Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

@foy1der I was stuck in stop and go traffic this morning otherwise I would have jumped in, if that was you.

I'd like to get into the dmr world as well and was looking for another HT. Anything you could recommend?

 

My brother loves his, he tried to talk me into one. But my eyes aren't what they used to be so I went with a TM-D710GA.

 

I have the gd-77, it's passable, but my understanding is that there are better options out there. The guy I was talking to, N1WLD, sells TYT radios. He's incredibly knowledgeable. I bought my MD9600 from him. I would reach out to him, I can give you some contact info if you are interested.

 

You and me both!

I want to be able to text if I need to and the ID-4100a has an app for iOS. If there is a straightforward way to text on the TM-D710GA with my iPhone, then I'd probably go with that.

 

My brother has an iOS, and that was his main reason for getting the 4100a. I am an Android guy myself

 

Just do some reading on Icom and aprs....

If I remember correctly the icom's do their own dprs thing...

This is an old thread... so things may have changed and the 4100 may be different...

https://forums.radioreference.com/amateur-radio-equipment/291795-dstar-aprs-way.html

Also remember the 4100 is a single receive/transmit radio so you can't to both at the same time.

That's my biggest gripe about the yaesu 100dr is it has a "dual watch" feature allowing you to monitor two frequencies (it flips to the other frequency every few seconds ) but you can't run aprs while it's doing that.

Just do some digging on the icom 4100 and make sure it will do aprs messaging like you want it too

The short answer I think is... if you want to do aprs your best bet is the kenwoods .. either the v71 with a mobilink and a android tablet or phone or the 710 all in one unit or link it to a tablet or phone as well to use aprs droid and make messaging easier.

The aprs on my yaesu is funtional... but entering a new message can be a pain as you need to use both the control head and mic keypad... with that said you can store quite a number of preset messages or partial messages to make things.faster and easier

 

@demo243 this is why i run a Kenwood TM-V71A. Cheapest reputable U/U V/V U/V radio available. The Zastone Chinese ones work also, but now I'm at "how many radios do I need to put in my vehicle?"

APRS is really useful for trips. But I figure if I need 80m, I'd need to 1) move up to extra, and 2) get a giant ass antenna and might as well set it up when I'm not mobile.

The D710ga is only nice if you want to beacon out but don't care about getting data back. You still need an android device to visualize the map stuff.

The Yaesu FTM 400 XDR makes it a little easier for APRS in that you can actually send/rec messages on the unit itself without having to kill yourself since it has touch screen, but you better be doing that sitting still and not on a trail lest you drive off the side of the road.

Still, APRS Droid w/ MobilinkD is the best solution even if it's really piecemeal.

 

Why would you need to move up to extra for 80m? unless your after DX.
Check out this mobile that does 80/40m http://www.buzzbar.com/w8uzzjeep.html
https://www.qrz.com/db/W8UZZ

 

There is some way to attach a full QWERTY keyboard to the TM-D710G. I'm not able to find the link now.

 

I spent a l,ot of time in trying to track down that keyboard..

 

I had come across that thread already. In the end, it looks like the Kenwood is probably the most functional and pair it up with an android phone or tablet for texting. I really like the simplicity of the ICOM though and if there were a clear description on how to connect to aprs, I'd seriously consider it. In the end, though, ICOM nickel and dimes you so I'd end up at or close to the price of the 710GA anyway.

 

I thought it was a PS keyboard. I recall reading it somewhere.

 

I read that somewhere to, but found no actual supporting info on it like how to pair it all together.

 

Edit: entering text via radio or MIC isn't all that bad, keyboard isnt needed.

 

@Lars is very knowledgeable on APRS, I remember him showing me his "Cheap" method to APRS and not tie up his main Radio on his old Tacoma Antenna farm (Which is now a Tundra Antenna farm).

Hopefully he can stop in and tell again how he built his APRS system independent of his Main radios.

 

I had a cheap Wouxun HT paired to the Mobilinkd TNC via APRSDrioid with a roof mounted antenna, it worked great. With the exception of the cable from the TNC to the HT and then the USB power cable to the TNC and the USB power cable to the APRSDroid device. Got to much for me, plus making sure to turn everything and off when needed. All that led me to get the D710

 

I think @turbodb has a pretty slick setup which interfaces a Kenwood D710G with an android tablet using aprsdroid in his build thread.

 

If you don't care about aprs while driving and just want to be able to send a message from camp or just dip your toe in aprs then the yaesu 100dr is the best bang for your buck... $310 out the door with a built in GPS and aprs tnc (also includes separation cable got the head, radio body mount, and remote head mount... although I didn't use it) You can only talk or use aprs though... but you can monitor 2 frequencies when just talking using dual watch. I believe you can send data from the radio to an android tablet or phone via data cable... but I have yet to determine exactly which cable... and unfortunately I believe it's a one way link... meaning you can NOT send data back to the radio...

The next step from there is v71a with a mobilink which let's you blue tooth to a GPS enabled tablet and run aprs droid. Including I beleive... but do some more research on it... two way communication with aprs droid giving you fully functioning aprs. Including the ability to run aprs full time AND monitor a serepate frequency

From there you go to the 710g which includes the GPS internally and is a fully functioning aprs machine with the ability to monitor a separate frequency and the ability to add a data cable to a tablet or phone or a mobilink to bluetooth to a tablet or phone.

I didn't really mention the yaesu 400dr.. since it suffers from the same one way comes with a tablet or phone as the 100dr... and I've heard mixed reviews about the touch screen...

Just a matter of how much money you want to spend....

 

Happy to answer any questions. My setup is documented in my build thread. Table of contents in the firt post.

 

I honestly don't see the point of a keyboard and text messaging with APRS the way APRS is currently.

It's not like the capability isn't there with my setup, it's just not there in my opinion in terms of ease of use, user experience, and user interface.

Currently, for those who do not have much experience APRSdroid, the UI and experience is a POS, more on this later.

My use case is to auto-beacon my location while I'm moving so my friends can see me and also so that I can see my friends in relation to me in case they're several miles down the road. We have the frequency set depending on speed and motion. No beacons when stationary, more beacons when we aren't.

I have GaiaGPS running on a tablet, and APRSdroid running on my Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro (no sim, under $200), it's the size of an iPhone Plus type model.

With the OSM layer installed, I can run offline from any network connection as I move about on the trail and see folks in my AO.

So the issue with text messaging on APRSdroid is that it's hard AF to use.

• Notifications don't work so well, ie there aren't pop ups within the app if someone sends you a message. The banner notification disappears quickly and there are no audible notifications
• If you want to send a message, you have to type out their Callsign. There isn't a predefined contact list I can use.
• There's a dedicated inbox icon, but it doesn't light up when you have a new message
• Also since there's no delivery confirmation, it's like shouting into the wind, I'll never know if the intended recipient received, unless I get their beacon which gives me a reasonable assumption that they can receive my message.

10 times out of 10, I only use it for its tracking purposes.