Official Colorado HAM and cheese thread

I didn't get and Icom. I picked up another Yeasu, the FTM400.

DSTAR through all my reading really only allows communications between ICOM ratios and a select few Kenwood units. DSTAR functions didn't seem to have any practical applications with 4wheeling so I didn't look any further.

 

For some reason i thought @Gramps said the icom when he compared them...but just looked back and i made that up. Someone else must've mentioned it or it was in one of the build threads i pulled up.

I want a better ham, fire/sar here are moving towards ham since what we now use has crappy signal and you can hardly understand it. Aprs would be cool for trips while out of cell service.

Dstar.. If i was able to access internet in no cell service would be great for emails, but i guess i need to see how many of those special towers there are to make it possible. Using it to communicate as a phone would be nice as well (if that's part of the abilities).

 

Make sure to also check on those capibilities with a mobile unit vs having to set up a nase station.

 

Roger. Don't want to need a base station.

 

Geez my grammer is horrible.

 

So I spilled coffee all over my cartoonishly large Cobra CB and it no longer works. I was just going to grab a smaller radio and plug it in, but it seems that there is a serious push to move towards HAM so I'll focus on that instead (thanks @Stig for starting this thread...I'm about halfway through). In your experiences, does it make sense to have both HAM and CB for times when others don't have one or the other? Or do HAM units work with CB units?

 

Hypoxia has a dual unit that has some issues he hasn't figured out although I've read of other reviews of that unit with people having more success with the cb side. I say get both

 

I don't think there are issues so much as the radio simply doesn't transmit AM.
It can be tuned for the CB channels, and set to receive AM. It does this perfectly.
It will NOT transmit AM. I think the people who are reporting success are simply hearing the FM transmission through their AM CB radios. You CAN hear it this way but it's not very loud or clear.
My guess is that it's easy enough to add AM reception capability but another matter entirely to add AM transmitting capability.

 

I have both. I feel at this point there is still value in having CB. I have a feeling with recent changes to FRS and GMRS that the 4x4 community will start switching over. Look at Midland's radios as proof.

My solution to having 2m/70cm and CB while still retaining a decent audio head unit. If you want display audio unit this is not the way. I didn't see any point.


The President McKinley radio is CB and WX with alerts so that is kinda cool.

 

You guys suck, leaving me to point out it is illegal to mode a HAM radio to broadcast on CB freqs. Just go the easy route n get both, it helps listen in to Texans in full size pickups on the Alpine loop complain that we are “trail hogs, and they almost died trying to get by ur MASSIVE Tacoma’s, 4RUNNER or FJ.

Pays for itself just hearing their nonesense.

 

There really are quad band radios

https://www.amazon.com/TYT-TH-9800-Cross-Band-Mobile-Radio/dp/B00I53VUEY

Is this the one you have? it says it transmits on 10m which is CB

 

I thought CB was 11m? Is that still considered part of the 10m band or are they far enough apart to be considered separate bands?

 

It does transmit on 10m which is CB.

It only transmits FM (frequency modulation). CB in the US is AM (amplitude modulation)

CB frequencies range from 26.9650 MHz to 27.4050 MHz (often referred to as 11 meter)

 

I think we went over all this a year ago outside toytec

 

Folks, any google search will show you it is illegal (FCC version). For around $100 you can get a Baofeng handheld & Cobra CB and be completely within law. I will also add that if you were to MOD a ham to broadcast on CB freq it will still be the crappy, unintelligible, mass interferences like a CB because the AM/ Frequency is the problem, not the radios.

 

But what about 2 cans and a string? Surely that is the clearest signal.

 

I would agree until I saw this featuring @Star-Lord

 

I plan on taking the test next week.

 

Don't forget a schlong battery or 12v adapter. Should get you through 1 day though.