made for high winds in the desert / beaches.



Comes with a nice carrying case and will fit in the side box on the trailer perfectly.



I mounted the "L" flag bracket to the end.



Along with 25 feet of Coax to get from the trailer to the top of the pole.

There are many different options for mounting the pole. However, i wanted something simple and flexible. So i chose the 2" receiver J pole. This can easily slide into any 2" receiver. So then i can use it on the back of the truck, the back of the trailer.. or the front of the trailer. Also i can use it on another vehicle if need be. HRO had this in stock also.



Here's where it will work for us. When base camped we disconnect the trailer anyhow.. in the rear it will interfere with the drop down gate on the Adventure Trailer. Plus the radio is in the nose box anyhow.


Shot of the radio.. i installed a clip for the mic also. In hindsight, maybe i should of put the clip on the interior section instead so the door may not fly down in the wind and smash the mic cable.. but oh well. That's never happened anyways.



I chose to install the radio in the nose box for a few reasons. It seems to be the most sealed out of all the boxes on our trailer. Dust/rain etc. Also, i can monitor the battery levels on the solar controller while im transmitting. Lastly, it was a fast and easy install having the batteries close by, i didn't have to run 20 feet of 10 awg wire or what have you.

If i want later on i can always do a 8800 or a 8900 and have a removable face plate for the kitchen area. That could be an option since i want to be able to use the trailer as a repeater anyhow.

The coax just rolls up and sits in the nose box when not in use. Yes, the nose box locks.


A shot of the antenna mast deployed. It's taller than our office building. Which i was told was 25 feet. The Diamond Super Gainer is on the mount in this shot. This is just for testing. Im waiting for an adapter so i can put my Comet SBB-5 none ground plain antenna on it. It will do much better.




So all in all im not in for that much money. The mast, coax, and bracket. I had the radio and im using a spare antenna. Later i'd like to change the radio out for a cross repeater version.. but for now this will work fine.

This weekend we are heading out to Sheep canyon in Anza Borrego where its really hard to get out to a repeater. This will be the ultimate test and im excited to see how it does. I will report back with my findings of how it performed.

Well, we are back from our trip and I ended up being able to hit the Mt. Laguna repeater.. but that was the only one. I figured that was good though for where we were. I also reached someone up near Mt. Laguna , 4000ft.. on Simplex.. he said i was coming in stronger than i was on the repeater. Which i thought that was pretty awesome. Lastly, i had one of the guys leave their radio on all the way down the canyon and i could still hit them down to the last river crossing from Sheep Cyn Camp.

So all in all im happy. It did what i wanted it too. I tried getting on the other freq's but i couldn't hit any of them for some dang reason.

adventureduo wrote:Well, we are back from our trip and I ended up being able to hit the Mt. Laguna repeater.. but that was the only one.
So all in all im happy. It did what i wanted it too. I tried getting on the other freq's but i couldn't hit any of them for some dang reason.

Hey Dave,
I saw this over on the other forum and was curious as to how you'd report on its performance. If you were using the SBB-5 on it, that may be why you were'nt getting out better.
The mfr'r touts it as being "ground independent". What this means is that it uses a matching network to provide a capacitive balance for the radiating portion of the antenna rather than a true counterpoise. Being half-wave it probably shows decent gain numbers for receive, but will suffer a bit in radiating a signal when compared to truly balanced antennas. I'd give a go at a j-pole or other easily packable balanced antenna system. The Elk beam may be another option, but a j-pole will provide a better signal orientation.....and they're cheap.
I think you'd see a very noticeable increase in performance.
Other than that, it's a very nicely assembled package you've put together.

Yeah i spoke with the guy over at HRO and he said since it was non-ground plane it should do well up there... but heck i dont know. I wanted to get an elk to put up there.. but then its directional and i would probably have to bounce it to get out of the canyon walls.. the other thing is i would have to know the specific direction of the repeater etc..and i dont always know where the repeaters/such are located. The J might be the route to go. I'll spend more money on it later.. but for now it did great.

Thanks for the recommendation.

adventureduo wrote:Yeah i spoke with the guy over at HRO and he said since it was non-ground plane it should do well up there... but heck i dont know. I wanted to get an elk to put up there.. but then its directional and i would probably have to bounce it to get out of the canyon walls.. the other thing is i would have to know the specific direction of the repeater etc..and i dont always know where the repeaters/such are located. The J might be the route to go. I'll spend more money on it later.. but for now it did great.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Good point on the directional issue.

Awesome set up, that mast is addition.

Huh, never thought of using a flag pole. That might be a good solution for my (4'x5') roof rack to get my Elk up there (when parked of course), I haven't been very happy with the pipe I'm using right now (only 4.5').

Dave:

There are two repeaters that give great coverage to the entire Collins Valley, located on Table Mountain near the city of Anza. I can get you the info if you would like.

DaveK wrote:Dave:

There are two repeaters that give great coverage to the entire Collins Valley, located on Table Mountain near the city of Anza. I can get you the info if you would like.

From a lot of the area out in Anza Borrego you can also hit the CalZona System repeaters, such as Monument Peak http://www.ecra.org/monument_peak and far enough east, Black Mountain http://www.ecra.org/black_mountain

All part of http://www.ecra.org/ and http://www.w7ara.org/Web/AraFreq.htm

Last time I was down there we could hit those from a lot of the area. Talked to a guy wheeling over by the river and another in Mexico!

Covers San Diego to Pheonix very well.

At the top pf S. Coyote Canyon from the camp to Santa Catarina you are still in a bowl a bit so, the big stick would really help to hit 2 meter repeaters. Cool idea!!

Dave,

I use the Diamond X30A or X50A on all my portable masts and they are awesome. You might try one of these. I might even have an extra I'd give you if you are in the San Diego area.

http://www.diamondantenna.net/x30a.html