WSFL951 Posted Sunday at 05:29 AM Report Posted Sunday at 05:29 AM What's your favorite radio? Mine is a UV-5R and 5RH for HAM, and for GMRS, it is an APX 8000 and GM5RH. Quote
OffRoaderX Posted Sunday at 06:32 AM Report Posted Sunday at 06:32 AM After having used a few radios I have settled on: Motorola XTL5000 in both my Jeeps Motorola XTS5000 for couch-based comms Rocky Talkie 5W for foot-based adventure Quote
DominoDog Posted Sunday at 06:54 AM Report Posted Sunday at 06:54 AM Well these are the radios I have and not the radios I would have if I were made of money, but I have a Yaesu FT1XD for amateur band 2m and 70cm, and a Wouxun KG-935G+ for my GMRS lifestyle. I have a SDRPlay RSP1B and a Moonraker discone for playing radio at home. Quote
tcp2525 Posted Sunday at 12:17 PM Report Posted Sunday at 12:17 PM For GMRS, I use the Vertex VX-4207 in house and truck. For GMRS/Ham HTs, I use the Anytone D878UVii. For Ham in my other vehicles it's a mixture of the world famous and much coveted Kenwood TM-V71a dual bander and Yeasu FTM-400XDRs. Each of my motorcycles are equipped with the V71a. WSGL775 1 Quote
WSFL951 Posted Sunday at 02:21 PM Author Report Posted Sunday at 02:21 PM Does anyone have an icom-7300 for Ham? Quote
kidphc Posted Sunday at 02:23 PM Report Posted Sunday at 02:23 PM For GMRS, I use the Vertex VX-4207 in house and truck. For GMRS/Ham HTs, I use the Anytone D878UVii. For Ham in my other vehicles it's a mixture of the world famous and much coveted Kenwood TM-V71a dual bander and Yeasu FTM-400XDRs. Each of my motorcycles are equipped with the V71a. I know those mounts.. at least it think i know the owner/fabricator for that goldiee...Either case, back to the op.My current favoriteamateur/gmrs ht that i grab, is the Harris XG100P. Dream is the APX8500 HT.For mobile, it's the XG100M and FTM400XDR both suit different digital modes.For the base, I use either the CDM1250 or XTL5000 for GMRS. The FT991a for everything else amateur related, can't mod the UHF/VHF side sadly.Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk tcp2525 1 Quote
SvenMarbles Posted Sunday at 03:34 PM Report Posted Sunday at 03:34 PM Lately, my favorite has been a simple DB-20G (unlocked) I put out in my truck. I made a post about it a couple of weeks ago. It just works perfectly for it's use case. tcp2525 1 Quote
WSEZ864 Posted Sunday at 03:39 PM Report Posted Sunday at 03:39 PM 1 hour ago, WSFL951 said: Does anyone have an icom-7300 for Ham? Not yet, but am about 2 paydays from buying one. They really are great radios. I bought a Kenwood TS-590 (pre-G) when I first got my license and while it has been a very nice radio, I am drawn to the bandscope/SDR style screen of the IC-7300. I have been using an SDRPlay dual channel SDR for receive only and would love to have a radio with similar display function. Quote
tcp2525 Posted Sunday at 03:41 PM Report Posted Sunday at 03:41 PM 6 minutes ago, SvenMarbles said: Lately, my favorite has been a simple DB-20G (unlocked) I put out in my truck. I made a post about it a couple of weeks ago. It just works perfectly for it's use case. Love the DB20!! Quote
tcp2525 Posted Sunday at 03:42 PM Report Posted Sunday at 03:42 PM 1 hour ago, WSFL951 said: Does anyone have an icom-7300 for Ham? Nope, but thinking about getting one for portable use. I'm presently using the Icom 7610 and 9100. Quote
SteveShannon Posted Sunday at 04:54 PM Report Posted Sunday at 04:54 PM 2 hours ago, WSFL951 said: Does anyone have an icom-7300 for Ham? A friend of mine does. I have the Yaesu FTDX10. It has a “measurably*” better receiver than the IC-7300, but the IC-7300 has what I think is a better user interface and features like the ability to sweep the SWR of an antenna, not just report on the instantaneous SWR while transmitting. Another friend of mine has the Yaesu FT-710, which is the radio that’s closest to the 7300 in terms of construction. I think either the IC-7300 or the FT710 would be ideal radios for a new ham interested in HF. *Measurably - based on the Sherwood Report which tries to evaluate the performance of receivers analytically. WRUU653 1 Quote
RIPPER238 Posted Sunday at 05:20 PM Report Posted Sunday at 05:20 PM I like my Q10H for the most versatility, but I'm sure i would prefer some of the better Ham radio manufacturers if i really delved into Ham. Just got a KG935G Plus and its pretty awesome for GMRS, love the features and i really couldn't find anything equivalent. Even without a budget. Quote
WSEZ864 Posted Sunday at 07:48 PM Report Posted Sunday at 07:48 PM 2 hours ago, SteveShannon said: *Measurably - based on the Sherwood Report which tries to evaluate the performance of receivers analytically. I bought my TS-590 based on Sherwood's receive sensitivity ratings, but gave up ground on noise suppression technology. SteveShannon 1 Quote
gortex2 Posted Monday at 11:07 AM Report Posted Monday at 11:07 AM For GMRS I use a mix of Motorola LMR gear and Midland for the KISS method. Ham is mostly on Motorola gear but APRS is on the TMD700 and FTM400 in my vehicles. Work truck is only MSI gear so use it for all. kidphc 1 Quote
WRYZ926 Posted Monday at 03:53 PM Report Posted Monday at 03:53 PM On 1/26/2025 at 8:21 AM, WSFL951 said: Does anyone have an icom-7300 for Ham? Yes I have an Icom IC-7300 and it is a nice radio for HF and 6m. It works well for SSB and digital modes. Jaay 1 Quote
Lscott Posted Monday at 05:15 PM Report Posted Monday at 05:15 PM >Your favorite GMRS radio/HAM< Sort of hard to choose. I get bored with one I start playing with another model. Lately I've been more interested in the digital radios. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/249-my-radio-collection/?context=new The one I usually carry around for GMRS is the Kenwood TK-3170, analog only. It's small enough to fit in a shirt pocket and has enough channels to cover the service including local repeaters. While the official lower frequency limit is 450MHz it will work very well down into the repeater section of the Ham 70cm band so I can cover both services with that. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/263-tk-3170jpg/?context=new There is a VHF version of the radio. Those make really nice 2M radios. Frequency range of those are 136-174MHz. Good for the full Ham 2M band, MURS, VHF marine, analog railroad communications and the NOAA weather service broadcasts. Those disappear really quick at swaps for obvious reasons. When I'm out walking around for exorcise at a local mall, and not at the gym, I use one of the digital radios since the mall security uses that mode. I monitor their communications to have something to do while walking. Every once in a while you hear something going on of interest. https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/290-nx-1300duk5/?context=new Quote
WSFL951 Posted yesterday at 12:49 AM Author Report Posted yesterday at 12:49 AM On 1/27/2025 at 11:15 AM, Lscott said: >Your favorite GMRS radio/HAM< Sort of hard to choose. I get bored with one I start playing with another model. Lately I've been more interested in the digital radios. Do you like the Anytone AT-D168UV handheld transceiver? it works great. Quote
WSFL951 Posted yesterday at 01:03 AM Author Report Posted yesterday at 01:03 AM On 1/26/2025 at 9:39 AM, WSEZ864 said: Not yet, but am about 2 paydays from buying one. They really are great radios. I bought a Kenwood TS-590 (pre-G) when I first got my license and while it has been a very nice radio, I am drawn to the bandscope/SDR style screen of the IC-7300. I have been using an SDRPlay dual channel SDR for receive only and would love to have a radio with similar display function. I am really confused about the power supplies used by Icom. Quote
tweiss3 Posted yesterday at 01:23 AM Report Posted yesterday at 01:23 AM 16 minutes ago, WSFL951 said: I am really confused about the power supplies used by Icom. What confuses you? Icom does not come with an internal power supply, you must provide your own 12v (13.8v) power source that can provide enough amps for the radio. 7300 requires over 21A, 7610 requires over 23A and the 9700 requires over 18A. I'll revise my statement, the 7851 has an internal power supply. SteveShannon 1 Quote
WSFL951 Posted yesterday at 01:51 AM Author Report Posted yesterday at 01:51 AM 26 minutes ago, tweiss3 said: What confuses you? Icom does not come with an internal power supply, you must provide your own 12v (13.8v) power source that can provide enough amps for the radio. 7300 requires over 21A, 7610 requires over 23A and the 9700 requires over 18A. I'll revise my statement, the 7851 has an internal power supply. It seems I didn't have the correct power supplies. Thank you for your response. Quote
tweiss3 Posted yesterday at 01:53 AM Report Posted yesterday at 01:53 AM Just now, WSFL951 said: It seems I didn't have the correct power supplies. Thank you for your response. What were you trying to use as a power supply? I currently use some pretty darn cheap power supplies until I pony up for a real one with battery backup. I have batteries as a backup, but it involves pulling the powerpole from the PS and swapping it to the battery box. If you get a good 30A power supply, you should have zero problems with any single "base" radio. If you get a power supply that needs adjusted, you tune it for 13.8V with zero load. Quote
WSFL951 Posted yesterday at 01:56 AM Author Report Posted yesterday at 01:56 AM 1 minute ago, tweiss3 said: What were you trying to use as a power supply? I currently use some pretty darn cheap power supplies until I pony up for a real one with battery backup. I have batteries as a backup, but it involves pulling the powerpole from the PS and swapping it to the battery box. If you get a good 30A power supply, you should have zero problems with any single "base" radio. If you get a power supply that needs adjusted, you tune it for 13.8V with zero load. I have RPS-30M Quote
tweiss3 Posted yesterday at 02:03 AM Report Posted yesterday at 02:03 AM 7 minutes ago, WSFL951 said: I have RPS-30M That should run almost any 100W base station radio, its rated to 25A continuous. Quote
Jaay Posted yesterday at 03:35 AM Report Posted yesterday at 03:35 AM On 1/25/2025 at 11:29 PM, WSFL951 said: What's your favorite radio? Mine is a UV-5R and 5RH for HAM, and for GMRS, it is an APX 8000 and GM5RH. My Yaesu FT 991A for Ham activities, my Kenwood TK-880 for Gmrs, and my Yaesu FT 70D if I'm on foot, among Others. Quote
Lscott Posted yesterday at 05:31 AM Report Posted yesterday at 05:31 AM 4 hours ago, WSFL951 said: Do you like the Anytone AT-D168UV handheld transceiver? it works great. I have two of the D878UV’s, the original models. They work mostly OK. The programming software is a mess. It has a lot of features jumbled together on some of the screens. The worse part is that the editing isn’t consistent. Some table entries you can cut and paste between cells, other tables you can’t. They seem to have a habit of fixing some editing bugs in the next release, and then f-up something else. Just for fun I installed the programming software for the D168 when it first came out. It took me only a few minutes before stumbling across various bugs. Strange the exact same screens and features are in the D878 software, but don’t exhibit the same bugs. I guess the programmers for the two radios don’t talk to each other. Typical poor Chinese quality control. They would be far better off concentrating on fixing firmware and radio programming software bugs over adding more features. Features that don’t work are no features at all. SteveShannon 1 Quote
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