View Full Version : Motorcycle mobile
Spent the latter half of the day installing an FTM-10SR - 2/440MHz 10w mobile - on 'DSG's Valkyrie Tourer. What a friggin' project. The 'homebrew' aspect involves cable, bracket and interface building. A big tip of the hat to Jon Jamber and the rest of the Kennedy Technologies staff, who provided the FRSet-4 controller and a bunch of hard-to-find connectors.
Pictures forthcoming as soon as I clean the wiring job up a bit, along with the rest of the bike. Have to build a harness to connect the two rear speakers (mounted in the passenger armrests) to the Yaesu's AF Out line. It's capable of receiving FM stereo and that's the main reason I donated one of the rigs to her bike - it doesn't have a factory audio system.
Sadly, Yaesu discontinued the -SR (waterproof) version, leaving only the FTM-10R (50w) available. I would gladly pay $$$ for a waterproof, 10W mobile FM rig of similar construction that covers 10-6-2M, 220 and 440MHz. With the rig which is due here sometime next week we have four of them and I would like to find a fifth.
KG4CGC
07-30-2011, 08:48 PM
like
K7SGJ
07-30-2011, 11:22 PM
Spent the latter half of the day installing an FTM-10SR - 2/440MHz 10w mobile - on 'DSG's Valkyrie Tourer. What a friggin' project. The 'homebrew' aspect involves cable, bracket and interface building. A big tip of the hat to Jon Jamber and the rest of the Kennedy Technologies staff, who provided the FRSet-4 controller and a bunch of hard-to-find connectors.
Pictures forthcoming as soon as I clean the wiring job up a bit, along with the rest of the bike. Have to build a harness to connect the two rear speakers (mounted in the passenger armrests) to the Yaesu's AF Out line. It's capable of receiving FM stereo and that's the main reason I donated one of the rigs to her bike - it doesn't have a factory audio system.
Sadly, Yaesu discontinued the -SR (waterproof) version, leaving only the FTM-10R (50w) available. I would gladly pay $$$ for a waterproof, 10W mobile FM rig of similar construction that covers 10-6-2M, 220 and 440MHz. With the rig which is due here sometime next week we have four of them and I would like to find a fifth.
I wish I'd have known. I coulda helped you out with the fifth, but I drank it.
w2amr
07-31-2011, 07:21 AM
Spent the latter half of the day installing an FTM-10SR - 2/440MHz 10w mobile - on 'DSG's Valkyrie Tourer. What a friggin' project. The 'homebrew' aspect involves cable, bracket and interface building. A big tip of the hat to Jon Jamber and the rest of the Kennedy Technologies staff, who provided the FRSet-4 controller and a bunch of hard-to-find connectors.
Pictures forthcoming as soon as I clean the wiring job up a bit, along with the rest of the bike. Have to build a harness to connect the two rear speakers (mounted in the passenger armrests) to the Yaesu's AF Out line. It's capable of receiving FM stereo and that's the main reason I donated one of the rigs to her bike - it doesn't have a factory audio system.
Sadly, Yaesu discontinued the -SR (waterproof) version, leaving only the FTM-10R (50w) available. I would gladly pay $$$ for a waterproof, 10W mobile FM rig of similar construction that covers 10-6-2M, 220 and 440MHz. With the rig which is due here sometime next week we have four of them and I would like to find a fifth.IMHO, Riding a motorcycle is dangerous enough without adding the distraction of a two way radio. But that's just me.
IMHO, Riding a motorcycle is dangerous enough without adding the distraction of a two way radio. But that's just me.
Everything's integrated - your hands needn't leave the bars once you have set the operating frequency and mode. PTT controls for onboard CB (Hondaline/Clarion) and the Yaesu dualbander are on the left bar, near the grip. Easy reach.
Here's a shot of the FRSet-4, nestled in its frame area before the fuel tank was replaced:
4403
Can you spot the radio?
4406
Getting warmer...the main chassis tucks up underneath the Valkyrie I/S' trunk rack in the space where its OEM CB would normally mount. Since this is a Tourer, its accessory CB mounts under the driver's saddle - leaving the trunk area free.
4407
The control head. It's completely waterproof, as is the main chassis. The white lead to the right of the unit is the Hondaline CB unit's "Aux In" line - I opted to use the CB for this rather than the FTM-10SR's "Line In" port - owing to the fact it's a little bit easier for the driver (Nicki) to work the CB's audio input source selector with gloved hands.
4408
Antenna and connector. The mount is a standard Hondaline; it was adapted to accommodate a PL-259 on each end by first removing the Honda 8mm stud mount and coax. A pair of SO-239 to 3/8"-24 mounts and a 3/8"-24 threaded barrel (as is used to mount a fiberglass CB whip, for example) comprise the inside and a pair of Teflon washers/spacers - one at each end of the assembly - keeps the "center conductor" (barrel) from shorting out to the arm.
Easy to duplicate; all parts available from your local Radio Shack, CB shop, etc. The modification is completely reversible if wanting to return the bike to "stock".
The antenna is a Comet SB224 - it has a fold-over mast like the Hondaline CB antenna, which is mounted on the left side of the trunk. Handy for times when you need to throw a cover on the bike - just lay both of them flat. No need to remove.
4409
One other tidbit - I programmed a bunch of frequencies - simplex, repeaters, FRS/GMRS/MURS monitor channels - public service/safety allocations and a lot more into a master unit while sitting in the shack. Once this was done, I took the master and a 12v battery out to the bike, activated 'clone mode' and in about 2 minutes had a copy of the data residing in the newly installed radio, awaiting usage. I'll update the rest of the radios as I get them and install them. This is a cool feature to have, but the rigs have to be in close proximity to each other for this to work. How close I'm not sure - hopefully we can do bike-to-bike clones if parked next to one another.
w2amr
08-01-2011, 03:37 AM
Pretty slick, nice job.
Not done yet. 'DSG and myself did a T/R test last evening with the bike and it seems I'm picking up a sheetload of alternator noise on TX. Gotta get that fixed.
I redid the 'integrator' (FRSet4) to radio harness - seems that the supplied cable drawing had the Mic Gnd line routed to +5v! Also reduced the internal RX/TX Audio Gain setting to 'normal' (rather than 20dB boost) and made up for the level difference by increasing the FTM-10SR's Mic Gain menu setting.
Also built up a relay and wiring harness which picks power for both the radio and the KTG setup straight from the battery via an inline 5A mini-fuse. We have yet to try a transceive session with this modification but the initial harness rework and gain reduction appeared to quiet the noise substantially.
Of course, each time I make adjustments to the Integrator I have to remove and replace the fuel tank. Doing so caused the gas line to develop a leak and it's a single-wall, non-braided type. Which no one has in stock, naturally. I ended up going with 5/16" ID braided Neoprene line and had to remove the airbox assembly to replace it due to leverage constraints. :angry:
Hopefully I won't have to screw with the setup any more. 'DSG's other -10SR arrived in the mail today and it'll get installed on my Concours some time this fall.
IMHO, Riding a motorcycle is dangerous enough without adding the distraction of a two way radio. But that's just me.
+1
When I ride, I do have my VX-6 in my backpack. Only thing I listen to is music on my iPod. The phone is also in my backpack, on, incase shit happens. Although, in a lot of places I ride, if shit happened, I'd be more likely to be able to summon help with the HT.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.