If you use an HT you can use a speaker mike and an external antenna. A good external antenna with 5 watts is going to do more than a good duck with 5 watts. Secondly a 7AH gel cell will run it all day long at full power. If you have to have more poer just carry a second 7ah gell cell and run a 35 watt brick amp.
That still keeps a fairly small package that is not too heavy. Also the HT could be mounted with a cell phone type of pedistal mount. A mobile may draw as much as 12 amps or more at full power (50 watts). If you only run at 5 watts you are having to carry more weight/bulk unless you have a FT-1500m which is small. Just a few things to think about. 73, Jon KD5SFA -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Nov 17, 2004 9:21 PM To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Repeater-Builder] [OT] Current draw of 2 meter rigs? I have a notion to put a VHF radio on a bicycle for public service work, and am wondering if anyone on the list has any better current draw numbers than those at http://www.arrl.org so I can pick the radio that will require the lightest batteries. The problem with a radio on a bicycle is there is no way to top off the batteries en route except with a solar panel or with an unregulated fork-mounted dynamo normally intended to drive a 3- to 6-Watt bulb. A solar panel big enough to be useful (especially here) would be big enough to make a dangerous sail if the wind blew and the dynamo, in addition to creating whine in use, would not deliver enough charge current to keep the battery up when in use. I do have a pair of 12 AH AGM cells on hand that could be pressed into service; with that as a given, I want to maximize the length of time I can operate from one or both cells or, alternately, use a smaller battery or pair of batteries for the same run time. I suppose I could use a HT for this purpose, but they do have certain limitations I would like to avoid if possible. The biggest limitation is the antenna mount; the second biggest is the low gain of the stock rubber duckie and its replacements. Since strictly speaking this is off topic, please E-mail me any responses at "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" or my callsign at the same ISP. de kg7yy Yahoo! Groups Links Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
