INGO HAM Radio Club

[ditcherman]

I dont know. I always use a data cable and CHIRP to program. Life is too short to try to hand program. LOL

And other than feature details, they are all pretty much the same to program in CHIRP.

BFs are good for playing. Not a fan of the spurious emissions, but if you need a bunch for SHTF, they're cheap and they work well enough.

I cant stress this enough: The data cables are worth double what they cost. I can have ALL channels filled, with PL tones and display names that make sense before you can get the first 5 channels done by hand. Its like working in excel.

Download a copy of CHIRP and play around. Its free and you can load up a sample and play around with the interface.

Haha, I have chirp and thought it was hard. I never even attempted to program the radio itself.
Ok, it was hard because the first cable I got didn’t work and that discouraged me from working on it for 6 months.
The other discouragement is that whenever I would ask a friend a question they would go off the deep end about high end stuff. I KNOW I’m making it harder than is is, somehow.
I have a decent program loaded into my radios with repeater channels, some off road groups, and emergency stuff. I just need to sit down and use it to figure it out.

 

[turnerdye1]

Research this one:

Tytera TH-7800 Dual Band Mobile Two Way Radio

The Tytera TH-7800 is a Dual Band UHF/VHF mobile two way radio with a detachable front panel and cross-band repeater functionality.

www.buytwowayradios.com

I don't have any experience with TYT mobile radios, but I do have a couple of their handhelds, and so far so good with them.
Apparently, the TYT mobiles can be unlocked through the menu to transmit and receive in the GMRS range. I do know someone who bought a TYT mobile a few years back, and it lasted only a few months before it quit working. The newer ones might be better quality. Customer support for the Chinese brands is lacking or non-existent.

Most major brands (ICOM, Yaesu, Kenwood) require a circuit board modification to "open up" the radio to transmit outside of the ham bands. Usually you have to clip a wire or knock a diode off. Some ham radio sellers will do a MARS/CAP modification to a radio if you purchase the radio from them, for an extra fee. The MARS/CAP mod will open up your radio to transmit on GMRS.

If you decide to get a better quality rig than a TYT, I would recommend the ICOM 2730a with MARS/CAP mod. Easy to program with CHIRP, a detachable head unit with large, easy to read screen, and an easy user interface. Absolutely worth the extra money over a TYT or any Chinese brand mobile, if you ask me.

I’ve really looked into the Icom2730a after doing some research. Most retailers will do the Mars mod for an extra 35 bucks. Which I think is reasonable. Only problem is I can’t seem to find any in stock at retailers that do the mod. Most places are back ordered 30 days plus

it could be hit or miss. My UV25x2 from Baofeng will tune to a GMRS frequency. I just checked. But new ones may not. Mine is a year and a half old.

Originally a lot of those cheap 2m/70cm radios were setup to be programmed through wide swaths of the band, which just happened to include GMRS and other frequencies. So the FCC threatened to ban all imports because they COULD be programmed outside of their allowed frequencies. I heard to get around it they started programming the radios to exclude those illegal frequencies. But I cant confirm that.

So maybe order one on Prime and be prepared to send it back?

Do you think the UV50 is worth the extra 100 bucks to get 25 more watts of power. Amazon has the UV25 for 129 and the UV50 for 229. Upon doing research is seems that both the UV25 and UV50 can operate on GMRS but not “legally”

 

[Route 45]

I’ve really looked into the Icom2730a after doing some research. Most retailers will do the Mars mod for an extra 35 bucks. Which I think is reasonable. Only problem is I can’t seem to find any in stock at retailers that do the mod. Most places are back ordered 30 days plus

Looks like it's in stock at Ham Radio Outlet. That's where I bought mine. I've got 3 of them.

$269.95 w/free shipping. Also has a $20 mail-in rebate right now.
Mars mod is $34.95

Link: Ham Radio Outlet - ICOM 2730A

 

[Cameramonkey]

Do you think the UV50 is worth the extra 100 bucks to get 25 more watts of power. Amazon has the UV25 for 129 and the UV50 for 229. Upon doing research is seems that both the UV25 and UV50 can operate on GMRS but not “legally”

I wouldnt, but then again I dont have to try to get very far.

And yes, you can do it practically, but not legally. Follow the rules, stick to GMRS frequencies, and you'll be fine. And nobody will know you arent on a "proper" radio. Part of why they restrict the type certified radios the way they do is to make them idiot proof. If you know what you are doing and properly configure them, you'll be fine. Its idiots that dont know what they are doing are what they are trying to avoid.

 

[turnerdye1]

Looks like it's in stock at Ham Radio Outlet. That's where I bought mine. I've got 3 of them.

$269.95 w/free shipping. Also has a $20 mail-in rebate right now.
Mars mod is $34.95

Link: Ham Radio Outlet - ICOM 2730A

Thanks! I’m gonna order it in the morning with the mod.

What cable are you using to program it? I currently have Chirp and would prefer to use that if possible.

 

[turnerdye1]

I wouldnt, but then again I dont have to try to get very far.

And yes, you can do it practically, but not legally. Follow the rules, stick to GMRS frequencies, and you'll be fine. And nobody will know you arent on a "proper" radio. Part of why they restrict the type certified radios the way they do is to make them idiot proof. If you know what you are doing and properly configure them, you'll be fine. Its idiots that dont know what they are doing are what they are trying to avoid.

Thanks! I think I’m going to end up going with the ICOM currently. Depending if I can program it with chirp

 

[Cameramonkey]

Thanks! I think I’m going to end up going with the ICOM currently. Depending if I can program it with chirp

Supported Radios - CHIRP

Redmine

chirp.danplanet.com

 

[turnerdye1]

https://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Supported_Radios[/URL

http://

Supported Radios - CHIRP

Redmine

chirp.danplanet.com

Thanks!
The UV50 is still in the running. Apparently you have to buy another 100 dollars worth of mounts and accessory’s/cables just to get the Icom2370 up and running.
So it seems I can buy the UV50 and a programming cable and be good to go.

Too many options!

 

[Ingomike]

Thinking about ham radio. I have too many hobbies and this will be just for practical communications. My questions are to find out if I can actually do what I want to accomplish and the difficulty level of achieving this.

First off how does one communicate from Sheridan to Anderson? I have a basic understanding of what repeaters do, but that is it.

How easy is it to listen to news, particularly like during a disaster? The police, fire?

 

[Cameramonkey]

Thinking about ham radio. I have too many hobbies and this will be just for practical communications. My questions are to find out if I can actually do what I want to accomplish and the difficulty level of achieving this.

First off how does one communicate from Sheridan to Anderson? I have a basic understanding of what repeaters do, but that is it.

How easy is it to listen to news, particularly like during a disaster? The police, fire?

You want linked repeaters. An unlinked repeater will allow you to send a signal into the repeater to talk to others around town. To get farther than that you need a trunk that links multiple repeaters together via telephone or internet. WIth that you send a signal into YOUR repeater, and it is transmitted on not only your repeater but also all the other linked repeaters around the state.

Or you need to get your general license and use HF bands which can go MUCH farther. (depending on conditions)

Police and fire? Not as easy anymore. They have gone trunked systems, and it takes a dedicated scanner to do so. But bear in mind many of the channels are encrypted, so you cant listen in on a lot of them. I think the typical regular dispatch channels are open, but tactical channels (where the fun happens during things like riots and hostage situations) you cant listen to.

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Thinking about ham radio. I have too many hobbies and this will be just for practical communications. My questions are to find out if I can actually do what I want to accomplish and the difficulty level of achieving this.

First off how does one communicate from Sheridan to Anderson? I have a basic understanding of what repeaters do, but that is it.

How easy is it to listen to news, particularly like during a disaster? The police, fire?

That's a good hop. But with a high enough antenna on both sides and a little power you can do that on 2m with just a tech lic.

I can almost reach tipton from Indy. If my antenna was a bit higher I could do it.

My buddy in tipton can reach me tho.


Police scanner stuff you would be better off using a dedicated scanner or an app on your phone or you could check out the feeds on radioreference.com


Inhamoperators.com has lots of links to get started.

 

[Cameramonkey]

And if you are wanting just point to point access with a buddy, a kind of private line so to speak, you could both install Yagis on a tower pointed at each other. Its amazing how far you can get when you send the signal where you want it, not just 360* into the ether "to whom it may concern".

And it may not have to be a big tower. Maybe even a mast sticking 20' above your roof if its a light antenna? Thats part of the fun of this hobby; tinkering.

Though I gave up on HF myself. It was always hit or miss, and in hindsight I realized I spend my entire day at work troubleshooting, and when I went home at night I wanted something to "just work". So I sold my HF rig and now just use the occasional repeater and do weather spotter stuff when the weather goes south.

 

[Ingomike]

So I am getting the picture that I cannot get an 8w handheld and a magnet mount antenna and reach Sheridan to Anderson with the repeaters? You guys are probably laughing at me LOL

 

[fullmetaljesus]

So I am getting the picture that I cannot get an 8w handheld and a magnet mount antenna and reach Sheridan to Anderson with the repeaters? You guys are probably laughing at me LOL

If that mag mount antenna is 60ft up maybe

 

[PistolBob]

Are there any GMRS repeaters between Sheridan and Anderson?

 

[Cameramonkey]

Nope. No laughter. We all start at the same place.

 

[Ingomike]

And if you are wanting just point to point access with a buddy, a kind of private line so to speak, you could both install Yagis on a tower pointed at each other. Its amazing how far you can get when you send the signal where you want it, not just 360* into the ether "to whom it may concern".

And it may not have to be a big tower. Maybe even a mast sticking 20' above your roof if its a light antenna? Thats part of the fun of this hobby; tinkering.

Though I gave up on HF myself. It was always hit or miss, and in hindsight I realized I spend my entire day at work troubleshooting, and when I went home at night I wanted something to "just work". So I sold my HF rig and now just use the occasional repeater and do weather spotter stuff when the weather goes south.

What are Yagis?

 

[Ingomike]

So practically, a mobile unit to a mobile unit, with a repeater, Sheridan to Anderson would be impossible?

What ranges are possible with a repeater?

 

[Cameramonkey]

Yagi antennas are directional. For focusing the RF in one direction for maximum range to a specific location. Omnis are great for reaching out to a specific remote contact. Like a satellite, or in your case, a specific contact far away.

Think of it like a garden hose. How far does the water spray when you set the nozzle to cone and point it straight up? It goes a little in each direction. Now set the nozzle to stream and see how far that stream goes when you point it one direction. MUCH farther because all the water is concentrated in the direction you want it to go.

 

[fullmetaljesus]

High gain highly directional antenna