Passed my test...:)...Looking at radios.

[mmtoy]

Yes, I know: "not another radio question thread..."

I earned my Technician's about a week ago; I'm waiting for my callsign. Now I'm looking at radios for my truck. I've read the reviews and have settled on one of the following three radios.

Someone tell me that I won't regret getting the Yaesu FT-7800R ($235+antenna) instead of the FT-8800R ($370+antenna) or the FT-8900R ($412+antenna). The FTM-10SR ($365+antenna) looks fun, too, but I don't think I can justify the extra $130 for small form factor and bluetooth...

I know I am not allowed to use all of the capabilities of the 8900R until I get my General, but that's an incentive (only missed 13 on the General, with no studying). The 8900R is nearly $200 more than the 7800R, so it's going to be tough to justify it on cost alone. Especially without the General in my pocket. Besides, I can use the lack of the 6 and 10M as an excuse to get a base radio with those (and more).

So, will I regret not having the dual receive of the 8800R?

Thanks!

 

[DaveInDenver]

Will you regret it? Depends on if you use it or not. A lot of people have a 7800 and are perfectly happy (that's the one I have and I think it's a great radio). Put it this way, having the dual tuners and not using them is better than having one tuner and wanting two. I went with a 7800 and that was something of a budget crunch over a single band, so that decision was clear for me and my shallow pockets.

 

[crawler#976]

I'll echo Dave's comments on the 7800 vs 8800 or 8900.

Unless you foresee the need to cross-band repeat with a handy talkie while hiking or some other activity that keeps you away from your rig, the dual receive feature isn't a necessity. When using the memory mode, the scanning rate on the 7800 is very fast, so I don't miss much. The radio can scan all 4 (two of which are recieve only) bands in the VFO mode, or all channels in memory that aren't skipped in the memory mode, so, at least for myself, it's no big deal. If I hear something on a channel I want to respond to all it takes is a single press on one or the other of the up/down channel buttons on the mike to stop the scanning and have the radio ready to transmit.

Mark

 

[mmtoy]

Will you regret it? Depends on if you use it or not. A lot of people have a 7800 and are perfectly happy (that's the one I have and I think it's a great radio). Put it this way, having the dual tuners and not using them is better than having one tuner and wanting two. I went with a 7800 and that was something of a budget crunch over a single band, so that decision was clear for me and my shallow pockets.

To clarify:
The 8900 is just a dream. The 8800 is just as much of a dream, simply not as sweet. The 7800 is the only one even close to being able to fit in my budget (these radios are EXPENSIVE!).

I guess I'm just not fully captured by the hobby yet (I haven't even listened to a ham in about 20 years), so am looking for validation that getting the 7800 will fit my needs/desires for at least a few years (yes, I know the answer is "it depends"). I'm pretty sure I do not want to get a single band radio. My understanding is that the 0.7 and 2M bands are the most commonly used (and repeated) in my area (western US).

 

[DaveInDenver]

Honestly I think the 7800 will be an fine fit from your description. The 7800 has several options that make it a single band on steroids. It can roll through memory in a hurry, you can designate subsets of your memories, designate higher priority memories that get hit more often during scanning, etc. There are only a couple of things that you really can't do, primarily cross band repeat (which can be of dubious legality anyway). The 8800 has more flexibility doing scanning, but that's more useful if you're trying to pick up simplex contacts than anything. I doubt you'll miss that feature unless you already have a dual VFO radio that you're used to. I have a VX-7R handheld which is pretty much a portable version of the 8800 and even with using that I don't feel like I'm limited by the 7800.

 

[DaktariEd]

Congratulations on passing the exam.
Nope, I don't think you'll regret getting a dual band radio.
Here's my install: Yaesu Radio
Always better to have both bands that can transmit cross band in a pinch (from my handheld).
Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared!

Ed

 

[mmtoy]

Thanks, guys for the responses.

Another question... Will I be able to use the 7800 to do APRS (with additional hardware) and also transmit phone at (almost) the same time?

That is, I'd like to have APRS signals transmitted every 5-10 minutes while I'm on the road, but also be able to chat with the radio whenever I want. Will that be a pain to coordinate? Has anyone done something similar with the 7800?

Thanks!

 

[7wt]

I have debated on getting my liscense for a long time now. I guess I am unsure of how much I would use the thing as I don't really have anyone to talk to locally. For the guys that have radios in their trucks is it something that is used often or is it something you only use on trips with people that know you are on 2M? Is it worth it? I know I would use mine to mostly monitor aviation freqs and the like but is that worth drilling a hole in your roof for or are there other real uses that come about after you put one in? I know that may sound like a dumb question but it's been on my mind.

By the way, I would really like the 10SR if it didn't have the blue lighting. They should have made it orange like all the others.

 

[mmtoy]

Hahaha!!! It's real!

KE7QIF



Ahem. Sorry.

 

[DaveInDenver]

mmtoy: The 7800 can do APRS (actually it can do any data mode). That part is the same between most of the Yeasu radios. You will be unable to talk during the actual APRS TX, but between them you will be just fine. But that is true of all radios, since when you are transmitting the other side of a dual VFO radio is quieted anyway. The length of an APRS packet TX is about 3 or 4 seconds I think.

7wt: Most radios now have wide band receive. I have the local aviation frequencies programmed into my 7800 and can monitor them. A ham radio is not able to transmit on those frequencies, though.

 

[crawler#976]

7wt,

I started out with a 2M only, and considered it as another tool like a CB - albeit a much better form of comms.

...but a funny thing happened along the way.

I grew to enjoy the radio as a hobby.

Probably several factors were involved. First off, I'd spent (to me anyway) a considerable amount of $$$ and time to get started in Ham radio, so I started leaving the radio on so see what I could hear. As I learned how to use repeaters and one afternoon on the way home had a chat with a gentleman in Hawaii, I became interested in the IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project - http://www.irlp.net/ ) system. Once that happened, I upgraded to a dual band to access more repeaters and opportunities for IRLP use.

Secondly, I was bored with commercial radio stations...so the Ham radio became my driving companion. I have all of my local LE and Fire/EMT channels set up for scanning, and that has been interesting to me as a old USCG LE/EMT type guy. It also keeps me aware of traffic situations on our local roads...

Thirdly, I think you'll be surprised to hear how many OHV users are out there on the ham bands. There are more folks using 70CM and 2M for comms in the western US than I had ever expected.

...and the last benifit of getting your licence is being able to join in with us on the Expo Ham Radio Net!

Mark

 

[crawler#976]

Bahama!!! It's real!

KE7QIF



Ahem. Sorry.

Woohoo!

KE7QIF, KE7IXX CALLING!

Congrats!

 

[Cabrito]

I love having the dual display for monitoring with the FT-8800

My .02c
I have the Icom V-8000 2m only 75watts. This radio is great! I was one who did want dual band though and got the Yaesu FT-8800 – I love this radio even if it’s not as good as my Icom when it comes to Simplex communication.

The dual band dual display of the 8800 simply rocks! I can listen to two bands at the same time or two freq’s of the same band at the same time. This is great if you are traveling in groups or scanning for local repeaters. I do end up using the 70cm band and am glad I have it. It's like running two radios at the same time in one package.

I don’t feel like I missed out by not getting the 8900 because I don’t plan to upgrade my tech license and just don’t need it for my purposes. I’ve hade the 8800 for about a year now. I also have the VX-7 HT with more bands than I need and I really like this hand held radio.


Of course the Spot messenger is something you might want to look into for a cheap one option for emergency help and trip tracking like the APRS you are asking about. I’m not sure but I don’t think you will be able to use APRS and transmit/receive at the same time with the single display of the 7800 but I don’t know for sure.

Great job passing the test!

--

 

[mmtoy]

Thanks, guys!

I'll be ordering the 7800 later today.

Anyone have any good or bad experiences with particular antennas?

 

[DaveInDenver]

Anyone have any good or bad experiences with particular antennas?

Do you park your truck inside a garage or not?