Good car transceiver?

[Patrol9504]

Hi guys

I am almost ready to take my technician test. But aside if that i already bought a diamond sg7900 which gives out 150w. Anyway i am looking for a decent dualband radio for the car. Don't want something super complicated or super expensive. I was thinking of a handheld which produces up to 5w of power. How far can i transmit with a handheld using an antenna with 5dbi on vhf and 7.6dbi on uhf. I am also looking to join Skywarn. Would a handheld be fine to handle skywarn?

Christa s.

 

[popnokick]

If you're in a rural part of PA you're going to want more than 5W in your mobile. Also, handhelds have tiny controls and displays that are difficult to use when mobile. Keep the antenna, but get a purpose-built dual band VHF/UHF mobile. There are good prices out there for not only new major mfr and ricebox rigs, but also great used deals. You'll be happier and safer with a "real" mobile.

 

[teufler]

it might work, but a hand held is like a laptop computer compared to a tower at home. A ht is a convience item, not a radiu that you will fall in love with because 5 watts is not was say a 50 watt or an older 30 watt radio will do. Your gain figures or ok to look at though 5dbi is 3.8 dbd and 7.6dbi is closer to 6 dbd. DBD is more actual gain rather than lap tested gain. Still , say vhf, 3.8 is more than double your radiated power, so less say 10 watts. You have some coax loss but we can dismiss this for calculations sake right now. A 50 watt vhf mobile will generate ERP, effective radiated power of say 100 watts. So 10 watts or 100 watts. You can find mobile radios at the price of HTs so I think, for a first radio, you will be happier with a mobile. The mobile can be removed and you can run off a car battery or ac power supply while at home. An HT is a "badge " of accomplishment to your friends, as it shows you are a ham.

 

[K1TSL]

Have a look on swap.qth.com and do a search for "dualband." If you don't mind getting something used, there are some good deals to be had. ICOM, Yaesu and Kenwood are all popular brands.
You definitely don't want to use just a handheld. Terrain will kill your range so a 50-75 watt mobile should be something you're looking for. Hopefully, there are some ham repeaters in your area that will help get you over the hills.
I like Yaesu equipment personally. Have a look at the Yaesu FT-7900R .

 

[jk77]

If you intend to only use the local repeaters, a handheld might do. If you anticipate doing a lot of simplex work then you will want a more powerful rig. To more directly answer your question, you have to decide what you are willing to spend and then see what you can get for that money. I, personally, would avoid the Chinese mobiles (though not the HTs) because they are only slightly less expensive than mobiles from the "Big Three" and you never know what the quality will be.

 

[SCPD]

Buy a handheld first

My recommendation is to go ahead and get a handheld first.
Use it as both a mobile and a handheld, (or even a base) to see if you want to stay in the hobby.
Even if you go buy a mobile, you're gonna want a handheld anyway since you're wanting to do skywarn and I'm sure other activities that will involve working events with a handheld, so just make it your first radio.

Get a handheld that either has a BNC connector for the antenna, or get a SMA to BNC connector for the handheld, and leave the connector on. And go buy a BNC dual band rubber duckie.

Most handhelds come with SMA connectors. While an SMA is a superior connector, you really can't plug and unplug it a bunch of times before the connector gets intermittent. They were designed for ultra low loss permanent installations.

With 5 watts and a good gain antenna, which it sounds like you already have, I think you'll do a good job getting into the machines.

 

[cmdrwill]

The SMA to BNC adapters can throw off the tuning of the antenna do to the added length of the adapter. BAD IDEA.

 

[Voyager]

Not really. It just changes the feedpoint. It can actually improve the counterpoise by adding metallic content to what would otherwise be a less ideal counterpoise.

If your point were true, mobile antennas would not work because the length of the feedline would make the antenna non-resonant. Think of an adapter as a very short feedline.

 

[Patrol9504]

If you're in a rural part of PA you're going to want more than 5W in your mobile. Also, handhelds have tiny controls and displays that are difficult to use when mobile. Keep the antenna, but get a purpose-built dual band VHF/UHF mobile. There are good prices out there for not only new major mfr and ricebox rigs, but also great used deals. You'll be happier and safer with a "real" mobile.

well i don't live in the middle of the woods,mountains or vast lands of PA..lol. i live by a few cities and hill where repeaters are all over the place. Some folks told me to start out with a handheld 5w since the antenna has a higher gain. I might go with that and later on up grade. Thanks for the help.

 

[Patrol9504]

it might work, but a hand held is like a laptop computer compared to a tower at home. A ht is a convience item, not a radiu that you will fall in love with because 5 watts is not was say a 50 watt or an older 30 watt radio will do. Your gain figures or ok to look at though 5dbi is 3.8 dbd and 7.6dbi is closer to 6 dbd. DBD is more actual gain rather than lap tested gain. Still , say vhf, 3.8 is more than double your radiated power, so less say 10 watts. You have some coax loss but we can dismiss this for calculations sake right now. A 50 watt vhf mobile will generate ERP, effective radiated power of say 100 watts. So 10 watts or 100 watts. You can find mobile radios at the price of HTs so I think, for a first radio, you will be happier with a mobile. The mobile can be removed and you can run off a car battery or ac power supply while at home. An HT is a "badge " of accomplishment to your friends, as it shows you are a ham.

Thank you...for the info

 

[Patrol9504]

Have a look on swap.qth.com and do a search for "dualband." If you don't mind getting something used, there are some good deals to be had. ICOM, Yaesu and Kenwood are all popular brands.
You definitely don't want to use just a handheld. Terrain will kill your range so a 50-75 watt mobile should be something you're looking for. Hopefully, there are some ham repeaters in your area that will help get you over the hills.
I like Yaesu equipment personally. Have a look at the Yaesu FT-7900R .

i think there are many repeater in my area. Thanks for the info

 

[Patrol9504]

My recommendation is to go ahead and get a handheld first.
Use it as both a mobile and a handheld, (or even a base) to see if you want to stay in the hobby.
Even if you go buy a mobile, you're gonna want a handheld anyway since you're wanting to do skywarn and I'm sure other activities that will involve working events with a handheld, so just make it your first radio.

Get a handheld that either has a BNC connector for the antenna, or get a SMA to BNC connector for the handheld, and leave the connector on. And go buy a BNC dual band rubber duckie.

Most handhelds come with SMA connectors. While an SMA is a superior connector, you really can't plug and unplug it a bunch of times before the connector gets intermittent. They were designed for ultra low loss permanent installations.

With 5 watts and a good gain antenna, which it sounds like you already have, I think you'll do a good job getting into the machines.

Thank you. I think i will try the handhelds. Was thinking of a Baofeng. Have a friend who had one of these and say they work fine for the price. Later on i can buy a nice mobile.

 

[robertmac]

While an HT with a magnet mount antenna may appear fine to the user of it, it could be driving listeners insane. The rule of, if you can hear it you should be able to talk to it, may not apply to this set up. I hear a lot of new amateurs with this set up but they are usually picket fencing into various repeaters. And they are generally disappointed with the range on simplex. Even an additional 10 to 15 watts makes a huge difference in some areas, especially cities and in the bush. Thus I always encourage a new amateur to really look at a good mobile and a permanent mounted antenna. Save the HT for listening and learning, not for rag chewing when mobile.

 

[KC5KAW]

It really depends on your budget, but I cast my vote for "start with an HT". I just picked up a BaoFeng myself and it's great. You'll love it. Evetually you will want a mobile, but you're going to want that HT too so it's an ideal starting point. The mobile is great at doing one job where the HT is just ok at a lot of things. As long as you're within a few miles of the repeater and have a good external antenna, you'll sound fine. If you don't have a scanner, you'll want that HT to monitor indoors as well. I listen far more than I talk on my HTs, but geting started, it beats spending $350 on a good mobile. I don't know about up there, but in Texas, many of the Skywarn repeaters are on 70cm, so consider a 2m/70cm dual bander. The suggestion above of a Yaesu FT-7900 was a good one for when you get frustrated with the range of the HT in the car. If you are ok with spending the money, just go ahead and get the mobile and order the BaoFeng on top of it. Good luck, have fun and let us know what you go with!

 

[ak4fn]

Hey, there is not a thing wrong with going with a Beofang HT to start, they are cheap and work great and if you break it you are hardly out anything. Get a mic if you are going to use it in the car.

Down the road you can get a Kenwood TMV-71A or another dual band mobile, which will have cross band repeat that you will be able to use with the HT and make the HT even more mobile and still have great range.

 

[jk77]

I am just slightly more advanced than you as I already passed my Tech and General exams a short while ago. I am a ham on a budget. I live in an area where hams are sparse and we mostly use repeaters to communicate on 2 meaters. I bought a couple of Baofeng HTs and they serve me well. I am able to reach my county's repeater and the repeaters in neighboring counties with nothing but 4 watts and a whip antenna or a slim jim antenna.

My area has very little VHF/UHF traffic. Mostly it is nets. Also, as I mentioned, hams are sparse and simplex is difficult. Hence, I am going to skip getting a mobile and save that $300 or so to put toward an HF rig. The HTs serve me well for all I need them for.

 

[sloop]

Patrol 9504 I hope I caught you before you have purchased your radio. You need to read the post on this web site on 'Budget and Entry Level Transceivers'...its a real eye opener on the 'cheap' Chinese radios. Also you need to google and read "Getting the Most from Your Hand-held Transceiver" by Ed Harris (KE4SKY), he is the AEC for Fairfax ARES. The more informed you are the better the decision you will make. Above all, get a radio that is easy to program MANUALLY! Almost all radios can be programmed by computer easier, but when you are in the field and the operating freq. changes to something you don't have programmed you need to be able to do it easy by hand! Best of luck, NC4WX

 

[Patrol9504]

Patrol 9504 I hope I caught you before you have purchased your radio. You need to read the post on this web site on 'Budget and Entry Level Transceivers'...its a real eye opener on the 'cheap' Chinese radios. Also you need to google and read "Getting the Most from Your Hand-held Transceiver" by Ed Harris (KE4SKY), he is the AEC for Fairfax ARES. The more informed you are the better the decision you will make. Above all, get a radio that is easy to program MANUALLY! Almost all radios can be programmed by computer easier, but when you are in the field and the operating freq. changes to something you don't have programmed you need to be able to do it easy by hand! Best of luck, NC4WX

Well the way i look at it is that i don't have my license yet but will be getting it soon i hope. At this point i don't have the money so some people say just go with a cheaper handheld for the start and i think that is what i will do until i have the cash and find a good place in my vehicle to install a mobile

 

[Patrol9504]

I am just slightly more advanced than you as I already passed my Tech and General exams a short while ago. I am a ham on a budget. I live in an area where hams are sparse and we mostly use repeaters to communicate on 2 meaters. I bought a couple of Baofeng HTs and they serve me well. I am able to reach my county's repeater and the repeaters in neighboring counties with nothing but 4 watts and a whip antenna or a slim jim antenna.

My area has very little VHF/UHF traffic. Mostly it is nets. Also, as I mentioned, hams are sparse and simplex is difficult. Hence, I am going to skip getting a mobile and save that $300 or so to put toward an HF rig. The HTs serve me well for all I need them for.

i think i am going to go with your idea...i really don't have the money as of this moment for an expensive mobile

 

[mmckenna]

i think i am going to go with your idea...i really don't have the money as of this moment for an expensive mobile

My brother did this for a few years after he got his ham ticket. Works well -if- you use an external antenna. The first few times on road trips he ignored our suggestions and attempted to use the hand held inside the truck with no external antenna. He had no issues hearing us with our mobiles, but we had to listen to a crappy broken up signal the whole trip. We finally got him to use a magnetic mount antenna on his truck and it helped a bunch. Still kind of a noisy signal if we were separated by more than a mile or two.

For the audio, he used a speaker mic and kept it clipped to the shoulder strap of the seat belt. It was close enough that he could hear the speaker.

When you can afford it, find a mobile you like. The louder audio makes listening easier, and the extra RF power helps, too.