Worldwide DX Amateur Radio Forums - Ham - CB - HF - VHF - UHF

Rob,
When I had my Yaesu FT-2800M it was "WIRES II" capable, so I looked into what it was, and what I'd need to use it. What I found is that it's a system of directly connecting your radio to the internet through WIRES II capable repeaters. I also discovered that there are only three of these repeaters actively used in the U.S.A. The system is big in Japan, but never caught on here in the U.S.

D-Star on the other hand is much bigger here, and it's growing fast. It will never replace analog FM, but I believe it'll be a big part of VHF / UHF amateur communications for years to come.

Truth be told, there's plenty of activity on analog FM to keep anyone happy for a long time without the added confusion of WIRES II, APRS, or D-Star, but if you were to choose one, D-Star would offer you the most since it will also do the APRS thing when connected to an outboard GPS unit with a compatible cable.
There is a steep learning curve with D-Star, but if an average "plug n play" amateur like me can figure it out........

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37OH - SSV - O773H

I thought radio was another name for "wireless". So yeah, what's all this about "WIRES"?

I'll be here all week, folks. Try the veal.

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If you're like everybody else,
you're about average.
73 de K7KBN

So after some reading and taking the advice of the guys on here im pretty sure the mobile setup is better for me than the hand held option.

90% of my radio life is mobile as i travel alot.. ( uk that is )

On the raido front i want to make sure the radio does it all, now thats a big ask of course.

The unit im stopped at is the icom 2820, D star ready with the optional board. I wan the radio to do all the usal but also im dipping my toe into the field of being able to track the mobile station via gps.

Any thoughts on the 2820? eham seems all over the place on this review wise but gps tracking does seem alot of fun. ( the mrs can keep tabs on me?!)


Suggestions on the 2m 70cm radio are welcomed as ever!

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Thanks Mark

(Warning rookie inside)

If yer going D-Star that's a nice radio.

I was just playing with one of those at a friend's house, has a nice display and dual-receive.

A lot of the sour grapes is due to the cost and overall value delivered. It's a damned expensive setup with all the options.

Only down sides are..

Expense and learning curve..

Both are easy to get past..