2M Recommendations For Beginners Please!

[pskhaat]

There are power limits (much higher), but there is a logical limit to how much you want to output considering the nature of the line-of-sight'edness of VHF+ bands. You can quite functionally go hundreds of miles at 5-10 watts. Most Ham radios have varying power output levels and you generally only increase the power if conversations are clearly limited by power, most of the time one operates on the low power output.

[KD8MSS]

1500 Watts is Full Legal Limit for Hams on most bands. With FM they either get the signal or they don't. Power only helps somewhat as VHF and UHF are more or less line of sight. 25w FM on either 2m or 70cm is plenty.

[KaiserM715]

I am looking for a dual band (2M / 70 cm) unit with a detachable face (mandatory for my vehicle). I am waffling between ICOM and Yaesu. The models I am looking at are the IC-208H, FT-7900R and possibly the FT-8800R. Between these two brands, which one is more user friendly? I realize that this is a loaded question as some personal preference comes into play.

[nwoods]

I had a 208H. NOT user friendly. Compact, powerful, well featured, yes. But not user friendly. The buttons are cryptic, the steps involved to do anything is convoluted, and the manual is terrible. As a new HAM, it will be completely unhelpful. It tells you "to engage mode X, do the following", without ever telling you WHY you might wish to engage Mode X.

[Daryl]

As nwoods said, the 208H is cryptic. But in a bid to one-up their competition, Yaesu makes some of the most cryptic user interfaces one can imagine as well.

You want something simple? Look for something old. Unfortunately I doubt you'll find something older with a detachable face.

The last truly simple to operate mobile I had was a 2m RadioShack HTX-212. It seems that radio manufacturers don't think there is a market in amateur radio for simple, clean interfaces that don't have to include the kitchen sink. I mean...really....you're mobile. Do you really need all that crap? I don't. But you have little choice if you want a newer radio. Unless you forego something field programmable and go with a commercial radio.

[SilverBullet]

Interesting, I love my 208H... and ever since, I understand Icom's code better than any others...

[Daryl]

Interesting, I love my 208H... and ever since, I understand Icom's code better than any others...

Each manufacturer seems to have their own style of crypticism, so once you figure it out you're fine. I've been buying Yaesus for years so I'm mostly fine with it, but it simply because I've spent the time to fight through it for long enough.

[ObGobOobaleeney]

What I would not do, is buy a hand held as your first radio. It will seem tempting, but don't do it. It sacrifices much of the range, clarity, power, and ease of use, that you want a Ham radio for in the first place. Get a handheld for your second radio.KI6MIE

Great advice, and it's never too late to second that kind of good advice! Hand helds are second radios, not first. Period. Get a standard 50w 2m or dual band mobile unit and if/when the emergency comes, you'll be ever so thankful you did not get stuck with a highly limited .5, 1.5 or 5w hand held that cost you almost as much as the 50w mobile. And don't cheap out on the antenna; that fifty watts won't go far at all without a good antenna. Not far at all.

[BigSwede]

I just got into 2M for trail use, and am in the process of installing a Yaesu FT-1900R 2M unit in my Trooper. I like the small size, ruggedness, and simplicity of the design, great for the dusty trails I seem to frequent. I installed a Comet SS-680SB antenna on the ARB bullbar. I was a bit worried it would be a distraction in that location, but it is not a large antenna, and it is black so it is quite unobtrusive. I don't think it will be problem at all. And it has a spring base in case I forget about it in some heavy brush. So we'll see how it works. I'll have it up and running in the next few days, and since I just passed the technician test today, I will be transmitting soon!

[1911]

I just got into 2M for trail use, and am in the process of installing a Yaesu FT-1900R 2M unit in my Trooper. I like the small size, ruggedness, and simplicity of the design, great for the dusty trails I seem to frequent. I installed a Comet SS-680SB antenna on the ARB bullbar. I was a bit worried it would be a distraction in that location, but it is not a large antenna, and it is black so it is quite unobtrusive. I don't think it will be problem at all. And it has a spring base in case I forget about it in some heavy brush. So we'll see how it works. I'll have it up and running in the next few days, and since I just passed the technician test today, I will be transmitting soon!

Be sure to check your SWR with an antenna analyzer since that antenna is 1/4-wave on 2M and 5/8-wave on 70cm, both of which usually like to see a decent ground plane to resonate well. A bull bar like the ARB does not always have enough surface area to make a good ground plane, though if you are close enough to the hood of the truck then that may still work OK. If it won't yield acceptable SWR, then try a 1/2-wave antenna.