the 220 band
- Thread starter StevenT200
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Where can I find info on the mod?
I think the 222 Band is to forever suffer like the unwanted step child of ham radio. All the limitations placed on it over the years has made it an unoccupied "N'th" choice among the VHF-UHF frequencies. And the list of reasons has been elaborated on by the number of contributors to this Post.
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I'll use this illustration: There is a man (or woman....
) who has lost their car keys at night and is now searching for them across the parking lot, away from the car, but under a bright street light..... When asked why he is searching there, he responses,
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Bbecause the light is better over here"
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I think the same is true for 222-- why invest time and money in equipment for a band when 2 meters is where "the light (radio occupancy) is?" - even though 220 is just as good- The same can be said for 6 Mtr FM, -- and you can probably fill in the blanks with the rest of the upper ham band allocations (with the exception on 440, perhaps.).
There is always going to be the exceptional ham that likes to play around with the off-band frequencies, but unless a whole lot of them decide to invest in the equipment and time, don't ever expect any meaningful occupation. Its just in the numbers... maybe in the cities,?....maybe..., but for the vast, rest of the US, if its amateur radio, and its VHF, its going to be 2 metre's
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..................................... CF
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I'll use this illustration: There is a man (or woman....
) who has lost their car keys at night and is now searching for them across the parking lot, away from the car, but under a bright street light..... When asked why he is searching there, he responses,.
Bbecause the light is better over here"
.
I think the same is true for 222-- why invest time and money in equipment for a band when 2 meters is where "the light (radio occupancy) is?" - even though 220 is just as good- The same can be said for 6 Mtr FM, -- and you can probably fill in the blanks with the rest of the upper ham band allocations (with the exception on 440, perhaps.).
There is always going to be the exceptional ham that likes to play around with the off-band frequencies, but unless a whole lot of them decide to invest in the equipment and time, don't ever expect any meaningful occupation. Its just in the numbers... maybe in the cities,?....maybe..., but for the vast, rest of the US, if its amateur radio, and its VHF, its going to be 2 metre's
.
..................................... CF
wcu02mpa
Member
220....It had a good run
I have to agree with CF. 220 suffers and always will. One big problem is the lack of equipment for it. I know maybe five people who use it and we only have one or two repeaters around here. Another is the lack of commercial equipment to experiment with it. Above 30MHz I exclusively use commercial radios; Motorola and Kenwood. Lots of fun with 6M, 10M and 2M; nothing for 220 and I just couldn't care less about it. Sorry 220, but no interest.
I have to agree with CF. 220 suffers and always will. One big problem is the lack of equipment for it. I know maybe five people who use it and we only have one or two repeaters around here. Another is the lack of commercial equipment to experiment with it. Above 30MHz I exclusively use commercial radios; Motorola and Kenwood. Lots of fun with 6M, 10M and 2M; nothing for 220 and I just couldn't care less about it. Sorry 220, but no interest.
902
Member
Steve,I have begun trying to make a point of logging at least one contact on 220 (aka 1.25 meters) FM when I do my Summits on the Air (SOTA) activations. I try and do the same with 6 meters and 70 cm, as well, as they seem to be under-utilized here in Northern California. There are repeaters nearby on those three bands, but I only ever seem to hear traffic on 70 cm.
I have Yaesu VX-6R (2m/1.25m/70cm) and Wouxun KG-UV5D (6m/2m) handhelds that I have been using for activations. I just bought a new FT-857D which is, of course, all-band. I'm excited about starting with SSB, but I still plan to operate FM on the above bands, as well.
I invented a slogan: "Keep 1.25 Alive."
That's very catchy! I'm going to get a battery for my (really old) IC-3AT and try to do the same as I travel around.
I wish I still had an IC-202 that I bought around the time I graduated high school. My plan was to get that 202, a 502, and a 402 just to do weak signal work when I was out and about. Not many chances to be at high locations where life seems to have plopped me at the moment, but I've still got that thing for hilltopping.
73!
I've loved 222 every since we had the bottom end of the band, and likely not giving it up. For me its the best of both worlds, and lack of occupancy IS exactly why I like it. I can have contact with someone for hours on simplex or a repeater, without being broke in on, keyed on, or forced to listen to toys r us controllers that flood the 2/70 bands ! As far as I'm concerned, the entire 2 meter band can just be flushed! 222 is just so much more relaxed. . 73, n9zas
. 73, n9zas
KD8DVR
Member
Careful. A lot of these mods will give a low power output on your entered frequency, but will transmit full power on the next harmonic.
There is an infamous Baofeng uv5 uv6 programming hack to allow 220. If you transmit on 222.5, you get 2 watt output. Meanwhile, You are transmitting 5 watts on 445 Mhz [emoji34]
Sent from my LG-D631 using Tapatalk
Yeah I read that in another forum as well, but having had my Vx6r on a spec analyzer there's no indication of any spurs to date.
. 73, n9zasWhen I first entered this conversation, I had no idea where it would lead my thoughts. As the thread developed, I realized I had a lot more 220 in me than I was aware of.
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Right now I am at work sitting and watching an experiment unfold (hoping it unfolds and not explodes)- so with a moment to spare, if I may be indulged, I will tell you a short little story about 220.
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My father was an Air Force officer, and a MARS member. Growing up I remember a constant flow of surplus electronic Treasures (for lack of a better term- my mother wouldn't necessarily agree) thru our household. My father didn't do much with HF, but the world above 50Mz was his playground. Some where, early on, we aquired this certain large field unit-, one of those mobile-base 225-400Mhz radio stations that came complete with discone and corner reflector antennas-- a beautifully engineered radio, with silver cavities, 829 finals- 50-60 watt WBFM, etc. My father and his MARS friends converted them down to 220 and parked them somewhere within the band. I recall those radios talking all over the Washington DC area with a studio quality audio (well, after all, they were very wide band), but these stations were the only ones there (I preferred to listen to the air control radar just below 220 doing it's 'swish, swish swish' as it revolved, at the air base.) Later, my father built a double sideband 220 transmitter, which I think he still has--- a pair of 6AK5 to a 5763 driving a 832 PA. DSB on 220 (the receiver was a Ameco- something into a R390 receiver) With that station I remember the evening a tropo opening occurred and 220 poured in from all up and down the east coast- dozens and dozens stations, the likes of which I have never heard or expect to ever hear again on that band.
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Thanks for the audience as I stepped back in memories....
CF
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Right now I am at work sitting and watching an experiment unfold (hoping it unfolds and not explodes)- so with a moment to spare, if I may be indulged, I will tell you a short little story about 220.
.
My father was an Air Force officer, and a MARS member. Growing up I remember a constant flow of surplus electronic Treasures (for lack of a better term- my mother wouldn't necessarily agree) thru our household. My father didn't do much with HF, but the world above 50Mz was his playground. Some where, early on, we aquired this certain large field unit-, one of those mobile-base 225-400Mhz radio stations that came complete with discone and corner reflector antennas-- a beautifully engineered radio, with silver cavities, 829 finals- 50-60 watt WBFM, etc. My father and his MARS friends converted them down to 220 and parked them somewhere within the band. I recall those radios talking all over the Washington DC area with a studio quality audio (well, after all, they were very wide band), but these stations were the only ones there (I preferred to listen to the air control radar just below 220 doing it's 'swish, swish swish' as it revolved, at the air base.) Later, my father built a double sideband 220 transmitter, which I think he still has--- a pair of 6AK5 to a 5763 driving a 832 PA. DSB on 220 (the receiver was a Ameco- something into a R390 receiver) With that station I remember the evening a tropo opening occurred and 220 poured in from all up and down the east coast- dozens and dozens stations, the likes of which I have never heard or expect to ever hear again on that band.
.
Thanks for the audience as I stepped back in memories....
CF
KD8DVR
Member
Yeah I read that in another forum as well, but having had my Vx6r on a spec analyzer there's no indication of any spurs to date.
That's cool.
902
Member
Given that most of the ham radio manufacturers are foreign companies in parts of the world where the band does not exist (or rather is not allocated to the Amateur Service in those IARU regions), I'm not surprised by the lack of radios for the band. That's probably at least part of the reason they stopped making them, for those companies that did at one time.
Alinco, Icom, Kenwood, and Yaesu have all produced handheld and mobile radios for the 222 MHz band in the past. Icom even produced a 222 MHz all-mode base radio.
Alinco still has the DJ-V27 handheld and DR-235 mobile. Kenwood still has the TH-F6 handheld and they showed a 2m/222/440 APRS D-Star handheld at Dayton. Yaesu's VX-6 handheld will transmit on 222 MHz, but only at 1.5 watts.
So, I think your statement that the manufacturers have neglected the band is incorrect. I think it's more a matter of the manufacturers have made the equipment available, but users haven't responded by making purchases. The resulting slow sales may have caused some manufacturers to reduce production of radios for this band.
Sadly, most new hams seem to gravitate towards the 2m and 440 MHz bands. That's been true for the 25 years I've been licensed. Lots of repeaters, lots of people to talk to, lots of activity on those bands, so there's just not much interest in the 222 MHz band.
Speaking of repeaters...until recently, it was hard to find a commercial 222 MHz repeater. Luckily, Bridgecom has addressed that problem. There are a few of these on the air in my area and they seem to work pretty well.
So, my conclusion is that there is plenty of 222 MHz equipment out there. Folks just have to take advantage of it.
The TYT TH-UVF9 is available with 220 capability (along with 2 meters). It's a step up from the Baofeng, to which it is seems to be related. If I'm not mistaken, it transmits on both bands at 5 watts.
BridgeCom also offers a really nice HT for $85.00, and a terrific mobile radio for $240.00! I bought the BCH-220 at Dayton this year and am very pleased with it.
I've been liking those myself.
. +1. 73, n9zas
A couple months ago, I was pleasantly surprised when I called "CQ SOTA" on 223.5 and got a response fairly quickly. Unfortunately, it was the only response on that frequency. After that, he kindly went over to 446.0 and gave me my first-ever 70 cm contact (also the only one that day). I do have several 220 repeaters nearby but rarely hear anything on them.
Weaksignal
Member
There is a small informal net on 222.100 MHz, USB that meets on Mondays, starting around 1930 local in Northern California. Unfortunately, that would require additional equipment and expense to utilize that mode.
There is an FM simplex net that meets Thursdays at 2000 local on 223.500 and is hosted by Len, WA6KLK, near Willits. With a modest Yagi antenna for the band, you would hear him (and possibly work him) from your location.
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