mobile ham radio

Getting my general class license next month. Was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on a good radio for mobile use in my truck. I've been looking at the Yaesu FT-8800 and FT-8900. Anyone use anything ele and like it and why?

I'm principally an HF operator, so my main rig is an Alinco DX-77T, which is a pretty nice radio.

I have a Yaesu FT 2200 for 2 meter FM, and I have a dual band HT for both 2 and 70cm. There isn't a lot of 440 operation around here, so it's my first foray into UHF, and I'm trying it out.

I looked at the ARRL product reviews. If you're a member you can get a better angle on the radio you want, the reviews are in pdf format going back a long way, and running up to November of 2008 (the new issue of QST arrived a few days ago in my mailbox).

I can give you a sense of what I read. The 8800 seems like a nice dualbander, but the reviewer suggested that it will take some time to get used to programming it. The instructions call for you to hold the button down momentarily, which for him was a second or two. When he did this, he overshot the mark he was after. He found that the time they saw as momentarily, was much less. You could get used to it with time, however. The detachable front seems like a great option, if you plan to hide the main part of your radio somewhere out of sight of thieves, never a bad idea, particularly if you will be out of the truck for any period of time, and in our economic situation, a transceiver would look expensive even if the person didn't know what it was for, and I'd sooner lose a 100.00 remote control head than a 400.00 transceiver.

The putting the rig in a location that was more open to the air, rather than under the dash, might be a good idea. The reviewer said it ran a little hot, and while the fan runs by thermostat, I'd say more space around the back of the rig the better.

I had only read a few paragraphs in the review for the 8900, and I thought again. It is a quadbander, but the reviewer, who was station manager for W1AW and works with lots of radios, right out of the box, said that he had to read the manual before operating it. I always do that, anyway, but it sort of made me leery of this.
The other thing I noticed was that the rig runs FM on the whole 10 meter band, while the allocation is only at the very top, so you'd have to watch your band edges pretty carefully.

Enjoy the rigs, and enjoy the hobby.

AB9BD first licensed in 1968 (as WN9AOF).

2008-10-21 09:12:06 by LV NASCAR FAN 6

Better video of the N5OTY mobile amateur radio station.

Does anyone know if ham/mobile/CB radio operators have the capabilities to eavesdrop on wireless and/or landline telephone conversations? If so, would it be possible to zero in on a specific, wireless home phone, by address or position instead of by number. We have a civil lawsuit pending...Based on some odd information that was exposed during previous negotiations; I suspect some "funny business" is going on. It just so happens, that the defendant in this case, is a "radio head" with a top-of-the-line base and 4 mobile units. If this, in fact happening...not just paranoia, what (if anything) can be done to counter or stop such an activity?

Yes with certain radios a ham user can listen in on phone conversations, however if that person was ever caught the FCC would more and likely revoke the users license, and stick them with several hundreds of dollars in fines.

2006-02-27 16:33:16 by saffron

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Has anyone got or used the new Icom IC7000 multiband mobile Amatuer Radio? If so then what are your comments on it, good and bad? Especially it's noise rejection when it comes to ignition noise from the vehicles engine. Any comments about this radio welcomed.

Here is a link of reviews for that radio:

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/5338

2007-01-07 14:14:11 by The simple things in life

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I have an Icom ic-718 for HF transmissions.... but now I am looking into communcating on 2 meters and maybe 6m. I was looking into an Icom ic-t90a handheld but dont know how far I will be able to transmit, if I will be able to talk with my club within 10-15 miles, and if it is a reliable radio. I thought if its not a good choice maybe I would look into a mobile/ base 2m radio. ????????
suggestions?? thanks and happy holidays

All radios work fine. Distance will depend on terrain and watts out to what kind of antenna. Its FM, so it is line of sight. If your club has a nice high antenna on a repeater or you're a flat lander - no problem. 10 to 15 miles - 5 to 10 watts; 15 watts - 30 to 50 miles without any problems. Handhelds usually run 1 to 5 watts but 10 to 15 miles should be OK if its fairly clear of hills or obstruction between you and the club. Borrow someone's handheld in the club and see your results. I'm sure one of the guys or YL's would be glad to help you out. 73

2008-12-31 07:12:38 by 18

What I mean is...I listen to local repeaters and there are people who are familiar with each other. It's like they are in clubs together or friends. There (clicks), I put out a CQ a few times but no come back. I don't except people to coddle me, but a reply to a new ham would be nice. How can I fit in? Maybe I picked the wrong hobby, I'm glad I didn't put a lot of money into my new rig, FT-2800M.

Congratulations on your new license! Don't be discouraged. I'll try and help you out with a few pointers.

First, you don't call CQ on a repeater. Just throw your call sign out there followed by a "listening" or "monitoring". If that doesn't work, just listen for others. Use your own judgment and listen to the conversation. If you feel that you could contribute to the conversation and they sound like the type of people who wouldn't mind, when one person lets off the key, say "break" or more formally just give your call sign. Tell them you're new and provide some input to the convo, or just say that you've never talked to anyone on the repeater and just wondered if they could tell you how your signal sounds through the machine. I know I wouldn't mind if someone did that in the middle of my QSO. It's happened several times over the years and I'm glad to help a new ham out, as are most others. We'll get good round tables going and talk for hours. I realize that might be a little uncomfortable for someone. You can just wait until the QSO is over and then just call one of the people that was in the QSO and start your own conversation.

Another option is check into a local net. There's a few different kinds of nets we have around here. There's an equipment trading net where people buy and sell gear. No QSO's, just the occasional QST or announcement about hamfests or other nets. There's ARES nets, or Amateur Radio Emergency Services. These are pretty formal and are just check ins and QSTs generally. Then there's the informal nets. These are the ones you'd probably be most interested in. The net would start at the top of a specific hour one day a week usually. Some start off with broadcasting Newsline, a ham radio news program. All will start by taking check-ins. You might just want to listen at first to get the rhythm of the net. The net control operator will take a list of check-ins and then after receiving about a dozen will halt check-ins and then go to the top of the list and ask if they have any traffic. The traffic is usually just a Hi everybody I'm doing alright kind of deal or gee aint the weather great etc. They'll talk for a minute then turn it back to the net. When it comes your turn I'd just say something to the effect of I'm a new ham and just trying this thing out for the first time and wanted to see what a net was all about. The net control will probably welcome you to radio, invite you to a club meeting, remind you to check in next week, and all the further check-ins will probably welcome you as well.

The other answerer's suggestions were good as well. Go to a local radio club meeting. Introduce yourself, meet some people, make some friends. Go to a local hamfest and meet some people. If no one else will talk to you, heck, give me your callsign and I'll dial up your local Echolink node!

It's true, you'll find it easier to talk to random people on HF. HF is a lot of fun, but I can see the appeal of trying out 2 meters first. A $126 radio is a lot cheaper than a $600 HF radio. Don't forget Field Day is coming up in June. That'd be a great time to meet people and try out HF under a club call.

2009-03-18 17:19:14 by David B