• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

HF Radio for Emergencies

Cris Schroeder

Cris Schroeder

EF2
Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Messages
145
Location
Clearwater, KS
I'm planning some upgrades to my chase vehicle for next year. We spend quite a bit of time out in the sticks, aside from chasing, and I'd like some means of long-range communication. I have my Yaesu 2m setup but am considering adding HF capability for when I'm out of repeater range.

The Yaesu FT-8900 has 6- and 10-meter capability, but honestly I've never heard another ham on 10 meters...SSB or FM. If I ever needed to reach help, 20 meters seems to be the ticket but I don't want to buy a $500+ transceiver for just-in-case.

Anybody have any recommendations? Ideally I'd like to find a single-band 20 meter SSB transceiver with 50-100 watts of output. So far I'm striking out.
 
For relying on a rig for emergency use in a vehicle, a Yaesu FT-897 would be my choice. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. I wouldn’t have any qualms about buying one used on eBay or from a dealer, so that could save you some $$.
 
The FT-8900 is an FM-only radio, so that will not be of any useful help. I'd consider an FT-857/897 or Icom IC-706g type radio, along with a proper antenna. You can also use it as a receiver while on the road to hear HF SSB, MW AM and broadcast AM to pass the time.
 
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