Ham Radio installations in a bus?

[Mr. T.]

Howdy

I'm into the very early stages of a shuttle bus conversion here. One of the goals is to use part
of the limited space available for an amateur radio installation.

Any tips about what works in a bus and what doesn't?

I'd be very interested in learning what sort of antenna systems other Busaholic hams have used.
HF antennas, especially those used when you're parked, are my main interest.

73s,

Mister T., W9LBB

[Slug]

I have a Codan 8524 with a remote head and a 95xx series auto tune antenna so no need to go outside to adjust the taps no need for a long wire we have a portable long wire kit if needed in an emergency
They run on 12volt and made in Australia you can pick them up quite cheap around $500-$1000 as they are an older model but still have all the bells and whistles except texting facility
James

[PP]

What? Bus not long enough for an 80 meter   

[Mr. T.]

Work 80???   Naw...

To be perfectly honest, I keep toying with the idea of 160 meters!!!   At least while not in motion!

If I could run 160 in a Volkswagen van back in high school, why not!!!

[Slug]

 You could use insulators and wrap the bus in 80 meters of wire and have a omnidirectional bus and not have to turn it a round while using the radio 
No where's the cordless screwdriver
James
Sorry a bit of track, but could be fun, who's got a spare 80 meters of fence wire they can ship to AU we don't have fences   

[Mr. T.]

Well, I'm a LONG way from implementing an installation (I'm in the early stages of bus
conversion; the FUN stuff comes later), but the mental planning is nice to play with.

At this point...  thinking about a telescoping mast installation on the rear bumper, to
hold up an inverted V @ maybe 20 - 30 feet.

Also considering something more primal...  a long wire slung between two trees, and an
antenna tuner on the bus.

For VHF, looking about deploying a discone from the (projected) solar panel rack; naturally
stowed during transport.

For a long time now, my "Road Warrior" radios have been rack mounted Icom R71 and R7000
housed in a "Roadie case" like rock bands use for their electronics.

Getting outlandish in figuring for HF ham gear...  try a KWM-2 & mobile supply, backed up by
a 30L1 linear powered by generator!!!   

If the inefficiency of that is too much to deal with, looking hard at my Icom 765 run barefoot.

[Iceni John]

For VHF, looking about deploying a discone from the (projected) solar panel rack; naturally
stowed during transport.

Nothing, and I really mean nothing at all, can cast any shadow over any part of a solar panel, otherwise its power production will be greatly reduced or even nothing at all.   If you have a panel consisting of two strings of cells and each string is wired in series, blocking just one cell will cut panel production by 50%, and two or more blocked cells may cut power entirely depending on which cells are in shadow.   Then if you also have your panels in series, you'll be SOL because if just one or two cells on one panel are in shadow, the entire array's production will be cut.   It's easy to prevent all this  -  do not shade your panels at all, and connect them in parallel.   Simple.   Besides, MPPT charge controllers work most efficiently (i.e. coolest) when they need to step down the panels' voltage as little as possible to whatever the batteries need.

John