ToddDubya
NES Member
I came into a quad band FM rig today, good for 70cm, 2m, 6m, 10m. I figured why the hell not. The price was right, it was for a "good cause" and it has some neat features.
1. Quad band, I think I mentioned that
2. Cross band repeat
3. Full duplex (think satellites)
This is an older, discontinued Yaesu model so you can guess how fun it is to figure out the front panel controls and 100 buttons on the mic. I'm going to have to actually sit down and read the manual and play with it to get proficient.
Before you shit on FM, I recently became aware of people using FM on 10m, and the other day I heard a guy in NM calling. I couldn't get to the radio, but he sounded just like you'd expect. Swapping my main HF rig back and forth is a hassle, so this could simplify things.
But the question now is what do I do for antenna(s)? I'd prefer to use one because my HF antenna is a DX Commander and I'm spoiled that I have one resonant antenna for every band 40-10. But quad band VHF/UHF antennas a seriously compromised. There are decent options for tri-band 6/2/70c that might get me most of the way there.
Anybody have any experience with these gems?
1. Quad band, I think I mentioned that
2. Cross band repeat
3. Full duplex (think satellites)
This is an older, discontinued Yaesu model so you can guess how fun it is to figure out the front panel controls and 100 buttons on the mic. I'm going to have to actually sit down and read the manual and play with it to get proficient.
Before you shit on FM, I recently became aware of people using FM on 10m, and the other day I heard a guy in NM calling. I couldn't get to the radio, but he sounded just like you'd expect. Swapping my main HF rig back and forth is a hassle, so this could simplify things.
But the question now is what do I do for antenna(s)? I'd prefer to use one because my HF antenna is a DX Commander and I'm spoiled that I have one resonant antenna for every band 40-10. But quad band VHF/UHF antennas a seriously compromised. There are decent options for tri-band 6/2/70c that might get me most of the way there.
Anybody have any experience with these gems?