NorCal-Jeeps.com

Oh also wanted to add for info for all to consider. Jeep CJs, Wranglers, JKUs are the hardest vehicles to get a good install of almost any radio in. The bodies do not yield good ground plains Unless you mount the antenna in the middle of the hood. To add insult to injury the newer ones with the newer stereos, nav, and other electronics yield a lot of RFI, radio frequency interference. So you just have to expect and plan ahead. Usually you just need to ensure good grounds and probably gonna need some ferrite beads. They are what is in the lump on the power cord of your laptop right before it plugs into the computer.

I found another web site in my "favorites" list that is all about mobile installs and the complexities and fixes to issues.

www.K0BG.com

I am trying for the Tech license.

Here is a post suggesting where to mount the antennas on a Jeep. Seem like this guys did some experiments.

http://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-cb-ha ... -227276/#b

Nice write up. That is a good reference for install and it all holds true to CB as well. Good find!

Most people start off with tech as did I, however the bug bites a lot of us and it isn't enough after a while. Nice thing about the hobby is there should never be a time that it is boring. There are many that are very content with the tech privilages. My wife and daughter both have been techs for years and neither of them have ever wanted more. The only time either of them even touched my HF is during the Y Fire when we were operating as a relay for the Red Cross , my wife took over for me for a while so I could get a nap.

That will depend, you may be able to go straight through simplex, but more likely repeaters.

Should I stick with FT-8800R or get this one? I know it is more money but maybe it's worth it?
http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-012910

The Kenwood is a great radio no doubt. However unless you are interested in the APRS feature than it is probably not necessary. There are alot of really good radios that are not as spendy. Now the APRS feature allows you to track the position of the radio, when it is on and the aprs is activated. Also anybody with web access can pull up the web site and see where you are. So the question comes down to is this something that you want? Your wife, sorry I forgot her name, could see where you are while on a run that she didn't go on. Look up Kenwoods APRS system and see what you think.
My 2 cents.

I'll stick to FT-8800R then. I don't want just ANYBODY to go online and see where I am at when my radio is on. I am not too worried about sending my GPS coordinates to my wife (Joti). I don't wheel alone. I wheel with an awesome group of friends.