2 metre radio

General Chat - one nine for a roger!
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needle bender
Motor Mouth!
Motor Mouth!
Posts: 441
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2011 11:36 am

right folks i'm getting to the point where i cant stand the trials and tribulations of cb radio...seems it will be the summer 2013 before all mode operation on 27 megs comes into being...so in short what can i get outa 2 metres that cb cant give me???...so come on you ham guys sell it to me!!!...or point me to a good web site.. :D
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Bionic Budgie
Motor Mouth!
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Posts: 267
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2010 8:13 pm
CB Handle: Bionic Budgie
Location: Diss, Norfolk

Hi NB,
Well... I,ve been hamming it for a number of years as I have mentioned before on here, and returned again to CB. Sure 2 mtrs (and 70cms) are good bands..clear, fairly interference free, good lift properties..BUT..no one on them! On my travels around the country over the past few years, I have become increasingly aware of how quiet VHF/UHF ham radio is becoming. Here around Norfolk/Suffolk we have 12 (yes 12) repeaters..most of which are dead 99% of the time. GB3NB (145.625) covers Norfolk and has regular usage by a small group, GB3PO in Ipswich (145.650) is kept going by M0MUD/mobile who is on there most days. Other than that..its very quiet. I have a Yaesu FT8900 quad bander in my Transit which operates on 2, 70, 6 and 10 mtrs but I prefer to rag chew to the locals on my Amstrad 901 on UK CB channel 28. I find the QSO quality is better, by that I mean content..on channel 28 we talk all sorts..real cabbages and kings stuff. When I do put outta call on ham..all they seem to want to talk about is bloody radio and antennae!! I believe that since the introduction of the Foundation Licence which, after 6 hrs class room, gives you a ham ticket..this has devalued the ham licence. To me, the relaxed, take it or leave it of CB now days is very appealing. No callsigns, regulations, no ex RT ops and Royal Signals nets..no contests..no old G3s telling folks about the q in the health centre.. What I CAN tell you is from the many new friends I have made since returning to CB last year..many of them hold ham callsigns... like me they prefer 27mhz. I struggled like hell to get my callsign and to pass the morse test..and have come full circle..back to CB. It makes you think when, on E Bay, you can buy a 2 mtr FM radio cheaper than a good quality CB. I,ve got an ADI 50w FM mobile in the shed..I paid £250 for it back in the early 90s..its now not worth putting it on E Bay. I saw a Harrier CBX 40 channel rig go for £15 more than an ADI ham radio the other month..makes you think..

Catch Ya About.

Bionic Budgie
Diss 20
My Only Worry Is That When I Die..My Wife Will Sell My Radio Gear For What I Told Her I'd Paid For It!
needle bender
Motor Mouth!
Motor Mouth!
Posts: 441
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2011 11:36 am

Hi budgie,,so where are all these foundation hams???...what bands are they working???...the hf bands are beyond my pocket really...and rig and twig qso's arent my cup of tea either...there are a few around these parts on 2 metre...as in your part of the world its not overused...in fact on the odd occasion there is a cross band net that pops up using cb/scanner/2mtrs...dont see the point in it...but its something different i suppose...well this old am/ssb thing is getting to me...it will become legal..but it seems not till the end of next year...oh well back to monitoring the am transmissions on cept...have had quite a few copies into the eu...but the usa has eluded me again this year... :D :D :D
Guzzy
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Joined: Tue May 09, 2006 8:10 pm
CB Handle: Guzzy
Location: England

Please refer to this classic old saying:

"You only get out of it what you put into it."

This is true for CB as well as ham radio.

If you are interested in the whole wireless communication thing, then you should really explore the idea of getting an amateur radio licence. It opens up a whole world of possibilities.

If you do decide to buy a ham radio for local FM working, buy a dual band (VHF/UHF) transceiver. The repeaters are evenly split between VHF (2m) and UHF (70cm). You'll kick yourself if you only have one band.

I heartily recommend the Yaesu FT-7800 (or the new version of it, the FT-7900). This is all the VHF/UHF FM mobile radio you will ever need. For a hand held, I would recommend the dual band Yaesu FT-60E.

The other manufacturers FM VHF/UHF radios are not inferior in anyway (they are all pretty damn good - some are much better), but these two radios give you the biggest bang for your buck ... and I challenge anyone to disprove that. So there. [-( :lol:

... just don't throw away your CB's.

Radio is about communicating, and you can do that just fine with a CB radio. :wink:
Big A
Good Buddy
Good Buddy
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:19 pm

I have been mulling this ham/not ham thing over for the last two years or so. Seriously mulling. I sit and chat to locals on my little 446 handie or sit on 28 and listen to Olga most of the time. I have the scanner on the repeaters of this area. Ill be honest there is little there to inspire me to join the amateur flock. All they seem to do is communicate their call signs back and forth, tell us their receiving each other 5 & 9 through a repeater for crying out loud!! Then the other night shock horror, some one hadn't told the local news net that the CW club was held on a different frequency!! I despair. On anoth repeater, I hear two old sweats complaining about the young operators coming in these days without serving 25 years in the Royal Signals or whatever. Talk about snobbery. It's not just a one off, it's rife, where there is any repeater activity. Is it really any wonder people aren't willing to take the Foundation and join in? Most of the radio clubs in this area show no interest in training new recruits up, in fact I understand there are now only two clubs for East Anglia that still do the Foundation etc courses. It's like the Old Guard want to keep it all for themselves. Hardly good for the future of radio is it. Why would kids want to play with outdated technology these days? It costs less to get a SIM card and ring your mates, or contact them through Skype than to even buy a radio.
I've said all this, yet I still love using radio to communicate, I may still yet find the time and inclination to take my Foundation, just so I can talk whereever I like (within regs) on the bands. Or I might not, and stick with the UHF and chat locally. Or I may just hoist the Jolly Roger and set sail across the bands, who knows. :D
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DEANO3528
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I was much the same but decided to have a go at the foundation because it worked in with our Raynet connections (4x4 Response). Now rather than having to have a Raynet operator in my truck, I can run solo should the need arise. There are many facets to AR,oneof the latest bits of fun being APRS packet radio, which works very much like a tracker: Very useful for our Controller to know where we are in the nasty weather. I haven't really used it much but it's there if I need it. Several of the A14 long haulers have now gone over to AR simply because there's no Russian element on there, which is a bit of an issue on CB nowadays.
Would I go beyond Foundation?
No idea, but I don't currently feel there's a need to.
Depending where you are in EA, Suffolk has a couple of groups doing regular Foundation courses and higher - Leiston ARC and Felixstowe & District ARS that I know of.
Several in Norfolk too, certainly one of the Norwich groups.
Chelmsford are very active in bringing new users on the bands too, but I've not heard about Herts or Cambs.
Am I glad I did it?
Yes I think so, it adds another dimension and it was great to go over the stuff (radio and DX) that I was interested in 40 years ago. The exam wasn't hard, but I struggled with the Morse practical a bit, but managed. It's the only time you need to worry about it thankfully.
Cheers,
DEANO - M6GLS
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Big A
Good Buddy
Good Buddy
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:19 pm

Don't get me wrong, I've recently been listening a lot down on the 40m, and I love hearing the old boys chatting "properly", you know, a conversation. This will be the only reason I'd consider Foundation, to access away from the repeaters, away from the stick in the mud operators finding fault with operating procedures. Best one I heard today on local repeater was an operator put his call out in phonetics, but used Alan, Baker, etc the other guy said he couldn't respond as he did not recognise the language!!! It's phonetic, it is used to clarify the letters of the alphabet, it doesn't have to be Alpha, Beta, Charlie Delta etc. This to me is as stupid and pedantic as you can get, how on earth do some of these people think they sound to the great unwashed? Hardly an advert for what is a hobby, and hardly conducive to attracting a wider membership. I do believe standards in etiquette, manners etc need to be maintained, but some people do need to lighten up.
Big A
Good Buddy
Good Buddy
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:19 pm

Duplicated above post. :oops:
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