Golf Sportwagen Mobile Setup

Moving my mobile rig into the Volkswagen presents a number of issues. Unlike the Jeep, which had a multitude of places to mount equipment, the Golf Sportwagen makes more efficient use of space for VW gadgets and options. Finding even a little space for the FTM-400 head, without blocking VW gadgets or sitting out of reach up on the hot dash, is quite a task. 

After a few trials, I settled on giving up the use of the storage box in front of the shift console, as I think it's the least intrusive, and safest place. The head is attached with a Ram flexible stem mount, which is attached to a 1/4" thick piece of oak cut to fit in the opening of the compartment I pulled from the dash.

The Sportwagen has a great place to mount up to a few radio bodies. On the driver's side of the rear cargo area, there is a trap door in the sidewall, located behind the rear wheel well. Remove this trap door and you have a solid, removable mounting platform for radio bodies and accessories. It makes for an out of the way mounting location that is easily accessed for servicing the gear in your mobile "utility room". The bodies remain in the climate controlled area of the car, and are hidden when the rolling cargo cover is pulled to the rear.

Power is supplied by a RIGrunner 4005H mounted above the radio body, which is wired directly to the batter with double fuse pairs on each end of the feed line. Power for the FT-991A or any other rig is ready and available for field day. 

The Comet NMO antennas are mounted on two stainless brackets I made and attached to the roof rails. Everything is electrically grounded, so after running the Comet CAA-500 Mark II on the setup, both antennas are about as good as it gets.

Into the Future

As we get settled in to our new QTH, I find myself contemplating where and how I should set up my BWD-90 folded dipole antenna. Factors like the thick woods and metal 12/12 roof on our home, and the 55' tower behind it, makes finding a clear 110 feet not so easy. But wait, there may be an easy answer to this problem, like maybe the GAP Titan DX vertical antenna. As it goes, this was enough to open the box and look at other possibilities. Maybe its also time to look at digital amateur radio.

Long story short, a new GAP Titan DX is in the garage just waiting to talk to the world, and for the last couple days, I have been collecting data and programming the new Yaesu FT-991A and FTM-400XDR with all of the Wisconsin repeaters, now including digital and System Fusion repeaters. On the to-do list, need to get the Titan DX up and install the FTM-400XDR in the Jeep.

So far, I can say I am impressed with the YSF digital signal. I was listening to the Milwaukee W9RH YSF repeater last night and it was exceptionally clear and strong, and that repeater is just 20 watts. I can hardly wait to get on the air and try it out for myself. It would be nice to see more YSF repeaters out there with their dual analog/digital capability modes.