My experience of using the Yaesu VX-8r as a mobile

[depark]

You could try this mount from mountguys.com. I got one for my VX-8DR and it works well. Lido makes a similar one also.

 

[W1MSG]

That cup holder mount would work perfect in my Mustang. I dont want a mobile unit in the stang and I am still debating the VX-8R. Not sure what to do for an external antenna, dont want to use a mag mount, maybe a trunk lip with a quarterwave since it will only be on 2m in the car for APRS. I probably put less miles on the car than ya put on that RV in a year

I guess I may need to make a trip up to HRO in Salem NH and see what kind of a deal I can get on a DR ..

 

[JakiChan]

One issue I've noticed with my VX-8DR is that if I have it running in the car with the cig lighter plugged in it gets insanely hot. Hotter than it should. Maybe you're not supposed to run it that way with a full battery? I.e. let the battery run down and then plug it in to charge?

 

[Jeremiah]

Moleculo,

I have looked all over for the Lido mount with the adapter in the picture.

I emailed the company and no response.

If anyone has info on the mount in this article I would like a link to the site it is found on.

 

[depark]

It is a LM-400EXP and you can order it online from Ham Radio Outlet.

WindowMate Express
LM-400EXP
The WindowMate Express is a version of the original Window-Mate and features an Express Mount attached to the integrated swivel. This mount is perfect for
any electronic device using a button, leather case or OEM clip HRO
Price $19.95.

73 Darryl VA7DTP

 

[Jeremiah]

I went to the site and the Window Mate Express
LM-400EXP has the button mount but it is a goose neck.

I have experienced vibration with that type mount and am looking for the hinge type in the article.

I guess I may have to buy the 400 for the button mount and and an additional pivoting hinge type mount.

Appreciate the info.

 

[depark]

Look at the LM-500H Low vibration mount. You will have to purchase the belt clip bracket separately though.

 

[hms1992]

VX-8DR on long distance trip mobile

I used the VX-8DR on a long distance trip to Colorado.

Setup:

VX-8DR with external speaker mic
BD-35 amplifier
Yaesu car charger
Comet M-24B antenna

APRS worked great on the 1200 miles trip just some problems in the Vail, CO area.

Only setback was that as usual nobody was on 146.52 and the repeaters on the route didn't answer (also nothing unusual) - very disapointing on a two day trip - but that's another topic all together.

Otherwise a great test for the equipment worked just flawless.

 

[Moleculo]

I just realized that I owe Depark an apology. He made me an awesome antenna bracket for my RV that I installed and need to post pictures of. I should be able to get them online this weekend.

BTW, the mount I use on the VX-8 does get a little vibration. The low-vibration LM-500H that he suggested would probably work a little better.

 

[Se7en]

There isn't any rocket science involved with using an HT for a mobile rig, but I thought I would share some photos and some of my recent experience of using the Yaesu VX-8r as a replacement to a permanent mobile rig.

First, a little background: The vehicle being used is my RV. I decided against installing a permanent VHF/UHF rig in the RV because it would just not be used often enough to justify the expense, IMO. With the built-in APRS functionality, the Yaesu VX-8r makes a good choice if you would like others to be able to track your location while on the road. This was also a consideration for me since I frequently take the RV out into the desert for hunting trips during the season. The wife and family don't go, so this way they can track me if they desire (and assuming I can make it into a digipeater!)

I picked up a Lido Mount at the Dayton Hamvention this year - they had a sweet deal going on. Here is a pic of the mount on the window of the RV:

This particular Lido mount has a reversable face. If your radio has a standard belt clip, you just clip on with the face oriented as pictured. If you have a swivel belt clip, you flip the mount face up and use it oriented the other way. Lido makes a bunch of different mount faces for whatever application you need.

Here's a pic of the VX-8r mounted on the Lido mount:

You can see that I've attached the external antenna and the hand help mic. The mic clips on the visor perfectly out of the way in the RV, making it easy to hear the speaker, yet easily accessible. The GPS unit (not pictured) is in the hand mic. Even with the RV cab overhang, the GPS is still sensitive enough that it worked perfectly, even tucked up on the visor against the roof.

Here is the front view as I'm sitting in the driver seat:

The radio is in dual 2 meter mode - VFO A is on 146.52, VFO B is on 144.390 for APRS tracking. One problem with using the VX-8r in this manner is that the screen can be a little difficult to see. While driving, an RV can be a little bouncy. There is a bit of flex with this particular Lido mount, causing the radio to bounce around just a little. This doesn't really hurt anything, but it does make it a bit challenging to read the screen when it's in dual VFO mode. If I put it into single VFO mode with the large letters, it was easy to see.

The original plan for the RV was to use a spare 2m/440 antenna that I have, mounted on an adjustable Diamond groove mount on the hood. The hood of the RV is the only place where there is any sheet metal. Unfortunately, the hood has a huge lip on it's edge so the Diamond groove mount did not work and had to be returned. For now, I just stuck a little 2m/440 antenna with a rare earth magmount on the top of the corner panel. I'm not sure what the hood on this RV is made of, but it's not sheet metal (maybe aluminum?) because the magnet would stick where I originally wanted it. You can see in this pic how it ended up getting mounted. It leans a little funny, but it's not that big of a deal

One nice thing about the VX-8r is that it uses a standard external speaker 1/8" stereo jack. I ran a regular speaker cable to the AUX input on the stereo in the dash and was able to use the cab speakers to hear the radio. The passengers got a little tired of it after a while, so I ended up going back to just having the sound output to the hand speaker/mic over head. One word of caution with using the external speaker - When I also plugged in the cigarette lighter charger to the HT while the external speaker cable was plugged in, I got a mean ground loop hum through the speakers. I'm sure that would have been broadcast as well, if I didn't unplug it. So if you plan on using the charger, don't create a ground loop!

With this setup and 5 watts, I was able to chat with quite a few stations along the way. Almost all were home stations, but there were a few mobiles also. 5-10 miles of range seemed to work pretty consistently, with much farther distances to base stations with good antennas. I have a little 35 watt VHF amplifier that I may try to hook up and rest on the dash somewhere. One good thing about RV's is that they tend to have a big dash that you can put to use. I would really like to figure out a way to mount a real antenna on the hood, but this just may not be very feasible.

When I got home, I pulled up my station on Login - Google Maps APRS and found that I was much more successful at being tracked by the digitpeater even with this little cheap external antenna than with the stock duckie. I expected that, but the difference it made really was remarkable.

So there you have it - hand held Yaesu VX-8r HT turned into a mobile.

Cost without radio
Lido mount - $25
2m/400 magmount antenna - $12
Radio Car charger - $27

Where did you purchase the mount? As i don't see it on Lido's site.