Anybody else putting a ham radio or cb in their rig?

[TonkaH2]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by TS:
I like the idea of a handheld. Both Midland and Cobra oth look good, and for around $80 reasonably priced. Radio Shack had a "Through the glass" antenna that I am considering..but, I am going to hold off to see if an external antenna is absolutely necessary for what I plan to do.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Those are great for ouside the vehicle, but normally handheld CB's just won't transmit far through the frame of a truck -especially one with as much metal as the H2. Also, I'm not sure on the wattage of those, but there's a lot of people concerned about what effect those frequencies might have on your noggin when the antenna is right next to your head. Ham radios are the same way, and can have more power. The jury's still out, but I'd prefer to err on the side of caution and go with an external antenna. Of course, from a communication point of view it's a 'no brainer'. . . [sorry, I couldn't resist.]

We have used both, and if you have a group it's nice to be able to talk to the vehicle when you're away from it if you have a second unit. If you get a external mount antenna, try to work with someone who knows what they're doing. A wrong or improperly tuned antenna can make your radio worthless [and annoy everyone else around with noise.]

With the FRS there's less controversy about head health and you won't notice much difference in or out of the vehicle, because the frequencies are different and aren't blocked by the frame. [Common Ham frequncies like 2 meter are the same way, but again there's the concern of your brain cells if you go highter power.]

Whatever you get, test it out and make sure it works in your Hummer and you'll be able to get in on the party line! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

-Jack
Yellow H2 adv. on order
"I think I can make it. D'OH!"
www.sunspotnatural.com

[This message was edited by TonkaH2 on December 17, 2002 at 06:02 AM.]