[bars] Radio Question

Wed May 14 10:53:06 CDT 2025

I would second (or maybe I'm third or fourth in thread) this suggestion -
looking at your QTH per QRZ it appears you may be dealing more with
obstruction than with the distance to repeaters like WB1GOF.  In V/UHF, a
clear line of sight matters a lot, and day-to-day operations will likely
benefit more from a decent antenna up high, than a few extra watts.

You will learn more (and be better to address the points raised by folks
like David) as you operate, which can inform your decision around future
radios, but it's hard to know what you enjoy if nothing's working yet.
Yes, some chicken-and-egg issues here, but if you can borrow a radio or use
some friends' equipment over time you may learn a lot.

73,
Adam / AA1N

On Wed, May 14, 2025 at 11:23 AM Juan Jiménez via bars <bars at w1hh.org>
wrote:

> If you just want to do 2 meter from home I would suggest installing an
> inexpensive J-pole antenna on your roof and running the coax into your
> shack to connect it to your handheld with an adapter. Use one of those
> mikes with a speaker. Then if that doesn't work look for a radio with more
> oomph.
>
> 73,
> K1CPR
> Juan
>
>
> On Wed, May 14, 2025 at 9:03 AM Andy Wallace via bars <bars at w1hh.org>
> wrote:
>
>> Rick, and everyone - congrats on the 7300 and I hope you’ll enjoy it for
>> a long time.
>>
>> I’d like to toot my own horn and point you to an article I did about the
>> IC-7300 particularly highlighting the waterfall and filter settings. It’s
>> in the April 2022 newsletter.
>>
>>
>> https://www.w1hh.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/April2022_BARSNewsletter_Web.pdf
>>
>> I recommend anyone with a 7300 (or an FT-710 etc) get the full manual and
>> explore all menu settings. In my opinion Icom default settings are a good
>> start but improvements can be made to settings and customized to your
>> liking.
>>
>> Good luck in the VHF/UHF rig search too.
>>
>> Andy
>> KA1GTT
>>
>> On May 13, 2025, at 7:54 PM, Richard Heckbert via bars <bars at w1hh.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>>
>>
>> Some of you may remember I posted a while ago that I was looking for a
>> primary rig.  Based on recommendations and budget I had settled on either
>> an ICOM-7300 or a Yaesu FT-991A.  I had heard a lot of great things about
>> both but I was leaning toward the Yaesu as it could do VHF (2m) as well.
>> My Explorer QRZ-1 HT with a SignalStick antenna struggles to be heard a lot
>> of times on the weekly net so I wanted something that might make those
>> contacts a little less frustrating.
>>
>>
>>
>> After asking around, especially on Reddit, I found most people used at
>> least two rigs, one for HF and another for VHF (2m).  The logic was with a
>> shack-in-the-box you could only monitor one at a time, you had a single
>> point of failure and depending on model you had to deal with antenna issues
>> when switching bands.  There also was some talk the Yaesu’s menus took some
>> getting used to and all-in-one radios were a bit of a compromise but single
>> use radios were more suited for their intended function.
>>
>>
>>
>> So, I finally decided on a slightly used ICOM-7300. It belonged to a now
>> SK who bought it just before he got sick and passed so it’s in like new
>> condition.  It also came with a nice power supply and an antenna tuner and
>> I got it for a good price.  Hopefully it will be here fairly soon.
>>
>>
>>
>> Which leaves me with still needing the 2nd half of my shack.  Something
>> that at least does 2m.  People have mentioned various radios like the
>> Anytone AT-778UV as well as TYT TH-9800 (I know, back to the
>> shack-in-a-box) or a Yaesu FT-150 or 300.  Something a bit more powerful
>> than my 5w HT.
>>
>>
>>
>> What does everyone use for VHF and getting on the weekly net?  Do most
>> people have multiple rigs?  Any recommendations for fairly inexpensive
>> can’t-miss rigs?
>>
>>
>>
>> Also, any suggestions for a quick antenna until I can put something more
>> permanent, more larger, more taller, more longer, more expensive, etc. up?
>> Indoors or attic would be ok for now.
>>
>>
>>
>> Lastly, and this part is key!  Any good arguments I can borrow to explain
>> to my wife why I still need a radio even though I just bought one?   I
>> believe her exact words were “Thank goodness, now I don’t have to hear you
>> talk about which radio to get anymore!”  Yeah, about that . . .
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks as always for the great advice I’ve gotten here.
>>
>>
>>
>> Rick
>>
>> W1OLU
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>>
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-- 
"Be well, do good work, and keep in touch." -Garrison Keillor
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