New Ham!

[salad_man]

Oh alright, I was not sure if APRS had to have its own band available. So many options to compare and review, its hard to make a decision, ha ha.

[cruiserlarry]

Oh alright, I was not sure if APRS had to have its own band available.

The APRS transmit / receive frequency is 144.390, at the beginning of the 2 meter band. So, if you have a radio with dual receive / transmit capability, and it can access the same band simultaneously on both receivers (most with dual display can do that, incl the FT-8800), you can set one to use for APRS, and the other to work a different 2 meter frequencey, for simplex or repeater voice communications.

[salad_man]

That makes sense, what about the 7900? I believe that one does not allow you to transmit/receive at the same time. Thanks a lot larry, ha ha.

[cruiserlarry]

That makes sense, what about the 7900? I believe that one does not allow you to transmit/receive at the same time. Thanks a lot larry, ha ha.

The FT-7900 is a 2 meter / 440mhz dual band radio, but it can only display and access one band at a time - not optimal for anyone who wants to work 2 frequencies simultaneously, as you would to run APRS and voice communications at the same time...go for the FT-8800....

[DaveK]

One quick note:

The 8800 is capable of dual receive. It cannot function as a dual transmit radio. You must manually switch to the side that you want to transmit from. You can still listen to two frequencies, but you can only transmit on the frequency that has been manually selected.

This switching back and forth between APRS and the voice frequency was the shortcoming I mentioned above. The only VHF/UHF radios that will allow APRS to run without having to switch back and forth from the voice frequency are the Kenwood 710 and the Yaesu FT350.

[salad_man]

Oh ok, that answers many of my questions! Thanks a lot Dave and Larry, i am definitely going to have to make the drive for the meet and greet, ha ha. The next question on the list is antennas, which should I look into.

[xtatik]

[quote="cruiserlarry] Randy makes an excellent argument for choosing an multi-mode VHF/UHF/HF mobile radio (Yaesu FT-857D, Icom IC-706MkIIG, etc). The multi-mode radio doesn't take up much more room in the vehicle, but does requires a usually more expensive antenna system(s), and tends to be substantially more expensive to start with. But, if you ever find yourself stranded far from the reach of an FM repeater, you'll be glad you made the investment. So, if long-range communications, or emergency communications from remote areas are likely scenarios for you, Randy's suggestion is an important one to consider.[/quote]

The antennas don't need to be expensive. A simple $30.00 hamstick will get you the world. There are adapters that will allow them to direct mount to the same SO-239 (UHF) mounts that are used by the simple FM dualbander antennas (K400 lip). The stinkin' $300.00 ATAS unit I'm running is barely more than an autotuning Hamstick when you consider the Q of the coil. The grand total for two hamsticks (20 and 40m) giving me a day and night band, and a 239 adapter......about $70.00. That's less than most FM dualbanders I see on trucks. Although changing HF bands would require physically changing antennas, it can be done in less time than most screwdrivers take to go from 40 to 20m automatically. If you didn't want to share a mount between HF and FM, a separate mount and feedline could be used with each connected to the separate terminals on the radios. This means for HF purposes you'd only need to change the antennas once per day.
If I were starting from scratch again and money was an issue, I'd buy a used 857d or 706MkIIG off of QRZed, a couple of Hamsticks and a cheap POS FM antenna for trail chat. I still might pay a bit more for the radio, but you get what you pay for. Most hams take very good care of their equipt., as I'm sure most here do as well. Buying a used rig in these times is especially smart, as many are well cared for, but sadly, are being sold under financial duress.

[salad_man]

I have looked for some used equipment but cant really find any in nice condition, could be looking in the wrong places I suppose... Why multiple antennas, I assume for different situations or different uses? For a dual band radio, do I need two antennas? Ha Ha, sorry about all the questions! Thanks

[xtatik]

I have looked for some used equipment but cant really find any in nice condition, could be looking in the wrong places I suppose... Why multiple antennas, I assume for different situations or different uses? For a dual band radio, do I need two antennas? Ha Ha, sorry about all the questions! Thanks

SM,
No, for a simple dualband FM (2m & 70cm) radio, all that is needed is a simple dualband FM antenna.
My points were directed toward full function ham mobile units or "multi-mode, multi-band" radios. Most multimode radios have two SO-239 RF out connnections rather than just the one that is found on simple FM dualbanders. On a multi-mode one is for FM (2m and 70cm) and one is for HF (6m, 10m, 12m, 15m, 17m, 20m, 40m, 60m, 80m and 160m). There are a few antennas that can radiate both FM and HF such as the popular ATAS unit I mentioned above. Its benefit is convenience...one feedline, one antenna mount, one antenna able to radiate both FM and HF. They use a "duplexer" that connects both FM and HF RF outs to a single feedline to these antenna. The downside to these antennas is radiating efficiency. Essentially, you gain convenience, but lose antenna efficiency.
The method I had mentioned in my earlier post would require two separate antenna mounts and separate feedlines (no duplexer) for each antenna mount (an FM and HF)....which BTW, would be the most efficient way to hook these radios up regardless of antenna type as duplexer tend to be lossy. In this method you'd mount a simple dualband FM antenna on one mount and could use inexpensive Hamsticks for HF on the other mount. If this sounds confusing, it's really not at all. If you ever decided to upgrade your HF antenna, essentially you'd already have the proper setup.

As for used equipt., you might check on QRZ.com or Eham. The description and conditions of products sold by members there are usually very honest and photos are usually provided.

[OLLIE]

Just wanted to jump in here and mention that the FT-7800 has been upgraded and it is no longer available unless you find one used or still on the shelf somewhere. The FT-7800 is now the FT-7900. It has just been rebranded since it has been upgraded. Just like the VX-170 HT is now the VX-270 HT.

IMO on this subject... If you want APRS, go with the FT350 or Kenwood Tm-D710 from the start. If you want a dualband dual tranciever in general, get the FT-8800. Once you have the ability to fully monitor two independent frequencies at one time you will never want to deal with a radio without the ability again.