What to do?

[fourstringburn]

Yep fourstringburn, i have the wireless mic and it is pretty nice for what it is. For the money it's a good buy. Clean, clear audio out of it. All I did was to drill the mic hole open a bit. Simple to do with a drill bit and your fingers. No drill required. And man does it make mobile op's much easier with no cord. And the dang thing actually works from a good distance from the radio. Well over 50ft. away. The built in speaker isn't the best for listening, but it works well enough that if you were away from the radio you could still hold a conversation with someone. And I agree about the AMC needing to be turned up, it does help a bunch. That I didn't mention, but you are totally correct. As far as the radio and mic, for about $160, you can have both the radio and mic. Not a bad deal for an SSB radio and a wireless mic. JMHO. A clean, clear radio on air. For the money a great buy. Can't think of any other radio that is of the same quality at the same price point, that is FCC approved. Not a new radio anyways. For what they cost they are hard to beat. JMHO's.

Thanks for the review on the mic. I wasn't aware it doubled as a speaker. This could be useful in some situations but the mics speaker is not something I think I would use.

Can the mics speaker volume be turned down or off?

Also will using this mic disconnect an external speaker?

 

[Tlag77]

So I've settled on the bearcat, now what about an antenna mount? I have a wilson 5000 trucker and I drive a crappy mini van. I was thinking a triple magnet, magnetic mount, what do yall think?

 

[222DBFL]

Yes the speaker on the mic can be turned completely down but not off per say. Also it doesn't affect the internal speaker at all. I've found it to be useful when I am working on something else and am listening to my locals as well. Makes for easy comms when you aren't right at the radio. You don't miss anything. Not that anything is that important, but you get the drift.

 

[543_Dallas]

So I've settled on the bearcat, now what about an antenna mount? I have a wilson 5000 trucker and I drive a crappy mini van. I was thinking a triple magnet, magnetic mount, what do yall think?

That will work but I'd drill a hole and install a puck mount. It seems drastic at first but considering the damage that those big mag mount t bases will do its far better. The coax won't be exposed, slammed up in the door or ruin the door seal.

I admit that I got a wierd feeling in the pit of my stomach when the 1 1/4" hole saw when through the roof and I could see the back seat of my truck but I'm glad I did it. Makes a clean install and gives the best performance. It is also less likely to cause RFI. I can key my 16 pill with the stereo blasting and no squeel.

 

[222DBFL]

If at all possible, don't use a magnet mount. Get a hard mount and drill a hole. Breedlove is the way I would go as far as a mount. They make a very nice 3" one hole mount that is very well made and probably won't cost much more than a magnet mount that will require constant maintaining. JMO.
There are other companies that make hard mounts, but Breedlove has been a very solid and quality one that I have installed on a few vans and trucks. You get what you pay for, and with that said, I don't think you'll find another mount that is better than the Breedlove mounts. Again, JMHO. Also you may want to consider a more base loaded coil antenna like the regular Wilson 5000 or a Sirio performer 5000. With your mini van, you have lots of room up top and that is a good thing. Some may disagree with me on this, but I have installed more than one of the Sirio performer 5000 antennas and the 3" Breedlove mount and everyone tuned very well. Right now I use a Sirio performer 5000 and the 3" Breedlove mount on a Ford E350 work van coupled with LMR240 and using the uniden bearcat 980, I am able to consistently obtain 25-35 miles of distance with just a stock radio that I have the power on SSB tuned back to 8 watts or so. Same on AM, 2 watt dead key and about 8 watts pep. I don't use AM much at all so I can't say the actual distance it would be, but on SSB, like I said, 25+ miles is not an issue as long as the band permits. If the DX were heavy, my RX and TX distance would be a bit different I'm sure. But overall, I don't have an issue getting back to base stations @ 25-35 miles away just using the radio without any amp in line.
Hope this helps. Good luck with whatever you decide. Just remember to take your time and be safe!!

 

[222DBFL]

You beat me to it 543 LOL!!
Ditch the mag mount and break out the drill!!

 

[fourstringburn]

admit that I got a wierd feeling in the pit of my stomach when the 1 1/4" hole saw

Wouldn't a step bit drill bit be safer with a pre drilled pilot hole?

 

[222DBFL]

That's what I use. A Unibit (step bit). They work great for this application.

 

[543_Dallas]

Wouldn't a step bit drill bit be safer with a pre drilled pilot hole?

Yes, I think it would be. I have a few of those but I didn't realize they made one for a 1.25 or 1.5 inch hole.

You have to be extremely careful with a hole saw because it will grab and ruin your day. Practice on some scrap sheet metal first.

 

[StrangeBrew]

If you have access to both sides of the panel a knockout punch is another option.

 

[Tlag77]

If at all possible, don't use a magnet mount. Get a hard mount and drill a hole. Breedlove is the way I would go as far as a mount. They make a very nice 3" one hole mount that is very well made and probably won't cost much more than a magnet mount that will require constant maintaining. JMO.
There are other companies that make hard mounts, but Breedlove has been a very solid and quality one that I have installed on a few vans and trucks. You get what you pay for, and with that said, I don't think you'll find another mount that is better than the Breedlove mounts. Again, JMHO. Also you may want to consider a more base loaded coil antenna like the regular Wilson 5000 or a Sirio performer 5000. With your mini van, you have lots of room up top and that is a good thing. Some may disagree with me on this, but I have installed more than one of the Sirio performer 5000 antennas and the 3" Breedlove mount and everyone tuned very well. Right now I use a Sirio performer 5000 and the 3" Breedlove mount on a Ford E350 work van coupled with LMR240 and using the uniden bearcat 980, I am able to consistently obtain 25-35 miles of distance with just a stock radio that I have the power on SSB tuned back to 8 watts or so. Same on AM, 2 watt dead key and about 8 watts pep. I don't use AM much at all so I can't say the actual distance it would be, but on SSB, like I said, 25+ miles is not an issue as long as the band permits. If the DX were heavy, my RX and TX distance would be a bit different I'm sure. But overall, I don't have an issue getting back to base stations @ 25-35 miles away just using the radio without any amp in line.
Hope this helps. Good luck with whatever you decide. Just remember to take your time and be safe!!

With fear of sounding like a newb......I was looking at their site, which one do I buy I see a few different 3 inch mounts and I don't want to buy the wrong one.

 

[undertaker]

Drill the hole ........................ Much better than mag mount

 

[222DBFL]

The single hole 3" so239 to so239 mount. Here are some pics of it.
Hope this helps.

 

[space cowboy]

Lot's easier to resell a car with some discolored paint than a hole in the roof. I don't see why you'd need a triple mount for a wilson 5000. their single magnet should be fine.

 

[Tlag77]

Lot's easier to resell a car with some discolored paint than a hole in the roof. I don't see why you'd need a triple mount for a wilson 5000. their single magnet should be fine.

Well I was thinking because it's the trucker that I would need the extra support. If I don't need it that would be great save some dollars. I don't know what I'm gonna do yet. My van has 230,000 miles on it so I'm not worried about the paint or sure.