Ham Radio

[Chris]

Who's a ham here? I have my technicians license (KD0FRX) but no radio and am considering getting one soon. Thinking a Yaesu 2800, any opinions?

[MountainMan]

The Kenwood D710 will be my next radio, right now i only have a Yaesu VX-7R handheld. MileHighAko has a number of radios...

[Chris]

MileHighAko told me I wouldn't like the 2800 but cash is pretty scarce. I ended up buying an Yaesu 1802 which I believe is basically the same but 50W instead of 25. It's still on the shelf but should get installed soon. I have to pull my dash to find a loose wire before adding anything else.

[MileHighAko]

The 2800 is a good radio. It's just limited to VHF only, which is okay, but my recommendation for anyone buying a new radio is to look for a dual-band VHF and UHF radio.

Good news is that for trail communication, emergency communication, and so forth VHF will be just fine. With 50W you'll be happy because you should be able to get to a mountain repeater from any of the normal trails (might need to be at a high spot, but you'll still get into the repeater).

I'll post more on this topic later. Sorry I've been quiet for the past month. Work has been kicking my butt, and like everyone else I'm doing all I can to stay employed. :)

[MileHighAko]

MileHighAko told me I wouldn't like the 2800 but cash is pretty scarce. I ended up buying an Yaesu 1802 which I believe is basically the same but 50W instead of 25. It's still on the shelf but should get installed soon. I have to pull my dash to find a loose wire before adding anything else.

As with all mobile communications equipment, I recommend going directly to the battery for power in order to avoid alternator whine and other RFI. Good amateur practice says you fuse both the positive and negative sides.

What antenna did you get? A good 2M only antenna is fairly cheap.

Once you get it installed, let us know so we can make contact. I'm usually on UHF, but when on VHF I'm on the 147.225 repeater (+ offset, 107.2 tone). And the 145.145 repeater (- offset, 107.2 tone) is the real "rag chew" repeater in Denver. Lots of traffic there.

Congrats by the way!

[Chris]

Good news is that for trail communication, emergency communication, and so forth VHF will be just fine. With 50W you'll be happy because you should be able to get to a mountain repeater from any of the normal trails (might need to be at a high spot, but you'll still get into the repeater).

That's really all I'm interested in right now. My kids don't like it when Barb and I wander in the mountains alone and wanted a bit of assurance that we'd have some way to communicate if we needed to.


I'll post more on this topic later. Sorry I've been quiet for the past month. Work has been kicking my butt, and like everyone else I'm doing all I can to stay employed. :)

Nice that you're busy, lots of people envy that. Keep your priorities in order.


As with all mobile communications equipment, I recommend going directly to the battery for power in order to avoid alternator whine and other RFI. Good amateur practice says you fuse both the positive and negative sides.

I understand that and is my plan. I was referring to a separate wiring issue I'm having that I have to pull the dash to fix.


What antenna did you get? A good 2M only antenna is fairly cheap.

I'll have to look but it was recommended by the store when I told them I knew nothing. It's a Larson with both magnetic and permanent mount options. What's a good place to mount to start?


Once you get it installed, let us know so we can make contact. I'm usually on UHF, but when on VHF I'm on the 147.225 repeater (+ offset, 107.2 tone). And the 145.145 repeater (- offset, 107.2 tone) is the real "rag chew" repeater in Denver. Lots of traffic there.

Not sure what all that means but I'll let you know when I get it installed. :o