I have it stored as a frequency on my mobile rig but I never hear a soul on it when driving around upstate NY/ADKs. Occasionally I will hear someone on the standard 2m calling frequency but they are usually SOTA.
Advocate III
20990
World Traveler III
24720
Enthusiast III
19981
Influencer II
28487
Influencer II
28487
I think it's more of a thing out west, where repeaters have coverage footprints that are hundreds of miles wide and lots of active hams that monitor them regularly. Plus the fact there are so few places to drive on dirt roads that nobody even bothers. When I'm on a trail ride with others, I'm often the only ham in the group and I'll use GMRS for comms. I'm WRJB851 up there. I don't know if there's a recognized calling channel on GMRS--and if not, there ought to be.I will monitor it from time to time but never hear anyone on it. I even have my APRS stating that I’m monitoring. nothing.
All group rides that I have been on have used GMRS or FRS. Ham has been disappointing. :-(
Enthusiast III
19981
You are probably right. Not much overlanding in NJ. At least I live in the pine lands. But every group ride I’ve been on has used FRS except for one that used GMRS. So no one is using ham. I got my ham radio for overlanding and have never gotten to use it a tear and a half later.I think it's more of a thing out west, where repeaters have coverage footprints that are hundreds of miles wide and lots of active hams that monitor them regularly. Plus the fact there are so few places to drive on dirt roads that nobody even bothers. When I'm on a trail ride with others, I'm often the only ham in the group and I'll use GMRS for comms. I'm WRJB851 up there. I don't know if there's a recognized calling channel on GMRS--and if not, there ought to be.I will monitor it from time to time but never hear anyone on it. I even have my APRS stating that I’m monitoring. nothing.
All group rides that I have been on have used GMRS or FRS. Ham has been disappointing. :-(
Influencer II
28487
Advocate III
20990
There is a lot to do on VHF/UHF... but you’re right, nothing like a 4,000 mile DX.Try DMR if you're bored. There's a talkgroup there called Venture Overland, started by a fellow in VT. For me, HF is where it's at. I'm Extra Class, and have been a ham since 1979. 2m/440 mobile is a very, very small fraction of my operations <grin>.
Influencer II
28487
Very much depends on where you are. In the NYC tri-state area there are repeaters on every pair...and virtually nobody using any of them. HF is almost non-existent up here too. Field Days are short-staffed, most contest stations are compromised (land for massive antenna farms around here would require tens of millions of dollars), and frankly people are working so hard at two, and often three jobs to afford to live here and pay the confiscatory taxes in the region that playing radio is a distant memory. Granted we generally don't have the CC&R restrictions that exist in the south and southwest, but activity is still sparse at the best of times. And ham radio (and overlanding for that matter) is an upper-middle-class hobby for the most part, and that doesn't describe a large percentage of the region, other than the immediate suburbs.There is a lot to do on VHF/UHF... but you’re right, nothing like a 4,000 mile DX.
World Traveler III
24720
Influencer II
28487
If you'd gone over to .52 you might have worked a few. I had a good QSO with a fellow in Chambersburg. He even sent me a QSL card in the mail (to which I replied this morning). Young fellow, IIRC he said he was 14 YO, but you'd never know it.On my drive to VA from NE NJ I heard nobody on 146.46. I may or may not have drove my wife nuts with it lol.
World Traveler III
24720
That is the coolest thing I’ve heard all dayIf you'd gone over to .52 you might have worked a few. I had a good QSO with a fellow in Chambersburg. He even sent me a QSL card in the mail (to which I replied this morning). Young fellow, IIRC he said he was 14 YO, but you'd never know it.On my drive to VA from NE NJ I heard nobody on 146.46. I may or may not have drove my wife nuts with it lol.