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Two of my friends have the FT-991. I’ve spent some time helping one of them. I have the FTDX10 and an FT-891. For a beginner wanting a single full power radio that does HF, VHF, and UHF, the FT-991 and the Icom IC-7100 are about the only games in town. An IC-705 with an amplifier would be another all band option. Gigaparts recently had an overstock sale selling the IC-7100 without mentioning its name. It was about $300 off. If I were advising someone to get an HF radio on a bit of a budget, I would recommend the Yaesu FT-710. If you put stock in the Sherwood Report It’s got a better receiver than anything from Icom. It definitely has a great display, improved ergonomics compared to the ftdx10 (which I have) and can be had on sale from time to time for about $800. It doesn’t do 2 meters and 70 centimeters like the ft-991, but I would probably prefer a second radio for that anyway for the flexibility. There a many older radios out there, but once you’ve used a newer radio with a nice high resolution display of the nearby spectrum showing where there’s activity you’ll be spoiled. The IC-7300, FT-710, and the FTDx10 have really nice scopes on a touch screen, so when you see a peak you want to explore a quick poke and final tuning and you’re there. The 991 has a spectrum scope too, but it’s much smaller and I don’t believe you can touch it to tune. The IC-7300 also has a built in SWR sweep function that none of the Yaesu radios have. In fact the 7300 has the ability to be switched to emergency mode, which reduces the RF output to about 50 watts, but allows you to use the built in antenna match for a relatively high SWR antenna (much higher than the 3.0:1 SWR which can usually be tuned). Each has its unique advantages.

I'm partial to my Yaesu FT-891. It doesn't do 2 meters or 70 cm, which is fine with me. I have other radios for that. But in my humble opinion, it's the best deal out there for a hundred watt HF/6 meter radio. Also, a friend of mine loves his Xiegu G-90. Cheaper, not as many watts, but you get a built-in tuner, which the FT-891 doesn't have.

In my opinion, the Icom IC-7300 or the Yaesu FT-991a are your two best options. The 7300 has better receive sensitivity and a better display but the 991a has 2m and 70cm.

Ham Radio Outlet has several radios set up for people to try. You might enjoy test driving some radios. The IC-7300 probably has more YouTube videos explaining its features and operation than any other radio. It’s a great beginner radio. The Yaesu FT-710 is a direct competitor of the IC-7300, but more recently released. Pricing for the 710 is better than the 7300. Both have direct conversion front ends. That’s not a bad thing despite what some hams would say. Traditional radios were superheterodyne and analog from the antenna to the speaker. Direct conversion radios go from the antenna to an analog to digital converter and then do everything digitally until converting back to analog and delivering to the speaker. The FTDx10 is a hybrid with the HF handled in the analog domain before being converted to a much lower frequency where it goes through an analog to digital conversion. All signal processing is done in digital before converting back to analog and sent to the speaker.

Since I'm in a condo with no option for a permanent antenna, I have it in a go box along with an MFJ-945e manual tuner and an FTM7250. It runs off a 35 ah AGM battery on a maintainer. At home it identifies as a base station with a temporary antenna, but next weekend it will run on solar and identify as a field station.

You did say "beginner in the Thread title, but any HF rig can be used by a beginner or an expert! But to look at basic, no frills rigs, one still in production is the Icom 718. Has DSP, but no many bells and whistles. Lacks 6 meters. Can't recall off hand if it does FM for 10 meters. Have seen a few at our monthly (non POTA) Hams in the Park gatherings here in the Twin Cities, and am impressed in the RX and TX from this solid rig. Used, you'll be looking at things like the Yaesu FT-450D. Very excellent rigs for beginner and expert alike. It's the mainstay of my Shack and even were I to upgrade, it's never leaving! Internal Tuner, DSP, 6 meters, all modes. A soldier on digital modes. Other used, late model rigs to look for are the Icom 706G MkII. If you're looking to operate mobile, my hands down recommend is the Yaesu FT-891. Have had mine in the truck just over a year now, and it's a solid performer. Lacks an internal tuner (moot point as I run the ATAS-120A tunable antenna) and is a bit menu driven, but the rx/tx results are very good. Older rigs in the mobile area will be things like The Icom 7100 (still in production?, I'm not a Icom guy) or Yaesu FT 857 - 897 - 818 - 818. Hope this helps, Dave WRJG283/ N0TXW

The 7300 has a built in sound card allowing for easy use of digital modes, such as FT8

I didn't even consider that, which is bad, given I have one in the Jeep. That is a rock star radio as far as just simply communicating goes. Audio filters are really good too, and it has the ability to switch an amp as well as run digital modes. I suppose because it's a no frills mobile, I didn't think of it as a base station, but it can definitely be used as an affordable option.

I appreciate your taking the time and effort to test these and post the results. I've built both the copper J-pole (but not a slim-jim) and the Ed Fong for two meters. I found that the copper J-pole did better, but it was very susceptible to detuning if there was anything near it. But if you can get these things in the open, they're effective. I hear folks fairly often doing Summits On The Air on 5 watts using Ed Fongs, from 40-50 miles away. Of course, there's people here who don't like anything.

Your other posts mention a couple of Wouxton radios; KG1000G and an 805G. Those are both nice radios, but I've never seen a two-way radio that scans anywhere near as fast as a dedicated handheld or desktop scanner like even a basic Uniden BC125. A scanner like that would scan through 100 memory slots in two to four seconds. Things slow down if there's traffic, of course, and even if you've got PL tones set on the scanner, it has to pause long enough to hear the tone. So there are limits. But a dedicated scanner from 20 years ago will beat most two-way radios in scan mode.

No.

I'm surprised no one has tried it and reported. Time for an experiment...

Become a member of the Arizona GMRS Repeater Club at az.gmrs.org. Besides having access to their linked repeaters, the Club has Ambassadors that help new members with their radio equipment and programming needs.

Could be it was listed incorrectly, but since it’s privately owned it’s always best to show appreciation. Arguing with the owner seems like a bad idea…

On the three recent radios I picked up for GMRS, only the Retevis RA-87 was preprogramed with CTCSS and DCS Tones. Both the DB20-G and the GM-30 from Radioddity came with no tones!. Quick work with the laptop fixed the RA87. Deleted the tones on the shared channels, except the ones wifeypoo and I use, and corrected the repeater tones for the 6 local repeaters hereabouts....

You can't go by that. If you requested access, the repeater owner is notified via email immediately. I'm obviously logged in and this is what shows up for me

I would tune it 2 1/2 MHz over the repeater's transmit.

Yes. I have two. Both are installed outside, exposed to the weather. The only modifications would be the replacement of the SO239 with a Type N.

I don't know the terrain or topography you are working with but your results are definitely not great and I can understand your concerns. I just wanted to drop a comment in here that I have two RT97s running out in the weather for 2 and 3 years now. Each of them gets range in excess of 20 miles, but I have height working for me as they are placed on mountain tops. Neither have had issues with water ingress of the RT97 itself or the LMR240/400 knock off cables feeding the antennas. These units are just strapped to back of 60 watt solar panels, no additional housing. All my coax connections are type N. I swapped out the "UHF" connection on the RT97. I covered each connection with self-fusing rubber tape (3M Temflex 2155) and Scotch 33. https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-3-4-in-x-22-ft-Temflex-Splicing-Tape-Gray-2155/202195401?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwjqWzBhAqEiwAQmtgT71-nMAnjU6Cg_oDfWybhJEd8tsCk2MJwSLI8WmaK9KsCCLlJKqNjBoCDGsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds I posted this hoping to provide some encouragement.

This seems to have it working currently, hope it can be useful for anyone else.

Phelps-Dodge is/was a quality brand product. I wouldn't throw it away. I would returned it and use it.

Every station is required to ID once every 15 minutes and at the end of the conversation whether you’re on a repeater or simplex. You are not required to identify as different units when the call sign is shared amongst family members, but you might want to. In reality very few people follow the identification rules and nobody has died as a result.

Without the specific tone you will hear everyone in range. The purpose of the tone is to blank-out everyone except for who is using that specific tone.

You’re responding to a nearly 3 year old thread, but here’s another thread that might help your understanding:

Talk to them just like you would on a phone call. "WRVM969 <Person being called's name> are you on?" As you are both under the same call sign, only one needs to give the call sign.

I am interested in the linked repeaters. Could someone explain in detail how the system works? How are these connected over the internet(do I need to be connected to a computer other than raspberry pi, is the raspberry pi wifi)? Will the Retevis work like a normal repeater locally and also connect over the internet to another repeater in a different location hundreds of miles away? Are there youtube videos of how this works? Are there any limitations or disadvantages using a linked GMRS repeater? Thank you