Anyone on 10M FM 28.300-28.500MHz in the Phoenix area?

[SteveShannon]

3 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

The 7300MkII does seem to be a good upgrade. If I was in the market for a new HF base station, I would probably get the 730MkII versus the 7300. There is nothing wrong with the 7300 and I have been using mine for a while now with zero issues. But the upgrades on the MkII are worth if you don't already have a radio.

That’s how I feel also.  I have the Yaesu FTDX10 and I really like it.  Great receiver and I’ve learned the interface, but I think for a beginner the ic7300 or the upgraded version would be ideal.  From all reports I’ve seen the Icom radios have more intuitive features.

[WRYZ926]

I own the IC-7300 and the FTDX10. The 7300 definitely has an easier to use and simpler menu. Both are good transceivers. Another good one for new amateurs is the Yaesu FT-710. The FT-710 is close to the same price as the original 7300 while the FTDX10 and 7300MkII are close to the same price.

It was actually cheaper to buy the 7300 than it was to send the FTDX10 back to Yaesu to get the bad USB port repaired. Yaesu wanted $900 to fix my FTDX10 and I bought the lightly used 7300 for $700 from a fellow club member that only used it a few times.

[SteveShannon]

12 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

I own the IC-7300 and the FTDX10. The 7300 definitely has an easier to use and simpler menu. Both are good transceivers. Another good one for new amateurs is the Yaesu FT-710. The FT-710 is close to the same price as the original 7300 while the FTDX10 and 7300MkII are close to the same price.

It was actually cheaper to buy the 7300 than it was to send the FTDX10 back to Yaesu to get the bad USB port repaired. Yaesu wanted $900 to fix my FTDX10 and I bought the lightly used 7300 for $700 from a fellow club member that only used it a few times.

I completely agree. 
I was frustrated for you when you were trying to get yaesu to fix that. That’s a perfect example of how a company can shoot themselves in the foot and lose customers. 

[WRYZ926]

When Yaesu told me it was going to be $900 to fix my FTDX10, I told them that I would buy a new IC-7300 for $100 more instead. Another guy had the USB port go out on his FTDX101. Yaesu fixed for free under warranty but then told him not to use the port. Yaesu also told him if the port went out again that he would be charged $900 to repair it even if the radio was still under warranty,

Yaesu has burned a lot of people over the bad USB ports on the FTDX101, FTDX10, and FT991. I am surprised that we have not started seeing the FT710 have the same issues. What happens is the USB port either gets is firmware scrambled or the controller gets blown if you plug the USB cable in while the computer and radio are both powered on. Yaesu knows of the issue but won't correct it.

For those with Yaesu base transceivers. Always make sure that the radio AND computer are both powered off before plugging the USB cable in or unplugging the cable.

[Northcutt114]

9 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

Don't look at any of the 100 watt base radios then. I have an Icom IC-7300 HF radio. They are around $1000 new. I bought mine used for a good deal. The Yaesu base radios cost about the same. And forget about looking at Kenwood base radios.

I would love to have the Icom IC-9700 VHF/UHF base radio but those are $2000. That is on my "someday" wishlist.

Oh yeah...they get pricey, ricky tick.

Honestly, the QRP game is where I forsee spending most of my time in Ham. I'm currently putting this G90 in a Harbor Freight pelican style case and building out a POTA bag. I hooked it up, put the latest firmware on it and tied on a 13' vertical antenna just off the deck. Picked up a CW conversation on 18.080 that I was able to follow thanks to the CW decoder on the radio. I was grinning like an idiot. My wife walked by and just said "You're so weird." 

[TNFrank]

What I find crazy is that 11M CB radios are fairly plentiful and inexpensive but 10M radios are fewer and the cheapest ones are $150-$200. Why are they so much more than 11M CB radios? Granted, power is a bit of a consideration but does it really make the cost that much more?

[WRYZ926]

The G90 makes a great POTA radio. I have one of mine is a Harbor Freight Apache case along with room for the coax and my iPad (for logging and spotting). The G90 is the sweet spot at 20 watts. Used with a good resonant antenna and it will get out as good as a 100 watt radio. And it will use less battery power. I have a separate small battery box with 4 10AH batteries in it that will run the G90 for quite a while.

I also have another Apache case setup with a mini computer, portable monitor and an Icom IC-706MkIIG that I can run digital modes and Winlink. I set that kit up for EMCOM use as we use Winlink to pass information to our county EMA which then uses Winlink to pass the info to the state EMA.

I also hae a Xiegu X6200. I am putting together a nice light weight setup for it. I have a QRP EFHW and a QRP off center fed dipole to use with it. It currently sits in a smaller Apache case but I am looking at different bags to put everything in. I also have a Radioddity DB25-D that is going into a 50 cal ammo can with an antenna mount on the side of it.

[TNFrank]

The G90 is nice but at $465 it's more than double my budget. $200 is about where I need to stay. 

[Northcutt114]

11 minutes ago, TNFrank said:

The G90 is nice but at $465 it's more than double my budget. $200 is about where I need to stay. 

Sell some more silver. It's worth it. The waterfall is going to be really, really nice for finding people.

 

[SteveShannon]

Don’t be in a rush to buy a radio that you’ll soon outgrow. A year ago you didn’t think you could pass the exam.  Inside of this new year you’ll get your general.

[WRYZ926]

I agree with @SteveShannon don't waste money on a radio that you will outgrow. It won't hurt to have a radio that works on all of the HF bands even if you can't use all of the bands as a technician. You might as well study for the general and take the test. It opens up so much more for you on the HF bands. Plus the General test is not any harder than the technician test.

You can't use any of the 10m FM repeaters until you are a general. You are limited to a narrow portion of the band on SSB and CW. 

Even if you never upgrade to general, you might decide to learn CW. And you have CW privileges on 15m, 40m, and 80m as a technician.

Plus 10m will be totally dead in a year or two and will stay dead for years. It's part of the natural sun cycle.

Save up your change for a decent radio. The G90 is a good radio for the price. Radioddity has bundle sales on the G90 all of the time.

 

 

[TNFrank]

The Retevis Ailunce HS4 is a full 10M radio and covers more Bandwidth than I can use right now and even if I got my General there's no 10M Repeaters in my area so it wouldn't matter. All I need is 28.3-28.5MHz SSB capabilities and I'll be good. Truth be told I'm not using my RT95 like I wanted to on 2M and 70cm. That would be more "practical" since we're covered up in 2M and 70cm Repeaters in my area. 10M just sounds like fun because of the range you can get. 

When 10M shuts down will it be totally useless or could I still make contacts State wide? 

[WRYS709]

1 hour ago, TNFrank said:

When 10M shuts down will it be totally useless or could I still make contacts State wide? 

It will become like 2 meters; but for simplex, instead of line of sight, it is on ground wave with repeaters giving more range.

[warthog74]

14 hours ago, TNFrank said:

What I find crazy is that 11M CB radios are fairly plentiful and inexpensive but 10M radios are fewer and the cheapest ones are $150-$200. Why are they so much more than 11M CB radios?

AM only 11 meter radios are cheap yes, but if you want a CB with AM/FM and SSB they end up being pretty similar in price. The Retevis HS4 is a really nice radio for the price. On sale you can find them for roughly $175. After an easy (front panel button press) modification they will cover 10, 11, and 12 meter making the radio much more useable.

If you can bump your budget up to $300, look on eBay for used HF equipment. I recently picked up a MINT condition Icom IC-735 for $265 from an estate sale. FB market place, craigslist, and goodwill have some good deals at times also. You really need to be on top of it every day though to find and snag the best deals.

[WRYS709]

4 hours ago, warthog74 said:

IF you can bump your budget up to $300, look on eBay for used HF equipment. I recently picked up a MINT condition Icom IC-735 for $265 from an estate sale. FB market place, craigslist, and goodwill have some good deals at times also. You really need to be on top of it every day though to find and snag the best deals.

I wanted to explore POTA with an Icom IC-705 on a Black Friday projected price savings. Every day leading up to BF, I did multiple searches. 

Two days before BF, I came across an 705 used on Mercari at 50% of the retail list price. 

I snapped it up with much positive experiences since it arrived and followed up with a subsequent purchase at 50% of his used Xiegu XPA125B 100 watt amplifier from the same seller!

YMMV

[SteveShannon]

some of the best opportunities for great prices are at local swap meets. I had been looking for an ic-706 mkiig and I found one for $75. 

[WRYZ926]

Used deals can be found if yo are patient. I paid $400 for my Icom IC-706MkIIG all band/all mode radio. It came with several extra filters installed, an amp interface, MARS mod, Digirig, vehicle mount, and all cables.

Everything was in the original box. Yes the box does not add much value to the radio. But it does show that it was well taken care of. I also got the full manual along with paperwork where the seller took the radio to a shop to have the filters installed and the radio checked.

[WRYS709]

3 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

Used deals can be found if yo are patient. I paid $400 for my Icom IC-706MkIIG all band/all mode radio. It came with several extra filters installed, an amp interface, MARS mod, Digirig, vehicle mount, and all cables.

The funny irony is that I purchased the Yaesu FT-817 29 years ago and after 5 years of QRP frustration, I sold it on eBay and have been enjoying a 100 watt FT-857d instead.  Now, 29 years later, with a plethora of portable antenna choices and POTA, I am sure I will be enjoying QRP this time around! 

[WRYZ926]

I enjoy my G90 and X6200. A good antenna definitely helps when you are running 20 watts or less.

[WRYS709]

10 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

I enjoy my G90 and X6200. A good antenna definitely helps when you are running 20 watts or less.

A good antenna is essential when you are running QRP!

[WRYZ926]

5 hours ago, WRYS709 said:

A good antenna is essential when you are running QRP!

Absolutely. The REZ antenna setup I have was a bit pricy compared to similar antennas on Amazon but the REZ works well. I have the Recon 40 and the Scout bases. I switched from the 4 33ft long ground radials to 24 8.6ft radials and saw a good improvement. I am also using a good quality coax, 30 ft of RG213 from ABR Industries.

I have done better with my G90 and the REZ tuned for the band compared to guys using a 100 watt radio and something like an EFHW where they have to use a tuner.

[TNFrank]

Ordered the HS4. Unlocked it'll not only do 10M but 12M too so if I ever did get my General I'd have 12M to play with. It also will do 11M CB but it's not Typed for that so it'd not be legal.

[WRYS709]

2 hours ago, TNFrank said:

Ordered the HS4. 

I don't know that radio, but enjoy band openings with SSB!

And then when the band seems dead, that is the time to do FT8 digital low propagation mode and make contacts that you cannot hear SSB.  Unfortunately I can't find you a tutorial on setting up FT8 on your computer with that radio.  I am sure one of the local "experts" will guide you along for FT8.

[WRYZ926]

From what I could find, one would have to make a custom cable to go from the HS4 to a sound card in order to connect it to a computer to run FT8. 

That's part of the reason I suggested saving up more to get a G90 or a good used all band/all mode radio. Most are easy to connect to a computer.

[TNFrank]

It comes with a programing cable that's micro-usb to usb-a. I'd figure that cable would work but I'm not really interested in FT8, I want to talk to people.