HAM radio advice needed

[Duluth Diesel]

To all you HAM radio operators, I am studying to get my license and would like to know what radios (brand and model) would be good for a Technician to get. Where is a good place for HAM antennas for truck mounting? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I like Yaesu and Icom stuff...

Everyone has their own favorite brand.....



There are a TON of rigs for 6-meters and up that are dirt cheap for what you are getting.



Some rigs are more bread, but they're built very nicely.



Matt

 

[TowPro]

With the Technician license your limited to transmitting on 6m and above. I mostly only use 2m in the truck and car. I have a dual bander with 440, but I just never put it in the vehicles. I am a general class license so I can use HF. When I travel I will install a rig in the truck that covers 1. 6Mhz - 440Mhz.



As for antenna locations, I used to have one mounted on the front corner of the bed. It worked great but when I got my pickup camper it had to go. Now I mount it on the hood on the Drivers side. I have an MFJ mount that clips onto the inside edge of the hood with set screws.



For 2m I use a diamond antenna, for HF I have one made by Yeasu that will adjust itself up and down as required for the band I am on. (only covers 7Mhz on up)



I here there is a change in the works where Technician licenses will be allowed to transmit in the HF bands, once that happens you will have a lot more decision's to make about which radio you want.



I have a yeasu FT-847 for base use, a Yeasu Dual band for the car (I never seem to use) a Yeasu HT and a Kenwood 2m mobile that is in my car. Guess I can say I really like Yeasu stuff as well

 

[Duluth Diesel]

So what bands do I need a radio to cover for the Technician license, and what radio features (as far as frequency coverage) do I not need?

 

[HoleshotHolset]

With a Technician license you can operate from 6-meters all the way to daylight.



The most popular bands are 2-meter and 440. 6-meters isn't far behind it.



The really high frequencies are becoming a lot more popular than they used to be.



Matt

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

No real reason to limit your choice to a "Tech only" radio - for about the same price, you can get a DC-to-daylight rig that will give you ALL the bands and be usable if/when you upgrade.



I use a Icom IC706 MKIIG, with a 600 watt amp behind it - works out as well mobile as many base setups - there are pics available thru the pointer down in my sig... These rigs are currently being sold at $739 at Amateur Electronic Supply...



I have dual antenna mounts attached to the tool/fuel box behind the cab of the truck...

 

[Duluth Diesel]

When I search for Amateur Electronic Supply, I get a ton of links. Is there a specific URL you can point me at? Thanks, and I do like the looks of that IC706 MKIIG - I looked it up on Icom's website.

Good advice!

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

HERE ya go!



www.aesham.com



Enjoy!



OH - shoulda mentioned, *I* like the radios well enough that I have TWO of them - one in the truck, the other in our 5th wheel...



I use either a Icom 746 or Kenwood TS-570 DG as a base rig, along with several different legal limit amps... ...

 

[machterhof]

Like Gary, I also have two IC-706MKIIG's. One in the truck and the other as a portable/backup rig. I also have an IC-756 as a base rig.



Antenna is a duel band (2M/440) mounted in the front drivers side stake hole. Still trying to come up with a design for a mount for the screwdriver (HF) antenna. The duel band antenna may move to the drivers side hood after I install the aux fuel tank.



Good luck and have fun.....

 

[FDziurda]

Truck Radios

Duluth Diesel



I use a Yaesu FT-90R on VHF/UHF (50W/35W) and An ICOM 706 MKIIG (100W) on HF, in my truck. I use a Maxrad 1/2 wave dual band antenna with an intregral spring, mounted on my camper shell. On HF, I use simple Hamstick antennas, with the antenna base 7' off the ground. There are better HF mobile antennas but they will be too tall if you mount them very high on your truck.



Congratulations and good luck,



Frank - K7SFN

 

[Billy Diesel]

I just have a Yeasu 1500 2m with a Larson antenna that I got from AES. Simple and cheap. Also, the Larson is very flexible, a great thing for off-road.



Stay away from the ADI!!!!!!! What a peice of crap! Three of us got our radios at the same time, and all three of us had problems with that radio. Display didn't work all the time, wouldn't transmit even though it said it was, it would jump frequencies, etc. And no, it wasn't opperator error.

 

[barkerdl]

Join a Local Club

Join a local club and find out what the locals use. You will be talking to them after all! You'll get a lot of experienced advice from people who know they will have to look you in the eye after you follow it.



My personal preference is a ICOM 208 dual bander. Have one set up on a power supply for home use and one in my Ram for the road. Buy the best antenna you can afford and can legally mount on your house for base use and get a good medium to high gain antenna for your vehicle. The ANTENNA and cabling are the most important parts of your radio system. Don't skimp there. No amount of power can make up for a poor antenna / cable system. Next on the home system is to get it up in the air, the higher the better.



As an example, I mounted a nice Diamond dual band antenna on a 15 foot pole using a chimney mount. Total height above ground is slightly over 30 feet. I paid the extra money to get the 1318 low-loss coax cable. I can easily talk to St. George, Utah from Las Vegas, Nevada using 5 watts on 2 meters and the above setup. That's a distance of over 100 miles.



Good luck and have some fun!



Dennis

KD7ZAL

 

[slo-ryde]

Go to http://www.hamradio.com/ and check for a store in your area, some of the nicest folks I've ever done business with.