<div dir="ltr">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. <div><br></div><div><div>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. </div></div><div><br>73,</div><div>Adam / AA1N</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, May 14, 2025 at 11:23\u202fAM Juan Jiménez via bars <<a href="mailto:bars@w1hh.org">bars@w1hh.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>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.</div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><br><div>73,<div>K1CPR</div><div>Juan</div></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, May 14, 2025 at 9:03\u202fAM Andy Wallace via bars <<a href="mailto:bars@w1hh.org" target="_blank">bars@w1hh.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto"><div dir="ltr"></div><div dir="ltr">Rick, and everyone - congrats on the 7300 and I hope you\u2019ll enjoy it for a long time. </div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">I\u2019d 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\u2019s in the April 2022 newsletter. </div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.w1hh.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/April2022_BARSNewsletter_Web.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.w1hh.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/April2022_BARSNewsletter_Web.pdf</a></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">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. </div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Good luck in the VHF/UHF rig search too. </div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Andy</div><div dir="ltr">KA1GTT</div><div dir="ltr"><br>On May 13, 2025, at 7:54\u202fPM, Richard Heckbert via bars <<a href="mailto:bars@w1hh.org" target="_blank">bars@w1hh.org</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><div dir="ltr">\ufeff
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt">Hi all,<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt">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.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt">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\u2019s 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.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt">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\u2019s 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.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt">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.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt">What does everyone use for VHF and getting on the weekly net? Do most people have multiple rigs? Any recommendations for fairly inexpensive can\u2019t-miss rigs?<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt">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.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt">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 \u201cThank goodness, now I don\u2019t have
to hear you talk about which radio to get anymore!\u201d Yeah, about that . . . <u></u>
<u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt">Thanks as always for the great advice I\u2019ve gotten here.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt">Rick<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt">W1OLU<u></u><u></u></span></p>
</div>
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