Norcal Spotted and BS Thread

detachable faceplate are all the rage for rigs without room.

FT-60R

http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-007323

with

http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-006297
http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-002803
http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-012790

 

if *CHEAP* is your primary consideration, the Baofeng UHF/VHF handhelds are about as cheap as it gets, and more or less functional. they aren't much fun to program, and they don't have particularly good range unless you have line of sight to a UHF repeater.

no handheld VHF/UHF radio will get you more than a couple miles line of sight, unless you use a rooftop antenna, and if you're going to do that, why not get a proper vehicle mount transciever?

 

I got a cheap boafang 8w wth a 14" antenna and talked to @916TacoTruck 30 miles away

 

Upgrade to a nagoya antenna, we got two miles on 8w without line of sight at slickrock. From the lake to the other end of the trail. I was transmitting on 65w, but was still receiving clear.

 

NorCal Fam....

Looking to get some side work going building websites. If any of ya'll know anyone looking for a website shoot them my info!

www.adeptmedia.co

Thanks

 

I

yup I am estimating my range right now to be a solid 2-3 miles without line of site on my little handheld with 15" antenna

 

But to compare. with my 65w mobile, I have talked to a 50w mobile coming down 120 when I was on 5 south of 152. Also can make clear comms with someone 45 minutes ahead of me on 395. installs kill it.

 

Who gives a shit. Get what works for you. 99% of the people here are fine with handhelds, they are still leaps and bounds above CB and get great range. Combine with an antenna on the roof and it'll be amazing.

 

Oh and when I was stuck 35 miles into the back country in 2 feet of snow, we had comms with the Quincy 2 meter repeater the whole time. One nice old lady was making on the hour contact with us while we crawled out. There were a few people chatting with us though. if I had aprs setup, would have been golden for a friendly recovery team.

 

Oh yea for sure a built in will way out perform but for most here a handheld is more than enough.

I just don't want anyone to be discouraged or feel they have to start off big

 

Oh I could care either way, just have a ham.

I started with a baofeng, still have two for loaners. Then when it seemed useful I got a better handheld. Then when that was amazing I got a mobile install so I could hang the mic.

 

BTW, my mobile was cheaper than my handheld.

 

I forget who recommended this, but it has been sitting in my Amazon cart for months.

 

Site looks great buddy!

 

The thumbnail on the main page brought me in, but maybe I can provide a little insight
I have two of these:

$60 Baofeng Radio US BF-F9 V2+ 5-Watt Hi-Power Dual-Band 145-155/400-520 MHz Hand Held Ham Radio Two-Way Transceiver - With Battery, Earpiece, Antenna & Charger (BFF9V2BLACK)

https://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-Radi...=1482883366&sr=8-3&keywords=baofeng+tri+power
On sale now too.
I keep one as a loaner and the other as the main unit for the truck. I added a cig lighter power adapter, handheld mic and eternal antenna and I get incredible range (under optimal conditions). I would definitely recommend this set up for handheld Hams. One thing I will say that @jberry813 mentioned above is that there really is nowhere the clip that sumbitch where it doesn't get in the way. Add in the cig lighter plug, mic and external antenna, and you've got wires going everywhere. The easiest and safest way I've found to keep everything is the unit goes in the cup holder or by the setbelt clasp and I added a small strip of elastic to the actual seatbelt strap so I can clip the mic near my collar bone (think: cops). You can hear clearly and talk into it without removing it from there.
Daily driving, the mic is clipped to the little pocket on the right of the steering wheel and the unit is clipped to the upright of my weathertec mat. Hope this helps. I'll see myself out.

 

I like that one because there was a deal to get it for 40 bucks last year. It's also nice because it can monitor two channels. Some people dislike that model since it can be easy to transmit on the wrong frequency by accident.

 

I love it. Only downside is battery life on high pwr

 

Using low power on the trail usually isn't an issue.