My History of VHF mobile FM I have had a wide variety of mobile radios for 2M, starting with an RCA CMC20 (all tubes but compact), then a Hammarlund Outercom, then a "made for Ham Radio", Regency HR2A, the Kenwood all mode TS700a, Icom IC2s (BULLETPROOF front end and SENSITIVE !) Finally, a Radioshack HTX242, very versatile rig. sitting in the shack but vehicle is wired up if I want to do some mobile operating. Seems like 2 Meters is going rapidly into Digital Voice modes, and that is where I get off the bandwagon !!!
Nope,.... If I had a radio in my vehicle, it would probably get ripped off as a C.B. the next time it breaks down on the side of the road... Besides, I cant see well enough to replace the coax on the Mag mount, and the Mic cord got frayed by a sharp edge on the ashtray... Electrical problems keep me from driving at night, and the back brakes keep going out. Never know when I'm gonna have to leave it sit...
Wait, wut? Does anyone under the age of forty even know what a CB radio is? I'm pretty sure they don't. A new CB radio costs maybe $50, $250 if it's real nice, just how much can they be worth to pawn off? I'm pretty sure the threat of a two-way radio getting stolen is pretty low. The kind of people that break into cars might think such a radio means a person is a police officer, undercover or off-duty, and leave the car alone. Ashtray? Just how old is this vehicle? Now I'm wondering if you are serious or this is some kind of parody.
Farmers around here still use C.B. .... 1: Somerset Ky, Meth Capitol of Ky, If it's not nailed down, it's gone.. I've had a $20 portable air pump stolen from the back floorboard.... 2: 1998 Cavalier, Rebuilt salvage. back brake line blew. spent over $400 to get it fixed (line, master cylinder....Got S(Censored). repairs lasted less than a year.... Driving around with just front brakes (as long as it's not raining) Electrical problem keeps dimming the headlights at random making them useless, and making the dash cluster go nuts, radio/wipers/heat go off for several seconds at a time... No I'm not joking, just doing what I gotta do to survive.... Ymmv
having a rig mounted would turn my VW into a BMW - as in Break My Window. Anchorage is a very high crime area these days.... Also I would NOT drive my own vehicle into a disaster zone. If, however, I was in a disaster zone (I live in AK, earthquakes, etc) I do have a multiband rig that can go into the rig along with an all band HF rig...
I had my better 2/440 under the seat, the detachable face on the dash with velcro. I had a MNO with cover, and the antenna behind the seat. My other strategy against theft was to put the mag mount antenna on the roof. The other strategy is low power and plus into cigarette lighter. I keep the HT's in the glove box, or small HT in my pocket.
Both of my vehicles have Kenwood TM-271s in them. I usually use them to listen to public safety traffic as I still do some work for some of the departments. Most of the local 2 meter repeaters are locked out. Getting to sound like CB. Or endless key-ups with no IDs. I do monitor 146.52.
My handheld covers 6M, 2M, 1.2M and 70cm so I just use that in the car with a mag mount antenna. Eventually I'll get the amplifier mount for the radio and mount it in my trunk with the remote unit on my dash. But, ya know money and all that.
