Which car for mobile?

I have a 92 olds cutlass on hf ... works great , the mercury sable isn't too
bad neither

--
Rob St.Denis

...

As far as radio/noise concerns the GM owners seem to be the happiest
campers I see in general. I have a ford truck that doesn't make noise
but it's a 68..:/ No fuel pumps etc to make noise on that old thing.
Maybe a little ignition noise, but I haven't noticed much. I have new
plug wires etc on it. I have a chevy car, and it's always been quiet.
The only real noise I seem to get on HF is tire static at high speeds.
At idle, I'm pretty quiet even with the engine running. MK
--
http://web.wt.net/~nm5k

I have had really good luck with dodge no noise at all. had a ranger pickup once
it was awful!

--
Living on earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun every
year

Bill,

Certainly not to flame Fords, but in 35 years of HF mobiling and instal-
ling gear in vehicles, it always *seemed* that Fords did, indeed, have
more noise issues. I don't know why that is--certainly, they are reli-
able vehicles in most cases--but the noise was one of the reasons I
quit buying them many years ago. I have always had good luck with GM
vehicles, both reliability AND lack of ignition racket. I ran HF mobile
in Chevrolets and hardly ever had a problem. Recently, my 1987 Celebrity
quit at 199,468 miles--well, it didn't "quit", but a spark plug lost an
electrode down into the engine and it started bypassing oil. It was
always quiet in the noise department. I had bought a '93 Lumina Z34
which I didn't intend to install radios in--it was to be my fun car,
cruiser, and "skirt chasin'" car. But when the Celebrity had trouble
(I still have the car and intend on replacing the engine), I struggled
with the idea of having "ugly" antennas on it for awhile before I missed
my mobile enough to put the 706 MKIIG in it. I wasn't really sure if
that particular car would "take" kindly to radios. When I installed the
rig and the 3" screwdriver antenna, I was amazed! That car is so quiet,
I did almost nothing outside the usual "good practice" grounding.

I am reluctant to just tell someone, well, you oughta get a XXXXXX or an
XXXXXXXX for fear of making owners of other vehicles mad. But I would
have to say from experience that Chevrolet or other GM vehicle would be
a good choice. I mean no flames towards the true "Blue" (Oval) Ford
fans.

73

Jerry
K4KWH

I've had my TS-430S in a my 93 Lumina with good results. I've also had it
in a 90-92 Ford Aerostar and a 96 Windstar all with low noise floors.
There's noise but it's not unacceptable by any means. We did go to great
lengths to have a good ground both at the rig and the antenna by using, in
come cases, multiple 2 inch beryllium-copper strapping going directly to
chassis ground. Also, about 12ga wire, both positive and negative, directly
from the battery. I take this setup from Hutchinson, KS out to the Colorado
mountains every summer for vacation and have very good luck talking back
home on 40m.

...

My 1996 Dodge RAM 1500 5.9L V8 has been very quiet.

73,
Ed KA9EES

...
: I've had my TS-430S in a my 93 Lumina with good results. I've also
had it
: in a 90-92 Ford Aerostar and a 96 Windstar all with low noise floors.
: There's noise but it's not unacceptable by any means. We did go to
great
: lengths to have a good ground both at the rig and the antenna by
using, in
: come cases, multiple 2 inch beryllium-copper strapping going directly
to
: chassis ground. Also, about 12ga wire, both positive and negative,
directly
: from the battery. I take this setup from Hutchinson, KS out to the
Colorado
: mountains every summer for vacation and have very good luck talking
back
: home on 40m.
:
:
: appreciate some
: input
: any
: : : :-)
: : : : :
:

Chevy Suburban. Mine is a 1999. It is very quiet except for tire static at
fast highway speeds. I hear Chevy Silverado Pickups are quiet also.
Previous was Ford F-150. Noisy fuel pumps. 2 tanks. Expensive to quiet
down. 6 cyl had 65 amp alternator. Went through 3 of them. Darn good
truck though--kept it 10 years. Before that was 1984 GMC Jimmy--very quiet,
more so than Ford pick up, but the Suburban is quieter. Jimmy also had
small alternator. Jimmys and Blazers along with Jeeps and Explorers are
just too cramped inside--they are more like cars. Suburban provides one of
the largest ground planes and has all kinds of places to mount lots of
antennas and lots of radio equipment. Easy access under hood and under
vehicle, with lots of grommets as well as easily removable panels and
covers. $12.00 auxiliary battery shelf available for up front. 100 amp
alternator or larger available. Suburban should be able to pull your
trailer with 70 foot crank up tower and portable 7 to 30 MHz log periodic
beam easily.

I have a Ford with zero noise. My 94 Merc. Cougar with 4.6L engine has been
quiet since the day it was new. Run HF in it all the time. My 91 Cougar XR7
5.0L was equally quiet.

I pick up some very low noise when the A/C blower is at full tilt. And after
changing wires/plugs a few thousand miles ago, just a hint of ignition noise
at full throttle under load(going up steep hills, etc)

-George W2DB/5

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