new to forum...looking for new hardware

[jwile20vt]

Was wonderin if anyone can help me decide on a few things .... im starting to get back into radios ( dx,hf monitoring ) in general again ... I have been looking into some PC based controllers but im confused on which would suit me better for what i would like

guess i'm looking for a all in one deal cause im looking to monitor miltary/aircraft ,SW, HF VHF anything i can get basicly .....is there any type of PC solution (hardware/software) that does all this or would I have to purchase a few different items ? Or would it be better to buy a actual reciever that can get all these bands and such?

Dont have alot of room for a massive antenna seetup so figured a long wire or maybe a active kit would work but looking to see some ideas on what others are doing

thanks again ...you guys have a great forum lots of info and i will continue to surf it...but maybe could get some help

 

[FireRescueMedic11]

i think they have the Icom PRC-1500 computer controlled receiver,

http://www.icomamerica.com/products/receivers/pcr1500/

take a look at something like that, i think they can do P25 too,
interms of the antenna, i am not sure that you need a mast antenna, check out the specs, and let us know what you think

 

[FireRescueMedic11]

theres also this too

http://www.icomamerica.com/products/receivers/r20/

 

[jwile20vt]

wow this is what i mean ..i never got this in depth with it before when i was yyounger...that handheld is soo nice

i'm looking for more of a desktop model and also an ebay guy so i dont mind finding older models...i was looking at the 1000 pc setup u showed me..that looks very very interesting ... if you dont mind me taking a few more minutes of your time..which i appriciate greatly .... cause i know these are really newb questions

I'm a big weather dork ...say if I wanted to monitor chasers and such from other locations in the country ..what would b my best choices for radio and such ? and of course the harder problem i know would be the antenna..but i would just be looking to RX not transmit..so i didnt knwo if i could get away with a smaller antenna setup?

thats just one thing i really have been wanting to monitor lately and thought about wanting to do but I figured it was going to require me setting up a tower in my backyard to get signals that far away ..then i was reading about HF and whatnot and am pretty sure they use HAM's soo maybe was doable

thanks again and i hope i didn't confuse you ..im just laid up from a car wreck with a back injury and really just stay up surfing all night...really need to find a hobby while im down and out for awhile

thanks again

 

[jwile20vt]

iv been looking into one of these ?
http://www.icomamerica.com/products/receivers/r75/specs.asp

this another choice i could have for monitoring what i asked ? i was looking throuigh the wiki and it seemed match with the fwe monitoring pages i looked at ... miltary and such

 

[gcgrotz]

I love my R75, it is a great receiver, especially for the price. Hook it up to the PAR End-fed SWL antenna and you will be good to go. Team it with a good scanner and modest antenna and you will be hearing almost everything.

 

[CherokeeKid]

All products shown to you are great! Too much for my pockets though, lol. As far as wanting to hear weather spotters/storm chasers in other parts of the COUNTRY, good luck! You may find some sort of network out there to listen to them via internet but most spotters use 2meter ham, or VHF/UHF radios of some sort. Those radios and their repeaters will not reach more than 75 miles no matter the size of antenna...

 

[w0fg]

The WX chasers/spotters use VHF for the most part, so you'll be restricted to listening to your own immediate area in that regard. Their may be some HF stuff from the hurricane hunter planes, but no one is using HF for ground based storm chasing that I know of. If someone else is aware of any I'm sure they'll chime in.

 

[jwile20vt]

I figured that about the storm stuff...just always wonder'd ..thanks for that info

i'm really looking into the r75 just didnt know if this was going to do the job ...i would b pairing this with my old workhouse pro-2037 scanner that iv had for years and has always done a great job for the normal scanning .

not restricted on antenna's too much just can't put up a 60 footer in the neighborhood...i think thts prob why i never got my ham and such when i was younger ... would have been a big pain in the butt.

what are you guys using with your r75 for a antenna ? scantenna?

 

[N4JNW]

Welcome to RadioReference!

Storm chasers and spotters, as mentioned, use VHF 2 meter ham radio. They prefer this mode, because of the low cost of equipment and smaller antennae. The National Weather Service offices in my area, maybe yours have ham gear in the weather office. They're often heard on our local repeater during severe weather outbreaks, under the call of WX4NWS (fitting).

However, there are weather nets on alot of HF frequencies. When hurricane season fires up, you'll likely hear lots of nets on HF in area where the hurricane is likely to hit.

 

[jwile20vt]

this site is great...quik replies with great info .... i myself only scanned local public and emergency ...never did my ham cause like i said never had the money or space when i was younger to get into it. always was a cber hahahaha

im prob going to pickup a r75 or whateer i end up with used from ebay or classifieds to get me going again ...ill get addicted again quik

 

[FireRescueMedic11]

the R75 is really cool, i got a chance to use one, they are quick and efficent, in any measure, good luck with your choice in radios, many years of action and fun will come out of it,
dont forget to check out the database to get frequencies for your local area too,

http://radioreference.com/modules.php?name=RR

Good luck and welcome to RR!

 

[N4JNW]

Icom's are really nice radios. I've never had any dealings with thier recievers, but in the ham world, I've been told by more than one ham operator, Icom is most advances than just about any other radio manufacturer in the game.

I'm a dyed in the wool Yaesu operator, and I must admit, Icom's stuff is pretty dang impressive!

 

[jwile20vt]

funny the other radio i looked at besides the r75 was a Yaesu a5k i believe....

where are some good places to get icoms and such ? iv been looking around but only know regular scannerworld and scanmaster and such from purchasing before