Outdoor Adventure USA

I am a recent FJ owner and a recently re-licensed ham operator. I got my first ham ticket (general class) at age 13. I was WA6WOQ back then. I let it lapse years ago, and now I'm back as a noob with a tech ticket. I am expecting delivery of a used Yaesu FT-270 tomorrow. If I can figure out how to get it programmed, I plan to listen in on the ham net on Thursdays.

I love offroading and one of our favorite places is Anza Borrego. With the new FJ, we look forward to years of adventures out there.

As time and finances permit, I am slowly modding the FJ to be my dream expedition vehicle. What I lack is solid, long term off road experience. For example, if my winch was installed and hooked up, I'd probably kill myself with it! Expect a lot of questions from me.

Looking forward to meeting you all!

Bill - KJ6KHR

Welcome! Looking forward to watching the build. Just remember you don't have to keep up with the Jones' (aka Ollie Jones or Larry Jones)

Hey Bill, welcome to OAUSA !!!

And thanks for coming by the store today for the dual battery kit

Congrats on re-earning your ham ticket, too. The Yaesu FT-270R is a great 2-meter handheld - very popular out on the trail, too. If you need help programming it, bring it by the store and I'll help you put a few freqs in...Another way is to pick up the RT Systems programming software / cable kit, which allows you to enter everything on your computer, and then upload it to the FT-270R...either way, you'll find a lot of helpful folks on this forum, whether it is ham radio related, or off-road related.

Mark Dec 10-11 on your calendar - Many of us will be heading down to Camp Pendelton for the Toys for Tots toy drive put on by Dave Druck / Trasharoo (see related threadsfor more info)

Bill,

Congratulations on the FJ Cruiser and getting back into ham radio.

If you want to improve your off road driving skill I highly recommend Tom Severin's Getting Started Off Road class held at Hungry Valley near the top of the grape vine on I5. His class will really give you an idea of what you and the vehicle are capable of doing and you'll learn a wealth of useful and necessary knowledge for driving off road. If you can swing it, stay over night and take the Advanced Beginner Clinic the following day so you can get a chance to spend more time on the trail trying out much of what you learned the day before.

I took his class when I first got the Pinzgauer since I had no previous off road driving experience. The following weekend I went on a vehicle specific run at Calico. The trail was far harder than anything at Hungry Valley. Tom's training gave me the confidence to keep pressing on and allowed me to get the Pinzi through with only a few minor scratches. Most of the other Pinzgauers on the run had at least one or two sizable dents.

You can check out his web site at http://www.4x4training.com

Bill:

Welcome aboard!

Jumping into two hobbies at the same time (4wd and Ham) will keep you busy for years to come. We don't have all the answers, but we can sure do our best to help out. Don't hesitate to ask for help.

Welcome aboard Bill. We aren't the largest group out there but we certainly have some good people here. We look forward to seeing you at a run or event in the near future. We have a meet and greet coming up at the Bass Pro Shop in Rancho Cucamonga in March.