Race radios at a great price!

A ham license will allow you to operate on ham bands. to use the frequencies you have to be covered by the license owner for those frequencies. You will need to contact the owner of that license to find out who and what are covered under that license.

 

I've read up on some reviews about this Yaesu 2900r and it seems like a great radio. How do people feel about the Kenwood TM-271a? Its about 2 lbs lighter (plastic vs metal) and around the same price. I've found the yaesu for $165 and the kenwood for $150. Any thoughts?? This would be my first radio.

Also, where do people like to install them in their truck?? I would love some suggestions and pics of the install to see how it looks.
Thanks.

 

Single band radios are a little rough in the tacoma. no real good place to put them. if you can afford it. Upgrade to a dual band with a remote face. then mount the body in the back and just the face anywhere up front.

 

Here's is where I mounted mine if you have a double din and aftermarket stereo.

I believe this is the study guide for getting a technicians license. Seriously considering going for it.

$10 Technician Class 2010-2014

http://www.amazon.com/Technician-Cl...3622/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1286293869&sr=8-3

 

Or you can get them for free... Study Guide

 

I Highly suggest you move that radio. Once you start transmitting on it at any reasonable duty cycles you will find that it gets hot. That spot is way too confining. The radio needs some space around it or it will over heat. especially at 75Watts. CBs are only 4 watts max and can go anywhere. Need to be a little more careful with a ham radio.

 

I love the front speaker of that radio.

Regarding heat... You could open up the back of that pocket... I think that radio has a fan, as long as you allow the fan to move air, you will be okay... Also!! - Most of the time I run 5 watts since 98% of who I talk with are in the group I wheel with.

Just saying - also, keep your power down as low as you can... Some peeps blast out full power and actually just blast others out and if there are any other peeps on the same freq that you don't care to comm with, well then you are just raining on their parade and your folks may actually not hear you as well.

 

so where can i get one for the price OP quoted???

 

You can do this at Ham Radio Outlet (closest to you Burbank):

hamradio.com then search 2900

And this radio was not discontinued, it was it's predecessor, the 2800 - which is a very good radio too and you may be able to find one of those at a lower price (also has less power - IIRC 55watts vs 75 watts)

 

And regarding this radio it has a huge heat sink!!! no fan but a huge sink. None the less, you probably want it in an area that gets some open air... the guys that I know that run them attach them on the passenger side of the trans tunnel. - Once again, run at low or mid power and you should never have one unless you are like some people that think they are running a radio station an forever go on TXing!

 

http://www.hamcity.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=&idproduct=1827

 

No - different band all together.

Info on Ham - http://www.arrl.org/

 

Ham is a type of license, hobby. Ham radio operators have a lot of different bands available to them to use. The bands most used for mobile are vhf and UHF with 2 meters or 144mhz being the most popular. Most these radios run 50W with a few single band 2m rigs getting to 75W. The range is far superior to CB in direct radio to radio communications. Ham radio also has the benefit of having repeaters that are owned and operated by the community that will retransmit your signal from the top of a mountain or tower and significantly increase your range up to several hundred miles. Many of these repeaters also have internet links where the repeaters are connected to other repeaters around the world. Hams also have access to HF bands. the Ham 10meter HF band is right next to CB at 11meters. Most rigs capable of receiving on 10m can also receive on CB but not transmit without illegal modification. These HF bands have the ability to communicate around the world directly with the right equipment. The Hams also have much more relaxed power limits. you can legally run a 200w amp on your 2m mobile.

Check out http://www.arrl.org/ for lots of information on the hobby and licensing.

Check here specifically http://www.arrl.org/licensing-preparation-exams for information on where and how to get a license.

If you don't mind paying a few bucks to make the studying super simple I recommend http://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/index.html

 

So much for ... the East for the win!!! Plus aren't your malls smaller back there?

 

Thanks Paul and Seth for the info. You guys convinced me just to study and get the license then have to try and bend the rules. I'll Pm you two a little later on what I need to do to get started.

 

Woot!!! Congrats - it is a great tool and unlike a CB you can use it for much more! Congrats!

 

You've convinced me to get my license as well.

You've also convinced me to pay a little extra for a dual band radio as my first unit that I'll put in my Tacoma. I'm looking at the Yaesu FT-7900r, and through October their offering a free face mounting kit with cables.
My question is do I need an external speaker if I mount my base unit under my passenger seat and then the face on the dash with my mic?? Or does the mic have a speaker built into it??

 

I use an external speaker I picked a cheap one up at www.hamradio.com for about $12-$14 - just a bit of advice... as most have mounted under the seat - I've had mine there too. I would suggest up on the back wall of your cab - cause if you ever have the unfortunate mistake of having water in your cab, you will keep from soaking a nice radio. If you mount it under your seat and that does happen, as soon as possible, take it apart and submerge it in alcohol for a bit and then air can it to dryness.

AND

If anyone else needs help in getting their license - feel free to PM me and I will help you the best I can.

 

Great! let us know how it goes. Yes you will need an external speaker. The speaker is on the main body of the radio and will sound muffled from under the seat. The 7900R is a great dual band radio. As mentioned by HBMurphy, I highly suggest you mount it on the back wall as well for the reasons he mentioned.