Ham Radio project and near disaster!!

Radio · 08-07-2008, 09:34 PM

Whew! Really dodged a bullet there.

The floor in my Rockwood is a sandwich made of plywood with styrofoam in the middle. Easy enough to drill through with a 2" hole saw, right?

Styrofoam isn't the only thing in the sandwich. While drilling a 2" hole to install a feed through for antenna cables I discoverd, to my horror, there are two aluminium box channels that are just chock full of wiring imbedded in the floor material -- not under the floor, I looked, but inside the floor, a few inches in from the exterior wall.

The good news is that none of the wires were damaged, and the hole is located in a cabinet so there's not really an eyesore problem. I drilled a few "exploratory" holes a few inches over and got a good hole (nothing but styrofoam there) for my feed through.

When I get done I'll post pictures...this weekend.

**Bama Rambler** · 08-08-2008, 06:37 AM

Dodged the bullet is right!

Had you sawed through the wiring you'd have a major job on your hands. Glad you found it before that happened.

My unit has the sandwiched floor like that but I never thought about wire ducts being embedded in it. Thanks for the info. I'll know to be very careful if I ever find the need to penetrate the floor.

I wonder if FR would send a layout of the floor if you requested it? That'd be something good to have especially in this instance.

**KyDan** · 08-08-2008, 02:06 PM

Yikes!!!
I drilled thru my floor in the front to hang my spare tire up there and get
it off my bumper.
I didn't hit anything but styrofoam but I could have!
Didn't you feel the hole saw hitting the hard stuff??

Anyway, glad it turned out OK. Sometimes the best luck is just dumb luck ;-))

KyDan

Radio · 08-09-2008, 03:23 PM

I won't devote much bandwidth to this as most folks on this forum are not "hams" but for those concerned about the outcome of the project and what I was up to, here you go...

The first pic is of the pass through tube uninstalled.

The next is of the tube installed inside the cabinet floor.

The next is of the exterior end of the tube under the floor.

And the last is of the radio station set up for use. The station disappears without a trace when not in use. The pass through tube will accomidate 6 - 10 cables of reasonable size and of any type - power, ground, coax, Cat-5, whatever you want.

And I'm all done with drilling holes in my new trailer. Now I'm going around filling in holes with duct tape and Great Stuff trying to help my air conditioner battle the Georgia Summer heat!

HookupAndGo · 08-10-2008, 07:12 AM

Looking at the placement of your "station", you might want to think of creating a little splash guard. One simple accident at the sink, a little splatter and you could have a real problem on your hands.

Radio · 08-10-2008, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HookupAndGo

Looking at the placement of your "station", you might want to think of creating a little splash guard. One simple accident at the sink, a little splatter and you could have a real problem on your hands.

I have thought about that. The set up works about as well between the two chairs in front of the big window. Also thought about just tossing a "raincoat" over the radio when someones doing dishes.

Another reason to use paper plates??

icefireguy · 09-19-2009, 08:29 PM

Nice idea. That will be useful when I run my coax for my new rig. 73's

Charlie
KG4ZTY

**Herk7769** · 10-15-2009, 09:27 PM

Nearly had a mishap in the basement of my 5th wheel. I was going to bolt some items to the floor without a thought of what might be beneath. Some phone calls confirmed the location of the holding tanks right under that styrofoam sandwich.

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/254...X?vhost=travel

Had I used longer screws I would have "holed" the tank.
Lou

Roving Ron · 12-20-2014, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio

I have thought about that. The set up works about as well between the two chairs in front of the big window. Also thought about just tossing a "raincoat" over the radio when someones doing dishes.

Another reason to use paper plates??

What are you running for antennas and grounding?

KE7FWV

Grey Nomads, Ron and Sue

KA1VCQ · 12-21-2014, 07:15 AM

Are you too far from your batteries to run the 12V instead of the power supply?
Would not matter if full hookup campground, which we do very little of.

AbdRahim · 12-29-2014, 05:52 PM

Very cool Radio. What are you using for the feed tube. Are the antenna feeds through the tube permanent, or do you feed them through each time you use the radio? Where are your antennas mounted on the RV?

Forbes · 12-29-2014, 06:28 PM

Hey there are more of us than you think, also would like to know what antenna you are using and mounting. Post pictures if possible, like that tube idea looking at putting something in our 36RE before heading to FL. WB4FSN

N9ID · 12-29-2014, 10:02 PM

I am interested as well. Probably won't get anything done before we leave for Florida in a month, though. 73 de N9ID

Kuba · 01-04-2015, 12:56 AM

X2 in the antenna

ve3plo here

Timex · 01-04-2015, 09:42 AM

Not trying to

but I have to ask.
This thread was started in 2008, a couple posts in 2009, then lay dormant until 2014 and continued recently. When I try to post(sometimes no more than 6 months) to an older thread, I get a message that the thread is not active and I cannot add to it. So how did you fellars get this thread going again?

This may need to be directed to a mod.

Anyway, carry on.

**Flybob** · 01-04-2015, 09:50 AM

I have been using a Buddipole ant for a few years and have had good luck. It takes time to set up, but the performance even on 80M is better than anything I could find to mount to the RV. I used a "tube system" on an enclosed utility trailer I set up for Field Day and emergency comms and it has worked great for years.

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