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Newbie looking for advice.

thercman

thercman

Member
Feb 9, 2012
63
0
16
Hi Everyone!

When I was a kid (a few decades ago) I acquired a CB radio which I turned into a base station. To my fathers surprise I dug a hole right behind my bedroom window with a post hole digger and inserted a 20' pole with a pretty large antenna on top of that. In order to get the antenna outside I created a notch in the bottom of the window pane (using a knife) so when close it wouldn't crush the cable. I am sure my father didn't appreciate it but I thought it was a pretty clever idea at the time. Since then I have always toyed with the idea of getting another CB. Now however I need something more for two way communication and emergencies. My wife and I camp quite a bit and we are getting more and more adventurous. We mostly camp in northern WA and Idaho ever increasing our distance into the woods far from people and the effective transmitting distance of a CB. That has me interested in HAM. I have ordered the study material for the tests and now in radio shopping mode. Here is what I have considered thus far. First, two HT's so we can keep in contact while in the woods and an amplifier and antenna in the car should we need to make a longer emergency call. One HT and one mobile with cross band repeat. That would allow an emergency call from the site but would keep us together. (also I see lower end single band mobiles with a repeater function such as the Yaesu FT-2900R but that is to find a repeater and not act as one correct?) My ideal budget is $400 max. Looking for advice.
 

Correct on the 2900... It has tones and frequency offsets to work WITH repeaters, it's not one itself. To run an HT through a mobile radio, the mobile will have to be a duel band with a "cross band repeat" function.

My suggestion on your budget would be to start with a pair of "Wouxun" HT's. These are dual band, work with repeaters and are a hell of a tool for the price. I use them under some tough conditions in the Forest nearly every weekend, have dropped them, got them wet, etc... and they keep on ticking. Shop around and you can probably get a pair in the $225 range.

That doesn't leave you a lot to play with on your mobile unit with a $400 budget. Especially considering that you're going to need to spend a MINIMUM of $50 for a mobile antenna & mount, but should probably budget more like $100 for a good one.

You can find deals on used mobile radios ($100-$200), but be careful when looking at older units. They don't all have tone boards for repeater access. Make sure that anything you're looking at has both CTCSS (PL) and DCS tones to insure that you can get into repeaters with them.

I don't know where your "woods" are, but if they've got some decent hills, you'd probably be surprised at how far a little HT can hit a repeater from on 5W. The "woods" that I frequent have enough elevation that I can hit dozens of repeaters up to 75 miles away.
 
Thanks for the info! So I have been reading many reviews on the Wouxun KG-UV3D and most seem pretty positive. While there are a couple problems that have been noted by some they seem to be easy fixes. With that said I may pick up a couple with the USB adapter. One thing I like about these is the ability to unlock them. The other of course being the price. After I use them for a while and discover more what my requirements are I can purchase new equipment based on needs/desires. So my question is what freq. range do I get? They offer this model with 3 different options:
V: 136-174, U: 350-470 MHz V: 144-148, U: 420-450 MHz KG-UV3D-2/350-470 In Stock $119.99

V: 136-174, U: 420-520 MHz V: 144-148, U: 420-450 MHz KG-UV3D-2/420-520 In Stock $119.99

V: 136-174, V: 216-280 MHz V: 144-148, V: 223-225 MHz KG-UV3D-2/216-280
 
I would recommend that you find an amateur club in your area, and ask lots of questions<<More audio>><<More audio>>
 
thercman said:
Thanks for the info! So I have been reading many reviews on the Wouxun KG-UV3D and most seem pretty positive. While there are a couple problems that have been noted by some they seem to be easy fixes. With that said I may pick up a couple with the USB adapter. One thing I like about these is the ability to unlock them. The other of course being the price. After I use them for a while and discover more what my requirements are I can purchase new equipment based on needs/desires. So my question is what freq. range do I get? They offer this model with 3 different options:
V: 136-174, U: 350-470 MHz V: 144-148, U: 420-450 MHz KG-UV3D-2/350-470 In Stock $119.99

V: 136-174, U: 420-520 MHz V: 144-148, U: 420-450 MHz KG-UV3D-2/420-520 In Stock $119.99

V: 136-174, V: 216-280 MHz V: 144-148, V: 223-225 MHz KG-UV3D-2/216-280
Click to expand...


Either of the first two you listed. They are both the same radio, just programmed for slightly different ranges.

If you don't have a club in your area to get some help with all of this, feel free to ask here :)
 
the 2900 is a GREAT radio for any price. if by chance you would need the 75 watts, it's there, BUT it's going to get hot fast. the huge heat sink does well, but a cheap desktop fan, the 4" ones would be great.

i get rave signal reports on my 2900, and that's compared to my 8800, 880 and 7000.

you can get one used for around $130, but IMO buy the new one, get the warranty. you never know if someone ran it for a long time on 75 watts.

average repair on any 2 meter is at least $100 when you ad shipping.

buy a base radio to keep you busy, and you will get chances to try most everything on the market when you upgrade. hot every hamfest you can, and try them all.
 
Thanks guys! Yes I have been looking at the 2900 pretty hard. It seems like for an emergency that could very well get a signal out far enough to be heard. Although that would also mean I would still need to get back to the car to make the call. A plus would be I can use it as a beginner base radio if I so choose. Mostly just looking for an emergency radio while camping though.
 
What you might do is to see if there are any repeaters close to where you go camping. You might be able just to use a hand held from the campsite to hit a local repeater....
 
So the closest repeaters on 2m are about 6-8 miles away through mountains and coniferous forest. The locations I camp are typically Colville National Forest in WA and Northern Priest Lake area in Idaho. You think a hand held will hit them????
 
hard to tell in that terrain. you could always spend $20 on a duckbuster coax antenna and it would increase the odds 10 fold. It will coil up and fit in a back pack.
Use a map pin & hang it from a limb as high as you can reach. I have one in my attic for storms and I can get out 30 miles easy on flatland.

Rubber duck is pretty much useless in the mountains.
 
Thanks! I was checking out this site Welcome to the Frontpage - k5ehx.net They have a great interactive map for repeaters and you can open them with a multitude of programs to include Google Earth. Using that I could create a line from my typical camping locations to repeaters. The ones listed were showing 11.8miles to the closest one... Of course that list isn't all inclusive. Maybe I would be best starting out with a good mobile radio with a cross repeater and get the HTs later....
 
The cross-band-repeat function on a dual-band isn't that useful, in my opinion. They mostly all have it, but it only really allows you to have your own local repeater to use with HTs. it doesn't let you use your HT to access a repeater through your mobile.

Nothing wrong with getting a mobile to start with. Remember though, no matter what kind of radio you put in, on , or around a vehicle, the antenna is still just as important and maybe more important.

If you have line of sight to a repeater 12 miles or so away, you will be able ot hit it with a decent mobile set up, and also with an HT with a decent antenna.

The "rubber-ducky" that comes with an HT is about he least efficient and poorest performing antenna you can find. We al use them because they are conveniently small and easy to carry. If you use a better antenna with your HT you will get much better performance. A "roll-up Jpole" which you buy fairly cheap or make fairly easily will greatly extend your range. Using a decent mobile antenna with an HT also gives you pretty good range.

The farther you need to cover, the better your signal needs to be. This doesn't directly relate to power, once you get past a few watts. A 5 watt two-meter HT with a good antenna can reliably access repeaters 30 to 40 miles away, assuming a good line of sight.

With out a line of sight path, you may not be able to reach a much closer repeater, no matter what kind of rig or antenna you have. In marginal cases, a mobile with 50 to 75 watts out and a good antenna can bounce a signal out better than an HT. It is hit and miss though.

Talking to your local ham club can help. If there is anyone who camps in the same areas They should be able to tell you which are the best coverage repeaters and what it takes to be into them reliably.

You weren't specific about area, and it makes a difference. I can only comment based on visiting a friend in Liberty Lakes, between Spokane and the Idaho border.

For most of the flat areas of eastern Washington, there is no problem gettng to repeaters on two meters, and there are a few on 440. The farther you get away from Spokane, the fewer repeaters you find. Once you get out of the flats, it can be pretty dicey finding a repeater unless you can get to high ground.

Good luck!

Dave_W6DPS
 
I have used an ht to access the uhf side of my alinco 600, then was able to get into a vhf repeater....

So, YES you can use an ht to get into a repeater through cross band repeat...
 

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