Long Range Emergency Communications Set

[VegasUnderworld]

My wife and I have been looking into a form of long range communications for a while now. CB was adequate for vehicle to vehicle communication, but one would have to be very lucky and close to use it for emergency contact. We have one of the Spot Connect devices that sends pre-written text messages by satellite to people we've selected in advance. We were happy with that for a while because we liked the idea of using satellites. We wanted to use it to let friends know when we were leaving the Jeep so they would know where to start a search in the event we did not return. The problem was it often took too long to connect to a satellite and we'd get impatient and head out on foot without sending a message.

After a lot of research, we settled on a ham radio option. The Yaesu FT-7900. It's a dual band radio with a 50 watt output on VHF and 45 watt output on UHF. More than enough to reach others many miles away. Using local and linked repeaters, our range was extended to across the country and further.

One of the factors in finalizing my radio decision was the size of the radio. It would be mounted in a 2007 Jeep Commander. It's a larger vehicle than our previous Wrangler, but for some reason it felt like it had less mounting options. Some of the Yaesu models feature an option to separate the control face from the CPU. It took me a while to decide on a mounting spot for the control face. After much positioning, I decided on a spot above the rear view mirror. I chose that spot because it was out of the way, but visible. I also found that my peripheral vision was better looking up than looking down.

 

[VegasUnderworld]

There was a deal where the kit to separate the control face from the CPU was included in the sale. Strangely enough, the separation kit did not include a way to separate the microphone from the control face and Yaesu does not sell a cable to remote mount the microphone. The microphone plug is on the right side of the control face. I tried wrapping the mic cord around the rear view mirror, but it kept falling and I didn't like the sloppy look of it.

After a day of tucking the mic cord, I went to Radio Shack and bought a 6-pin RJ cord and a 6-pin cable connector. There are cords with a reverse or straight wire pattern. If you go with this radio and choose to remote mount your microphone, you'll want to get the cord with the straight through pattern.

Using my handy rotary tool, I found a good spot to mount the cable connector forward of the gear shifter. The cord passes through the console, finding its way up the passenger side A-pillar to the control face. Try to find a shielded cable if you can. I was not able to locate one locally, so I was careful to avoid other wires that may create interference.

 

[VegasUnderworld]

The brains of the radio was remote mounted to a location under the driver side dash. There is a panel that flips down that offered concealment, access to wiring, and ventilation. The Yaesu FT-7900 has a built in fan, but still should be mounted in an area allowing free air exchange. Being so close to the fuse box, wiring was simple. Using a fuse tap in an unused fuse port provided more than enough power for the radio to transmit at full power without dimming or fading.

 

[VegasUnderworld]

The problem with using that location to mount the CPU was the speaker of the FT-7900 is built into the CPU case. I was able to hear the speaker, but volume had to be high and even at high volume it was muffled. I bought a small external speaker made by MFJ that I mounted forward of the rear view mirror. The box directly in front of the mirror would be used for the headlight auto-dimmer and/or the auto-cruise range finder if this Commander were so equipped, which it is not. The speaker is mounted just forward of that, closest to the glass.

Being at ear level without obstructions, the speaker can be extremely loud. I barely turn it up to around an eighth of volume and often find that too loud. At all volumes, transmissions come in extremely clear.

 

[VegasUnderworld]

Antenna's and mounts can get very expensive, but that's not the place you want to try to save money in a radio system. A great radio with a bad antenna will result in a bad system. I chose the Comet CA2X4SR based solely on the great reviews at various ham forums. I won't pretend to know why it's such a great antenna. People much more experienced and smarter say it is, so I trusted their judgement.

Ideally, I would want to mount the antenna dead center of the roof, but I'm in and out of parking garages almost daily. The antenna I chose was 40" tall. Our Commander sits about 5 inches over stock. I would eventually forget to remove the antenna and it would be destroyed. At a cost of $70 for the antenna, that would be a costly mistake.

I chose convenience over performance with the mounting location. It still clears well over the roof line, so any loss is minimal. Since there are so many repeaters in and around Las Vegas, I didn't think I would notice any performance loss. I can't remember the brand of antenna mount I went with, but it's the lip and fender type of mount. The cost of the mount was in the $40 range. It sits opposite the radio antenna and compliments the look of the Jeep well. It doesn't stand out like antenna's do on some vehicles. From my position, it's mostly blocked by the A-pillar, so I never notice it.

 

[VegasUnderworld]

For foot travel or vehicle to vehicle, I have a set of six 5-watt handhelds programmed for simplex (direct connect) and a few local repeaters. You can see them charging at the bottom left. With the handhelds, we're able to communicate directly for many miles and activate a repeater at 15-20 miles. The repeater tower is on top of a mountain overlooking all of Las Vegas. We are fortunate to see those results.

 

[VegasUnderworld]

I originally bought the set for emergency communications, but find myself listening to the radio more than the stereo now. After everything was purchased, I was in the $400-500 range and was trying to make myself ok with the expense. $500 is still a lot of money to some of us. A few days after the install there was a report on the news of a Jeep in northern Nevada with two adults and two children missing for days in the snow. After I heard that report, I was happy I made the investment. Any reservations about the money spent went away instantly.

If you don't already have a set for long range emergency communications, I do hope you consider it. Stay safe!

 

[uli2000]

Very nice clean install. Personally, especially with all the HT's you have I would have consitered the 8800 or the Kenwood V71A or D710A for the cross band repeater feature.

 

[VegasUnderworld]

I looked at the 8800, but it was around $150 more which was out of my budget. I also felt it was more radio than I needed and I wanted to keep it fairly basic. If I ever upgrade, I'll be looking for something repeater capable to use with the HT's like you mentioned. Currently, my needs were just something as close to plug and play as possible.

 

[vicali]

Putting my FT-7900 in the Tacoma this weekend,
Any reason you avoided connecting the radio directly to the batt like the install manual shows on pg9?

I'm debating this myself as it would be nice to have switched 12v with the key instead of turning it on manually and then waiting for the auto-off to kick in every time.

 

[VegasUnderworld]

The guy at the radio shop where I bought the radio said as long as it's on a fuse 20 amps or higher, it'll be fine. It also comes with a 20 amp inline fuse. It's overkill with fuses, but I like the redundant safety.

I believe he said if there is interference I may have to direct connect to the battery. Clean signal may be why a direct connect is recommended, but there is more than enough power at the fuse block.

If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will post it up, but I haven't had any issues transmitting or receiving.

 

[uli2000]

I looked at the 8800, but it was around $150 more which was out of my budget. I also felt it was more radio than I needed and I wanted to keep it fairly basic. If I ever upgrade, I'll be looking for something repeater capable to use with the HT's like you mentioned. Currently, my needs were just something as close to plug and play as possible.

Understandable. I know Yeasu has been running rebates lately on their radios, I think it's up to $80 on the 8800 atm, makes me think there's a replacement coming soon?

 

[VegasUnderworld]

Great. I just bought the set and it's old already. HAHA

 

[DaveInDenver]

Hard to imagine what Yaesu might improve on the FT-7900 and FT-8800. Having a legal to use cross band and allowing the secondary side to TX in the background are about it. It'll be interesting to see if they are dedicated to digital or not, because that's the only reason I could see them changing them.

 

[VegasUnderworld]

The FT-7900 seems to be a solid set. Programming from the control face is a little difficult without experience. Other than that, I've been very pleased with the set and the results. I did have a slight problem with the mic sticking on transmit. I removed the three screws and saw that instead of a spring to rebound the transmit key, there was a wedge of what appeared to be neoprene like sponge. The sponge shifted. I reset it to fit and good as new.