About antennas, there are many ways to make them not look like antennas. Thin wire, green spray paint, flag poles, clotheslines, etc. My 24ft Imax2000 is painted camo green and brown. You can't see in in the trees unless you look very closely... I can string up a wire inside the house on the 2nd floor and use a tuner.. My 40m end-fed has a very thin wire you can barely see from any distance.

Gil.

My opinion is that a new Ham will eventually want to use HF, probably get a General license later.. Lots of dual band vhf/uhf have all kinds of bells and whistles I have no use for, like APRS and such. The only VHF radio I have is the FT-270R, which I agree isn't enough. I might get a Yaesu FT-2900R, a simple and rugged 2m at $160 with a 75W output, or find an all-mode 2m SSB/FM radio on Ebay. If I had the money, I would get an FT-817ND or FT897D, which have all the bands you might want, and general receive. That for me would be the ultimate radio. Add an amp for VHF (FT-817ND) and you're all set.. The question is, do you want to  stick to VHF/UHF local communications, or expand to worldwide contacts on HF? Honestly, most conversations I hear on 2m are rather lame, with lots of people bickering and cutting each other off with keying-over. There are good ones for sure, but there is always some idiot on VHF to mess it all up. So, if you want VHF/UHF/local, get what Scott suggests. If you want it all, see my suggestions above, either an all band model, or a cheap VHF radio plus an HF model, which there are plenty of new models and a ton for cheap on Ebay..

Gil.

TAPRN is a great resource. Thanks for the link. I didn't know about it. I like their , especially the 7,242kHz frequency suggestion. We might piggyback on that one.

Gil.

Hello,

I found the MST400 on http://ozqrp.com. It is a nice single-band 40m LSB radio with a digital frequency display and a DDS VFO. It will be a nice backup to my K2 or something to take along with my K1 on hikes. The kit is partial only, with the hard to find components included. Everything else, you can find online. At $75+shipping, it is a cheap way to start on building your own radio. The circuit boards are of excellent quality and the manuals, downloadable, very easy to follow. I can't believe this kit isn't famous yet, but I think it is pretty new. I probably should have soldered the ICs at the end, but I couldn't resist...

It would be great if the kit had a built-in iambic keyer and 400Hz filter for CW, but oh well.. That's what the K1 is for..

One thing I am going to do after I get the Morse pat down is learn to send a receive a radiogram... I can see how useful it would be for a hiker on a week-long hike away from any cell phone tower... Just to send short reports to family and friends...

Ray, I can't believe you were a sailor. I used to own a 32ft. steel ketch, but never finished the restoration because it was ransacked and everything of value stolen from it, including all ten bronze ports.. I plan on building a smaller boat, 18ft... http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jw/swaggie/index.htm But that's for another forum  ;)

Gil.

My smallest CW radio fits in my shirt pocket  ;)
Can't beat that!



Gil.

This topic has been moved to Licensing.

http://radiopreppers.com/index.php?topic=158.0

This topic has been moved to Licensing.

http://radiopreppers.com/index.php?topic=153.0

This topic has been moved to Licensing.

http://radiopreppers.com/index.php?topic=161.0

Jonas, what if you need to run after them  ;)

Gil.

From Wikipedia:

QuoteAd hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task.

Exactly what this site is...

Radio Preppers will be what it's members make of it. You want it to be a reputable source of information, make it so.
I am not taking offense. I have too good an opinion of my own work for that and too much self esteem to take it personally.

Scott does participate in this site quite a bit and does start new threads on a regular basis.
I can see Scott that you have strong opinions, and that's fine as long as they are expressed politely.
So far so good. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

I do not want RP to be a highly moderated site. There has to be a place for debate and disagreements.
What I will not tolerate is ab-hominem attacks and foul language.

Make no mistake, if moderation is ever needed, I will come down like the hammer of Thor.

Gil.

Well, Colonel, I have been looking into digital modes and they have my attention now. I connected my Mac to My K2 and ran fldigi.. Heard some PSK31 signals and was amazed at how well they decoded, even though I could barely hear the signal. I read the Olivia mode is even better and can decode signals deep in the static, that you can't even hear! I can see now, thanks to your post, that a digital mode would be great to send news bulletins. Cut-and-paste your text, set your software to behave as a beacon... It's a bit more involved than CW for sure, but with the abundance of cheap sub-$300 laptops, still a viable option. I will be looking into Olivia 16/500 on the K2. The problem with digital modes is that there are so many. We need a prepping standard!

Gil.

QuoteVHF radios with MURS motion sensors.

Hello Frosty, sounds like you are awesomely prepared.. What are those motion sensors, you have a link?

Gil.

Hum, it wouldn't hurt any...

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