Recent content by Thoreau

Did a little better than 25% for my first 'decent bike' purchase. 2017 Specialized Camber Comp 29. $2500 msrp, found as low as 2450 in a few rare instances. Got it for $1840 on closeout at Global Bikes in Chandler. As said prior, sales DO happen, just gotta be patient. Model year...

When I found that for my 80D it was one of the greatest days of my life =) My FJ has an inverter, and I can use that with the factory charger in a pinch, but being able to top off from USB is infinitely more convenient with USB battery banks, and ports all over my truck.

Been using these for a few years for AA and CR123 cells and LOVE them.

If you want to be TOTALLY accurate, ham licenses are actually 100% free. The test and initial licensing often costs money but that's entirely a result of picking the wrong VEC. ARRL, for example, charges $15 to test/file the paperwork. Other testing coordinators, such as Laurel VEC charge...

I slapped a yaesu ftm400 into my fj a while back, mainly because i just like new stuff (kept the ftm350 as well though) and while i love the radio, there just isnt much fusion activity in my area. More imoortant, i o ly know one person among those i ever travel with that has a fusion capable...

It's pretty important to know the infrastructure available, and it's use-levels. From the sounds of it, both of those factors score low in your intended area. Lack of good repeaters (stable, good coverage) with people actually using it (monitoring or actively chatting) can quickly make that...

On the vhf side its higher than ham freqs, but most of the specified uhf range is ham. Theres nothing within range that would be legal to use that radio without SOME license. Ham for 420-450, lmr for almost all of the rest. That radio would also be illegal on frs and murs. Probably gmrs as...

Inreach supports email (more or less.) I deal with quite a few recipients who also aren't texters. Slap them into the device contacts with an email address, and your messages go to... their email =) They can reply directly to that email, or go to the link and track you on the inreach site...

Hah, $170+? That's hilarious. I knew that website was shady before, but that just cements it. http://www.amazon.com/Juentai-JT-6188-136-174-400-480MHz-Transceiver/dp/B0149KUE84/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1457399286&sr=8-4&keywords=baofeng+mobile

I can only speak for myself, but I tend to practice "non-stupidity" (and also live in the desert) so water intrusion is a non-risk to me. Even in monsoon floods, it doesn't take Einstein to keep out of water.

FTM-400DR + FTM-350AR. Took the opportunity while doing all this wiring to remove the CB as well. Good riddance, useless AM crap =)

Who is 'they'? QST magazine is a function of the ARRL, who doesn't manufacture any radios, thus have any market share to be concerned about. There's a lot more to it than just spurious emissions too. I have four Baofeng radios (a pair of 888s's, a BF-F8+, and a UV-82HP) in addition to my...

Doh. Never noticed that before. Screw the 8900 then =) Personally went a totally different route with the ftm350. The nice screen and full 50w output on both 2m and 70cm drew me in. Meanwhile, haven't used the built in aprs functions except one time to track down someone beaconing on a...

Couldn't agree more. For the right price, it's worth it, but otherwise the 8800 is generally equivelant for less. Generally... the crossband repeat function does require the 8900, and while rarely useful, there are times when it could be handy for sure. Not sure what rep you spoke with, but...

Actually, most of those radios are part 95 certified which makes them legal for land mobile bands (with appropriate licenses.) There's really no such thing as a 'ham radio' in the sense of it being strictly for ham. Literally any radio can legally be used in ham bands if it supports the...