Recommendation for 2M mobile radio and antennas

[Desertdude]

I have read through all the threads and have a searched google on a few units - just wondering what the consensus is? What units and antennas are being used with success?

I figure I can always listen in until I get a license this winter :ylsmoke:

I all ready have a CB - and want to be in on the long range conversations ;)


this one came up

http://www.icomamerica.com/products/amateur/2100h/


:::

[Scott Brady]

The yaesu 2800m gets my vote for durability. HD mil spec unit. Large aluminum heat fins eliminate requirement for fan.

Icom units get great reviews too, and I believe they may have the most output power.

I am using a larsen antenna with a larsen hood mount. I have always received the highest marks from my travel companions for sound quality and range.

[Suty]

DD, I too have been looking into the 2m radios. I liked the Icom 208h but was told Icom was not to user friendly. I have looked at the Kenwood G707 it seems to be a good unit also. I just don't know what is the better. I want one that I can seperate the Faceplate from the radio, so i can remote mount the unit. Since I am not 2m smart I have been debating the issue. I found a place here in texas that seems to have good prices, texastowers.com It would be nice to get some opinions from those who know morw about this.. Tu Compadres, Suty

[goodtimes]

I am running a v-8000 (icom). 75 watts....it will reach out and touch someone. Like Scott, I am using a Larsen antenna hanging off the right side of my windshield frame. The only problem I have is hearing transmissions when I am moving. This has more to do with the road noise from the jeep than the radio itself. A external speaker would probably help....

[asteffes]

I like a dual-band rig for the flexibility of access to 440MHz repeaters. There's a nice linked repeater system in California that is all 440. Most dual-banders can also be modified for transmit on FRS/GMRS frequencies at full power (for emergency use only, of course.)

I guess I'm not convinced that 75 watts can do much more than 50 can. Granted, if you're interested in only 2M, the V8000 is a good choice, as you get the front-firing speaker and generally good features for around $200. For not much more, I would choose a dual-band 50/35 watt rig for the added flexibility. To each his own.

I've owned a Kenwood TM-V7A and an Icom 2720H dual-band rigs. I *love* Kenwood's UI and easy-to-understand manual and menus. I *hate* the Icom 2720H's menus and the documentation is terrible. Also, the display is very difficult to read from the left, as it was designed with right-hand-drive European and Japanese cars in mind. I will be purchasing a Kenwood rig for my '06, hands down.

[Ursidae69]

I have the ICOM V8000, it's a nice unit and very dependable from what I've read about it. I'm running a Hustler SF-2 whip antenna on a fender mount. I would have liked to have gotten a dual band radio, but I couldn't afford it at the time. Still can't.

[Brian McVickers]

What are the two bands covered by a dual-band radio?

Sorry, I'm a bit slow sometimes!:confused: :confused:

[UncleChris]

I have a Kenwood D700a dual band with APRS capability along with a Diamond CR320 NMO mount antenna on the roof with a Garmin 276c GPS hooked in to the system.

It is a great setup and will do APRS(position reporting) broadcasts and receives. For tracking others on the trail or in the backcountry, I would highly recommend the APRS functions.

I use both 2m and 70cm equally as much.

[mountainpete]

What are the two bands covered by a dual-band radio?

Sorry, I'm a bit slow sometimes!:confused: :confused:

2M - 144 - 148 MHZ (some regions only to 146)
60 cm - 430 - 450 MHZ (some regions only to 440)

[asteffes]

2M - 144 - 148 MHZ (some regions only to 146)
60 cm - 430 - 450 MHZ (some regions only to 440)

These two bands are the most commonly used for local communications, either simplex or via repeaters. If you can spare a few extra dollars, having access to both opens up a lot of possibilities for using more repeaters, linked repeater networks, or cross-band repeater features (admittedly, usually found on only the nicer radios.) 2M is very good to have, a dual-bander is icing on the cake.

[pskhaat]

What are the two bands covered by a dual-band radio?

Generally speaking 2m (144-148 MHz) and 70cm (430-450Mhz). Tripple band radios often include the 6m (50-54 MHz). All 3 of these bands (and others) are covered by your first-level (Tech) FCC license. I personally prefer the 6m band when off-road. You get a little benefit of having some longer distance contacts due to its frequency and yet still have the clarity and line-of-sight ability of 2+m.

Most 2m/70cm radios have sub-bands that have TX/RX offsets (these can be turned off but are on by default) for repeater use, and specify certain freq's for simplex communication (i.e. mobile-to-mobile, like CB). 6m on the other hand has very few repeaters and doesn't have programmed (by default) repeater offsets. Very few people use this band, it's very easy to switch freq's to simplex as the sub-band plans are quite inactive.

If you're going to spring the $ for the double-band, I suggest you also see if you can find a tri- or quad-band rig for a marginal cost more. It opens up some additional communication frequencies for you; I just find 6m to be a great travel band.

[Brian McVickers]

I have a Kenwood D700a dual band with APRS capability along with a Diamond CR320 NMO mount antenna on the roof with a Garmin 276c GPS hooked in to the system.


In order for this to work do both radios have to be APRS cabable? In other words will an APRS radio recieve and position any signal with in the dual band range or does the transmitting radio need to put out a special APRS signal or signature?

What a great tool for Search and Rescue!

[UncleChris]

In order for this to work do both radios have to be APRS cabable? In other words will an APRS radio recieve and position any signal with in the dual band range or does the transmitting radio need to put out a special APRS signal or signature?

What a great tool for Search and Rescue!

Yes, both radios need to have APRS capability in order to encrypt/decrypt the packets, although you do not have to connect the GPS.

You can broadcast text messages as well. here is an example;

I get in the truck and turn on the radio, of which one channel is dedicated to APRS. So initially if my GPS is on, it will broadcast my position. I then see a list of stations that are currently reporting. I can browse the list of stations, and if I recognize someone, I can send them a text message. Their position will also register on my GPS screen.

They receive a notification of the message, and can open it and read it. If they choose to, they can reply via text, or if the message is saying 'I am on x freq' they can move to that frequency.

end example:

In an expedition environment, if all vehicles in the train have APRS, you can track each individual vehicle regardless of visibility conditions. You can split up and know where everybody is.

You are right about the SAR scenario. If you are in trouble out in the field, your position can be broadcast along with a message with your condition/and or state.

It can also be setup on a handheld

It is pretty cool.........there is more info on the web, I will find the link and post it.

[BajaXplorer]

I have an Icom V8000 with a Hustler SF-2 antenna on a mag mount on the roof. It is an excellent radio and the front firing speaker made mounting it much easier. Unless you are, or plan to be much of a ham radio guy, multi band radios with lots of bells and whistle are just so much "bling" and its a lot less confusing to just go with a 2m which will get you all the communications you need in 99% of situations. Better to get a sat phone than to go nuts with radios...unless your a ham guy. I will concede that having 70cm is nice, but then I'm part ham guy and also carry a W32A HT.
BX

[Desertdude]

Thank you to everyone for the great info and pointers - I am searching this site ( http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/38) for more info and learning.

This is quite a deep subject...

[awalter]

I run an ICOM (model?) 55 watt with a Larsen roof mount whip antenna 48"

[pskhaat]

FWIW, my rig's a Yaesu 8900 quad bander.

[mountainpete]

FWIW, my rig's a Yaesu 8900 quad bander.

What do you think of the 8900? I am a fan of the 8800 dual band and was wondering if you give up anything on 2M with the quad band unit?

Also, what antenna are you running?

Pete

[pskhaat]

What do you think of the 8900? I am a fan of the 8800 dual band and was wondering if you give up anything on 2M with the quad band unit?

I like it. As per my earlier post, I enjoy 6m FM. The only complaint I have is the complexity, it's okay if you get used to it, but if I havn't had a QSO in a while I almost forget all the keys to make things work (like CTCSS/DSC, offset changes, etc).

I run a Diamond 8900 antenna (made for the rig). I've had absolutely no issues and have good signal reports. It has respectable gain on 2m/70cm due to its stacked design. That antenna really does require a very good ground plane for performance though. The ARB bar is not really adequate for it. On my lip mount on my commuter car its amazing though.

The two radios are awesome while scanning on one side and calling on the other as well as the x-band repeater though I havn't really played around with it much.

Regardless of brand what I like best is a remote head unit. Makes things so simple for installation (albeit $$$).

[mountainpete]

Thanks Scott :luxhello:

Interesting that you said the ARB bumper is a poor ground plane... Do you think it's just that particular antenna?

[pskhaat]

Interesting that you said the ARB bumper is a poor ground plane... Do you think it's just that particular antenna?

Actually my impression is that the ARB bar is not a good ground plane period :( for any RF. I honestly wish it was because it is so darn convenient! I've only had my Diamond 8900 on it, but dozens of CB antennae and I've noticed the very same thing that performance is degraded.

Though there is a mass of metal, all the curves, angles, rounds, bends etc don't lend themselves very well to the other side of the 1/4 wave emission. The lip mounts (on hood, lift gate) and other areas are MUCH better. My SWR is always within acceptable low range, but empircally speaking, my range is 3-4x when using a lip mount than the ARB bar. I would guess that a proper through-roof NMO mount would perform even better. But I'm a pansy and find it hard to drill into expensive sheet metal :(

[GeoRoss]

This is a very timely thread for me. I am signed up to test on 1/5/06 :gunt:

I have no idea what I am going to get though and stay in budget. I am also saving up for a touchscreen computer screen for the LC. What to get screen for the nav system or a radio? Decisions.

Ross

[Desertdude]

ham test online

http://www.qrz.com/testing.html


http://www.hamtestonline.com/study.jsp

[k6uk]

It's important that bumpers are properly grounded to the frame if you are looking for them to work well as an antenna mount. A lot of the time a bumper installation will involve painted adapters leaving the bumper somewhat isolated from the rest of the vehicle grounding system. Using copper grounding straps will help, make sure that ground connections are direct metal to metal connections.

-Mike

[cruiseroutfit]

Another great thread...

I got my ticket last month, I picked up a Kenwood hand-held just before Christmas and have really been catching the HAM bug. There are several very active HAM groups here in the SLC, in addition to our local Cruiser club which touts ~ 50% HAM members, I have been missing out all this time.

I chose a hand-helf for my first radio for several reasons...

1. Cost, they are much cheaper, and too be honest I wasn't sure I would ever use it or get into "hamming". I fully intend to get into a nice mobile setup (or two), but I wanted to get to know the HAM system and other hammers before I jump into an expensive HAM unit. Threads like this have been EXTREMELY helpful in my planning. :clapsmile

2. You can always use a good hand-held. Hiking, biking, etc, it makes sense...

I truly think every off-roader should get a HAM, the distance they are able to conquer is second to none, and in many places (such as Southern/Western Utah), cell phone coverage is non-existant, and CB radios won't handle the terrain.

Another great thread... :D

[offroad_nomad]

I need access to frequencies 155-174 MHz for my SAR communications, anyone using an Icom IC-F521?
http://www.icomamerica.com/land_mobile/images/ic-f520_ic-f620.jpg

Icom IC-F521 (http://www.icomamerica.com/land_mobile/mobilevhf/icf520main.asp)

or the IC-F1721
Icom IC-F1721 (http://www.icomamerica.com/products/land_mobile/f1721_f2721/)

http://www.icomamerica.com/images/product/full/ic-f1721_f2721_hm.jpg

[UncleChris]

I just picked up a Yaesu FT8800R for the daily driver.

Although I have been using Kenwoods, I picked up a Yaesu Vx7r last fall because it is waterproof(I usually talk to friends while walking the dog in the morning and wanted to continue doing so in the rain!)

My daily commute is usually interspersed with a lot of interference and weak signals. A friend suggested the the Yaesu units tend to have better reception of weak signals and are better at isolating from interference.

Although I am currently using a magmount, the reception is better than the Kenwood, and I can have longer QSOs on the commute.

The ui is different than the kenwood in that it is not a menu driven hierarchy, it is flat.(40 choices(?) at the root instead of 4 in the kenwood)

The sound of the Yaesu is not as warm as the Kenwood, and it does not have the APRS capabilities, although it does have tnc.

Will let you know when I finally drill a hole in the roof and put on a real antenna.



I need access to frequencies 155-174 MHz for my SAR communications, anyone using an Icom IC-F521?


Do you need these for listening or 2way? Would this be covered by a MARS mod?

[offroad_nomad]

2 way (transmit & receive). I inquired with a local ham radio shop near me and they said they couldn't modify radios. They directed me to www.mods.dk for help.


Do you need these for listening or 2way? Would this be covered by a MARS mod?

[asteffes]

MARS/CAP mods are usually very simple. Typically you just remove a resistor or two. Thing is, it's not legal without the appropriate paperwork.