Hey NERDS!!

monte lauer said:
do you want a handheld or a stationary unit?
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I have no idea, I can see benefits of both, just wondering what you all were using and what I should expect to pay.


edit I guess I should clarify, I am looking for something to go in a rig, not something set up in the basement.
 
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I'm actually looking at picking up a handheld unit that I can take anywhere, throw in my backpack, toss in the trunk of the car, take in the boat, etc...

I have no intention of ever using it to talk to people I don't know, so a base station or fixed mobile setup in a vehicle wouldn't do me much good. And being a penny pincher, I can't afford to buy one for each vehicle I own.

I'm looking in the $100-$200 range. Or under $100 for a used one on ebay...
 
chris pucci said:
I'm actually looking at picking up a handheld unit that I can take anywhere, throw in my backpack, toss in the trunk of the car, take in the boat, etc...

I have no intention of ever using it to talk to people I don't know, so a base station or fixed mobile setup in a vehicle wouldn't do me much good. And being a penny pincher, I can't afford to buy one for each vehicle I own.

I'm looking in the $100-$200 range. Or under $100 for a used one on ebay...
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I bought my handheld off of cl for $40. It is a cheap chineese unit but it seems to do the job. We used it all the way down to the IHSFR with no problems.
 
I'm fond of yaesu radios, seems ya get a little more bang for the buck.
The ft -60 is a nice dual band handheld. Around $180 new

for a mobile radio (mounted in a vehicle) a ft 1802 or a ft2800 are great radios, 50 watt and 65 watt 2 meter only. Either can be had for less that $150 new.

Or step up to a ft 7900 dual band 50 watt, around $240 new.

The difference between a handheld and a mounted unit is power. 5 watt is max for a handheld. But make no mistake, 5 watts will go a long way. If you're going to get a handheld, get the cable to put the antenna out side the vehicle, when used as such. 5 watts inside a tin can won't go very far.
 
major screwup said:
I'm fond of yaesu radios, seems ya get a little more bang for the buck.
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Ditto on the yaesu brand - we use the commercial verisons at work - vertex standard. I've beat my radio pretty hard and it works great. The motorolla, ge, no-name other brands we've used just don't seem to last.

I was running across the road a few weeks ago trying not to get hit by speeding traffic. My radio bounced out of my vest - the mic cable stayed attached to the front of my vest. I wasn't going to stop running, so the radio bounced along on the street trailing behind me. Still works fine, didn't change channels, battery didn't come loose, mic didn't pull out. It has also fallen out of my vest, into the mud and then been stepped on... No problems there either.

I had a newish motorolla sent back 3 times - before we gave up on it.
 
I have the yaesu ft-7900. Works great and it has more features then I'll ever figure out how to use. :yikes:
 
I have the yaesu ftm-10r. It's waterproof, works on the 2 meter and 70 cm bands, small, has audio input and audio output, the body itself is the heat sink, works with my ipod, has blue tooth (that I will never use), and tons of other features. It was designed for motorcycles and has a few different mounting optoins.
 
drew merrick said:
I have the yaesu ftm-10r. It's waterproof, works on the 2 meter and 70 cm bands, small, has audio input and audio output, the body itself is the heat sink, works with my ipod, has blue tooth (that I will never use), and tons of other features. It was designed for motorcycles and has a few different mounting optoins.
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Wow....that's a nice unit, with a price to match. I like the idea of the waterproof radio and the integrated intercom system.
 
carl wiese said:
so, what radio's are all you ham handlers using? What kinda budget are we looking at?
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Hoooo. If you saw my IH rig at the IH sfr last weekend, you got a good idea. My main radio is a yaesu ft-857. It'll do 100 watts on hf/6 m, 50 w on 2m, and 20w on 440. It was $590 back in '03. I also have a 35 watt uhf kenwood 32 ch commercial mobile in there for gmrs and 440 ham ops. A b-k vhf 210 ch portable (h/t) allows for comms away from the truck.

I highly recommend using a mobile radio in the truck, and having a portable available as a backup/secondary. 50+ watts into a rooftop antenna is sometimes needed out in the backcountry, and the larger format of the mobile is often easier to use on-the-road.

In my daily driver car, I use a dual-band kenwood tm-g707a. Great mobile radio, but discontinued. Bought new in 2002 for $285. Look on ebay or qth.com classified for a good used 707.
 
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