Winter 2 Week Tour - No tour bus, just a first gen!!

[BigClayton]

Update:

 

Saturday. I had a great concert last night in Sachse, TX. After the concert (10:00pm) I headed to Nocona, TX. I really wanted to have today off and not do much traveling. So I drove the 2 hours to get to the motel here in Nocona. Very nice motel too. Call The Veranda Inn, I highly recommend it. It snowed most of the morning and was thinking I should have had a tarp, but oh well. No cabs and no delivery in this little town so made a couple trips to local eateries. Lunch I went to a BBQ place and ordered the infamous, "Bowl of Crap". Baked beans, onions, peppers, brisket, sausages, etc. and homemade cornbread. Very good. I think it is funny the looks I get when people see me driving in the snow (Streets where just wet and no accumulation). One truck the passenger got whiplash turning around, lol.

 

Then for supper, with sun shinning and drying my sheep skin seat cover, I went and had some authentic Mexican food.

 

Back to motel where I have been working on updating photos for the website. Now, watching Greenbay play Cardinals.

 

Enjoying the night off.

 

Monday I head up through Oklahoma City to I-44 then East back towards Missouri.

[Larry1963]

@BigClayton

 

I have been following you on APRS. Not sure if others know how to do that, click on the link you provided, then on the left click on display track, and a red line will show where you traveled too. I have not caught you on the road yet to see if tracks while you are driving.

 

When you get a chance, send some pics of your APRS setup. I would like to add that to my motorcycle too

 

Well keep warm, and drive safe.

Larry

[BigClayton]

Thanks Larry. Will do. There should me a way to tell the site how long of a track to display too. I'll get the pictures tomorrow. Also I think I told you the wrong name of headset. It is a Sena not sigma.

[BigClayton]

@Larry1963

Hi Larry and crew, wanted to upload some pictures of my Ham radio setup. The radio has a GPS built into it and transmits my position every 2 minutes (or I can change the time). My bike didn't have the radio or any of the fancy stuff. It was a plane jane. I ordered the antenna mount off ebay thinking I would just use a mirror mount bracket to clamp on an antenna too. Once I got it, I just for kicks tried an NMO surface mount and it fit the hole just perfect. I then ordered the 5/8 wave dual band antenna due to lack of ground plane. Screwed it in and routed the wire up to the front. I use a adapter cable to go from pl259 to TNC for the radio. This radio has Shortwave, AM, FM radio, ham bands and many other options. When I get the Sena SH10 i'll be able to use my Sena SR10 headset with the PTT to talk on it too. I'll use this as my AM/FM radio and multi purpose receiver too.

 

I'm having some issues figuring out how to turn the photos upright. After they upload, they seem to turn so not sure. The radio is upright when I look at it. If you have any other questions please let me know. The APRS network is pretty active. http://www.aprs.fi opens a google map with APRS stations overlayed. You can zoom in and out and this will giver you an idea of the coverage.

 

 

 

 

[cowpuc]

Pretty cool stuff really:thumbsup:! Only thing I remember about Ham Radio has to do with being involved with CB radio's back in the early 70's. Visited a guy in our CB Club who was also a Ham Radio guy. He had a studio all set up in his house that looked like some kind of NASA set up,, all kinds of buttons, dials, meters, lights, maps with little flags on em and a series of antenna's on his house and on towers that probably should have had strobe lights to keep aircraft from getting tangled up.. WOW how times have changed!!

Thinking back then that in order to operate a Ham Radio you had to be licensed, even had to learn Morse Code (that thing where ya go - da da dat dat dee dat dat and have it mean something). Had to be licensed to operate a CB radio too.. Wonder if that has all changed too?

[Larry1963]

@BigClayton

 

Hey thanks for the pics, I did not know anyone else besides Yaesu VX-8GR made an HT with APRS built in. I looked on QTH.com and seen a FT1D for sale but listed in December, so I have emailed him to see if it is still for sale. I have an 07 RSV and I would like to take the CB out and put in a 2 meter rig. But I hear a lot of the guys traveling in groups still use CB.

 

I would like to put APRS on my bike. Not sure if it is a good idea, then the wife could keep track of me LOL.

 

Funny story, when APRS was first coming out, the ham club I was with was helping with a bike ride (peddle bike) and we put APRS on a couple of the bikes. Well I borrowed a radio and I was playing with it. I had it in my car, and I sent out several messages to people to say hey check the aprs web site to see if you can track me. I forgot it was in my car. My wife calls me one day and ask, where you at. Oh in the office I replied, she says why does APRS say you are at Zaxby's........

For those up North or West, Zaxby's is a buffalo chicken chain around here, that I just love to eat at. So much so my wife was like you are eating there to much. So from then on, when I was going out to eat, I would leave the APRS (VX-8DR) in a bush near to where I parked my car at work........

 

However a good use for APRS, I use to get paid by the miles and the church I was at was kind of picky where you went. I would just print out a map each day and that way they knew who I visited.

 

I am planning a couple long trips this year, one is to MO, I would like to have APRS so wife and others can know where I am at.

 

Again thanks for the info.

[Larry1963]

Pretty cool stuff really:thumbsup:! Only thing I remember about Ham Radio has to do with being involved with CB radio's back in the early 70's. Visited a guy in our CB Club who was also a Ham Radio guy. He had a studio all set up in his house that looked like some kind of NASA set up,, all kinds of buttons, dials, meters, lights, maps with little flags on em and a series of antenna's on his house and on towers that probably should have had strobe lights to keep aircraft from getting tangled up.. WOW how times have changed!!

Thinking back then that in order to operate a Ham Radio you had to be licensed, even had to learn Morse Code (that thing where ya go - da da dat dat dee dat dat and have it mean something). Had to be licensed to operate a CB radio too.. Wonder if that has all changed too?

 

My dad was into dresser motorcycles, guns and ham radio. I wonder where I get these expensive hobbies from.......

My dad had part of the basement with full radio gear, band then it was tube gear and big, bulky and would heat up the basement in the winter. You would think in our backyard we had an aluminum farm growing with all the antennas back there. In the spring and summer (this was right out side Kansas City MO) when the thunderstorms would come through if the tornado warning went off, the work bench we would be under was across from the ham radio table. Of course any time we heard thunder we had to make sure all the coax was undone from the radios. Lighting wold strike those antennas and the end of the coax would look like an ark welder going off dancing around the floor.

 

I got my ham ticket in 1976, been in and out of ham radio, much like motorcycles, technology has brought it a long way. Still enjoy it, but enjoyed it more, at night, with the glow of the radio tubes and dial listening to some far off station.

[BigClayton]

Hi Cowpuc

 

Yes, still have to have a license for Ham (Amatuer) radio. I learned the morse code back in the day , then they dropped the code requirements. But still have all the other stuff.

[BigClayton]

2,568 Miles :-)

 

Well, sorry I forgot to let everyone know I made it back. Had a great trip and still working on adding some more dates for February. Right now looking at a Possible concert in St. Louis area (east in Illinois). Then one down by Mobile,AL.

 

Will keep you posted on that.

 

Had a great trip and would do it all again. I did not realize how many miles I ended up driving. Lots of fun too. I certainly look forward to another trip.

 

Monday was my last ride home and it got COLD......started off at 25 that morning then maybe got to 35. I ended up buying a second set of gloves and still wasn't enough. The thing is I believe it was the higher humidity. Feet and hands were the only thing that got too cold. Just took more breaks was all.

 

I sure enjoyed trying to keep up with you guys and keep you posted. Looking forward to next trip.

 

Clayton