FT-7800R Portable Project...

[WH7DA]

...so, I finally set up my FT-7800R as a portable, and I love it!

The antenna tripod base is a rocket launcher tripod that breaks down by removing two of the three legs.

The extension pieces are made from two sections of pvc, that are each about as long as one of the base legs. To get the pvc so that it quickly mounts to the base unit head (which is a drill chuck), I used a carriage bolt through a rubber shock mount, with washers on either end. I slid the rummber mount into the pvc, and tightened a locknut up on the carriage bolt against the bottom washer. This compressed the rubber shock mount, which spread out to friction fit inside the pvc. So, all I have to do is put the bottom section of pvc (the carriage bolt) into the base unit head (drill chuck) and tighten the chuck.

The antenna is the OSJ 146/440 from Arrow Antenna's, but with the main antenna constructed as a three piece, so the long one breaks down and stores on the angle bracket base where the other elements are mounted. When broken down like this for storage, the whole thing is shorter than the legs of the base tripod.

I used RG-6 coax for the antenna cable.

The radio connects to a power source with Anderson Power Pole connectors. I have the RigRunner 4008 in my wife's Jeep Liberty.

The whole thing sets up pretty fast and has great range!

Plus, the antenna and cables all break down and store in a croquet bag, and the radio and mic store in a little fanny pack. I provide protection for the radio by using a wet/dry vacuum foam filter which slips perfectly around the radio.

See photos here----> http://www.flickr.com/photos/back2dabik ... 531441983/

So, what do you think?

[stukar]

Pretty cool set up. Did you set this up for using with your wife's jeep or with the bike (the picture page had a bunch of bike pics).

[WH7DA]

It is setup to be used as a portable rig. Basically, anywhere I can hook it up to a battery. It's not ready for mounting on the bicycle yet, but can easily be carried on it to wherever I need (just no battery).

[KC2STD]

that looks like it would be about the right size to carry on my KLR 650, about how long and heavy is everything all together.

[WH7DA]

Aloha, Gunny.

As far as size, the whole deal is 29 inches at it's longest (which just fits in the croquet bag), and about 7 inches wide by 2 or so inches deep. But, that all depends on how much you put in the bag. Of course, the rocket launcher is no longer made, so you're left to coming up with one on your own. Too bad, because this thing was a great design.

As far as weight, I don't have a scale handy, but it will all fit nicely on my bicycle (http://back2dabike.wordpress.com), so that I can take it with me. That is, once I finalize my battery plans for the radio. So far, I can plug it into the Jeep (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2034/212 ... 4a61_b.jpg) or into the 12VDC power supply (http://wh7da.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/b ... er-supply/), but I don't have a battery pack built for it.

You could set up to use it off your motorcycle electrical system easy enough. The FT-7800R draws 8.5A of current peak when transmitting at 50W, and 2A of current max when transmitting at 10W. So, if you use 10W, and assume a 20-25% duty cycle, it shouldn't tax your bike's system hardly at all.

Then you don't have to carry around an extra battery... hmmm... maybe I'll should go with a motorcycle rather than a bicycle!