guys who did Dusy with Dusty, what frequency Ham radios do you use?

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slickrock

slickrock

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Hey guys, I was talking to Dustin tonight and he was telling me how great it was to use portable ham radios instead of CBs. He has picked one up but I wanted to know what frequency you guys generally use. There are so many that I have no idea where to start but I would like to get one that is usable with everyone else. I found a few: VX-174 VHF, VX-7R tri band, MTX9000, FD-450A UHF, 410-480 MHZ and on. Guys have a suggestion for me to narrow my search?

Dustin's is a 144 mhz. Would any radio that works in that range be compatible? (of course I will get lisenced ;). For instance, this on ebay is 136-174 mhz VHF. Could we talk to each other? http://cgi.ebay.com/Puxing-PX-777-1...233?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item518bb9ee91

Thanks, Dan
 
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Yes the PX will comm on 144 mHz. The 136 to 174 is what is will receive, not transmit. First I have heard of Puxing radios.

Regarding Yaesu radios check VX-110/120/150 or the FT-250. I would not spend more than $125 on your first handheld radio. Handhelds suck for mobile use.

That said, I bought a Chinese cheapo shortwave radio that had a ton of stuff with it. One feature was the rechargeable lithium ion batteries that could be charged while in the radio. Guess what? I never got them past 10% charge (15 mintues of use). I even bought some Ever-readys and same thing. I either run off a wall wart or regular batteries. Not a big deal for AA batteries, but.....try that with the proprietary(?) battery of the PX
 
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Check eham.net for reviews on these things. Doesn't look like they have been around awhile. Looks like your standard Chinese knockoff of a major brand with a crappy manual. It's your money.

For a 2 meter radio, get one that transmits on 144-148 mhz, has at least 4 watts tx output power on the High setting, and a NiMH battery with charger.
 
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It's the license you get that determines the radio you can operate.

The easiest beginner license to get is useful only for the 2 m (called 144 above) and 440 bands, which is why those are so popular (and a good reason for you to get one too if you want to talk to somebody).

So unless you will go for the hard licenses you really have little choice about the frequency. In a given band, there will indeed be tons of models to choose from, of course, but for a specific amount of power, the various models are pretty much equivalent in performance, differing mostly in features, menus etc. The choice of antenna will make a huge difference though.
 
We used 146.460 Mhz Simplex (radio to radio comm) on that trip. I'd pick up the same brand as Dusty, which I think was an Yaesu. It'll make programming your radio easier by having two heads working on it. This is just a suggestion of course but these radios are damn complex so having two people trying to figure things out is a nice luxury.
 
Thanks for the response. I am going to try to find the same radio dustin has. We mostly wheel together so it makes the most sense.
 
Just a suggestion but you might consider a mobile unit (mounted in the truck) instead of an HT (hand held). They are a lot easier to learn to operate and use. You also get better range, +50W transmit typical for 2M operation compared to 5W for a hand held.

On a trail like Dusy the group stays pretty close together, other places you can get spread out and more range comes in handy. It also helps when you are trying to hit a repeater from the trail.
 
I have a PUXING PX 777 plus , AWESOME RADIO for under 100Bucks. The wouxun is another great radio. The complaint with the PUXING is slow scanning.
 
Yes the PUXING PX777plus in the 136-174mhz.
 
I drive through your neck of the woods during the summer on my way to my cabin on Cortez Island. Wish I could live there year around.
 
slickrock said:
I drive through your neck of the woods during the summer on my way to my cabin on Cortez Island. Wish I could live there year around.
Click to expand...


Nice!
 
I'll have some time this year. I have never wheeled around BC (except around the island to get to a few high lakes). Maybe we could meet up for a day and you could show me the local trails (has to be fairly mild since I will have my FJC and my my 40 series).
 
Sounds Good! The Lyon Lake Loop around Sechelt would be fairly close , LOL a ferry ride away.
 
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