Maidstone ARS requests help in installing charity's radio equipment

For the past 4 years or so, Maidstone ARS have been helping out the “Hope and Aid Direct” charity. These guys run a convoy of trucks to Kosovo loaded with goods twice a year.

Twice a year – Easter and October- they set up a convoy of around 10 small 7 Tonne trucks that trundle across Europe, loaded with supplies. They also run two 38 Tonne trucks, loaned by Ford Motor Company.

Maidstone ARS help the charity by installing temporary CB sets and antenna’s in these vehicles. We meet at the motorway services and get them all set up with good comms, by makings sure the antenna’s work and are resonant and that the D.C. power is provided in a reasonable and safe manner. The charity usually provides all the gear, but we like to install and test it for them.

This year, the main convoy of 7 Tonne trucks is due to leave on Friday 7th April. Maidstone ARS should be able to handle the set up of those radio’s. However, the two 38 Tonne trucks are due to leave on Wednesday 5th April from the Ford plant at Dagenham. Due to a series of conspiring events, we cannot find two or 3 volunteers available late Wednesday afternoon to undertake the big truck installs. This is where we are asking if you can help out.

What is required is for a couple of reasonably practical people to turn up by arrangement at Dagenham. Collect the radio’s and (probably) power amplifiers and antenna’s from the guys. Then to fit the antenna’s on the vehicles. We usually clamp them onto rear view mirrors. Install the radio’s so they are as safe as possible in a temporary environment, test and leave.

All that is required is someone reasonably handy with basic tools, a step ladder may be helpful as the wing mirrors on 38 tonne trucks are about 8 or 9 feet off the ground. Plenty of Gaffa Tape to stick any cables down to stop them flapping around the cab. Some stick on Velcro strips can be handy for putting the radio’s on the dash boards.

A couple of lengths of twin flex cable capable of carrying around 6 amps. Possibly a cigarette lighter power plug – if you don’t have one the one they give you will be broken. The trucks usually have 2 cigarette lighter power points, one 24 volt and one 12 volt, so as long as the right one is used – no problems. A small handful of mixed fuses can also be useful.

We find that the installs take about 30 minutes per vehicle given that things go well – like someone knows where the keys are etc. The antenna’s clamp on to the mirrors. It is usually necessary to pull back the rubber protector on the top mirror arm. Underneath, the arm itself is rubber coated.

We use a small hacksaw to cut this second rubber coating off for just enough to get a good clamp action and some sort of earth connection to the vehicle body. Test the installation with an MFJ antenna analyser etc. On some occasions we have had to run an internal counterpoise of about 8 ft 6 in to get the thing stable. So a couple of lengths of RG58 could be handy for that.

If you can help out or want to know more detail then please call me on Tel: 01622 747705 Mob: 078651 727723, or our other regular installers, Keith G4YTU Tel: 07890 483 698 or Colin G0VAR Tel: 07990 511 032 will be happy to provide more info.

73

Shaun G3ZSU

Maidstone Amateur Radio Society
http://www.g3trf.org/

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