It's all Greek to me. This is one area in my preps I know nothing about but I can learn from you guys then when I'm ready I'll have a head start, thanks.
I love the 2900R great radio, I have used the RT system programming software without any problems. I had the 2900 in my truck for the longest time. Just recently upgraded to an Ft8900R multi band radio. Working on. Getting my general so I can play more on the HF side.
+dafrogtoad You can do HF if you have a radio like the Yaesu FT857d. It puts out 100 watts on HF and is set up for a screw driver type antenna. The radio will find the best SWR sweet spot just by pressing a button. Don't have one so I can't tell you how good they are but do know they are expensive.
Very neat! I'm just starting to get into the hobby, and I've been looking at a few radios to get down the line (just ordered a baofeng) to really get my feet into the hobby, and I think this is what I'm going to go with, because the price point can't be beat! Cheers from a new subscriber!
Frosty McHaggard How are you liking the Baofeng so far? Have you bought another radio yet? I was planning on buying a Baofeng but I'm worried that 4 watts wont cut it. That's why I'm considering this Yaesu FT-2900.
***** The Beofeng is ok, for what it is. On the plus side it's VERY affordable and portable. On the bad side it's a bear to program in the field and has limited range. If it came down to portability, I'd get a handheld, for a base or auto (or both) I think the 2900 is a pretty good choice.
dafrogtoad Cool thanks. Also, if the Beofeng and the FT-2900R both hit the same repeater, how much better will the FT-2900R be? Is it worth the extra money for a higher wattage radio?
I wonder how many people have started their ham career with the little Baofeng radios? I did. I thought the price was too low to pass up, next I wanted to talk so I studied for my license. Got my tech on 4-29-15 and my general 7-29-15.
hi im just starting out in the hobbie and going to join a club,ive never done any cb or ham radio before,i keep looking at this radio,how would you rate it for the total new guy who never touched one before? do you still like it? does it do what you want it todo?
Baofeng has a HT out there now that produces 7-8 watts and they really do put that power out. I hooked mine up to the watt meter to verify it. Does that few extra watts make a difference? I don't know but it never hurts.
How much better is a 75 watt mobile like this compared to a 5 watt handheld? If they both hit the same repeater, how much better will the 75 watt be than the 5 watt? Is it worth spending another $100 to have a higher wattage radio? Any help would really be appreciated!
dafrogtoad After they both hit repeaters will they perform equally as good, or will the 75 watt be substantially better? What does the extra 70 watts do? More range? Better sound quality?
***** It's never really a good idea to overpower the repeater, you hit it good enough, the repeater itself "repeats" the signal out at IT'S power, not yours.
+TheGoldenSaber Distance...you'll be able to hit repeaters from much further away. The antenna makes up a good deal of transmission/reception but output in terms of watts matter a lot too.
No license needed to listen. I suppose one would argue that “Pinging” off the repeater is more than listening tho. To be honest, it’s just too easy to get the 1st level (Technician) license NOT too. You’ll be able to do much more with the license. Do consider getting it.
Used at full power for an extended period of time? Yes, it gets quite warm. As I use it more, I'll do an update and talk about that. I'm still learning the radio.
myfoodbox My reply was DEAD wrong. I mistook this video for another (a HH radio) This one is connected to the Astron 12v power supply. Please forgive my error.
HRO is selling it for $119 shipped! I might get this or might get a dual band mobile. Or get his yaesu then sell it and get a dual band. Ugh decisions.
If your friend didn't get the official Yaesu programming cable and software there is a bit of a trick with the cables. Most of the Chinese made programming cables use a counterfeit Prolific serial to usb chip and will not work with the current drivers made for the real Prolific chips. Your friend will need to remove the driver software and install a version that will work with the counterfeit chip. This is where I found the software and instructions to do that. www.ifamilysoftware.com/news37.html
Do you ever just...you know talk..instead of this k7xww bla bla where are you and so forth...can you for say give a recipe or talk sports over the radio ? thanks for your thoughts
+charles philippe With most ham operators their call sign is as personal as their name. At ham fests I often hear one guy talking about another, he'll start with his name followed by his call sign...that's how important they are.
It's all Greek to me. This is one area in my preps I know nothing about but I can learn from you guys then when I'm ready I'll have a head start, thanks.
We'll be here for ya bro.
Hey I' m Greek! LOL!!! :-)
+hakgar ha ha
Just installed one of these in my car. An absolute beaut!
Brandon MacEachern COOL!..Thanks for stopping by.
+Brandon MacEachern cool! I'm getting one for my truck .....What type, set up antenna? I want to get something that looks cool and functional.
glad you are havin fun with your new radio dude, you are going to get more familiar as your experience grows. it will be second nature after a while
Thanks SoCal..I do find myself using this one quite a bit.
They look like outstanding radios! having that extra ummph(100 watts) will come in real handy.
Take care
I need to test that, but yeah.
My dad had one when I was a kid. Really neat stuff.
Agreed. Maybe one day you'll follow in his footsteps.
I am REALLY thinking about this one! Thanks for the videos!
Love it! The very best of luck to you!
I love the 2900R great radio, I have used the RT system programming software without any problems. I had the 2900 in my truck for the longest time. Just recently upgraded to an Ft8900R multi band radio. Working on. Getting my general so I can play more on the HF side.
Woo-HOO!..wish I could go HF in the car. I just recently got 2m (almost) in my vehicle. Best of luck and thanks for stopping by!
+dafrogtoad You can do HF if you have a radio like the Yaesu FT857d. It puts out 100 watts on HF and is set up for a screw driver type antenna. The radio will find the best SWR sweet spot just by pressing a button. Don't have one so I can't tell you how good they are but do know they are expensive.
NICE! This is one area that I have to start getting a move on... slowly but surely
Let me know if I can help bro.
dafrogtoad Thanks bro! Will do!
Very neat! I'm just starting to get into the hobby, and I've been looking at a few radios to get down the line (just ordered a baofeng) to really get my feet into the hobby, and I think this is what I'm going to go with, because the price point can't be beat! Cheers from a new subscriber!
Right on Frosty!..Best of luck!
Frosty McHaggard How are you liking the Baofeng so far? Have you bought another radio yet? I was planning on buying a Baofeng but I'm worried that 4 watts wont cut it. That's why I'm considering this Yaesu FT-2900.
***** The Beofeng is ok, for what it is. On the plus side it's VERY affordable and portable. On the bad side it's a bear to program in the field and has limited range. If it came down to portability, I'd get a handheld, for a base or auto (or both) I think the 2900 is a pretty good choice.
dafrogtoad
Cool thanks. Also, if the Beofeng and the FT-2900R both hit the same repeater, how much better will the FT-2900R be? Is it worth the extra money for a higher wattage radio?
Thanks so much for your video. I've wanted to get into Ham radio for a long time. I'm just not very technical,but I am going to give it a try! :-)
You GO!! Best of luck to you!
Nice set up Toad!!
Thanks Bill.
Thanks for the video and the recommendation.
+Ronald Rocheleau You are most welcome.
Thanks for the review, I like simple..
Me too!..LOL
I wonder how many people have started their ham career with the little Baofeng radios? I did. I thought the price was too low to pass up, next I wanted to talk so I studied for my license. Got my tech on 4-29-15 and my general 7-29-15.
+Patrick Slevin Excellent! My first was the Baofeng UV3R
I am an amateur at ham raido's, my dad had one when I was younger, but I never payed attention, wish I would have now!
Never too late WG..
hi im just starting out in the hobbie and going to join a club,ive never done any cb or ham radio before,i keep looking at this radio,how would you rate it for the total new guy who never touched one before? do you still like it? does it do what you want it todo?
I'd recommend it for sure. I'm NOT an experienced operator and was able to use it right out of the box.
Baofeng has a HT out there now that produces 7-8 watts and they really do put that power out. I hooked mine up to the watt meter to verify it. Does that few extra watts make a difference? I don't know but it never hurts.
+Patrick Slevin As long as it does not get too hot I think more wattage is good.
How much better is a 75 watt mobile like this compared to a 5 watt handheld? If they both hit the same repeater, how much better will the 75 watt be than the 5 watt? Is it worth spending another $100 to have a higher wattage radio? Any help would really be appreciated!
***** I guess the easy answer is "power equals range". If you want to hit repeaters (or communicate simplex) more power makes that easier.
dafrogtoad
After they both hit repeaters will they perform equally as good, or will the 75 watt be substantially better? What does the extra 70 watts do? More range? Better sound quality?
*****
It's never really a good idea to overpower the repeater, you hit it good enough, the repeater itself "repeats" the signal out at IT'S power, not yours.
+TheGoldenSaber Distance...you'll be able to hit repeaters from much further away. The antenna makes up a good deal of transmission/reception but output in terms of watts matter a lot too.
Have fun with it.
So far, so good. Your turn soon bro.
Any thoughts on a good cheap antenna that can handle the full output for under $100
Sorry no. I built mine.
Do i need a DMR ID and FCC license to access a repeater to simply listen ? Thanks ! ( From Boston,MA )
No license needed to listen. I suppose one would argue that “Pinging” off the repeater is more than listening tho. To be honest, it’s just too easy to get the 1st level (Technician) license NOT too. You’ll be able to do much more with the license. Do consider getting it.
Does it get hot , been told they get very hot?
Used at full power for an extended period of time? Yes, it gets quite warm. As I use it more, I'll do an update and talk about that. I'm still learning the radio.
dafrogtoad
By "Used" I mean TRANSMIT.
hey...im now getting into this.....what antenna are you running ?
A diamond, can’t remember the model just offhand.
does that plug straight into the wall
Yes (with a wall-wart) but you can't transmit while it's plugged in.
You have to get a much larger DC supply of power in order to transmit. Wall warts can't provide that kind of power.
myfoodbox My reply was DEAD wrong. I mistook this video for another (a HH radio) This one is connected to the Astron 12v power supply. Please forgive my error.
what astron are you using?
myfoodbox It's an SRM-30. I'm just not yet using the rack mount.
i got the Ft1900 for 140.00 delivered to my door, its about 50watts 2 meters only, basically identical just lower power
+TexasPrepper86 FT-2900 $137 (last week, now $139) delivered from MTCRadio
+Zigmund Zender
this was after taxes since they shipped it from my home state
+Zigmund Zender
i was referring to the ft1900 less power
Glad to hear you got the radio..you’ll have enough power to get talking.
Great
Thanks Sam
HRO is selling it for $119 shipped! I might get this or might get a dual band mobile. Or get his yaesu then sell it and get a dual band. Ugh decisions.
Jrodblue59 Nice price! Thanks for sharing.
If your friend didn't get the official Yaesu programming cable and software there is a bit of a trick with the cables. Most of the Chinese made programming cables use a counterfeit Prolific serial to usb chip and will not work with the current drivers made for the real Prolific chips. Your friend will need to remove the driver software and install a version that will work with the counterfeit chip. This is where I found the software and instructions to do that. www.ifamilysoftware.com/news37.html
Cool!..I'll pass that one along. Thanks!
Do you ever just...you know talk..instead of this k7xww bla bla where are you and so forth...can you for say give a recipe or talk sports over the radio ? thanks for your thoughts
+charles philippe Sure, we talk about lots of things. The call sign is just part of proper radio procedure.
thank you
+charles philippe With most ham operators their call sign is as personal as their name. At ham fests I often hear one guy talking about another, he'll start with his name followed by his call sign...that's how important they are.
I understand thank you ☺
lol .... stoned newbee,lol
LOL