Recent content by NJRadioGuy

Yes, it's doable but not really a great solution to be honest--unless I'm missing some obvious feature. I mean, the obvious answer is to drive until you start feeling hungry/tired/etc, and catch as catch can, but if you have to work to a schedule ("must arrive at the first ferry crossing no...

I talked to John in Xenia last weekend and can confirm this. The 400 will never be replaced. They can't get the parts and users like us are unicorns. They want simple, small radios that are cheap. I played with the 500 and you couldn't pay me to install one in my rig.

Hi all, East coaster here. I'm preparing for my first trip to Expo Mountain West this summer and then on to Ouray. I'd like to meet up with and potentially travel with a couple of rigs after the Expo show to do some trails near Ouray and Telluride. I'm in a Grand Cherokee Trailhawk (winch...

Any chance Overland Bound could get their own dedicated TG? I don't know what the procedure is, but as I said above, having one dedicated place for traveling overlanders would be a great thing IMHO.

There is a DMR talkgroup called Venture Overland; Brandmeister TG 31655. Some good folks on there and it's run by AA1PR. They have a net at 0200z on Sundays. I'd suggest asking if Overland Bound could have a separate net on there, or perhaps even we could use this TG on our various adventures. I...

Yep. I bought one off eBay and it's inside the stove now. Never used or needed it, but it's kinda of as a last resort. I'm probably retiring the stove this year in favour of a JetBoil dual burner.

I agree. The more they dumb it down the worse it is.

The new FTM-500XDR was just announced today. Not sure what the specs will be on this, but it's disappointing that the screen size is this small and they've gotten rid of the discreet controls in favor of a menu-driven hierarchy. It will be available in March. I won't even consider it.

Hi all, Big fan of GaiaGPS for overland and off-road route planning and waypoints, but I'm looking for something that will help me plan a cross-country route on pavement from NJ to Loveland CO for Expo Mountain this summer. Basically I know I want to get there the day before, and it will take me...

Yes, that would be an excellent idea. I wonder if there are VE exams at Overland Expos and similar meets? If I can ever get to one I'd gladly volunteer as an Extra Class VE.

Size is definitely the issue for sure, and the fact my 425 is just a PITA to use. I like "set it and forget it". I will get a JetBoil butane for heating water, but for cooking the big double JB Propane is better as a stove. The 425 is a classic but if I'm going out for more than 2 or 3 nights...

It dosen't really need much of a rebuild. It has maybe 10-15 hours on it over 30 years.

I couldn't agree more. The FTM-400 XDR was the pinnacle of 2m/440 FM mobile technology. Nothing will ever beat it, despite not being able to store a mode in memory. The APRS functionality is just top notch and the giant touch screen makes operating it mobile just so easy for us older folks with...

Good to know! I think I'm about to retire my 425 and get a dual JetBoil before my first big trip of 2023. Size and convenience, etc.

Having your antennas that close together defeats the purpose of having two radios installed, especially since it's absolutely trivial to modify the TYT to operate on GMRS (albeit it's against FCC regs to do so but the modification takes seconds to do). At best, transmitting on one will only...