Is any one planning to use any ham radio gear in their Slate? (I am!)

[cadblu]

I plan on putting in ham and gmrs radios. I have had my ham license for a couple of years but I just have a baofeng at the moment. I plan on getting something better once I get the Slate and maybe see what others use and recommend in their builds (so please post your installs everyone). I also want to make my Slate a mobile meshtastic station.

I’m thinking of printing a cup holder mount for my HT and using my 3D printer.

 

[rday1525]

I’m excited to see how many others are also planning on this. New to the hobby but planning on making mine a good mobile POTA platform

 

[metroshot]

I’m thinking of printing a cup holder mount for my HT and using my 3D printer.

Looks great!
I'd buy one from you to fit my aviation VHF radio

 

[tdm3]

...but I wonder about grounding and cable routing. I am planning both a mobile HF rig and a 2M/70CM dual band. I can't wait for ev mobile QSOs!

One of these two are destined for it. Probably the Icom.

 

[Sia]

Wouxun KG-920P-A probably going into mine. Still wondering/working out what antenna mounting situation will be.

 

[RetiredOnPaper]

Yep. I will use my Yeasu FT-817. Plan to mount a CB whip style antenna on my tool box. (Add on a few inches to give me a 17 M whip.) 2M and 440 no problem. Might have to drill thru the rear cab panel. I don't see that as a big deal. Just need to find a good bonding point to the metal frame. Can't wait to see if they make good on their promise to provide detailed diagrams for the Slate. Need to find good 12VDC access points and perhaps install a second fuse block. Might have to add a second or beefier 12V battery for a winch...just because.

I learned from the old timers that the secret to good HF mobile is grounding. I used to listen to the 160M AM crowd on an old retuned transistor radio back in the '60s. With the replicable panels There should be no fear in drilling holes. (I hope they are not too expensive. )

 

[r6tn]

Is a winch really feasible? The winch on my Jeep pulls 400 amps at full load, which would kill the battery after a minute if it weren't for the alternator. How fast does an EV charge the 12v battery?

I rebuilding an 8274. That would look funny on the front of a Slate

 

[zipn]

You may want to get guidance from SLATE before you install any radio/antenna. Ford is very explicit regarding where you should put antennas on a Maverick based on frequency. It's in the owner's manual. They also do not recommend using an HF radio when charging...

 

[r6tn]

And the Maverick has a metal body. The Slate is going to be really tricky for HF. A half wave antenna should work but the antenna height more or less limits you to VHF/UHF. On the upside, you shouldn't have to worry about bonding body panels.

 

[cadblu]

I've seen some pretty weird stuff when I transmit on certain bands from my home office. The weirdest one is when I transmit in the 2-meter band, 146.550 MHz, my paper shredder begins to shred! This is no joke! Not to mention the interference to my PC audio system if it happens to be on.

 

[EV Trek]

Anyone else remember not long after electronic ignitions started being used in ICE vehicles people installing ham radios would have issues that when they keyed the mic the engine would shut off and sometimes burn out the ignition systems? If I recall Chrysler products were the ones mostly affected.

 

[tubes]

If I recall Chrysler products were the ones mostly affected.

I'm shocked, shocked! Dad's Dodge work van was awesome. He worked in bad neighborhoods and kids looking to score some tools would come up, hard press the button on the door handle (remember those) while it was locked, and the internal rod would bend. The door lock was then toast. He had to take that thing apart all the time to rebend the rod.

Stellantis to this day keeps the fires of crap burning. I have faith that the Stellantis DNA in Slate is purified from those days, i.e. Barman et. el. were getting away from that culture.

 

[r6tn]

When I transmit using my HF radio in my Jeep, all the dash lights come on. Bonding should take care of it but I'm not into HF mobile so I've never bothered

 

[metroshot]

Is a winch really feasible? The winch on my Jeep pulls 400 amps at full load, which would kill the battery after a minute if it weren't for the alternator. How fast does an EV charge the 12v battery?

I rebuilding an 8274. That would look funny on the front of a Slate

Remember, the 12V battery in almost all EVs are very small compared to an ICE.

Mine is a 35AH AGM which would die if you power a winch.

The DC-DC convertor can't be of much use as it's designed to recharge the 12V by trickle charging - not provide heavy power loads.

For my radio setup, I use a separate 12V AGM battery that is solar recharged.

I have learned long time ago that messing with the 12V EV battery is akin to asking for problems like simple unlocking your door issue or nor starting the EV.

This is what happens when you connect simple 12V accessories to an EV:

 

[Sia]

Remember, the 12V battery in almost all EVs are very small compared to an ICE.

Mine is a 35AH AGM which would die if you power a winch.

The DC-DC convertor can't be of much use as it's designed to recharge the 12V by trickle charging - not provide heavy power loads.

For my radio setup, I use a separate 12V AGM battery that is solar recharged.

I have learned long time ago that messing with the 12V EV battery is akin to asking for problems like simple unlocking your door issue or nor starting the EV.

This is what happens when you connect simple 12V accessories to an EV:

Very interesting!

So a mini VHF/UHF mobile unit in the Slate (or my Model 3 for that matter) will likely overload the 12 volt battery system? Is your mustang complaining with the radio just being connected to the 12 volt and powered on, or when receiving, or when transmitting?