Gadfly's

Ok I'm not all that sharp ....

As up in a weggy I just lissen to 75 meters if I want to have them do that .....
Other wise i read their comments on trucking boards ......

i don't have time to be upset there are too many bands to work and too little time
to fit in much more ...

 

How do you talk on 75 meters??? stupid question but I have never done it...
what kind of radio and all that good stuff...

 

I run a TS-2000 with preamp and antenna tuner into a 12avq ant.
I have a R-5 that will go up soon that will be much better ....

 

Hiya, Turbo-T. Interesting thread. Just wanted to make a quick comment regarding the long-distance element of mobile Amateur Radio (Ham).

I, too, got my first taste of long-distance radio work back when the Uniden Grant (not Grant XL) came out. It was in the summer of 1990, and I remember it well. I had a job working at a state park in Northwestern Colorado for the summer. I had the Grant in my '84 S-10 pickup, and, because of the altitude, was able to get quite a bit of traffic, including one very short transmission from as far away as Australia. Strange band conditions, that.

Lower Sideband, Channel 37. That's where I found most of the activity during the course of that summer.

Since then, I got my ham ticket in 1991, and I've had a few more contacts here and there, although I've never really been able to focus on the hobby as much as I'd like to have done.

Anyway, the reason I'm posting is to draw your attention to the many wonderful High Frequency (HF) radios that are available now. They've gotten to be the size of modern CB rigs now--albeit a little bigger for the combination HF/VHF/UHF (1-30MHz/144-148MHz/440-450MHz) mobile units that are out right now.

The Icom IC-706MkIIg is probably the most popular, overall. I like the looks of Yaesu's new FT-857D, and I've owned the somewhat larger FT-897.

The Yaesu FT-817D is in a class by itself, and is the really only viable, all-in-one (in my opinion) HF/VHF/UHF/50MHz/60MHz(5 Channels) unit on the market today that you can pop in your backpack and operate from anywhere you have a desire. Five Watts is still in vogue for some people. I also had one of these, and can say that it's a nice radio.

If you're interested in long-distance via mobile, then I'd heartily recommend seeking out a local ham who can help you get started. I'm N8PZT, by the way. My father's former CB call, years ago, was KLI-7089, and he went by the Handle of "Cashman" (he was a banker, ;->). My CB Handle was, and is still "Buckshot." I've never given it up.

I have a couple of Midland CB Walkies that I play around with now and again. When money's better, I'm going to get back into hamming a bit more, and definitely into CB again, with a better system, and as a complement to my mobile ham gear.

All radio is good to me, CB, Ham, Broadcast, all of it

Thanks for reading and letting me share.

Warm Regards,
Firefishe