First, this group has been a wealth of information in helping me make the decision to upgrade from CB to a real means of reliable communications. Now that I have made that decision I need the groups help picking a radio. I am leaning towards the Yaesu FT-7800 for its reviews here and elsewhere. Is this a decent radio? From what I have read it appears that the Yaesu radios are a bit more user friendly as far a programing than the Icoms. I was also looking at the Icom V8000. I am a complete novice and want a radio that will serve me well into the future and won't require an MIT Grad to program... I am open to all suggestions.
1st 2M Radio Advice (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter MSGGrunt
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A quick search will turn up several threads about the different 2m mobile radios...most within a couple pages of your thread.
First radio should be a handheld. Learned that in class at ARRL and it's true. For better reception get an antenna for your car. You should be able to hit just about any repeater in your area. I can in CT.
Go for feel and user friendlyness to you. Everybody is different. If there is no ham store in your area, there is in Newington CT. PM me for address if you want. Guys go to Lentini's from NY all the time.
We made a J pole antenna in class and use it on the house. Copper tubing, solder, cheap. Barely noticable.
Go for feel and user friendlyness to you. Everybody is different. If there is no ham store in your area, there is in Newington CT. PM me for address if you want. Guys go to Lentini's from NY all the time.
We made a J pole antenna in class and use it on the house. Copper tubing, solder, cheap. Barely noticable.
Good rainy day Saturday trip. Go to ARRL Headquarters in Newington,call before you go, Same site is W1AW flagship station, very cool, always manned by someone as far as I know. If you want to see some EQUIPMENT stop by W1AW. Five minutes away is Lentini"s and you can pick up your new radio.
Newington is 15 min. SW of Htfd.
p.s. If you are licensed you can operate W1AW
Newington is 15 min. SW of Htfd.
p.s. If you are licensed you can operate W1AW
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
For a Cruiserhead looking for a radio, I do not agree with this. A hand held gives up the principal advantages of Ham radio. Bad range, marginal reception, fiddly buttons, weak speaker and no power on transmit. A hand held makes an excellent second radio.
For a first radio, assuming your primary use will be for mobile communications, get something that actually works. Any of the entry level mobile radios from the big 3 will be great. Just make sure the radio you choose can be programmed with a PC. You will thank me for that recommendation. Get a good antenna and enjoy actually being able to talk to others while off-roading.
I got both! I was advised towards a mobile radio. You'll be using your radio in your car a lot and a mobile radios usually have more power output than an HT. Another suggestion was, if you can afford it, to get a radio that will handle more than a single band, i.e. instead of 2m get one that works on 70cm/2m. An FT-7800 would be a good choice for a mobile. With the remote mounting kit you can put the radio almost anywhere and not have space issues mounting the head unit. One other piece of advice, don't skimp on your antenna. It may be even more important than the radio. I ended up with a FT-8800 I got on eBay and a Comet antenna, and a VX-7R HT I bought new at the local Ham Radio Outlet store here in town.
Cruiserdrew- I can hit repeaters all over this area w/ my handheld and carmount antenna. BUT all areas are different. 5000 watts still won't drill thru a mountain. I agree that for line of sight more power is better. I just like the portability of the thing. I have two sons on the fire dept and i use it as a scanner as well.
Are you coming to Keene, NH on 04/29? If you do, I'll probably have my FT-8900R with me and you can play with it. I'll make sure to bring the manual...
- Thread starter
- #9
The radio will not be a portable. I just don't see that for what I do I will use anything outside of the vehicle. The money isn't so much of a concern I just don't want to pay for more radio that I will use. What are the benefits of the 70cm/2m? I will not skimp on the antenna as well. I will not be in Keene as I will be away with the military, though have wheeled there before. Who is going? Not to get off topic.
Hand helds have limited battery life and when they die they die fast. Many have lousy audio output and are very complicated to operate. I dispise the fact that most HH radios no longer have a squelch knob. Instead you have a three function software mode to fiddle with. _rew that.
The base radio will have larger buttons, a larger display, more audio output and more power.
But who am I to talk I own seven hand helds.
JB
Well you've heard almost every opinion in the book. Start slow, don't buy a ton of stuff you won't use in 2 months. Buy one of the big 3 names. I would recommend a dual bander over a 2 meter just because it's there and the cost difference is minimal. GET A GOOD ANTENNA. ENJOY.
ENJOY.
I have an Icom V8000 and a Yaesu 1500 (discontinued). The Icom is difficult to program manually (without the pc interface) I mean it is a bear. I find that I need to refer to the manual when doing basic menu surfing. The Yaesu menus I find very intiutive. I haven't touched the manual in years.
Anyway, I think that the Icom 8000 is a good choice for the cruiser for these reasons:
1. Mil Spec 810 rating (shock, heat, moisture, vibration, etc)
2. Loud front-fire speaker
Don't worry that one radio puts out 65watts when another one does 75watts. It is not much difference in the real world.
Using a hand held for vehicle use WILL be a hassle.
As far as getting a two-band, I live in LA and there is a ton of 2 meter chatter, while 440 is almost dead air. Most repeaters are also closed in the 440 band
Anyway, I think that the Icom 8000 is a good choice for the cruiser for these reasons:
1. Mil Spec 810 rating (shock, heat, moisture, vibration, etc)
2. Loud front-fire speaker
Don't worry that one radio puts out 65watts when another one does 75watts. It is not much difference in the real world.
Using a hand held for vehicle use WILL be a hassle.
As far as getting a two-band, I live in LA and there is a ton of 2 meter chatter, while 440 is almost dead air. Most repeaters are also closed in the 440 band
Get a daul band
I actually find my V-8000 fairly easy to program with the mic with a lot of practice – it’s very nice to finally have the PC software (almost half the cost of the radio) but with frequent use programming gets easier – at one point I could enter freq’s into the memory while driving. My Yaesu VX-7b is a total pain to program since it’s new to me – Thank god for the PC software for programming. I’m sure with more practice programming will get easier.
HT vs Mobile –
Yes I also can hit all the local repeaters with the HT but when it comes to simplex – No contest – the mobile wins hands down! Also – the mobile hits repeaters that are 100 miles away that the HT can’t even come close to.
Example –
I am in San Francisco and was participating in the Alameda county disaster preparedness net Thursday eve. Let’s say that it was about 12 miles away as the crow flies across the SF Bay- No problem with the HT with a cheap J-pole antenna thru the repeater – After the repeater net they have a simplex net – on the HT I can hardly even hear them so I go down to the garage and fire up the mobile in the Land Cruiser – my 6’ hustler antenna is bent down so I can get the truck inside the garage and not only can I hear them on simplex but they can hear me although I was pretty far down in the mix but they could hear every word – When I am out on the street they can hear me fine.
You are going to want both mobile and HT once you get into it. Do get a dual band mobile – I wish I did because I am now looking for a dual band mobile with a detachable front panel.
Sorry for the long post.
-mg
I actually find my V-8000 fairly easy to program with the mic with a lot of practice – it’s very nice to finally have the PC software (almost half the cost of the radio) but with frequent use programming gets easier – at one point I could enter freq’s into the memory while driving. My Yaesu VX-7b is a total pain to program since it’s new to me – Thank god for the PC software for programming. I’m sure with more practice programming will get easier.
HT vs Mobile –
Yes I also can hit all the local repeaters with the HT but when it comes to simplex – No contest – the mobile wins hands down! Also – the mobile hits repeaters that are 100 miles away that the HT can’t even come close to.
Example –
I am in San Francisco and was participating in the Alameda county disaster preparedness net Thursday eve. Let’s say that it was about 12 miles away as the crow flies across the SF Bay- No problem with the HT with a cheap J-pole antenna thru the repeater – After the repeater net they have a simplex net – on the HT I can hardly even hear them so I go down to the garage and fire up the mobile in the Land Cruiser – my 6’ hustler antenna is bent down so I can get the truck inside the garage and not only can I hear them on simplex but they can hear me although I was pretty far down in the mix but they could hear every word – When I am out on the street they can hear me fine.
You are going to want both mobile and HT once you get into it. Do get a dual band mobile – I wish I did because I am now looking for a dual band mobile with a detachable front panel.
Sorry for the long post.
-mg
Yes but you are in a well populated area. Try hitting a repeater 140 miles away with you HT and you'll be
YUP yore right . Beat me up! 
I also recently got into this hobby, after trying 30+ years ago and not being able to deal with the code test. There's an HRO store about 4 blocks from my house, so I can easily go play with anything they sell. I bought the FT-8800R radio, and I think I may have over-bought, sometimes I wish I had just went with the lesser 7800. The dual sides of the radio can get confusing sometimes, you have to be really careful. It's also a real pain to deal with programming, if you program all the local stuff on one side, there doesn't appeat to be any way to just clone it over to the other side, you have to start over. I finally caved in and bought the programming software and cable the other day, but I haven't tried it out yet, I need to figure out a way to power the radio up from here at my computer desk.
I have a Larsen NMO2/70B on a magmount, it seems to work very well. I'll convert it to a permanent NMO mount as soon as the weather gets nice and I have the time to pull the headliner down.
I also am considering an HT, looking mostly at the FT-60R. I also really don't like how they have eliminated the squelch controls on the newer models.
My other problem is what to do at home. I borrowed an old Radio Shack HTX-202 HT, but I can't even get the thing near my computer, the inteference from the computer dirtys the reception too much, I can't get the squelch to close. Maybe it's because it's such an old radio, but I don't think so. We're in the midst of a major storm event here now, I'd love to be able to monitor the local ARES net while I'm sitting here working, but I have to keep the radio across the room. I really need a decent antenna on my roof.
I have a Larsen NMO2/70B on a magmount, it seems to work very well. I'll convert it to a permanent NMO mount as soon as the weather gets nice and I have the time to pull the headliner down.
I also am considering an HT, looking mostly at the FT-60R. I also really don't like how they have eliminated the squelch controls on the newer models.
My other problem is what to do at home. I borrowed an old Radio Shack HTX-202 HT, but I can't even get the thing near my computer, the inteference from the computer dirtys the reception too much, I can't get the squelch to close. Maybe it's because it's such an old radio, but I don't think so. We're in the midst of a major storm event here now, I'd love to be able to monitor the local ARES net while I'm sitting here working, but I have to keep the radio across the room. I really need a decent antenna on my roof.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=147610
If I'm unable to show up with the cruiser, I'll have my radio along - hence the offer above.
If I'm unable to show up with the cruiser, I'll have my radio along - hence the offer above.
