What Are You Running?
- Thread starter DocGary
- Start date
Congrats and welcome aboard!!!
At the risk of being a bit off my usual game...don't worry about programming.
Buy a programing cable and download a program called CHIRP for free. That will let you program most any radio you buy that is built for the amateur radio service. That being said if you want to keep it in the family get the Yaesu and the ADMS kit for programming it.
Once you have it programmed sit down with the manual and read it. Both companies have Jinglish moments. I think Yaesu is the least evil of the two but that is me. I am a Kenwood guy that owns Kenwood (TS820s, TS480sat, but miss my TMD700 and regret selling it), Yaesu (VX7r, FT 847, and FT8900) and Icom (ID91ad sold off all other DStar rigs) gear because they do different things I need.
Consider an external mount for the radio. Keeping it in the armrest is just bad. The more air around moving around the heat fins the longer the thing will last. You can hide it there when parked but not the greatest for operating. Frankly, I temporarily mount my FT 8900 jammed between the passenger seat and arm rest. Not ideal, however, most of the heat sink and all the fan have cool air under the seat to work with. Someday I will permanently mount it with the remote head up front and chasis in back....or I will buy a new truck an restart the mounting clock :ylsmoke:
73 Es Gud Luck!
chmura
Adventurer
Thank you for your opinions.
I looked into the CHIRP software and I do not see the ICOM 2300h or the Yaesu 2900r listed in CHIRP's list of radios. Seems like CHIRP does not support these two radios?
There seems to be an OEM Yaesu 2900r software cd with cable that ham outlet sells for $38. ICOM has one also for their 2300h radio but it is $68.
I looked into the CHIRP software and I do not see the ICOM 2300h or the Yaesu 2900r listed in CHIRP's list of radios. Seems like CHIRP does not support these two radios?
There seems to be an OEM Yaesu 2900r software cd with cable that ham outlet sells for $38. ICOM has one also for their 2300h radio but it is $68.
For radio programming you can also look at RT systems. They cover some radios that CHIRP doesn't, but you have to buy per radio, so if you end up with multiple radios, it can get expensive.
http://www.rtsystemsinc.com/
Geof
http://www.rtsystemsinc.com/
Geof
DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
For Yaesu radios I've switched over to G4HFQ's software. It runs a lot more reliably for me. I have several of RT System's programs but since I switched to Windows 7 they seem very delicate. I had the FTM-350 software running and tried to add on the FT-857 software. This did not install correctly and broke the FTM-350 software in the process. I already had Bob's FT-8800 (FTM8800) software and it always worked great, so I went ahead and got his software for my other two radios. Installed and worked straight away, no drama, no missing DLLs, no incorrectly configured radio engine (seems you can't mix fundamental versions of their software, so you need all your tools to be version 3, 4 ,4.5 or whatever), no tedious Registry issues when uninstalling, etc. Plus now I can import and export across radios without using CSV filters.
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Aaron Wasson
In the rear with the gear
Icom 706MKIIG with AH-4 tuner attached to 8ft SS whip, and UHF/VHF dual band antenna. I also have a Signalink USB adapter attached so that I can do Digipan/Winlink from really remote places. You can never have enough Coms when you are in the middle of nowhere.
Aaron Wasson
In the rear with the gear
Before you order your cable for that price, go on ebay and look for kawamall. Yeah, they look shady, but I was recommended to talk to them first. I ordered a CI-V cable for my Icom. Haven't had any issues with it at all. Here is their link:
http://stores.ebay.com/KAWAMALL-RAD?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
It was either take the chance on a ~$20 cable, or pay ~$70 for the Icom Version.
DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
The thing to be aware of with USB cables is that there are a lot of (well, maybe some is better to say) fake FTDI chips floating around. It tends to manifest itself as problems with driver instability or incompatibility. It's not unique to either cheap or expensive ham radio cables, lots of different industries have come across them if a manufacturer used an unknown source for the chip. In general major brand cable builders like RT System seem to be OK but no one is immune.
http://hackaday.com/2014/02/19/ft232rl-real-or-fake/
http://kraaima.com/ftdi-counterfeit-ft232-chip/
http://hackaday.com/2014/02/19/ft232rl-real-or-fake/
http://kraaima.com/ftdi-counterfeit-ft232-chip/
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C5dad
Observer
Rigs
In the truck I have a Ft-7800 and a VX-6. At home I run a ft857d. Yes, I stick with Yaesu. Excellent quality and reputation and less $$ than Icom. I did get a High Sierra scredwdriver for the truck and am waiting for the heat to subside to install so I can go mobile with the 857.
Chris
In the truck I have a Ft-7800 and a VX-6. At home I run a ft857d. Yes, I stick with Yaesu. Excellent quality and reputation and less $$ than Icom. I did get a High Sierra scredwdriver for the truck and am waiting for the heat to subside to install so I can go mobile with the 857.
Chris
AA1PR
Disabled Explorer
I have to remove it if I have to open the complete door, or otherwise its far enough back to still open the glass w/o any issues
you really want to keep your antenna at least 12" away from the body anyways
here's a pic, though not a great one, but hopefully it shows the offset from the rig that is needed
& here's a closeup of the feedpoint
thats gas line tubing covering the LMR240, with a L bracket bolted to a silver teflon SO239 & then 12ga running to the antenna base
everything is then sealed in 2 part epoxy
for the frame mounting bracket I used 1/4"x3"x24" aluminum flat stock, with a 2 1/4" muffler clamp going over the hitch tubing
the saddle for the clamp lies flat against the flat stock for added strength
with this setup I no longer destroy silver teflon mounts/adapters etc