Beachbum wrote:

Well, that was simple enough. EARCHI had a testing session this AM, and I
passed! I've been listening in to a couple of the local repeater nets,
getting a feel for local practices and personalities. Now comes decision
time...Yaesu or Icom? I'm leaning to the Icom dual band HT's right now.

For the home portable/base, would a mag mount on the corrugated metal
carport roof work pretty well (vs. rooftop mag on the car)?


I would also suggest looking at mobile VHF radios. While larger than a
handheld, they are also more powerful. You can run them off battery power
in the house for an emergency fixed station or off your car batter for a
mobile station.

Eventually you will probably want one of each if you want to get seriously
involved in emergency communications.

If you used the ARRL study guide (not the shorter question/answer book), I
believe that it contains instructions for a 2 meter J-pole. This is a very
useful antenna for fixed station use as it doesn't need the ground plane
like a standard vertical does. So basically you can connect where you like
(although you might want to get it away from other metal objects for best
results).

Dee, N8UZE