900 MHz radios

[N2MWE]

Originally Posted by 990adv

Alinco DJ-G29

Saw the radio on Universal's website. 1 watt on 220 and 900. It will be interesting to see the MSRP.

[990adv]

One watt per band would be a great disappointment. The Alinco reps at Dayton told me 5w on 220 and 2w on 900. No word on price.

[N2MWE]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9650; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.8+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.524 Mobile Safari/534.8+)

Originally Posted by 990adv

One watt per band would be a great disappointment. The Alinco reps at Dayton told me 5w on 220 and 2w on 900. No word on price.

Maybe the Universal site had a typo. I can't see selling a dual band 220/900 that does only one watt.

[canav844]

Originally Posted by N2MWE

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9650; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.8+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.524 Mobile Safari/534.8+)



Maybe the Universal site had a typo. I can't see selling a dual band 220/900 that does only one watt.

I'm not seeing any mention of power on universal's site as it stands right now
Alinco DJ-G29T, Alinco DJG29T HT

[N2MWE]

Originally Posted by canav844

I'm not seeing any mention of power on universal's site as it stands right now
Alinco DJ-G29T, Alinco DJG29T HT

The Alinco DJ-G29T 222 / 900 MHz dual band HT built to stand up to the elements! It is ruggedly built to IPX7 standards meaning it can be submersed in 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. This radio transmits with a 1 watt on both bands.

It was on the top of the page

[Wyandotte]

Would not suprise me if the Universal page is right,
Alinco likes to make low power radios, even half watt handhelds.

I think those who play on 900 would agree with me, when I suggest you stay away from a handheld that will only do a watt or two on the band. This band is a lot like cell phones, move three feet one way or the other, and have your signal go from full quieting to barely breaking the squelch.

[MOONBOOTS]

Remember, even a current Motorola MTX9250 puts out 2.5 watts. Not 4, or 5. GARY N4KVE

[zz0468]

One watt or five, this could be the shot in the arm 900 MHz needs. I'll take it as excellent news.

[W2NJS]

I had a 900 mHz GTX mobile installed in my car a couple of years ago. Output was about ten watts to a unity gain antenna. The repeater being used was a good distance, maybe ten miles, away and the results were always unacceptable. Probably should have at least had a 5/8 wave antenna. Now running a 15-watt Spectra from home to a 9db gain Comet on the roof about 30 feet up and it's DFQ into the same repeater, so the answer would seem to be that you need a good 30 or 40 watts on a 900 mobile to get any kind of reliability unless you're in the immediate area of the repeater. A 1-watt HT is great at a hamfest or other simplex applications but for repeater use it's going to present problems, based on my experience.

[MOONBOOTS]

Originally Posted by W2NJS

I had a 900 mHz GTX mobile installed in my car a couple of years ago. Output was about ten watts to a unity gain antenna. The repeater being used was a good distance, maybe ten miles, away and the results were always unacceptable. Probably should have at least had a 5/8 wave antenna. Now running a 15-watt Spectra from home to a 9db gain Comet on the roof about 30 feet up and it's DFQ into the same repeater, so the answer would seem to be that you need a good 30 or 40 watts on a 900 mobile to get any kind of reliability unless you're in the immediate area of the repeater. A 1-watt HT is great at a hamfest or other simplex applications but for repeater use it's going to present problems, based on my experience.

I couldn't have said it better myself. When I was looking for a GTX mobile, I held out until I found a 30 watt version. You need all the help on 900 that you can get. I also have a Larson gain antenna on the car to help even more. I hear the repeater great, but there's so much crap at 902 mhz trying to get into the repeater, that every DB helps. Between the cordless phones, baby monitors etc, it's a struggle to get over the popping noise. The repeater I use in Palm Beach is simulcast with a UHF repeater. I like to use the 900 side, but when I'm noisy, I switch to the UHF side. Now my buddy in Miami has a 900 machine, but it's on the Industrial tower where they have a 900 trunking system at 800 ft. He actually uses their receiving antenna for his repeater, & his system rocks. HT coverage for 2 counties, but that's rare for 900. While people say the extra 20 watts doesn't do much for VHF, or UHF, it sure helps on 900. GARY N4KVE

[AK4GA]

Originally Posted by 990adv

Saw a new model HT from Alinco at Dayton this weekend. 220Mhz and 900MHz.

I will be buying one as soon as they are available for purchase.

This.

[990adv]

Not sure when but the Universal website has been updated listing power output as I was told at Dayton.

[wa8pyr]

Originally Posted by Wyandotte

But I caution you, before you spend money on TX gear, listen to the repeaters in your area. There may be a half dozen machines in your area, but if they are all deader than a squirrel in the middle of I-94, is it really worth it? If you consistenly hear people throw out their call, and all they get is dead air, and even the repeater owner isn't coming back to them, it's more a probability than a possibilty that you are going to get the same treatment.

On the other hand, if you hear someone throw out their call, answer them and have a chat!! That's how we build activity and keep the bands...

[W4KRR]

Any idea of a date of release? A friend here has both a 220 and 900 MHz machines on the air, and he has them linked!

[stevelton]

Originally Posted by W4KRR

Any idea of a date of release? A friend here has both a 220 and 900 MHz machines on the air, and he has them linked!

This is something we are going to try to do here in Southern Illinois. One of our club members owns a 220 repeater, and another one is thinking of putting up a 900.

We do ham radio for fun, and so to me putting up and playing with repeaters on the "lesser used" bands is worth the trouble.

Steven

[kf4lza]

Yep, the only reason Mario's repeater works so well is because he is at the bottom of the 902 MHz band. The height helps but mostly it's because of where he is on the band. Ever since I moved my reciever from 902.7 to 902.0 I have awesome recieve now! I measured the noise floor at -70 dBm vs. -92 dBm at the new frequency. Most of it has to do with the Motorola canopy system down here that goes down to about 902.100

I get from boynton beach to N. Miami on the 900 machine from a gtx mobile and that's only at 100' in N Broward. It's true, we have the 900 MHz system linked to the 220 MHz machine. I think Alinco looked at my website and I never would have thought a company would made such a hybrid radio. This radio will fit quite nicely with this system down here. Hopefully we will be moving both the 900 system and 220 system to a 500' tower which will give us much more improved coverage! A bunch of us will be buying these radios because of this system down here!

Eric R.
KF4LZA.com

[MOONBOOTS]

Originally Posted by kf4lza

Yep, the only reason Mario's repeater works so well is because he is at the bottom of the 902 MHz band. The height helps but mostly it's because of where he is on the band. Ever since I moved my reciever from 902.7 to 902.0 I have awesome recieve now! I measured the noise floor at -70 dBm vs. -92 dBm at the new frequency. Most of it has to do with the Motorola canopy system down here that goes down to about 902.100

I get from boynton beach to N. Miami on the 900 machine from a gtx mobile and that's only at 100' in N Broward. It's true, we have the 900 MHz system linked to the 220 MHz machine. I think Alinco looked at my website and I never would have thought a company would made such a hybrid radio. This radio will fit quite nicely with this system down here. Hopefully we will be moving both the 900 system and 220 system to a 500' tower which will give us much more improved coverage! A bunch of us will be buying these radios because of this system down here!

Eric R.
KF4LZA.com

And here I thought all this time that Mario's repeater worked so well because it was on top of the Industrial tower. Mark, LJM did tell me you moved your input freq, so I hope it improves coverage for you. See you on the radio. GARY N4KVE

[Hornhonker]

Should be shipping starting Dec27
Alinco DJ-G29T, Alinco DJG29T HT

[KE7FEH]

According to the specs page 220 Mhz max power of 5.0 wats and 900 Mhz 2.5 watts.

It is ready as of today 12/27 for $349.95...

Alinco DJ-G29T, Alinco DJG29T HT

Enjoy 73!

[ProducerGuy]

Apart from the dorky/hammy looks, I'm glad to see a production 900 radio. I'd still want the speaker-on-top traditional style, as opposed to having to hoist the radio up to hear the thing. What is with the goofy design style nowadays ? Stop trying to cram a radio into a pager housing, and just give me a pro-looking radio.

The listed battery capacity, as is typical of ham stuff, is wimpy. Go with no less than 2500mAH. How's about making a cell pack that takes 18650 cells, with smart charging capability IN THE RADIO, in addition to the usual 14500/AA pack, and let ME DECIDE what cells to use !

Let's have a MOBILE UNIT !!! Give us no less than 25-30 watts on 900, and "whatever" on 220. Separate RF-out connections for either band, please....duplexers are a pain.

Just my two cents....but this is a step in the right direction.