--- On Fri, 11/1/13, Joe Leikhim <[email protected]> wrote: > I am planning a trip to UK and was wondering about VHF repeater usage. > > 1) I have an ICOM W32A and it does not generate 1750 Hz tone > as far as I can tell (US Version). Is CTCSS widely used in OK?
All 2m repeaters use CTCSS, info on repeaters and coverage maps are at http://www.ukrepeater.net/ > 2) The radio is dual band 2M/70CM but I can disable 70CM > band from front panel. Will Customs hassle me for that > model? Don't know but I've not heard of anyone having problems. BTW can't you open up the 70cm coverage to give 420-450 MHz ? That would enable you to use the UK 70cm repeaters. > 3) Any recommendations for good PMR446, dPMR or similar > radios (low cost) to communicate with my wife should we get > separated? Preferably something readily available and using > AA (not AAA) batteries. > 4) Is GSM still the way to go for basic cell phone service > in UK? We got my son a used blackberry "world phone" > for his trip last year and it seemed spotty. Maybe he was > getting SIM cards for the wrong provider? If all you want is voice and SMS text messaging then yes GSM is what you are after. For data/internet use you'd need 3G. It's worth checking the coverage provided by each of the Four networks in the areas you'll be visiting before you buy a Sim. Personally I've found Vodafone and O2 give best voice/text coverage as they use the 900 MHz band, other networks EE (Orange/T-Mobile) and 3 are only on the higher bands, 1800 and 2100 MHz with shorter ranges. Coverage Maps: Vod - http://www.vodafone.co.uk/our-network-and-coverage/uk-coverage-map/ O2 - http://www.o2.co.uk/coveragechecker EE - https://explore.ee.co.uk/coverage-checker 3 - http://www.three.co.uk/Support/Coverage 73 Trevor M5AKA _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
