Colorado B.S. Thread

I blame the Trading Post thread and seeing all y'all's built tacos

All I have to do is keep selling my guns for truck parts

 

Yes, but still many of the HAM setups are not tuned or even checked. It is easy because 2m/70cm isn't as sensitive to a poor setup like CB (11m) or even other low frequency ham bands (10m-12m). 2m/70cm is really great for the "bolt on and go" crowd. I do think that the new "CB" will transition to FRS/GMRS just because of this reason.

 

Is there a particular HT that you HAM nerds recommend for someone looking to try things out?

I don’t have anything against CB, but that might be because I actually got a good tune out of mine and have had no problems making comms. I do like the idea of using APRS down the road as a redundant tracking setup along with my inReach, but I’m clueless as to what is needed to get it up and running.

 

Hey, I only need my phone for (ignoring) calls, texts, and shit posting on TW


Happy birthday by the way!

 

@YamaDirtrider do you have an air tank, or are you just running a compressor for OBA?

I am thinking about hard mounting my compressor and adding a small tank for faster fillups but your setup made me rethink that

 

In my limited experience, I wouldn't go HT for inside a vehicle. Jump in to a full mobile unit.

The Baofeng UV-#r radios are cheap. Some have had issues getting zapped after being too chatty, could be the radio telling them something, or could be a fundamental mis-match. I've hear they don't perform too well on a spectrum analyzer but have not seen or searched that out. I have 2, a

$40 UV-5r 8Watt Ham Radio Handheld Long Range UHF/VHF Radio with 2 Rechargeable Battery, Portable Radio for Adults with Earpiece, GV-771 Antenna, Programming Cable (3rd Gen)

UV-5r and a BF-FP8 that has a little more power.

 

Right now it’s just the compressor, although I do have and air tank I was planning on installing

 

I suggest doing at least a little bit of research on the HTs as there are a lot of fakes out there under various model numbers. Or just buy the BF-FP8, which I know a few of us have. More powerful and a better battery. I learned after purchasing my UV-5RTP that it's a known fake baofeng that isn't actually capable of 8W output despite what is advertised. It's still a good enough radio, but its not what I thought it was. A good link that I think cuts to the chase if you scroll to the bottom: http://www.km4fmk.com/blog/realvfake.html

I run an HT inside my truck, but I have an external antenna that I connect it to and it makes a difference, especially on transmitting. Until I'm ready to drop $500+ on a dedicated unit and a tablet for APRS, it's a cost effective solution.

 

Defiantly do your own reasurch, but there is a reason a few of us are running this radio. https://www.hamradio.com/onsale.cfm#mobilesale
If it wasent for the price point of the ftm-400, I was gonna get the tm-d710

 

Is anybody else having problems with USPS? Seems like they are already overwhelmed for the holiday season #buyinshit

 

Anybody want to pick this up and trade me for my ARB bumper?

https://denver.craigslist.org/pts/d/tacoma-2nd-gen-custom-tube/6762228092.html

 

If I had a 2nd gen I would so I could get those ARB EAF points

 

I'd seen the 10 minute thing when I looked before I asked. Wasn't really sure how that played out in practice though - I mean you come up to an obstacle on a trail or someone wants to make a stop, so there's five minutes of coms, then nothing for 15-20 minutes continuing down the trail before it happens again. What constitutes 'end' of coms or 'constant'? I'm sure that would be covered under licensing study or if I wanted to dig into it, and I'm also sure that like you say, people get lax with rules in some situations (FRS/GMRS license requirements anyone?), it just seemed like the additional regulation and potential consequences might be more of a deal than they really are. I mean the earlier anecdote about the unidentified 'we can here you' and turning down the wattage... That and the fact that it's a specific letter call vs a 'handle'.

It's not really a hold back, it was just a (recurring) thought. Honestly, I've been interested but have to get licensed and the gear and all that, and even as 'easy' or 'cheap' as it is, right now my focus and resources need to be elsewhere. It's either another hobby to suck up a bunch of time or a somewhat hefty investment for something I'd only use infrequently. CB is just sufficient for my needs/activity at this point.

 

Yep...I'm on day 4 of waiting for a package that was supposed to be delivered in 2 days.

 

My uv5rs have all zapped me after using them for a while...

 

That's because you didn't repeat your callsign every 10 mins. It's big brother trying to train you

 

Yeah, my new Rigid fog lights should be getting here today. Sent out on Thursday last week.

Tracking number just activated today though

 

He did not ship them 2 day....
so hopefully by this weekend?

 

No but that’s the style/look I wanna build soon