I was out wheeling with the club this weekend and was the only one not running 2M, and was envious of the fact they could chat with camp and those running trails on the other side of the ridge. Wife OK'ed the purchase as long as I can keep it cheap. So here is the question, is this a good basic 2M radio, Yaesu FT-2900R for $137?
Is there a better vendor out there? Is the kit needed pretty much the same as a CB (antenna, coax cable, etc.)? Sorry for all the NOOB questions, but I would love your help and yes I will get my license prior to use.
Yaesu makes good radios and gigaparts is decent vendor (have purchased from them in the past). Icom and Kenwood are the other 'big name' manufacturers. I personally run several Yaesu radios (once you pick your 'brand', sticking with it helps since the menu/operation is similar across their range). Choosing Yaesu or Icom or Kenwood is similar to the US fascination with Chevy, Ford, GMC (in whatever ranking order you desire).
If all the club runs 2m, then the FT-2900R will be a fine choice. If they also jump to UHF then you'll be out of luck.
Study up and get your license, it is simple/cheap and opens the possibility of a new hobby (don't tell the boss - more $ to spend ).
Yes, you'll need to buy an appropriate antenna and base/mount (search this forum to get some ideas of good brands, mounts etc). Visit a local HAM store if possible - get some recommendations from them and be nice and spend some $ there to support them if they are nice back to you.
Another option is the Kenwood TM-281A. It's only 65w compared to the yaesu 75w. Nice thing about the kenwood is the speaker is on the front.
Before you buy a radio I'd make sure it's what you want for what you plan to use it for and maybe think about the future use. I recently bought my first radio and decided that I wanted to go ahead and spend a little on a nice radio I could kinda grow Into it. I didn't want to be swapping out radios after a year cause I got bored with a basic radio. I got a kenwood TM-D710G.
If you're ok with drilling holes for your antenna mount I'd get a Larsen NMO150. Gigaparts sells it as a kit with the antenna and the mount with coax. Just drill the hole, run the cable and cut to length and put the end on the cable. Very clean install
I'm a Kenwood guy. Went from the TM-271A to the TM-V71A. You can probably pick up a used 2m only 271A on the cheap if you search a bit. If you want a radio, you can't go wrong with Kenwood or Yaesu. Personal preference.
You'll need an antenna mount, antenna, and possibly antenna extension cable. I like the Diamond NMO mounts and an inexpensive Larson whip for 2m only.
FWIW, most trail comms are 2m. You can also go the HT route and get a really cheap Baofeng UV5R for under $30. Works great and ridiculously inexpensive for what you get.
The FT-2900 (and it's immediate predecessor the FT-2800) is a nearly ideal trail radio and a great first radio. I ended up buying two of them, and still use one at my "shack" at home. Powerful, no cooling fan to suck in trail dust, lots of memories, large easy-to-read display. Cheap enough that if you out-grow it, you won't lose much - either to re-sell or keep it as a spare.
Thanks for all the feedback guys! One of the other selling points is that we (wife & 3 young kids) are often out hiking, camping and exploring solo, so I really like the idea of being able to reach out for help if something goes sideways way off the beaten path. With that in mind are there any other features i should be looking for in a Ham radio for my rig?
Thanks for all the feedback guys! One of the other selling points is that we (wife & 3 young kids) are often out hiking, camping and exploring solo, so I really like the idea of being able to reach out for help if something goes sideways way off the beaten path. With that in mind are there any other features i should be looking for in a Ham radio for my rig?
Are you going out hiking out a ways from the truck? Or will you always be exploring in the truck?
If you're going out hiking away from the truck it could be beneficial to have a handheld and a radio in the truck that has a feature called crossband repeat. But you have to have a dual band radio to do that.
Are you going out hiking out a ways from the truck? Or will you always be exploring in the truck?
If you're going out hiking away from the truck it could be beneficial to have a handheld and a radio in the truck that has a feature called crossband repeat. But you have to have a dual band radio to do that.
Yes, we are very much out hiking away from the rig. With three boys under 5, we aren't venturing too far (yet), probably 3-4 miles from the truck before we need to turn back. Do crossband Repeaters burn a lot of juice? Would I need to invest in dual batteries or would it be OK to leave it running for half a day while we are out hiking?
It looks like I would need to step up to something like a Yaesu FT-7900R or Kenwood TM-V71A to gain the dual band functionality, that sound correct? With the reduced power of the dual band radios would I see a big hit in range while up in the Rockies? 75w vs 50w seems like a big dip in power.
75W versus 50W is miniscule in the great scheme of things. Your antenna system and location will have much more effect on whether you can get your signal out and receive.
Having your radio in the vehicle on cross band won't draw much power - few hundred milliamps at the most while it is on and listening.
I'd more likely want to rely on something like Spot for rescue/recovery than a handheld trying to crossband and hoping your vehicle is in a location that can hit repeaters and getting a gps location to your rescuers etc. Of course having both wouldn't be a bad idea if you're worried.
Oh - and if you're out in the boonies alone with family and little kids a 2nd battery is a very good idea and would be higher on my list than the radio stuff...
Here is a similar thread on QRZ that asks the same question http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?322284-2M-mobile-radio
From reading the thread I wouldn't put too much emphasis on 75 vs 50 watts. I'd invest in a better antenna first. I think most of it depends on where your truck is located in the terrain and where the other person or repeater is placed. Parking the truck at the top of the hill should make a difference and having the antenna well placed on the truck makes a difference too. You'd really be surprised on how much range you can get on 50w and something like a 5/8 wave antenna.
Using the radio in crossband mode shouldn't consume any more juice. You shouldn't have any problem running it for half a day on one battery. I wouldn't think twice about it. I looked up the spec for the kenwood Tm-v71a and it says its uses 1.2 amps when its receiving and most of that is used for the speaker. Transmitting on high power uses 13 amps. Best bet is to know where the repeaters are before you go out and see how much power it takes to get into the repeater or whoever you're talking to on simplex.
If you're going to use this as a main way to communicate out hiking I'd definitely get to know some of the local hams. Get them familiar with your call sign. Tell them where you're going so they can listen out on the radio if something were to go wrong.
I'd stick with the idea of a single band VHF radio like the Yaesu FT-2900 or the Kenwood TM281. Forget about the sexy stuff like cross band repeating until you understand radio. It's a often mention feature that is virtually never used. This is not a reason to buy 1 radio over another.
You are new to radio and what you want and need will evolve over time. Don't get lost in the specs. Most (99%+) of the action in our little niche of the radio world is on VHF, so you are not giving up much with a single band radio. Once you gain some experience, then you can evaluate your needs, and buy a radio accordingly. It's OK to upgrade and easy to sell what you have.
A single band radio is easier to program, use, and MUCH easier to come up with a stellar antenna. The Larsen NMO150 series is a particular favorite of mine-it's cheap, tough, excellent in every way. It isn't a dual band antenna.
With a VHF radio like a Yaesu 2900 or Kenwood 281, you should be able to get a complete set up radio/antenna/coax/mount for $200 or so.
Once you make the jump to a dual band radio, the feature you will want is the dual watch/dual receive. But then you are into the $$$ radios like the Yaesu 8800, and the Kenwood 710.
I have had Yaesu radios for a long time and generally like them, though I recently got a Kenwood 281 and on balance I like the Kenwood better by a small margin. The microphone and voice quality is what sets the Kenwood apart-significantly better than the Yaesu equivalent. What ever you get, get the programming cable so you can program it with CHIRP or other software. And BTW-Kenwood provides programming software for free, where as the other companies do not.
The more you know about radio, the less you'll care about the radio, and more you'll care about the antenna! A $25 Baofeng works awesome through a great hard mounted antenna.
So in summary: 1-get licensed, 2-Get a good but inexpensive 2m (VHF) radio, 3-Spend time on a good antenna/mount. Re-evaluate needs after 1 year.
...and just to give the PO some price comparison, the FT-8800, with a $100 rebate is running $339. The FT-2900 is a good radio as is the Kenwood from what I've read. As Andy said above, for trail use 2M is all you'll really need.
Brilliant feedback! I was thinking of mounting my antenna on my ARB bumper to keep the install clean and remove the need for drilling any roof holes. Its starting to look like some antennas will be better at that then others? Something about a 1/2 wave antenna?
I use a Diamond trunk/hatch mount - price at around $75, but versitle and will withstand trail branch beatings. I use one for my ham and one for my CB radio. Comet SBB1 for trail use - small flexible antenna and a Comet SBB7 for general onroad use. Both good range antenna's. These are just two of many good antennas. Listen to recommendations from a ham store too if you've got one you can visit before purchasing.
I was thinking of mounting my antenna on my ARB bumper to keep the install clean and remove the need for drilling any roof holes. Its starting to look like some antennas will be better at that then others? Something about a 1/2 wave antenna?
Honestly, Matt, your bullbar is about the worst place to mount your antenna, but it will work. The problem is you sacrifice ground plane and radio performance and its close to other sources of radio noise-especially your alternator.
A hatch mount like Brett mentioned is a much better place.
In principle, you want as high as possible, with the best ground plane possible, so roof is better than hatch, which is better than bumper, which is better than a hand held. It's all a compromise though, and even with a less than perfect mount, the performance will be better than you think. I recently took mine off the hatch and down about a foot on a home made mount. Then I run the coax through the light fixture to get into the cab. The mount is quite as good. but the wiring is cleaner and better so on balance, it was good for me.
Here is the mount I made for my 62 but the 80 is exactly the same. Coax routes down to the tail light to access the side body panel and get into the interior of the truck
Here you can see the existing bolts it attaches to, the grounding braid and the thin coax going down into the light fixture:
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