Radios

[DaveInDenver]

For a first radio would you get:

A 2 meter or a Dual Band?

A Hand Held or a fixed mount mobile?

Dual band ham, I'm assuming?

I'll offer a $0.02 on the second first, mobile for what I /think/ you're doing with it. I have both and the truth is that the handheld is used almost as much as the mobile. But I use my HT when I go hiking to make contacts, it's nothing short of amazing what a 5W handheld can do when you're standing at 13,000' or 14,000'. I also use mine often when we ski in the backcountry. They are handy for slipping in a backpack.

But they are not a substitute for a real radio in your truck. They do reasonably well with an external antenna, but they are not nearly as convenient to use, don't sound as good and the mic is a compromise. So by the time you connect an extenal antenna cable off the top, add a decent mic and maybe an external speaker, it gets to be quite a mess. If the primary use was going to be in a truck, I'd put in proper radio.

Now as to dual band or not. My gut is to go dual band and that's what I did. But the 2m/70cm usage is about 95%/5% and that's only because 70cm is less crowded and it's sometimes easier to find an open simplex channel for truck-to-truck comm. If money is an issue, I would get a nice 2m radio and be happy. If you are looking to spend money, sure, why not get more bells and whistles? But really, unless you are a true ham hobbyist, you're going to use 2m almost all the time.

 

[BajaTaco]

If you've got the cash, I would get the dual band. If you're on a budget, go for the 2M. I would pass on the mobile HT until you can get one as a 2nd radio. You will appreciate the higher power of a mounted 12V unit.

[EDIT] Ha, Dave beat me to it. ("yea, what he said!")

 

[crawler#976]

1. Whats your budget??? Dual band is considerably more$$$. I wanted a rugged radio as the primary consideration, and narrowed the choice down to the Yaesu FT-2800M and the Icom IC-2200H, both built in a similar configuration, and both relatively inexpensive. Got the Yaesu after reading a few pages of reveiws.

2. Mobile first - because power output will be at least 10X greater, and no batteries.

 

[Brian McVickers]

Thanks guys,
Good thoughts and along the lines of what I am thinking.
Ultimately I want to get an in truck unit and a HT for hiking and backpacking.

I was thinking a dual band in the truck first and then a 2meter HT.

 

[mountainpete]

This is an old thread but rather than starting a new one I figured I'd just tack on another post .......



For a first radio would you get:

A 2 meter or a Dual Band?

A Hand Held or a fixed mount mobile?


:wavey:

First I would say go with a mobile mount and not handheld. If you are using it for backcountry use at all the comparison is night and day.

I choose a Yaesu FT-8800R as my first radio earlier this year. Here is why:

- It not only is dual band, but more importantly for me it is dual recieve. This means I can listen to two frequencies at the same time. Absolutely great for traveling in the backcountry. On one side I can monitor a ham frequency and on the other I can monitor something else (like logging trucks!)
- The remote head installation is great. I have the headunit on my centre console and the transciever behind the rear seats. Out of sight and secure.
- The peformance is always rated high on review sites.

Right now I don't even have a dual band antenna - only a VHF whip. But I still make daily use of the dual recieve. You learn more faster when you can listen to two frequencies. The VHF whip is just so forgiving when it hits trees that I am happy to keep it.

Hope that helps.

 

[Brian McVickers]

Crawler,
Budget is not much!

I found that Yaesu 2800 for $139 at Universal radio and that just may fit the ticket.

The least expensive dual band I can find is $100 more at $240

I did find a used Icom Ic-208H on Craigslist Phoenix, It's a dual band.
I called and he still has it avialable, but he wants $180 and will only go down to $175, not what I want to spend on my first radio let alone a used one with no warranty... although I'm sure that it's a good deal.
For the trips I am taking now days I'm sure a 2meter will deliver just fine, - primarily to help me find camp or keep in touch with the group after missing obvious turns!

I would think different if I was going to be using it more like MountainPete.

If anyone is interested in that one do a search for Ham Radio on PHX Craig's, it is a recent listing.

 

[mountainpete]

Keep an eye here: http://www.eham.net/classifieds/

 

[Pskhaat]

It's way $, but my 8900 has a cross-band repeater which means I can keep a low-wattage .5 watt small UHF HT on me, I talk to my mobile in the Cruiser which then repeats my conversation on VHF, the reverse on the way back in.

This for me has been the ultimate back-country use.

 

[crawler#976]

The Yaesu FT-2800M manual programming is really straight forward. Five simple steps for repeater freq's - maunally (VFO) select freq, set PL tone, tone type, name (optional), and memory channel. Simplex is easier - manually (VFO) select freq, name (optional), and memory channel. Unless it's an odd split, the repeater freq offsets are automatic. I carry a list of AZ repeater, and it only takes a minute to set one up (literally, about a minute without naming the channel)

 

[DaveInDenver]

It's way $, but my 8900 has a cross-band repeater which means I can keep a low-wattage .5 watt small UHF HT on me, I talk to my mobile in the Cruiser which then repeats my conversation on VHF, the reverse on the way back in.

This for me has been the ultimate back-country use.

You know, when I went through the options I wanted in my mobile I gave this serious consideration. I see a use where you are trying to maximize battery life in your HT, but in practice I've yet to find a place where I could not hit a land based repeater that I could actually hit my truck reliably with anything other than 5W. Seems that the trailhead parking is usually bad w.r.t. to either or both my HT and any repeaters that I'd want to hit, so it's just as effective to head to higher ground and bypass the middle-step. So I have not missed the x-band repeater so far. That's just me, YMMV without doubt. Basically, going up 1000' to a hilltop with a 5W HT is going to give you far, far more range than 50W or 100W sitting in a valley if you're trying to make contacts. The ideal situation is take the mobile antenna off your truck, bring along a tripod, a few ground radials and use it with your HT. With that sitting on a 13'er or 14'er you'll be able to hit neighboring states. Seriously.

 

[asteffes]

It's way $, but my 8900 has a cross-band repeater which means I can keep a low-wattage .5 watt small UHF HT on me, I talk to my mobile in the Cruiser which then repeats my conversation on VHF, the reverse on the way back in.

This for me has been the ultimate back-country use.

Cross-band repeat is one of those features that everyone wants, few know how to use properly and even fewer actually utilize once they have it. It does come in really handy sometimes, though. Some radio makers got clever and made "one way" and "two way" CBR, which is cool if you only need a boost to reach a repeater but not to receive it.

My previous Icom 2720H and Kenwood TM-V7A both had one-way and two-way CBR, but curiously my Kenwood TM-D700A doesn't seem to do it.

 

[upcruiser]

good info in this thread. I'm just starting to investigate the realm of HAM. My motivation is actually not 4wd related. I'm getting started in stage rally next summer and I'm looking to outfit the car with a HAM setup to monitor the race organizers and for comunicating with the crew. Ideally though I'd like to put a setup in the car and one in my Cruiser which may be my tow rig for events. If I can find a licensed volunteer crew person it would be ideal.

 

[dieck]

Yaesu FT817

I've been running a Yaesu FT817 for about 2 years and love it. Can be used portable on a hike with good battery life. It has great WL coverage and works well with a vehicle mount

​

 

[gary in ohio]

It's way $, but my 8900 has a cross-band repeater which means I can keep a low-wattage .5 watt small UHF HT on me, I talk to my mobile in the Cruiser which then repeats my conversation on VHF, the reverse on the way back in.

This for me has been the ultimate back-country use.

Yes the 8900 does have cross band repeater. You can not legally use it as a full cross band repeater since it doesnt have an IDer in the radio.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Yes the 8900 does have cross band repeater. You can not legally use it as a full cross band repeater since it doesnt have an IDer in the radio.

My understanding of the rule is that a station needs to be identified and under the control of a licensed ham. That means a repeater doesn't necessarily have to auto ID as long as there's a ham in control of it. So my interpretation is that as long as you ID the station and shut it down after you are finished, you are in compliance. Using a repeater to retransmit your low QRP HT signal, as a half duplex cross band repeater, is certainly within the rules. Having the cross bander retransmit the received signal to your HT might be skirting the rules, but as long as you ID the repeater, I don't see that it's blatant.

The problem I think (and this is only my read on Part 97) is when someone might leave a cross band repeater running, like back at the trailhead in their truck, but aren't controlling the station. Some radios like the Alinco 610 support the remote radio controlling it, for example shutting it down using a command on your HT. My $0.02 is that as long as you are actively using the repeater, it's probably fine as long as you ID both your HT and repeater. If you shut off your HT and leave the mobile running in x-band repeat without monitoring it, that is most likely illegal.