Ham radio?

[Dr. Rock/Paper/Rumble]

I'm looking for a good setup for my truck, hopefully under $200. What are you guys running in your builds?

Edit: After reading a lot of advice and reading more information on my own I felt I should add more information to my initial post.

Use case: Talking to others while overlanding/offroading, getting updated weather/road conditions, potentially interested in APRS features.
Price: I'm mainly looking for a good bang for buck option for either something with or without APRS capabilities, since I'm not sure if I really need it or not.

 

[M Rose]

@Prerunner1982 an you help him out? And shouldn’t this be in the Como section?

 

[Dr. Rock/Paper/Rumble]

My bad, I didn't see a comos section so I put it here since I would count it as gear. I see I just didn't scroll down far enough :/

 

[M Rose]

My bad, I didn't see a comos section so I put it here since I would count it as gear.

No biggie, Prerunner is the ham guru. With that said from what little I know about ham, you get what you pay for... a sub $200 radio is going to limit you a lot. I am testing for my license this week end. Then looking at getting a Yaesu FTM-100DR or the Yaesu FTM-400. Going for the latter if I can pull it off this month as it’s on sale and has a $100 of manufacture instant rebate, and Ham Radio Outlet is offering a $35 discount ontop of it expiring 1/31/2020

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We were unable to find a product matching that product id and/or description.

www.hamradio.com

 

[Prerunner1982]

I don't know about guru... #radionerd maybe.
@Dr. Rock/Paper/Rumble you can get a nice name brand (Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood) 2m mono band for $125-$150, add some coax, antenna, and mount and you are in it for about $200.
You can get a Yaesu FTM-7250 dual band for just a smidge under $200 itself.

You might look at some used gear as well from ebay, eham, qrz...etc.
Of you can get dual band Chinese radios ranging from $70 up to $200.

I prefer a dual band radio with a remote head as it makes for an easier install especially in a newer vehicle where space to mount a radio may be limited.

I run 3 ham radios... a dual band for voice , a 2m mobile for APRS, and a HF radio.
For general comms you can get by with less, but I also dove into ham radio as a hobby.
Dual band on the left, tablet controlling the 2m radio, and HF on the right. All 3 radios are mounted in the rear.


Antennas:

 

[Dr. Rock/Paper/Rumble]

@Prerunner1982 Thanks for the run down, I'm looking into the gear you recommended now. Can you give me a brief explanation on the difference between dual band and 2m?

 

[Prerunner1982]

@Dr. Rock/Paper/Rumble a dual band radio allows you to use 2m (144-148MHz) and 70cm (420-450MHz) frequencies, many of the dual band radios allow you to monitor two frequencies at once which can be handy to say monitor the simplex frequency you may be using on the trail and another simplex frequency or a local repeater frequency, etc. A 2m mono band radio can only use 2 meter frequencies.

In many cases you can get by with just a 2m radio, I have friends that do it and that is what I was going to do in the beginning too....until I found out the largest linked repeater system in my state (covers about 1/2 the state) was on 70cm.
Ham radio is a tool so I like to have multiple options.

 

[Overland True North]

I don't know about guru... #radionerd maybe.
@Dr. Rock/Paper/Rumble you can get a nice name brand (Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood) 2m mono band for $125-$150, add some coax, antenna, and mount and you are in it for about $200.
You can get a Yaesu FTM-7250 dual band for just a smidge under $200 itself.

You might look at some used gear as well from ebay, eham, qrz...etc.
Of you can get dual band Chinese radios ranging from $70 up to $200.

I prefer a dual band radio with a remote head as it makes for an easier install especially in a newer vehicle where space to mount a radio may be limited.

I run 3 ham radios... a dual band for voice , a 2m mobile for APRS, and a HF radio.
For general comms you can get by with less, but I also dove into ham radio as a hobby.
Dual band on the left, tablet controlling the 2m radio, and HF on the right. All 3 radios are mounted in the rear.
View attachment 136634

Antennas:
View attachment 136636

So this would work for most of any "needed" applications as a newbie to Ham? Yaesu FTM-400XDR C4FM FDMA / FM 144/430 MHz Dual Band Mobile Transceiver. How does one mount this in a JK ? would this work? 67 Designs 1" Tube Mount E-dock Phone Mounting For JK

 

[Prerunner1982]

Very popular radio.
I've seen that this (Series 55 Track Ball) can screw to the back of the 400.

 

[Overland True North]

Very popular radio.
I've seen that this (Series 55 Track Ball) can screw to the back of the 400.

View attachment 136843

Anything better in that price range that would be better? If not I will be buying it this weekend...THEN I will start studying for my license. Antenna? Speaker? Will this do me well for overlanding for 5+ years to come? >>>>And Thank you very much for the help . My wife and I greatly appreciate it.

 

[M Rose]

Anything better in that price range that would be better? If not I will be buying it this weekend...THEN I will start studying for my license. Antenna? Speaker? Will this do me well for overlanding for 5+ years to come? >>>>And Thank you very much for the help . My wife and I greatly appreciate it.

you will need an antenna and coax. An external speaker might help in the Jeep, but the built in speaker is supposed to be superb.

 

[Overland True North]

you will need an antenna and coax. An external speaker might help in the Jeep, but the built in speaker is supposed to be superb.

Thank you I will do some research on which Antenna(s) will work.

 

[PNW EXPLR]

@Sandpoint Steve runs the FTM-400, maybe he has some advice.....

 

[M Rose]

@Prerunner1982 , I have a couple of questions in regards to the two radios I posted; the YAESU FTM-100DR and the YAESU FTM-400XDR. Is the user interface the biggest difference between the two radios? Can I use the YAESU FTM-100DR FOR APRS and talk at the same time? I ask because I see in the reviews it can’t, but if I’m reading the specs right I don’t see why it shouldn’t be able to. I understand that I might have to have a BT Module installed with my purchase to make this happen.

 

[Prerunner1982]

Anything better in that price range that would be better? If not I will be buying it this weekend...THEN I will start studying for my license. Antenna? Speaker? Will this do me well for overlanding for 5+ years to come? >>>>And Thank you very much for the help . My wife and I greatly appreciate it.

The Kenwood Tm-D710G is about $50 more expensive right now and from what I have heard does APRS a bit better but the radio itself looks a bit dated.
Other than that there isn't really anything else on that level that can do voice and APRS at the same time. The Kenwood doesn't do any digital mode, the Yaesu does their fusion digital mode, it's not really the most popular digital mode.
I have had my Yaesu ft-8800r for the last 6yrs in multiple Jeeps, harsh environment and it still works great.

Antenna: A dual band antenna that is a 1/2 wave on 2m might be good as it is not as ground dependant so it can be mounted in places that may not provide an adequate ground plane for other antennas. However you can get shorter dual band antennas that you could mount up high and not have clearance issues. Antenna height is key if you are trying to talk simplex over much distance. Antennas will stock mounted down on the hood/fender for local repeaters and convoy comms. Comet and Larsen are both popular brands. I have run Browning/Tram antennas which are typically a bit cheaper. I have smacked them against trees daily without any issues.

 

[Prerunner1982]

@Prerunner1982 , I have a couple of questions in regards to the two radios I posted; the YAESU FTM-100DR and the YAESU FTM-400XDR. Is the user interface the biggest difference between the two radios? Can I use the YAESU FTM-100DR FOR APRS and talk at the same time? I ask because I see in the reviews it can’t, but if I’m reading the specs right I don’t see why it shouldn’t be able to. I understand that I might have to have a BT Module installed with my purchase to make this happen.

The 400 does APRS and voice at the same time and does it easily. The 100 doesn't do it or do it well. You can do APRS and "monitor" another frequency but if you want to talk on that frequency you have to turn off APRS or else you will start beaconing packets on the frequency you are trying to talk on. The 100 is really one or the other but not really both..or at least it's clunky trying to do both (in my opinion). Either one should do APRS without a BT module.

 

[M Rose]

The 400 does APRS and voice at the same time and does it easily. The 100 doesn't do it or do it well. You can do APRS and "monitor" another frequency but if you want to talk on that frequency you have to turn off APRS or else you will start beaconing packets on the frequency you are trying to talk on. The 100 is really one or the other but not really both..or at least it's clunky trying to do both (in my opinion). Either one should do APRS without a BT module.

So if i want to do both at the same time, better to get the 400, gotcha

 

[Sandpoint Steve]

The 400 will allow you to monitor and talk to 2 frequencies at the same time. this makes it easier to talk to different people in your group easily.

Also, it has the ability to output APRS data with the supplied cable to a pc or android(I can not confirm or deny apple device). This will let you plot onto your Topo maps the locTion of anyone in your group broadcasting APRS data(gps)

If you wait for it to be on sale you can save a bunch of $. You will not be disappointed.

 

[Dr. Rock/Paper/Rumble]

@Prerunner1982 after looking more into it and seeing all the possibilities of things like aprs I think my 200 price range will need to be shifted. I think I would want aprs features, whats the go to do it all ham radio or what setup would you recommend if more than one radio is better? I need to figure out how much I need to save haha.

 

[M Rose]

@Prerunner1982 after looking more into it and seeing all the possibilities of things like aprs I think my 200 price range will need to be shifted. I think I would want aprs features, whats the go to do it all ham radio or what setup would you recommend if more than one radio is better? I need to figure out how much I need to save haha.

The one @Sandpoint Steve gave a brief review of is the YASU FTM-400D, it’s now a FTM-400XDR. Currently on sale for 449.95 until the end of the month at both Ham Radio Outlet and Gigi Parts, it normally runs $549.95.