Hello fellows wanted to tell you about a set up I have on my AC 500 auto. You can get a radio setup that you can talk for miles using repeaters and even use as a phone one of the greatest things I have on my atv. Well all you have to do is make your ham license which consist of taking a 50 question multiple choice from a study guide so you can use the priveledges on 2 meter ham which is 144 meg to 148 megahertz. This is a great system for people who ride alone or who want to keep up with other buddys in where in the county the way it works is that the hand helds usually use 1 to 5 watts or power the signal is sent into a repeater which resends the signal making it stronger the radios usually cost anywhere from $100 to $200 for HT's. This type of communication puts the hand helds which you buy in the store to shame most of these radios are set up on the CB band which is useless after 500 feet. Anyone interested in getting a setup for his ATV can email me or leave a message for me to get you started...this in no way is an advertisement, just thought I would help out any other atv who was thinking on putting a radio setup on their atv...

Artic Cat 500...best in pulling and communications too

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I have to start out by saying that I have years of experience in FM two-way communications. I used to work for a Motorola shop. In theory the repeater idea is good, IF you are using high power mobile radios. I have designed countless radio systems and know for a fact that in the areas that I go riding in that a VHF portable radio with a modified PA (output about 7 watts) will not key a repeater enough times for me to feel safe depending on it. Also the system specs on the repeater side have much to do with it. How high is the antenna, what size transmission line is running to it, how much gain on the ant., and also what kind of repeater is it?
I'm sure I could modify my quad to accommodate a high power mobile (from 45 to 110 watts) but when I have had sheriffs deputies and EMS drivers come to me and say they can't talk back to the 911 center when they are out in the county using 110 watt radios and high gain antennas then I see no use to try to use the repeater system. Now if you had a portable low power repeater that would be another story and a whole lot of time and money wasted with the FCC.

Therefore I eliminated the repeater idea. Now good quality VHF portables that will put out 4-5 watts on a simplex channel (talk around channel) would outperform any handheld CB and many other cheaper VHF and UHF radios only putting out 1-2 watts. If you had a group of riders and at least a couple of people had high power VHF radios you would have no problem talking.

"LOCK 'EM AND LEAVE 'EM!!!"
SwampMonster

 

Well swampmonster I didn't take into account telling you that the area I live in is mountains so a repeater is very useful here I talk on a ham radio that is 1 to 5 watts of power with just a rubber duck can't understand though how you have so much trouble with your repeater we have one up and talk any where in the county and this county is 75 miles long and a lot of times out of the county on 1 to 45 watts of power.

Artic Cat...No problem talking here

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Well in the mountains you have the extra elevation of the mountain itself and are not hindered by expensive tower fees. I'm sure your repeater is probably a couple of thousand feet in the air compared to some of your lower spots in the valley.Also I bet you don't always ride in the valley either and when you ride the hills you're getting closer to the tower. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the setup because it would probably be very beneficial in the areas you ride in, but where I live and ride it's not effective. Where I live it is mainly thick pine forest and flat. Therefore your repeater antenna needs to be at least 400 feet off of the ground to penetrate these trees and to be able to reach the end of the county (ours is 52 miles from one end to the other).

Also the repeaters that I'm refering to are Motorola VHF units that are in service for public safety applications and are top of the line. I know many memebers of the Ham club here who own the repeater and know that they just want something for free. I wouldn't trust their repeater outside of town, much less in the woods.

"LOCK 'EM AND LEAVE 'EM!!!"
SwampMonster

 

Hey Swampmonster, We are talking the same language. I worked for Motorola as well in Canada. Sales not service, although I have an education in service. I have to tell you this story, even though most of you guys could care less. One of my accounts was a company called Canadian Mountian Holidays. This was a Heli Skiing operation that had a series of mountian top repeaters in the Rocky Mountians. I was part of the design and installation of a new link that they added.It was a UHF link with a VHF drop for the handhelds and the base radio at the lodge. I went up by Helicopter to help install the system. (I cant remember how high it was, I think it was 22000 feet, we were on top of the freaken world, I know that)Anyway, they were using a Daniels mount. top repeater in a com shell with a Sinclabs Srl 210 C2 1/4 wave and 2 UHF Yagi's for the link. This was powered by two solar panels which fed six lead acid batterys. Total power output, one watt UHF and four watts VHF. Putting this system up there, was the coolest thing I had ever done. (Besides skydiving) Anyway, I finished now. Later....

 

Hey r34,!

Glad to see some other old Moto people here! Since leaving two-way radios I now work in the cellular industry. This past winter we had a job that we were supposed to do in the mountains of Utah, where we would install equipment in the dead of winter on 13,000 ft. mountain tops. Unfortunately that fell through but I've been out there twice this summer taking equipment out. I kinda miss two-way but cellular/pcs is the way of the future.

"LOCK 'EM AND LEAVE 'EM!!!"
SwampMonster

 

SwampMonster,

Yea same with me. After four years, I finally figured out the sales game, and realized that it does'nt matter how much education you have,your only as good as your last month...and if your sales are down, your out...plain and simple...So I got into somthing else. But I still miss it though.
Anyway, what do you ride ???

 

Atving, what is your call sign? KB7PZJ here!

 

Now this is my kind of topic! Atving, what a great idea. I here see what you are saying, but I do not see no need for a setup? If you are one of the lucky ones that is smart and have credit to operate on repeater transmition in the VHF band I would highly recomend a hand-held VHF radio for use on a ATV. There is no need to go out spending a load of money for a amature hand-held, just buy a good VHF hand-held. I myself only use "RELM" and my own brand "Technology Inc." radios. I would highly recomend RELM radios only second to my company (Technology Inc.) :-). I feel very sorry for the people that worked with Motorola as for every time I have tried to get support from them I was put down by uneducated people. Oh, here I go again, I need to stop before I get too caried away (Motorola and myself have had a very large falling-out) but please If you have any questions or just won't to know what in the world am talking about just contact me through ICQ or E-mail.

Dean Powell

 

Hay herbert the call here is KB8PKR...and what do you mean aaron don't see why you need a setup like ham radio.
1. For use as an emergency might rise involving yourself or someother atver you run into.
2. So you could make use of a phone in the wilderness pretty cool for letting the ole lady know when to start supper and you can also be reached by phone to call into your radio.
3. Mostly as cheap or cheaper than a regular radio and does a heck of a lot more.
4. Getting your kids introduced into the hobby of ham radio
Need More???

Artic Cat 500 auto...radio equipped

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