GLOCK 19 and 43X Upgrades

Though I usually write about amateur radio stuff, and more recently a little about overland travel, the subject of firearms and personal security has always been a part of my personal life, and for 28 years, a major part of my professional life. Now that I'm retired and have some extra time on my hands, I finally did something I have been contemplating for some time. I made a couple of upgrades to my Glock 19 and I am so satisfied with the results I thought I would share them with you. But first a little background.

Gen 3 Glock 19 with no upgrades except for the Trijicon tritium sights (a no-brainer over the factory sights).

The Glock pistol is widely considered the most carried pistol in the world, known for its reliability, ease of use, and popularity among law enforcement and civilians alike. And the Glock 19, the most popular concealed carry pistol in the same crowds, dominates well above all others. Love 'em or hate 'em, that's how it is, and for good reason. They just plain work in almost any environment or condition.

From 1994 to 2015, I was a Wisconsin LESB certified firearms and tactical rifle instructor. In this role, I've spent a substantial amount of time on the range behind Glock pistols, M4 carbines and shotguns, both shooting and instructing. In all of my time, and having fired an estimated 150,000 rounds through Glock pistols, I personally have never had a malfunction with any of my Glock pistols. Zero live-fire malfunctions in any of my four pistols, ever. Others have had malfunctions on the range, but they were all shooter-induced malfunctions such as a few stove-pipe malfunctions from an improper grip. 

My experience with Glock pistols began in 1998. Our agency moved away from the then 8 year old Smith & Wesson 5906 pistol in 9mm to the Glock 22 duty sidearm in .40 S&W. This in turn led me to purchase a G23 for off-duty use. In 2007, after moving to a different agency, we also carried gen 3 G22 duty sidearms and my personal gen 3 G23 remained my off-duty carry gun. A short time later, I purchased a gen 3 Glock 19 for my wife to carry.

These days, the off-duty G23 is almost always locked up, while conversely, the G19 is almost always out-and-about for one simple reason; I like shooting the 9mm round more than the .40 S&W. It's much more pleasant to shoot, and since they both have similar effects on target, why not shoot the one I simply prefer.

GLOCK 19 Upgrades

Gen 3 G19 with direct-fit Trijicon RMR and tritium night sights, custom combat trigger group and Streamlight

The only problem with new innovations in firearms is it leads to gun envy. For several years I've been contemplating upgrading to a gen 4 or a gen 5 G19 for the MOS feature, but the gen 5 lost the finger grooves. I personally love the finger grooves on my gen 3. They fit my hands perfectly and provide positive grip indexing for those times when you catch some drafting pepper spray, or salty sweat or even blood in your eyes and have to rely more on your manual dexterity over your vision. So what can a guy do? The answer is first, have a shop mill your gen 3 slide for a direct-fit optic. Second, drop in a combat trigger group from a best-known gunsmith.

My original G19 slide milled for a Trijicon RMR and Johnny Custom Glocks' Evolution X Combat trigger.

I'm not sure how to accurately describe the quality and function of these upgrades, but I can surely say I will be doing the same thing to my gen 3 G23! The GlockStore milled my original slide to direct-fit a Trijicon RMR sight and then installed suppressor-height Trijicon tritium night sights to co-witness. There is no RMR mounting plate, so the RMR sight sits nice and low and in full co-witness to the tritium night sights.

Next, the complete trigger group was replaced with an Evolution X Combat system from Johnny Custom Glocks. Being a Glock armorer, switching out the old trigger group for the new system was a snap. The results are astonishing. Zero over-travel. Minor pre-travel, a firm wall, and the near 1911-like trigger pull is a profound change over the factory system. Keeping perfect sight alignment throughout the trigger pull without the disruptive over-travel snap is the now the norm. This trigger system allows me to see how accurate this original barrel can shoot, which, as you might guess, may lead to a match-grade barrel upgrade. We'll see.

Photo from Johnny Custom Glocks, Evolution X Combat Trigger System

GLOCK 43X Upgrades

Glock tritium night sights, Evolution X combat trigger system, JG VEX trigger shoe, Shield Arms 15 round mags and metal mag release.

My new Glock 43X concealed carry gun also received a Johnny Custom Glocks Evolution X Combat system upgrade. Like the G19, the Evolution X Combat system has made similarly profound differences in shooting. Other upgrades include a JG VEX trigger shoe, Glock tritium night sights, and a metal Shield Arms mag release to accommodate the use of the Shield Arms S-15, gen 3, 15 round metal magazines or the stock Glock 10 round mags.

Both guns are now exceptional shooters. The G19 with the RMR can confidently perform out to 100 yards, and the G43X now has the same firepower as the G19 but in a smaller, thinner package. For more information on these upgrades, see the links below.

Johnny Custom Glocks' Evolution X Combat trigger system  

Glock Store Red Dot Optic Cut

Airstream Ham Radio

In May of 2023, I began living full-time in my 2023 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FBT. As my interest in amateur radio continues, finding good information on setting up an amateur radio station in an RV, with all the issues surrounding mobility and power, doesn't come easy. I hope this explanation of my station setup will be helpful to those who operate out of an RV, and to my fellow Airstream owners who don't want to poke new holes in their trailer.

The two radios sit atop the table I made for Nancy before she passed away. Linux Mint runs CQRlog software.

Your station itself will probably be as individual as we are from each other, but the behind-the-radio setup has some specific rules to follow in order for the station to work properly. I won't get into all of that, as, since you are reading this, you are likely an operator and have at least a basic understanding of things. The real issue for many RV'ers is finding unobtrusive routes for cables, providing sufficient ground plane for antennas mounted to the RV, and protecting everything from the extended "earthquake" from moving your RV down the road, or off-road.

One of my main goals in building a setup is to not do something that cannot be undone and appear as if it never was. In other words, no new holes or modifications that can be detected by the casual observer's view; everything must be out of view and reversible. With this in mind, I found a way to route coax without creating any possible leaks. 

The 2023 Airstream FC23FBT, like many other RV's, has a roof-mounted snorkel-like refrigerator vent that has a very nice cover over it. This makes a perfect place to run coax up to the roof that no one will ever notice. For those with non-metal RV roofs, a roof-mounted antenna may not work, but this location may provide a top-side entry location for whatever setup you have. Be sure a sufficient grommet and cable holds are made to prevent damage to the coax while your RV is moving.

The coax passes through the front end of the refrigerator vent snorkel, behind the large cover.

In my case, I ran the coax from the vent, down behind the refrigerator and forward to a floor port where the plumbing comes up from the fresh water tank. From there, I fished the line on top of the water tank to another floor port on the curb-side of the trailer where the water heater is located. The coax comes up into the trailer there and to the radios sitting on a little table I made for Nancy. 

A Yaesu ATAS-120A screwdriver antenna is mounted with a UHF connector antenna bracket to the lower half side of the metal AC chassis. This is electrically grounded to the trailer body/skin which also acts as a ground plane for the antenna. I can also swap out the HF antenna for a 2m/440 antenna and flip the antenna switch to the Yeasu FTM-7250D. 

The antenna bracket is standing off the side of the AC chassis with extended bolts to allow for the AC's composite top cover to clear the antenna. Of course, antennas are removed and the radios are safely stowed while travelling.

The UHF connector antenna bracket with stand-off bolts is on the curb-side of the metal AC chassis.

Power is supplied directly off the batteries via a RIGrunner 4004U fuse block.

Internet connectivity is supplied via Starlink, which is now powered by a 12v to 48v step-up booster and PoE setup I made. A Nest router is also running on 12v so no shore power or inverter is needed for internet to operate. When Starlink isn't available due to overhead obstructions, such as tree cover, a PEPwave 4G/WiFi repeater router (also 12v) provides internet when 4G cellular or public WiFi is available.

Outcome

So far, I've accomplished my goal of operating from the Airstream without making irreversible changes.

There are no wires or cables detectable except where they are connected to devices. Perfect!

To date, I have had nothing but good signal reports. Awesome!

I have not run the AC while transmitting, but testing will show if there are issues with interference.

There seems to be no issues regarding receiving signals with the AC on.

After removing the curb-side bed and adding a Stressless recliner, there's plenty of room to relax and operate from anywhere.

Operating out of my winter get-away near Tucson, Arizona in grid DM42ke (Nov 2023)

Operating out of Hartman Creek State Park near Waupaca, Wisconsin in grid EN54jh (July 2024)

Taste and See...

1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

ad-ven-ture

 

The year 2023 has been full of changes, both big and small, and I can say without any reservation, life truly is an adventure. In early May, shortly after returning to Wisconsin from Arizona, I purchased an Airstream Flying Cloud 23FBT travel trailer to replace the tiny Flyer Chase. Obviously the Airstream will handle expeditions of longer duration more comfortably, like those I have been making to Arizona. The Flyer Chase will stick around at least until next summer as I contemplate it's future.

At the end of August, I sold the Wisconsin condominium and began living full-time in the Airstream. This is again another significant life change. Thinking back, only two years ago I sold our retirement home on Lake Michigan soon after Nancy passed away and bought the condo. And now the Airstream is my home. Wow, what a change!

As for amateur radio, the residence changes have greatly affected the ability and capacity to get on the air. For now, the home-made Yaesu/Raspberry Pi YSF repeater is off-line and will likely not be up for an extended period of time. The Alinco/Raspberry Pi APRS digipeater station is also down, and along with the Yaesu FT-991A, they too are in storage. The Barker & Williamson 90' folded dipole is rolled up and in storage, and the GAP Titan DX has found a new home.

Looking at these changes as an opportunity to try new things, I began considering what I could do to make the Airstream feel more like home as well as provide space for some of my interests. One of the first things I did was carefully remove the twin bed on the curb-side of the trailer and save all the parts in storage. In the resulting floor space, I added a nice pattern rug and a Stressless swivel reclining chair, minus the included footstool. This provides a clean and very comfortable area that reminds me of a small [very small] den-like space. 

On the floor at the rear of this space, the tankless water heater will eventually be covered by a custom bookcase and space for a printer. At the front, a desktop will extend from the curb-side, over to and including the existing nightstand. Under the desktop will be hanging file folders and some other storage. The non-lifting portion of the top will allow space for the Yaesu FT-710 AEES and FTM-7250D transceivers, as well as a mini desktop computer and full-size monitor. Until then, the radios are located on Nancy's small table at the rear of this space.

After temporarily removing some cabinet bottoms and backs, I found a great way to run coax to the outside without risking water intrusion or changing the trailer's clean exterior appearance. Above the refrigerator, there is a large 5x20 inch screened and covered vent in the roof, and a perfect place to pass coax through. From this vent, I was able to run coax down behind the refrigerator and forward to the fresh water tank plumbing passage. From there, the coax runs under the floor, on top of the water tank to the plumbing passage at the water heater. The result is a clean, totally hidden coax run from the radios to the roof. Perfect.

For the HF radio, the Yaesu ATAS-120A antenna that was on the Flyer Chase setup is used. Mounting was done by using a right-angle stainless steel mirror-mount bracket attached to the curb-side of the AC chassis. The lower half of the chassis is a steel pan with vertical sides perfect for this. The antenna is in the clear as  much it can be without any alterations to the trailer body or roof. After running some tests, the antenna shows a SWR of 1:1 on 10 meters,  2.2:1 on 20 meters, and 4.7:1 on 40 meters. With these results, staying on 20 or above is best. Good thing 10 meters is wide open for the next few years!

The VHF/UHF antenna is currently in "receive only" mode until I decide how to handle that.

For power, there's no worries while the trailer is plugged in. When running off-grid, power is supplied by 200Ah of batteries, 300 watts of roof-mounted solar, and a 35A charge controller. At some point, I may be doubling the batteries and solar collection, but for now, there is no pressing need.

May God bless you as you draw close to Him!