I constructed a "twin lead j-pole" out of a piece of 300ohm twin lead, and then fed that into a piece of
3/8" CPVC. I made a "holster" for it on my bike rack, and wound electrical tape around the end in two places
to shim it out to match the ID of the holster, for easy and quick install/removal. I feed it with a run of
RG-174 to an HTX-202 HT that's attached to one of my handlebars. I use a speaker mic to talk and listen.
Range is OUTSTANDING, although pretty directional. It focuses a lot of the signal toward the front of the
bike, "following the ground" as anticipated. SWR is less than 1.3 to 1. The radio (as well as some lights)
are powered by an 8AH LIFEPO4 battery in the saddlebags. It's MUCH lighter than lead acid, and should have
a considerably longer lifespan. (cycle count on SLA is about 300 cycles, LIFEPO4 is more like 8,000)
