I’m in the same boat. Had a cheap baofeng uv-9g. When I passed my general exam, I rewarded myself with a Yaesu ft5d. The baofengs transmit is far superior to my Yaesu. I am really pissed off about it! It can reach repeaters clearly that I have to travel 5 miles to reach with the Yaesu 10x its price!
k6cpo
Member
I recently purchased the FT5DR and I'm perfectly satisfied with it. It doesn't sound any different that any of my other myriad Yaesu radios. Just this past week I used it to check into a fusion net through a repeater 10 miles away from inside the shack.
I would really like to test the output wattage and SWR on both of these radios. I know there are radio guys all around my location who have the equipment to do this. I just have to strike up a conversation with one of them.
k6cpo
Member
It's very difficult to test the SWR of an HT antenna using normal methods (antenna analyzer) because the radio body is part of the antenna. As soon as it's removed from the radio, the characteristics change.
Makes sense. I'll sleep on it, but as it stands right now, I'm returning everything.
I don't know anybody who can help me with this stuff, and I'm not going to keep spending my money on trial and error. Nobody answers my CQ's, but my QRZ callsign lookup count go up every time I try. I'm pretty sure I'm done with all of this.
While not against the rules, calling "CQ" on an FM or digital voice repeater is frowned up in most amateur radio communities.
Calling "CQ" is useful in situations where you are looking for someone to talk to and you are hoping that somebody tuning through your frequency will hear you. This is often the case on the HF frequencies where tuning the VFO is how we find conversations (before the days of panadapters and spectrum scopes that allow us to visualize where the signals are). However, repeaters are channelized. While some folks scan repeater channels, it's not a matter of slowly turning a VFO and watching for the S meter to deflect on someone's call like it is on HF.
A more generally accepted approach on FM and digital voice repeaters is to key up and say "KD9ABC listening" or "KM4XYC monitoring". That lets people know that you are there. If they want to talk to you, and that's a big "if", they'll key up and respond to your cal.
Another approach is if you hear a conversation on an FM or digital voice repeater and you think you can add something to the conversation, key up and just give your callsign. Hopefully, someone else in the conversation will recognize your call and turn the conversation to you. It's good practice, whether joining the conversation at a social event or on a repeater, to make sure that your comment can add to the conversation. If the folks talking are discussing last night's ball game and you jump in with a story about what your cat did last night, you might not get a warm welcome.
Ham radio operators can be very social. Some of them will welcome you with open arms and immediately become your best friend. Ham radio operators can also be anti-social and clique-ish. They may not be too welcoming to new people.
One technique that can help break the ice is to attend local club meetings. People will get to know you face-to-face and they may be more likely to talk to you on the air.
Now, after all this social engineering talk, we need to talk about your signal into the local repeater. If all you are using is a handheld radio with a rubber duck antenna, you may not have a very good signal into the repeater. You may hear the repeater well and you may get some acknowledgement from the repeater when you key up, but your signal may not be strong enough to produce a readable signal for others listening to the repeater. If what people hear when you key up and give your callsign is "K-scratch-five-shuff-M-brappp", they aren't likely to respond. Your radio has an S-meter. Move around when you are listening to the repeater and find the spot where the signal is highest, preferably at full-scale. Stay in that spot. Don't move the radio as you talk. RF does funny things and moving your radio just a few inches may take you out of the hot spot.
A possible solution is a different antenna. No, I'm not talking about one of those whiz-bang after market rubber ducks that the YouTubers promote. They may help a little, but the differences are slight. When using a handheld radio, one thing that will help is an antenna in a fixed location. Yes, we'd all like to have a high-gain base antenna, but that's not always practical. A first step could be a roll-up J-pole antenna. MFJ, Ed Fong, and N9TAX all make good roll-up J-pole antennas. Get one of those and hang it from a tree limb or a thumb tack stuck in an inside wall of your house. It might make a big different in how well you get into the repeater. One rule about J-poles is to keep them away from anything metal, such as a window frame, because that will affect the antenna's performance.
Don't give up. I was in your spot once. I lived in an apartment and couldn't have outside antennas. But, I still found ways to get involved and have fun with amateur radio.
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You really want to have fun, and see how many sand baggers there are just sitting and listening...announce your call and start having a one sided conversation. Like answering yes, or no and adding something as to why your "yes" or "no" answer was given. I call it "ghost talking"-and it usually brings a few people out of the woodwork...yes, even on repeater frequencies...its fun too!😏😉
LOL. I love it.
Sorry if I misrepresented, but I don't call CQ on a repeater. I use the 70cm and 2m national simplex frequencies, and would pick a different frequency if making contact. I hear people on those frequencies often, but always when I'm in work meeting. When I finally can get back to the radio, I call out nobody answers, but my QRZ count goes up a few clicks....so people are hearing my callsign clearly. Probably as you say: Cliquey or anti-social.
I'll take your advice and show up to a club meeting. and dive into the antennas.
It's just incredibly frustrating that I bought a $450 radio that I can't reach the repeaters with, that I can, and everybody hears me clearly on my $30 baofeng starter radios.
Thank you for the advice. I will do that.
Handhelds are not best for making contacts unless you are sitting right near the repeater. Forget about simplex with an HT. If you can't have an outside antenna, take a look at a dual band uhf/vhf mobile radio, a power supply, and a mag mount antenna. I use this setup with the mag mount stuck on a filing cabinet in my radio room. I keep the power at 10 Watts or 20 if I need it. Works like a charm on both repeaters and simplex.
That is almost word for word what another ham operator told me today. When I get some money together, I’ll do that. Probably that Yaesu 300 or 500. Not sure yet.
The original problem I had with the transmitting is mysteriously gone. I talked to a couple people on a repeater 17 miles away for quite a while, and they said all was loud and clear. Nobody answered on the repeater 3 miles away. I did a two radio test, and my voice volume and clarity was perfect. I don’t think the conditions were different because my other radios sent and received with the same scratchiness as yesterday, but the Yaesu improved incredibly. Weird. The ONLY thing I did was changed the mic gain back to default, then back to 8, the same setting as I had it before…
The original problem I had with the transmitting is mysteriously gone. I talked to a couple people on a repeater 17 miles away for quite a while, and they said all was loud and clear. Nobody answered on the repeater 3 miles away. I did a two radio test, and my voice volume and clarity was perfect. I don’t think the conditions were different because my other radios sent and received with the same scratchiness as yesterday, but the Yaesu improved incredibly. Weird. The ONLY thing I did was changed the mic gain back to default, then back to 8, the same setting as I had it before…
MTS2000des
5B2_BEE00 Czar
That's the hangup with portable radios. Most amateur repeaters are designed for 25-50 watt mobile rigs or base radios with fixed antennas. So many variables can come into play with portables. One also has to take into consideration that repeaters can be subject to interference, degradation, etc. It's all part of the game. Don't give up or blame your subscriber equipment.
I would love to have a mobile rig. It's just a matter of getting the money together. I need a handheld because I'm always walking around the woods or on my ATV. I am surrounded by repeaters, but do have a huge source of interference at the top of the mountain I live next to (The mountain is a big problem too...). Yesterday I trek'd up that mountain (not the peak with the radio/microwave towers). I was communicating clearly to a repeater 25 miles away. I should have went to the simplex calling frequencies and called CQ, but I didn't think about it until half way back down the mountain. I bet anything somebody would have heard me.
I'm not sure what you mean by "subscriber" equipment. I am grateful to the repeater owners. Those guys are doing an incredibly generous public service. The only thing I was blaming was my radio, which turned out to be the problem. I knew it was because my $30 Baofeng connected to all the towers beautifully. The ft5dr's microphone wasn't working right so there wasn't enough voice to modulate into the RF. It works perfect now.
Since getting this radio working, I'm not giving up. I was really pissed off when I thought I spent of $400 on a brick. Now, all is good. Thank you for responding.
I'm a little confused or maybe I'm misreading your comments. Was your Yaesu $450 or $400?
As with most Japanese radios sold through U.S. dealers, you have to watch the prices. The importers routinely offer discounts or rebates and the dealers often run sales. I bought my FT5D, new, from a U.S. dealer last fall for $325. At the time of my purchase, that same dealer had an open box FT5D for $309.
As for your Baofeng and repeaters...have you talked to anyone on those repeaters with your Baofeng? Have they made any comments about your signal strength into the repeater or your audio quality?
Also, unless you are using the exact same antenna and that antenna is located in exactly the same spot, your comparisons are along the lines of apples and pears. Close, but not the same.
The radio itself was $400 from HRO. The RT software was $50. I bought that software because I have a Mac. Nobody sells that for $325 anymore. You really lucked out there.
Yes, I used the baofengs often on repeaters. There is nobody in simplex range of me. When I got the FT5DR, people immediately started saying they can barely hear me, even when I had the mic gain on 9. I grabbed both Baofengs and they could hear me perfectly.
Somebody advised me to turn the mic gain back to 5, turn the radio off and on, then turn the mic gain back up. I did that, and it fixed everything. Everybody could hear me at perfect volume and clarity. We chalked it up to a software glitch. The same thing fixed his voice modulation.
KD7RJC
Member
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2023
- Messages
- 103
For what it's worth as a Technician I haven't had a lot of luck reaching other operators on simplex either, outside of Field Day sorts of events.
I will say this much, once I had the mobile setup finished it's been much easier to make contacts. I basically had just a single 2m Alinco HT (ie, the original inexpensive radio before the modern crop of cheapo SDR radios) for over 20 years and was pretty dissatisfied without a lot of knowledge how to operate (never hit up a repeater until the last couple of years) but even putting a janky 30 year old Radio Shack 2m 50W into my truck with a mag-mount it was already easier. Going with something new and modern has been easier still.
And I won't disagree that it's tough for new hams to get involved, when I'm occasionally listening to nets there's almost always someone who must be very content with the sound of his own voice, usually the net controller. If you don't have time to follow the nets' schedules then it's hard to check in right from the start in order to get on the list to participate. But if you can make that time then it's probably the best way to figure out if you're being heard and to learn etiquette, and I'm sure if you're not following etiquette then someone will let you know.
I've basically sold my soul to Yaesu even with the expense, my wife is going to get licensed and we're going to use the digital mode along with the GPS for safety purposes when out camping, four wheeling, and hiking. If I wasn't going to use C4FM or another digital mode I'd probably have stuck with less expensive options, either Alinco or other, even if avoiding the absolutely cheapest radios.
I will say this much, once I had the mobile setup finished it's been much easier to make contacts. I basically had just a single 2m Alinco HT (ie, the original inexpensive radio before the modern crop of cheapo SDR radios) for over 20 years and was pretty dissatisfied without a lot of knowledge how to operate (never hit up a repeater until the last couple of years) but even putting a janky 30 year old Radio Shack 2m 50W into my truck with a mag-mount it was already easier. Going with something new and modern has been easier still.
And I won't disagree that it's tough for new hams to get involved, when I'm occasionally listening to nets there's almost always someone who must be very content with the sound of his own voice, usually the net controller. If you don't have time to follow the nets' schedules then it's hard to check in right from the start in order to get on the list to participate. But if you can make that time then it's probably the best way to figure out if you're being heard and to learn etiquette, and I'm sure if you're not following etiquette then someone will let you know.
I've basically sold my soul to Yaesu even with the expense, my wife is going to get licensed and we're going to use the digital mode along with the GPS for safety purposes when out camping, four wheeling, and hiking. If I wasn't going to use C4FM or another digital mode I'd probably have stuck with less expensive options, either Alinco or other, even if avoiding the absolutely cheapest radios.
Thank you for the info.For what it's worth as a Technician I haven't had a lot of luck reaching other operators on simplex either, outside of Field Day sorts of events.
I will say this much, once I had the mobile setup finished it's been much easier to make contacts. I basically had just a single 2m Alinco HT (ie, the original inexpensive radio before the modern crop of cheapo SDR radios) for over 20 years and was pretty dissatisfied without a lot of knowledge how to operate (never hit up a repeater until the last couple of years) but even putting a janky 30 year old Radio Shack 2m 50W into my truck with a mag-mount it was already easier. Going with something new and modern has been easier still.
And I won't disagree that it's tough for new hams to get involved, when I'm occasionally listening to nets there's almost always someone who must be very content with the sound of his own voice, usually the net controller. If you don't have time to follow the nets' schedules then it's hard to check in right from the start in order to get on the list to participate. But if you can make that time then it's probably the best way to figure out if you're being heard and to learn etiquette, and I'm sure if you're not following etiquette then someone will let you know.
I've basically sold my soul to Yaesu even with the expense, my wife is going to get licensed and we're going to use the digital mode along with the GPS for safety purposes when out camping, four wheeling, and hiking. If I wasn't going to use C4FM or another digital mode I'd probably have stuck with less expensive options, either Alinco or other, even if avoiding the absolutely cheapest radios.
I'm going to near-fest this Thursday to see if there are any deals on cheap mobile units....and hopefully learn something.
It's not just the simplex, repeaters as well.
I got my ticket in 2000 while living in CT. I could find anyone, on just about any known (simplex)calling freq 2 meters or 70cm. 1.25 meters was also alive and well there.
Repeaters were very active, and plentiful thru out the state. KB1AEV had one of the earliest wide coverage repeater system in the state. In doing so, he also helped get the PVRA system to cover the same areas.
About 5 years later, the repeaters started losing users, for what ever reason. HF phone, and digital like RTTY, Field Hell, PSK, etc kind of were the hang out...I did not want to be the one who was going to abandon the VHF/UHF spectrum. I stayed a tech for 23 years. Every year I noticed a lack of repeater use. I traveled for work, moved back to IL, and it was discouraging. I know that P25, DMR, had gotten popular. I was a late bloomer into that mode coming into DMR just three years ago. C4FM just about 2years ago (pin star hotspot included). Even these have dropped in usage. I of course decided to get serious and upgraded to General, and found that HF is where it seems people have migrated to, and the 2m/440 radios were used only after power outages/emergencies.
I'm still active in the local repeater clubs, using analog, and digital. I "try" not to let any call over the repeater(s) I monitor go in answered. Before I retired, it was difficult a but now that I'm retired when I'm sitting in the recliner, in the shack, or mobile I answer. Still, the 2m, and 440 simplex frequencies are still in the scanner. And, I can count on one hand in 4 years that I've lived in Missouri that the scanner stopped on any of them.
Sometimes, the repeaters can go for days unused, or I will get used a half a dozen times a day, everyday for that week. But, it seems the closer to field day it gets, they do get some light local traffic, and vacationers I've also noticed a drop in clubs.
Good Luck and 73
KB1FUA
Dean
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