[axelwik]

imported post

A while back I asked anyone if they had ever installed a VHF (2-meter) ham radio on a goldwing. Well... I went ahead and did it. I used a 2m/70cm dual band handheld radio connected to a dual band antenna mounted to the back of the bike. With only 5 watts of power I can get into all the local repeaters just fine.

For power I connected it directly to the battery with a fuse. An added benefit is that this radio has an option of displaying input voltage, so now I have a volt meter!

I'm still looking for headset/mic/PTT ideas. I'll either cobble something together from radio shack parts or buy a cheap speaker-mic and cannibalize it.

Here's a photo of the radio mounted to one of the windshield struts.

 

[axelwik]

imported post

This is the base of the antenna. It's a Larson 2/70 dual band with an NMO mount. I added 1/2-inchwidegrounding ribbon to ensure a good connection for grounding the antenna.

 

[axelwik]

imported post

The radiogoes off and on in just a few seconds. I clamped an old radio battery pack to the windshield strut to serve as a quick-disconnect fitting.

 

[axelwik]

imported post

astrotlv wrote:

I want to double its use with ARPS so family can see where I am on a map. (any idea how to do thus?)
Ben.

VK3GR

APRS (automatic position reporting system)... now you have me thinking!

It would be pretty simple to connect a TNC and GPS for APRS. If I were to do it I'd use a Kantronics KPC3 TNC because of itssmall size and low current drain. For the GPS you'd need one with an external output (NMEA-0183 connector). There are smaller TNC's, but not as reliable.

Other than that its a matter of making up cables and configuring the TNC. I don't know if you have any experience with packet, but for APRS you don't need a computer after initially configuring the TNC. The most difficult part of packet is getting the cables right.

I sometimes go off on rides when my wife is working. It would be nice for her to go to a website and track my whereabouts.

http://personal.riverusers.com/~aprswest/javAPRS/10151.html