HAM Radio Questions

I'm sure this will open a yuuuuge can of worms, but I've decided to ditch the CB and go the HAM route in my build. I am VERY new to this and would love some feedback on radio choice, antenna choice, etc. I've started studying for my Tech license and will test in a couple of months, so I will be looking at pulling the trigger on a radio in early spring.

Thanks for the input!

 

Why not both?
I've got a dual band Yaesu FT-7900 and a cobra 75wxst.
Fender mounted Larson 2/70, and a fiberglass cb antenna up front.

 

Radios are pretty subjective - depends on intended use, class of license, what frequencies you want to run, etc. When non radio guys talk ham, they usually mean 2m (I'm a non radio guy). If 2m is your thing, there are a lot of great radios available. Due to space limitations in the cab, I like remote head units, which all the major manufacturers offer. I think that all the remote head units are dual band, so if all you want is 2M you are paying for a bit more than you need, but it's not a big investment and even if you only use 2m it's nice to have options.

The tech test is simple. Obviously studying and knowing the 'why' of the material is beneficial, but you can also just pull the test questions off the internet with answers, and read over those a few times, and pass. There's a pool of 200+/- possible questions and they draw 35 of those for the test. Most radio clubs offer monthly testing, it's a $15 fee that they collect for the ARRL.

There's quite a few other threads on here about HAM installs and such.

 

I'm a fan of the v71a, a buddy just got one for his Tundra and it seems really easy and intuitive to program, but I haven't played with all the other major brands.

Antennas are....complex. Each manufacturer wants to give the biggest gain number, but most of those are BS and the bottom line is that pretty much anything outside your rig and up high will be awesome.

 

Thanks for the info. Like I said. I'm just trying to make wise decisions with this very slow build. The family accountant keeps me on a short leash so I'm trying to keep the replacement to a minimum. How many of you use 2M setups on the trail for vehicle comms?

 

I use CB for that. No one else I go with has ham.... although it seems like it is prevalent on here and off road forums.

I have ham for a few reasons; 1st - public safety in my area is still on VHF so I can listen to them on the ham, using it basically like a scanner. 2nd - while on a trip in a remote area, ham usually can trip a repeater due to the range of a good mobile unit and good antenna, so help can be accessed even when there is no one within range of CB and there is no cell service. 3rd - I like to tinker with stuff and even a basic ham setup can be "tinker-intensive" if you want to experiment with stuff. 4th - we live on the ocean and Marine VHF is within the receive capabilities of a 2m (and the tx capabilities, if you mod it) and it's nice to have access to that, as well as NOAA weather (which is also very close to the 2m band and is within the receive capabilities of 2m rigs). 5th - and curse me if you will, but I use a handheld to communicate with the truck when my wife and I split up on a trip, or she is spotting for me. Not legal as she does not have a license, but we are running like 1 watt on a simplex channel from the portable to the mobile so I really don't think it's a major problem.

Normally on a trip I have the CB on 19 and the 2m on the primary and secondary national simplex calling channels, more to listen than to talk.