Dazed & Confused Again

[ssc]

You all are a bad influence. With the help and direction of Ollie, I got the FT 270R. I have not had much time to mess with it, but it completely confuses me. I can turn it on and set the squelch, but that's it. Do you just spin the dial forever to find a station? What channel would be good to listen to? I am in Riverside. Now I have to get my license. I hope this is not the start of a beautiful relationship. I already have too many hobbies. Damn you--damn you all

Regards, Steve

[xtatik]

^ He said channel!











Jus' messin' wif ya'. You need someone to "Elmer" you on this stuff. Preferably someone close by.

[DaveK]

I can see it now: k6ssc

Next!

[cruiserlarry]

You all are a bad influence. With the help and direction of Ollie, I got the FT 270R. I have not had much time to mess with it, but it completely confuses me. I can turn it on and set the squelch, but that's it. Do you just spin the dial forever to find a station? What channel would be good to listen to? I am in Riverside. Now I have to get my license. I hope this is not the start of a beautiful relationship. I already have too many hobbies. Damn you--damn you all

Regards, Steve

Congratulations, on your first step toward "ham heaven", sucke...um, Steve

Well, figuring out what to set, and what to listen to, will both be easier once you have more information about what you are looking for - hence, the licensing requirement . Next time we get together, either myself, Ollie, Hector or Dave will be glad to help you program in some of the more common frequencies to use. You can also pick up a local repeater guide, which will list frequencies by area, and give you the pertinent info to program into the radio...Of course, don't forget our personal favorite, 146.385+, PL 146.2, Keller Peak...and check out the action on Thurs at 7:30pm, on the Outdoor Adventure Net...

Here's some info on repeaters, how they work, what to do to access them, typical conversation styles, and the frequency ranges for different types of communications on the 2 meter band (144-148 Mhz - like your FT-270R ):

Basic Repeater Info

[ssc]

Thanks for the info. I will tune in on Thursday. I have been reading quite a bit. I do have some legit questions and I think I know the answers, but I don't want to assume. I have regular radios-Family and I know how to use them and why and when. Used the motorola radios for years while out hunting etc. I am familiar with cb's and there use, whether rig to rig or to request info going down the road or call for help etc--as well as the limitations of the above two radios-lack of range. Now we have cell service in many places and the coverage gets better. So my questions are what are the advantage of the ham other than extended range? If you are in an area with no cell service, I see a big benefit. Ham gives you extended range for rig to rig and to call for help or ask for info--sort of a cb on steroids? I know you have ham chats, but how is that different than conference calls or video chat or skype?

Thanks for any answers,
Regards, Steve

[smslavin]

You all are a bad influence. With the help and direction of Ollie, I got the FT 270R. I have not had much time to mess with it, but it completely confuses me. I can turn it on and set the squelch, but that's it. Do you just spin the dial forever to find a station? What channel would be good to listen to? I am in Riverside. Now I have to get my license.

I have the same unit. You can enter the frequencies on the keypad and then fine tune with the dial or arrow keys. I've got the Keller repeater programmed in as well as the Palomar one. I can listen in to Palomar without a problem. If I'm sitting in a certain direction, holding the unit with my thumb and pinky and all the atmospheric wonders align, I can sometimes hear Keller with it.

I hope this is not the start of a beautiful relationship. I already have too many hobbies. Damn you--damn you all

My wife's sentiments exactly...

[sdnative]

Congrats Steve. I have the 270 as well. Great radio. I got mine from Chazz, luckily it was already programmed. There is software available if you need to program a bunch of repeaters or simplex frequencies.

[DaveK]

Steve:

Starting from the beginning, it can seem overwhelming, but there are a number of ways to keep things under control and make sense. While programming your radio is something that you should be able to do, that will come in time as you use the rig. To get started right away, Eric's suggestion, about programming software, is a good idea. RT Systems sells the software and the hardware that allows you to program your radio from your computer. Not only will this make it easier to load repeaters and other frequencies into the radio, but you will be able to take advantage of others who have already entered this info into their radios. With RT's new programs, you can even take advantage of others who have Kenwood or Icom radios (and Yaesu, of course). See: http://www.rtsystemsinc.com/index.cfm

And, since you are in the SD area, there are plenty of others near you who can help you get started. The name Oliver, comes to mind.

I still like it - k6ssc.

[OLLIE]

Steve:
And, since you are in the SD area, there are plenty of others near you who can help you get started. The name Oliver, comes to mind.

I woould love to help Steve out but I have one question for you. How do you figure that Riverside is close to Sand Diego? I believe that Torrence is closer to Riverside than San Diego is.

[cruiserlarry]

Steve:
And, since you are in the SD area, there are plenty of others near you who can help you get started. The name Oliver, comes to mind.

I would love to help Steve out but I have one question for you. How do you figure that Riverside is close to Sand Diego? I believe that Torrance is closer to Riverside than San Diego is.

Dave used the GM factory GPS in the H2...go figure