Thanks Glenn, Michael, Cookie - excellent information, and excellent
points, all!
I totally agree about the shortcomings of rubber duckies on HTs. The
folks I bushwhack, etc. with, we all use HTs to keep in touch, so it's
all about simplex. My Baofengs have served that function perfectly to
date - and at ~$40 each, they're almost disposable. Even so, mine have
been dropped, dumped in mud, and exposed to rain, and so far they're
all still going.
Probably the best thing I can say about the Chinese radios though, is
that they got me back into ham radio after about a 35-year hiatus. I
was first licensed as a 5-wpm CW Novice when I was in 4th grade. Radio
kind of faded away from me after that, largely due to a lack of both
gear and hams who were interested in talking to a kid.
Anyway, before my buddies and I started using 2m HTs for recreational
comm, we used FRS radios. Well, I was shopping for some "better"
radios on Amazon one day, and stumbled across the Baofengs. Recalling
the days when I was a kid, struggling to figure out how to afford /
build my own radios, I was astonished that one could get on the air so
easily.
One week later, I took my Tech and General exams, and I've been back
ever since.
Even better still, the cheap radios helped me convince a number of my
buddies - who had ZERO interest in ham radio before - to get licensed.
(I'm still working on my XYL . . . .)
Most of those folks haven't moved on to better radios, learning about
antennas, HF, etc. like I have - but a couple have. Regardless, in my
opinion, anything that gets more people involved in our hobby - or
even aware of it - is good for all of us.
73,
KF5YHP
WILLIS COOKE via BVARC wrote:
Ravi, I don't think there is
any HT of any brand that will do what you want. I have a Kenwood TH-F6
and it certainly will not. I am definitely not a Yaesu guy, but I
would prefer any Japanese transceiver to one from China. I would
recommend that you not plan on any rubber duck to repeater
communication over 10 to 15 miles unless you plan to climb a repeater
tower with it. I have a dual band mobile Kenwood in my vehicle and on
frequent trips to Oklahoma I seldom make contact outside the
metroplexes of Houston and Dallas. I would not plan on any
communications while off-roading, back country, backpacking, or
mountaineering except with people in your party who will stay within
one mile of you. I sometimes use my HT for communications within one
mile while at MSWE or a convention, but I seldom find them useful.
They would probably be useful at Dayton, but I have not seen them be
useful at Ham Com in Dallas, and the Houston hamfests are small enough
that most use eyeball QSOs. Sorry, but I can't give you any
encouragement at all. I have never seen APRS, a build in TNC or C4FM
be useful for anything but in selling transceivers. I have only been a
ham for 59 years, but In that time the only time that ham radio was
useful for local communication was around 1975 when there were no cell
phones or GPS.
Willis 'Cookie' Cooke,
BVARC MSWE Chairman, 2014 &
2015
TDXS Contest Chairman
K5EWJ
& Trustee N5BPS
From: Ravi Ratnala via BVARC
<bvarc@bvarc.org>
To: BRAZOS VALLEY
AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <bvarc@bvarc.org>
Sent: Thursday, March
5, 2015 2:17 PM
Subject: [BVARC]
Knowledge / Opinions about Digital / D-Star / C4FM (System Fusion)?
Friends,
Ok, I'll go ahead and open the ol' can-o-worms: The radio I'm buying
happens to be a Yaesu FT1DR.
The main reason for the purchase is that I want a new V/U dual-band HT
that will be rugged enough for EMCOMM work, as well as the off-roading,
backcountry backpacking, and mountaineering I do.
I was considering the VX-6R and VX-8R before I found the FT1DR. The
main reasons I chose the latter over the others are the facts that it
has a built-in GPS, does APRS natively, and has a built-in TNC for data
(if I ever decide to wander down that trail). In other words, I'd buy
this radio even if it didn't operate C4FM (digital voice).
In the interest of disclosure, I do tend to be a Yaesu guy,
but I'm never a blind ambassador to any brand name. I also count an
Icom, an Alinco, and several Baofengs among my gear, and I recommended
a Kenwood TH-F6A to a friend recently.
Now, here comes the VHS v. Beta part:
1) What's the general feeling out there with regard to the digital
voice modes like D-Star and System Fusion (love / hate / too early /
never be standardized / all stink / etc)?
2) With regard to System Fusion, how many of you actually have the
capability, or plan to at some point?
3) Does anyone know whether / how many System Fusion repeaters there
are currently in the greater Houston area? Or of any plans to deploy?
I'm just trying to get a general feel for how useful that particular
feature is likely to be. And to stir up a hornet's nest, of course.
;-)
All opinions / rants / flames welcome.
73,
KF5YHP
--
Ravi
P. Ratnala
CEO
Index
Solutions, Inc.
Two Allen Center
1200 Smith Street, 16th Floor
Houston, TX 77002
(877) INDEX-99
www.indexsolutions.com
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