I just passed my Element 2 test this afternoon (and missed
Element 3 by only 3 questions even though I haven't yet
looked at the General class question pool :-)

So I will be looking for some VHF/UHF equipment (HT
& mobile?) in the next few weeks. I had looked around
some websites several months ago and concluded that
there was a particular brand/model of HT that seemed to
be both widely-used and highly-regarded. But now I
can't remember the recommendation (or the websites).
So IS there a "sure-thing" or "everybody's favorite" HT
or mobile rig out there? I'm not averse to 2nd-hand if
there is some way to confirm proper/legal operation.

I have some years of experience in audio,video and
general electronics, and I know when newbies (like
me) come to one of those newsgroups with this kind
of question, everyone rolls their eyes and makes
snide remarks about such a public display of ignorance
So I know I risk looking silly coming and asking this.
But hey, they say there are no stupid questions except
the ones you didn't ask. :-)

If it makes any difference I am in the Portland, OR
metro area. Assuming I will find out sooner or later
what the local scene is like.

I like my Icom IC-706MkIIG (HF/6/2/70cm), which I occasionally use
mobile (with a set of Hamstick antennas) but mostly use at home with a
long wire and the AH-4 autotuner.

When I was living in an area with many 220MHz repeaters, I bought a
Kenwood TH-F6A HT, but now that I'm in an area without much 220MHz
activity I might pick a different one -- perhaps the Yaesu VX-7R (which
has 6M and does cover 220 as well but only with a minuscule power
output). Check a repeater directory to see what frequencies are in use
in your area.

"Perce"
(aka Alan NV8A)


On 02/04/06 07:59 pm Richard Crowley wrote:

I just passed my Element 2 test this afternoon (and missed
Element 3 by only 3 questions even though I haven't yet looked at the
General class question pool :-)
So I will be looking for some VHF/UHF equipment (HT & mobile?) in the
next few weeks. I had looked around some websites several months ago and
concluded that there was a particular brand/model of HT that seemed to
be both widely-used and highly-regarded. But now I can't remember the
recommendation (or the websites). So IS there a "sure-thing" or
"everybody's favorite" HT
or mobile rig out there? I'm not averse to 2nd-hand if
there is some way to confirm proper/legal operation.

I have some years of experience in audio,video and general electronics,
and I know when newbies (like me) come to one of those newsgroups with
this kind of question, everyone rolls their eyes and makes
snide remarks about such a public display of ignorance
So I know I risk looking silly coming and asking this. But hey, they say
there are no stupid questions except the ones you didn't ask. :-)
If it makes any difference I am in the Portland, OR
metro area. Assuming I will find out sooner or later
what the local scene is like.

On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 20:25:29 -0500, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

I like my Icom IC-706MkIIG (HF/6/2/70cm), which I occasionally use
mobile (with a set of Hamstick antennas) but mostly use at home with a
long wire and the AH-4 autotuner.

When I was living in an area with many 220MHz repeaters, I bought a
Kenwood TH-F6A HT, but now that I'm in an area without much 220MHz
activity I might pick a different one -- perhaps the Yaesu VX-7R (which
has 6M and does cover 220 as well but only with a minuscule power
output). Check a repeater directory to see what frequencies are in use
in your area.

"Perce"
(aka Alan NV8A)


I second Perce's recommendation on checking the repeater directory;
it's a safe bet that most areas have 2 meter coverage, the landscape
changes though when you look at 220 and 440. For instance, in the Los
Angeles most 440 repeaters are private (closed) systems - 220 does not
have as many repeaters but a higher percentage of them are open.
Check to see if there is a local ham club - that would be a source of
info for what bands are most active.

As to which equipment, I did use a Yaesu FT-50 and it served me well,
however it saw some extremely hard usage (in inclimate weather,
several drops, banged around in a briefcase etc) and sometimes gets a
bit flaky even after a couple trips to Yaesu service. Don't get me
wrong - I have no problems with Yaesu, just gave this handheld a
little too much rough treatment. Opted for the Kenwood TH-F6 as a
replacement due to it including 220 which I use sometimes so now I
only need one HT instead of two. Try to keep in mind that choosing
equipment is like choosing a car in that some folks like Ford and
others Chevy and you'll find the same with ham equipment. Generally
if you buy from Kenwood/Yaesu/Icom you'll get a decent product; it
comes down to which features (and band combinations) you want/need,
which one feels best in your hand and which one seems more intuitive
to operate (program). You can often find the manuals online and
checking them out might help. For mobile equipment look for
something that has a removable control head if your vehicle is cramped
for space. Dual band radios come in two basic varieties : 1) both
bands on at once and 2) one band at a time. As you might guess,
option 1 tends to cost a bit more.

So, I didn't directly answer your question but I hope I gave you some
information that helps you make a good decision. Congrats on the
license & welcome to the amateur community!

Howard


On 02/04/06 07:59 pm Richard Crowley wrote:

I just passed my Element 2 test this afternoon (and missed
Element 3 by only 3 questions even though I haven't yet looked at the
General class question pool :-)
So I will be looking for some VHF/UHF equipment (HT & mobile?) in the
next few weeks. I had looked around some websites several months ago and
concluded that there was a particular brand/model of HT that seemed to
be both widely-used and highly-regarded. But now I can't remember the
recommendation (or the websites). So IS there a "sure-thing" or
"everybody's favorite" HT
or mobile rig out there? I'm not averse to 2nd-hand if
there is some way to confirm proper/legal operation.

I have some years of experience in audio,video and general electronics,
and I know when newbies (like me) come to one of those newsgroups with
this kind of question, everyone rolls their eyes and makes
snide remarks about such a public display of ignorance
So I know I risk looking silly coming and asking this. But hey, they say
there are no stupid questions except the ones you didn't ask. :-)
If it makes any difference I am in the Portland, OR
metro area. Assuming I will find out sooner or later
what the local scene is like.

Richard,

I also am a Newbee to Ham but I got a Kenwood TH-F6A HT and love it. I'm
in the L.A. area so I find 220 more open than 440 but I figure where
ever I go I'll all three bands covered with this little HT. I too am
looking into an mobile for the truck and/or the home. The Yaeshu FT-8900
dual band or the 8900 quad band looked nice to me. Good luck.

Sim
(KI6BWO)

wrote:

On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 20:25:29 -0500, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:


I like my Icom IC-706MkIIG (HF/6/2/70cm), which I occasionally use
mobile (with a set of Hamstick antennas) but mostly use at home with a
long wire and the AH-4 autotuner.

When I was living in an area with many 220MHz repeaters, I bought a
Kenwood TH-F6A HT, but now that I'm in an area without much 220MHz
activity I might pick a different one -- perhaps the Yaesu VX-7R (which
has 6M and does cover 220 as well but only with a minuscule power
output). Check a repeater directory to see what frequencies are in use
in your area.

"Perce"
(aka Alan NV8A)



I second Perce's recommendation on checking the repeater directory;
it's a safe bet that most areas have 2 meter coverage, the landscape
changes though when you look at 220 and 440. For instance, in the Los
Angeles most 440 repeaters are private (closed) systems - 220 does not
have as many repeaters but a higher percentage of them are open.
Check to see if there is a local ham club - that would be a source of
info for what bands are most active.

As to which equipment, I did use a Yaesu FT-50 and it served me well,
however it saw some extremely hard usage (in inclimate weather,
several drops, banged around in a briefcase etc) and sometimes gets a
bit flaky even after a couple trips to Yaesu service. Don't get me
wrong - I have no problems with Yaesu, just gave this handheld a
little too much rough treatment. Opted for the Kenwood TH-F6 as a
replacement due to it including 220 which I use sometimes so now I
only need one HT instead of two. Try to keep in mind that choosing
equipment is like choosing a car in that some folks like Ford and
others Chevy and you'll find the same with ham equipment. Generally
if you buy from Kenwood/Yaesu/Icom you'll get a decent product; it
comes down to which features (and band combinations) you want/need,
which one feels best in your hand and which one seems more intuitive
to operate (program). You can often find the manuals online and
checking them out might help. For mobile equipment look for
something that has a removable control head if your vehicle is cramped
for space. Dual band radios come in two basic varieties : 1) both
bands on at once and 2) one band at a time. As you might guess,
option 1 tends to cost a bit more.

So, I didn't directly answer your question but I hope I gave you some
information that helps you make a good decision. Congrats on the
license & welcome to the amateur community!

Howard


On 02/04/06 07:59 pm Richard Crowley wrote:


I just passed my Element 2 test this afternoon (and missed
Element 3 by only 3 questions even though I haven't yet looked at the
General class question pool :-)
So I will be looking for some VHF/UHF equipment (HT & mobile?) in the
next few weeks. I had looked around some websites several months ago and
concluded that there was a particular brand/model of HT that seemed to
be both widely-used and highly-regarded. But now I can't remember the
recommendation (or the websites). So IS there a "sure-thing" or
"everybody's favorite" HT
or mobile rig out there? I'm not averse to 2nd-hand if
there is some way to confirm proper/legal operation.

I have some years of experience in audio,video and general electronics,
and I know when newbies (like me) come to one of those newsgroups with
this kind of question, everyone rolls their eyes and makes
snide remarks about such a public display of ignorance
So I know I risk looking silly coming and asking this. But hey, they say
there are no stupid questions except the ones you didn't ask. :-)
If it makes any difference I am in the Portland, OR
metro area. Assuming I will find out sooner or later
what the local scene is like.

"Sim" wrote in message
ink.net...
Richard,

I also am a Newbee to Ham but I got a Kenwood TH-F6A HT and love it. I'm
in the L.A. area so I find 220 more open than 440 but I figure where ever
I go I'll all three bands covered with this little HT. I too am looking
into an mobile for the truck and/or the home. The Yaeshu FT-8900 dual band
or the 8900 quad band looked nice to me. Good luck.

The Yaesu FT-7800R is a great (and inexpensive) dual band mobile rig. It has
a removable face that makes it easy to mount just about anywhere. It also
has the capability of being programmed from your computer*with the
appropriate software and cable). If you do any traveling, you can
pre-program one of the memory banks for the repeaters in that area, along
with the machines along the way with just a couple of keystrokes. BTW...it
has 1000 memory slots avalable :-)
I don't know of any places across the US that don't have some kind of
2m/70cm repeater coverage.

Now on the HF side... This is going to depend on a couple of things.... are
you going to be operating primarily from a land based station?? or mobile??
Each has several ways to go depending on budget and real estate.
Try something like a TS-140S or simular....nice starter rig...simple, basic
and will do most anything you want it to do(can be used mobile also). A 20A
power supply can be had for a reasonable price. for the antenna(s)... If you
have the real estate, wire antennas will work well. With the addition of a
tuner, a G5RV is a good starter antenna that will pretty much cover all the
HF bands. If you don't have a lot of space, you might look at a
verticle...maybe something like the Hustler 5BTV. If you are handy at all,
and with the guidence of your Elmer, you can reasonably expect to get a
nice, functional HF station on the air for as little as $350 - $400.
OTOH.... if you got lots of real estate, and more dollars than sense, you
can easily sink more money into a station than a lot of folks make in a
year. :-)

-n6ojn

--

Steve @ Noon-Air Heating & A/C


Life is what happens while you were making other plans