Just got my General ticket and want to mount my htx-10 in the car. I have a
Saturn coupe and want to mount a 10m hamstick on the trunk and also want to
install an amp. This needs to be a cheap evolution and am unsure about
amplifiers and the installation. I only need to push 100 watts I guess. The
htx is 25 watts ssb. Will I need an extra battery if I run an amp? Or do I
need an amp at all?

Thank you

73
Greg

Just got my General ticket and want to mount my htx-10 in the car. I have
a
Saturn coupe and want to mount a 10m hamstick on the trunk and also want
to
install an amp. This needs to be a cheap evolution and am unsure about
amplifiers and the installation. I only need to push 100 watts I guess.
The
htx is 25 watts ssb. Will I need an extra battery if I run an amp? Or do
I
need an amp at all?

Going from 25 to 100 watts will not be that much of a gain. Only about 6 db.
That is what some think of as one S unit. Try it without the amp first and
see how well you do compaired to others. Instead of an amp you may want to
just look for a used 100 watt all band rig. The battery in the car is fine.
YOU do not need anotehr battery as long as the car is running. With the car
off much transmitting and you will need a seperate battery to get you
started again. On receive you can leave it on for several hours without any
problems.

Just got my General ticket and want to mount my htx-10 in the car.

Greg-

1. As Ralph said, try it barefoot and see how it goes. Generally, if you hear
a station well, they will hear you well unless they're running a LOT more
power.

Rather than waste money on a CB amplifier, you should consider upgrading to an
all-band rig such as a Kenwood TS-430, 450, 570, et cetera. Then there are the
nifty little radios like the Icom 706 or Kenwood TS-50, that are barely larger
than the HTX-10.

2. The Hamstick is a good choice. It would be easy to change to a Hamstick
for another band if you were to upgrade the rig. It compares to the Hustler
mast plus resonator I use. However, it may be a bit heavy if you use the
trunk-lip mount. In that case, there are lighter antennas available that work
almost as well. If you have any old CB antennas that would fit the mounting
location, you should be able to cut them down. Be careful you don't cut too
much!

3. No, you should not need a second battery. Suppose you ran a 100 watt rig
on Ten FM, that would draw about 20 Amperes. Divide the amp-hour rating of
your battery by 20 to see about how many hours you could hold the key down
before a fully charged battery would be depleted. Normally you don't operate
in a continuous key-down mode, and SSB draws less average current still.

If you are worried, be sure you get the largest battery that will fit the
battery compartment in your car, the next time you replace it. A larger
battery usually means more amp-hours. (My Toyota came with a smaller battery
than it would hold.)

4. When you get on the air, ask about the Ten-Ten club. Also try checking in
to the Titusville, FL, ARC Mosquito Net on 28.333 MHz, Wednesdays at 7 PM
Eastern Time.

73, Fred, K4DII

PS: Is that your picture at www.qrz.com? You may have passed the General test
but the FCC data base doesn't reflect it yet.

I just went on qrz and did the bio. It is actually my daughter. She is the
background for my qsl card once it is done. Just passed the morse code test
last week so I have been doing calls /AG. Hopefully this week the database
will reflect my new license so I can stop with the "alpha golf" Thanks for the
tips. I may just go with a 1/4 wave whip for the time being so I can have
something in the car. I have an IC-718 for a base rig with a dipole in the
attic for 40-10m. The problem with the htx-10 is the fact there is not cw
capability. I read a thread in the past that showed how to make one. Maybe
I'll look that up again as I had not been able to use the radio until now.

Thanks
73
Greg

I just went on qrz and did the bio. It is actually my daughter. She is
the
background for my qsl card once it is done. Just passed the morse code
test
last week so I have been doing calls /AG. Hopefully this week the
database
will reflect my new license so I can stop with the "alpha golf" Thanks
for the
tips. I may just go with a 1/4 wave whip for the time being so I can have
something in the car. I have an IC-718 for a base rig with a dipole in
the
attic for 40-10m. The problem with the htx-10 is the fact there is not cw
capability. I read a thread in the past that showed how to make one.
Maybe
I'll look that up again as I had not been able to use the radio until now.


You can fake CW by feeding an audio tone into the mic input. You just have
to be sure the tone is pure and not overdriving the rig. Use about 900 to
1000 hz.

I just went on qrz and did the bio. It is actually my daughter. She is
the
background for my qsl card once it is done. Just passed the morse code
test
last week so I have been doing calls /AG. Hopefully this week the
database
will reflect my new license so I can stop with the "alpha golf" Thanks
for the
tips. I may just go with a 1/4 wave whip for the time being so I can have
something in the car. I have an IC-718 for a base rig with a dipole in
the
attic for 40-10m. The problem with the htx-10 is the fact there is not cw
capability. I read a thread in the past that showed how to make one.
Maybe
I'll look that up again as I had not been able to use the radio until now.


You can fake CW by feeding an audio tone into the mic input. You just have
to be sure the tone is pure and not overdriving the rig. Use about 900 to
1000 hz.

I just went on qrz and did the bio. It is actually my daughter. She is the
background for my qsl card once it is done. Just passed the morse code test
last week so I have been doing calls /AG. Hopefully this week the database
will reflect my new license so I can stop with the "alpha golf" Thanks for the
tips. I may just go with a 1/4 wave whip for the time being so I can have
something in the car. I have an IC-718 for a base rig with a dipole in the
attic for 40-10m. The problem with the htx-10 is the fact there is not cw
capability. I read a thread in the past that showed how to make one. Maybe
I'll look that up again as I had not been able to use the radio until now.

Thanks
73
Greg

Just got my General ticket and want to mount my htx-10 in the car. I have
a
Saturn coupe and want to mount a 10m hamstick on the trunk and also want
to
install an amp. This needs to be a cheap evolution and am unsure about
amplifiers and the installation. I only need to push 100 watts I guess.
The
htx is 25 watts ssb. Will I need an extra battery if I run an amp? Or do
I
need an amp at all?

Going from 25 to 100 watts will not be that much of a gain. Only about 6 db.
That is what some think of as one S unit. Try it without the amp first and
see how well you do compaired to others. Instead of an amp you may want to
just look for a used 100 watt all band rig. The battery in the car is fine.
YOU do not need anotehr battery as long as the car is running. With the car
off much transmitting and you will need a seperate battery to get you
started again. On receive you can leave it on for several hours without any
problems.

Just got my General ticket and want to mount my htx-10 in the car.

Greg-

1. As Ralph said, try it barefoot and see how it goes. Generally, if you hear
a station well, they will hear you well unless they're running a LOT more
power.

Rather than waste money on a CB amplifier, you should consider upgrading to an
all-band rig such as a Kenwood TS-430, 450, 570, et cetera. Then there are the
nifty little radios like the Icom 706 or Kenwood TS-50, that are barely larger
than the HTX-10.

2. The Hamstick is a good choice. It would be easy to change to a Hamstick
for another band if you were to upgrade the rig. It compares to the Hustler
mast plus resonator I use. However, it may be a bit heavy if you use the
trunk-lip mount. In that case, there are lighter antennas available that work
almost as well. If you have any old CB antennas that would fit the mounting
location, you should be able to cut them down. Be careful you don't cut too
much!

3. No, you should not need a second battery. Suppose you ran a 100 watt rig
on Ten FM, that would draw about 20 Amperes. Divide the amp-hour rating of
your battery by 20 to see about how many hours you could hold the key down
before a fully charged battery would be depleted. Normally you don't operate
in a continuous key-down mode, and SSB draws less average current still.

If you are worried, be sure you get the largest battery that will fit the
battery compartment in your car, the next time you replace it. A larger
battery usually means more amp-hours. (My Toyota came with a smaller battery
than it would hold.)

4. When you get on the air, ask about the Ten-Ten club. Also try checking in
to the Titusville, FL, ARC Mosquito Net on 28.333 MHz, Wednesdays at 7 PM
Eastern Time.

73, Fred, K4DII

PS: Is that your picture at www.qrz.com? You may have passed the General test
but the FCC data base doesn't reflect it yet.