CB Model/ Brand Recommendation

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my handhelds:

cb: Cobra HH 38 WX ST 4-Mile 40-Channel CB Radio

ham: a Yaesu FT-252 single 2m band.

like them both.
 
murf said:
my handhelds:

cb: Cobra HH 38 WX ST 4-Mile 40-Channel CB Radio

ham: a Yaesu FT-252 single 2m band.

like them both.
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I have the same CB for outside of the rig use. It seems to need an external antenna for use inside the rig.

The yaesu is an excellent handheld.
 
Nifski said:
Well, I am going to head towards the Hamm highway! I went on the website and looks like most have a remote radio and a separate face plate, is this the standard? How far can the base be mounted from the faceplate?
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I have a Yaesu FT-7900r comes with the remote faceplate. Usually Ham Radio Outlet sells it with the remote mounting kit. I have my radio under my drivers' seat, and the control unit (faceplate) is on a mount attached to my dash. I think the cable is around 20' long (way more than I needed). If you mount the radio remotely, you'll also need an external speaker. I used whatever little 2" square one Ham Radio Outlet had.
 
1Louder said:
PS: GET YOUR LICENSE! Yeah I am yelling. Hate to say it but all of the unlicensed folks are giving us a bad name. It is not hard to study for and pass the test. Also, when you get one learn how to use the radio for more than 146.46. Yes that is pet peeve #2. Too many folks on the same frequency and don't know how to move to a free channel.
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Agreed. The test is rather easy to pass for the first level Technician license. Hey you might learn something, too. I did. But I probably forgot it by now.
 
msahr said:
Agreed. The test is rather easy to pass for the first level Technician license. Hey you might learn something, too. I did. But I probably forgot it by now.
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I spent hours a day for a week studying my Yaesu FT-60 manual, and still never figured out how to reliably set and store channels. Japanese complexity is amazing. I'm exaggerating a bit, but 15 button press combos to select something is not what I feel is intuitive. I regret not getting a handheld that has software for programming things like repeater details.

ps: Well I am red faced. I just Googled software for my FT-60 and guess what I found?
FT-60 Radio Programming Software | Yaesu Radio Software | Cloning Software
Guess I was just overwhelmed trying to do things manually so I would be prepared out in the field and never searched the web for software (or it didn't exist a few years back).
 
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GWcruiser said:
I spent hours a day for a week studying my Yaesu FT-60 manual, and still never figured out how to reliably set and store channels. Japanese complexity is amazing. I'm exaggerating a bit, but 15 button press combos to select something is not what I feel is intuitive. I regret not getting a handheld that has software for programming things like repeater details.

ps: Well I am red faced. I just Googled software for my FT-60 and guess what I found?
FT-60 Radio Programming Software | Yaesu Radio Software | Cloning Software
Guess I was just overwhelmed trying to do things manually so I would be prepared out in the field and never searched the web for software (or it didn't exist a few years back).
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Google "FT-60 Chirp" and save yourself $40.00. You can get a cable on Amazon and use this free software. It works very well. I use it for my 3 radios and also have a long list that I can share. LandcruiserPhil is one that asked for it and hopefully used it.... For those that use Gaia I have a waypoint file that shows every repeater in the state... Great for if you are in an unfamiliar place and need a frequency.

Here I will save you time: CableGuide - CHIRP

 
From what I can see in the software Chirp doesn't support the oddball functions, just memory management. Also, the Help files are not exactly helpful. Not everyone wants to invest 40 hours to learn something. Back on my Ease of Use mantra... The Rt software and cable ($45 Amazon), while costing $20 more than the cable for Chirp ($25 Amazon), seems to be a better or rather more complete product. $20 or 40 hours... hmm; that's a hard one [!not].
 
GWcruiser said:
From what I can see in the software Chirp doesn't support the oddball functions, just memory management. Also, the Help files are not exactly helpful. Not everyone wants to invest 40 hours to learn something. Back on my Ease of Use mantra... The Rt software and cable ($45 Amazon), while costing $20 more than the cable for Chirp ($25 Amazon), seems to be a better or rather more complete product. $20 or 40 hours... hmm; that's a hard one [!not].
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To each his own... I got a cable for like $10.00 and the video I shared required about 10 minutes of effort. If the other software works for you great... Good luck. I have never had that specific need. HRO sells that software as well if anyone wants to shop local.
 
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I used the software from RT systems for my 7900. Yeah it costs more and is for only one radio... whatever. It works really well and addresses pretty much everything I wanted it to do. My Kenwood radio/iPod player/CD player combo suffers from the same malady of too few buttons and way too many key combos to get a function to work. I carry a spare manual for my ham rigs in my trucks. Crazy.
 
msahr said:
I used the software from RT systems for my 7900. Yeah it costs more and is for only one radio... whatever. It works really well and addresses pretty much everything I wanted it to do. My Kenwood radio/iPod player/CD player combo suffers from the same malady of too few buttons and way too many key combos to get a function to work. I carry a spare manual for my ham rigs in my trucks. Crazy.
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I always try to find the PDF versions of the manuals. I then save them to my iPad so I have them future reference. If you use an app like GoodReader you can save your own bookmarks which makes it easier to find things you specifically need. If you save them to an app like EverNote it will make the PDF searchable as well.

There are those Quick Reference guides for most of the Ham radios as well that HRO sells.

If folks have the money to spend $40 a pop per device for the RMS software great. I just tried to offer a low cost alternative that many people find works great. Sometimes it also pays to stay with the same brand for all of your radios so they are generally familiar. Although my basic Kenwood single band is way harder to use than my fancy Dual Channel/Band 710 with the large screen.

Last but not least this site is amazing. Especially for those with the cheap Baofeng radios. When I have helped folks with those things I always reference this site: Miklor Radio Information Site - Miklor
 
1Louder said:
Google "FT-60 Chirp" and save yourself $40.00. You can get a cable on Amazon and use this free software. It works very well. I use it for my 3 radios and also have a long list that I can share. LandcruiserPhil is one that asked for it and hopefully used it.... For those that use Gaia I have a waypoint file that shows every repeater in the state... Great for if you are in an unfamiliar place and need a frequency.

Here I will save you time: CableGuide - CHIRP

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Thanks I did DL to my Baofeng. I printed a cheat list to carry although Im note sure what some of the freq are:redface:
Does your Gaia waypoint file include the freq for the noted repeater?
Also on my Baofeng I only see the freq not the name, is that correct for the radio or is there a setting that needs to be changed?
 
LandCruiserPhil said:
Thanks I did DL to my Baofeng. I printed a cheat list to carry although Im note sure what some of the freq are:redface:
Does your Gaia waypoint file include the freq for the noted repeater?
Also on my Baofeng I only see the freq not the name, is that correct for the radio or is there a setting that needs to be changed?
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Yep, see the screenshot below. There is a free RepeaterBook app. All of the data comes from that website. This is just a nice visual representation. The better radios will automatically set the required offsets. That app shows you repeaters near you by distance but not on a map. Really that is should be good enough and the data is stored offline in the app which is nice.

I can't answer your Baofeng question. I don't own one of those radios.

and now for the screenshot....
29924497401_56ba7896bb_b.jpg

A couple around Flagstaff.
 
Dimples said:
Thread officially hijacked.
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CSC forum has the same rules of engagement as MUD Chat...................none, except nudity, unless she is hot then as a moderator of the CSC forum send it to me first for possible approval.:flipoff2:
 
Keep in mind the Baofeng is a commercial radio and as such it doesn't have some of the amateur radio features, such as automatic repeater shift (ARS). So it will require some extra effort when programming, whereas the amateur radios will make assumptions based on frequency coordinations, band plans, etc. For example the repeater shown above, 145.410 mhz, has a negative offset. The amateur radio will assume this, the commercial radio will not.
 
As to the original question, I have an OLD CB, with a 500 watt linear (illegal, I know). I wheel and hunt alone a lot in Northern AZ. Even though I can reach West Texas (sometimes on skip), 90% of the traffic is the local Native American population, as it is apparently very popular there.

I am strongly considering going the ham route.
 
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