Ham radio recommendation - Mobile rig

[Jim_Coons]

Ok, I know that a bunch of you guys are hams and I was hoping that you could give me some advice on my first radio. I got my tech ticket about a year ago and have not yet purchased a radio; had my first QSO, nothing. Well I figure it's about time that I get it going.

I want to put my first radio in my vehicle. I'd think that I'll do most of my work on 2 meters for spotting and such. I was considering the Yaesu FT-2900R. It only has 2m, but a nice 75 watts of power when I need it. And it is CHEAP! ~$155 on HRO right now.

But if I bump up to the Yaesu FT-7900R i gain the 70cm band, but with a little less top end power for ~$320. Double the price of the 2900R.

So what do you guys think? Do I really need the 70cm band? Am I going to miss it if I don't have it. Certainly a few of you guys have spent enough time out in the field to give me an idea of what is necessity and what is luxury.

Got a favorite antenna?...

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

Diamond NR-770 is a fine option.

 

[Matt Tottle]

You're definitely going to want a dual bander. If for nothing else when you're chasing in KS and OK, the linked repeater systems which have Skywarn nets and/or are monitored by NWS/SPC are predominantly UHF. I know in the K-Link system some sites have both 2m and 70cm equipment, but only the 70cm side has a full-time link with the rest of the system. The 2m side runs in "local" mode unless a linkup is requested.

Also, just bite the bullet and install an NMO (drill-thru) antenna mount on your vehicle, don't mess around with a mag or glass mount.. Glass mounts suck for transmitting and the performance hit you take with mag-mounts is not worth fretting over drilling a 3/4" hole in your roof. If you sell the car, just unscrew the antenna and install a sealing cap over the mount (it's about the size of 4 quarters stacked up).

As for which rig, the main limiting factor is how much wallet padding you're willing to part with. The more you spend, the more toys they have. The 7900 is a nice all-around radio, but the 8800 has dual-receive, which means it can be tuned to two different frequencies at once. This comes in very useful when you want to monitor traffic on a repeater and have a conversation on simplex. But that jump in capability adds almost two bills to the price. You should also sign up over at qrz or eham and take a look around their swap meet forums. You can usually get a great deal on used rigs. I scored a FTM-350R with the GPS add-on for $500 two years ago on qrz.. New that was about $800 worth of radio.

For an antenna, I use an Anli DC-124H. I have no complaints about it, it does its job fairly well. I like that it folds over so I don't have to take it off when going into a parking garage.

 

[J Tyler]

My ham radio equipment list:

Kenwood V71A 50 watt cross band repeating Amature Radio
Diamond MR77 magnetic mount Amature Radio antenna
Kenwood remote mount face kit
Radio Shack remote speaker

The radio can do 2m and 70cm. Its like having two radios running at once on a split display. You can hop one side to another. I can park the Xterra on a hill and hike down into a trail and the Xterra acts like a repeater. I carry my handy talkie with me, and the Kenwood radio will receive from the outside world and retransmit to me. I am then able to transmit back to the Xterra with my 5 watt HT from down in the valley and the Kenwood in the Xterra will rebroadcast my transmission using 50 watts up on the hill. It auto IDs to stay legal. We used this feature while helping search and rescue in Tushka this spring.

As for the antenna.....I don't know what to tell you. When I was setting up my rig, I had a million guys telling me to just drill holes. The ground plane is better with the NMA mount instead of mag mount. But.....Its all line of sight anyway. Problem is, I have a LOT of equipment on my roof and it changes depending on if I'm chasing, off roading, camping, etc. It is a big help to me to be able to move things around as I need. SO, I went with the Diamond antenna listed. Not a single regret. I had an Elmer tell me that getting the antenna higher would be a bigger help than giving it a ground plane by using a NMA mount, so he advised me to rig up a telescoping pole that I could raise up to help with line of sight if we were ever in the need, and mount that to my bumper. Uh......havn't had that need yet! My wife would *KILL* me. Kill me dead. Very dead. Its her truck!

Keep asking, and keep reading. There is SO much info out there. Most of all, its good to see another ham out there!

 

[TJ Whitt]

Definatly go with a dual bander. If you look on ebay, craigslist, or check out your local ham clubs and ham fests, you can find great equipment for cheap money. I got two Yaesu FT-7800's for $200 each few years ago.

As for antennas, Diamond and Comet make great mobile antennas. Some people say go with perm mount over magnet or glass. It all depends on what you feel you want to do to your vehicle. It has been stated that you loose performance with magnet mount. This is not true at all as I can hit a repeater that is 30 miles away and have full quieting using a magnet mount antenna on the roof of my car and 25 watts of power. One disadvantage with magnet mounts is that over time, the magnet will do some minor damage to the paint. May want to try trunk lip mount or luggage rack mount if you have a luggage rack.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

It is true that mag mount antennas are a compromise. A solid mount through the body is the better way to do it. It makes some difference for the better. But not so much difference that you should risk getting on the bad side of your spouse. Or if you feel quesy about drilling into a new vehicle either. I use a mag mount and although it isn't the best way, it still works and works quite well. If you can go through the troubles of mounting a permanent antenna (removing the headliner, drilling a hole, and then re-installing the headliner is not a walk in the park by any means) then do it. Or just get the best mag-mount antenna you can. Or perhaps a third option; which is a clamp-type mount that attaches to the rails on some SUV's. In the final analysis, the better antenna is the one that is made by the better mfr and fits your needs to mount it the best way you can. They will all work.

 

[John Fertsch]

Does your local Skywarn nets take place on 2 meter or 70cm - i would weigh that in your decision - my nets out here are done in 2 meter if there are any - i have a Yaesu FT1900 for the jeep and a diamond mr-77 - then again theirs so many things to consider - my set up works for me - i can drive to a top of a hill and do my spotting and net operation - if u can save up for the dual - id say go for it - im on a budget right now myself so im trying to save up for one as well - i have a ft-2900 as a home base hooked up to a diamond c22e antenna - i love it - ft 2900 at full power really isnt needed - do just fine at 30 watts on my simplex nets...
But also on the dual bander you'll have more options to listen to - ft1900 and ft2900 are limited to 137 to 174 reception...



plus its a big heavy unit...
but the large display could be nicer to read...

 

[Jesse Risley]

So what do you guys think? Do I really need the 70cm band? Am I going to miss it if I don't have it. Certainly a few of you guys have spent enough time out in the field to give me an idea of what is necessity and what is luxury.

Got a favorite antenna?...

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

The 70cm band really isn't used much for chasing, and you won't find as many active Skywarn repeaters on 70cm as you will on 2 meters. In the field, most chasers use the unofficial national chasing frequency (146.550 MHz) to communicate car-to-car, assuming they use amateur radio at all. Granted, some 70cm activity does exist, and Skywarn activity may be more commonplace there in metropolitan areas, but I've never actually used it for chasing purposes.

For long-term durability, I'm more a fan of the commercial-grade antennas manufactured by companies such as Laird or Larsen. The theoretical gain is often less, but in reality the extra gain that some of the Comet or Diamond antennas have isn't going to have a significant difference over these commercial 5/8-wave antennas, and I've used many different types of amateur antennas over the years. Commercial example: http://bit.ly/sK6Tz2

 

[Jim_Coons]

Thanks for the great advice guys! Much appreciated! I think I'm going to cheap-out and get the 2900R. At the very least the 2900 will make a decent backup radio if I decide that I want to upgrade and/or run two transceivers.

The advice on Antenna was very helpful too. I'm going to over-spend on the antenna to make sure that isn't the weakest link in my rig. Eham reviews on the antennas you guys suggested are top notch. You definitely helped steer me in the right direction and saved me some frustration.

 

[David Wolfson]

I have the Diamond trunk/hood lip mount antenna made for the Yaesu FT8900 quad-band. It mounts on the hood near (but not too near) the front passenger and I fashoned a ground to the firewall with a short length of 12 ga. No drilling, removeable, and the hood can be raised for engine service with the antenna still attached. Provided this sort of antenna is well-grounded, it seems to perform very well. I haven't needed more than 5W or 10W to be heard throughout the Phoenix area.

The main point is that as others have said a good, tuned antenna is worth more than using high power to blast out a bad signal.

 

[Mark Sefried]

I have a comet CA-2x4SR dual band antenna and it is a great one especially considering that it is made as a wide band transmit/receiving antenna on 140-160/435-465MHz. Since I am a volunteer with my local county ema the antenna is especially useful as our frequency is 155.070. I got mine here: http://www.cheapham.com/comet-ca-2x4sr-broadband-vhf-uhf-dual-band/ . They shipped the antenna amazingly fast and the price was fairly good. I looked around online and this antenna is one of the only few that has the wideband transmit. With 3.8 db gain on 2m and 6.2 on 70cm and only 40 inches tall it will work good for ya.

 

[DMGullette]

If you still have not made your purchase, I would say to get the Kenwood TM-D700A used off ebay. It is a dual band and has a built in TNC which when combined with a GPS allows you to beacon your location over the air waves.
Then others can log into www.findu.com and type in your call sign and see your actual location.