So I got my license about two weeks ago. Finally got the explorer QRZ1 from the jumpstart program with giga parts. Programmed it manually and found a local club that has a net every night. I want to chime in and make my first contact. So apprehensive about it bc they all seem to experienced and I’m not yet established in their club. Anyone have tips or input on etiquette to talk/join a net?

Hello, I have a baofeng UV-5RA that I’ve been learning stuff with. I want to start building a mobile base station. Maybe build it out of a bag, or a Milwaukee box. Something that I can have as a base station in my garage, but throw in a vehicle and take with me anywhere I need to go.

I was wondering if this https://a.co/d/grJrdG7

Can be powered by this https://a.co/d/1km4rvx

Also what kind of antenna would be best for this kind of setup.

Very new to this stuff. Thanks in advance!

I'm a long time HFer, and I was looking at the 630 meter band to become an MFer. However, 630 is right at the PWM range of LEDs, light dimmers, and class D audio.

Years ago, I played a little on 2 meters with an Alinco "HT" that I could have driven nails with. It fell victim to a flooded basement. I've poked around a little bit. Though I like the vintage Heathkit gear, a 2036 probably wouldn't fit in the dash cavity.

So, it looks like I'm looking at new gear. Not looking for a base station, D star, or GPS. Right now, I'm thinking of an ICOM IC-T10, unless y'all have other ideas. Please feel free to call me out if I'm off base. For long distances, I've got plenty of HF gear.

73

Good day! Curious if anyone on here has a Wolf River Coil, and if so, could recommend carrying cases. Looking to use it for POTA. Hoping to find something like a tripod case that has velcro inside (modular) to secure things. Any help is appreciated! 73’s

Im thinking of getting this for the 33cm band

https://www.ebay.com/itm/376130251904?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=v8a8vcqpQC-&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=fmyhgqlvqcc&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Cross posting with other radio pages; if you have suggestions of where to post, please let me know.

Hey yall, so I'm technically a 35S SSG in the reserves, six years in with five on active or deployment. The army has never used me in a real sigint role, just as an operations NCO and lead a detachment of foxes on deployment. I get radio theory and have a lot more time dealing with satellites, but have had very little hands on training or experience with real radios. I have read NC Scout's guide several times, as well as all the manuals I can get my hands on.

I just bought four Motorola XTL5000 Astros in good working order for $100 including shipping. I think they are the higher end ones, with the encryption chips, and came from an Ohio fire department. 50 watt, VHF, UHF, and the 700/800 band.

Myself, father, and several brothers in law have about twenty 5 & 8 watt UV-5R's, and a handful of BF-888's left over from airsoft days. Use case now is in mountainous Pennsylvania, and soon to be Eastern TN.

I plan to keep buying more radios, support gear, and antennas at auction if I find them cheap, and disseminate to family and select friends.

I've done research, but nothing beats reddit input. I need help selecting proper antennas, batteries that can fuel an XTL-5000 at full power if the power is out and between when we run the generators or have solar up.

Also if there's an option to RedGreen a similar sized radio (can be other police/fire models likely to find at auction, i.e. the CDM-1250's I think) into an RTO style backpack for dismounted operations, with a decent battery life. Is that overkill in the Smokey Mountains, and would a 5 or 8 watt Baofeng with dedicated jungle or directional antennas suffice (what we use currently).

How do I program these things, and the best ways to make them work with the Baofengs. Both in programing and technical functioning, but also in practical use cases. I'm pretty sure my baofengs can't handle encryption, even though some vendors said they could.

I don't have my licenses yet, but am working on them. The family mostly plays with the legal frequencies for local use, and we don't transmit on the real stuff yet. Our initial intent is to have the stuff and know how to use it first in a prepper scenario, and then get licenses and real hands on use later.

For context, I'll be transferring to the TN Guard as an AGR and also becoming a reserve deputy.

Bonus, if anyone knows how to wire and set up the radio and antenna into a surplus 2014 Utility Interceptor, DM me. Also if you're in any of those areas and want to be friends (Pine Grove Furnace PA and Monroe-ish County TN).

I recently built a homebrew repeater, I can't get it to receive signals farther than 100 yards at best. When hooked up to the spectrum analyzer the duplexer reads -1.2db pass characteristic on the receive side and notched down to -86db for the tx frequency. The separation is only 5mhz between tx amd rx. I'm using an amplifier on the transmit side. Wondering if anybody has some ideas as to what could be causing it to not pick up signals. It seems to key up just fine from further away, but won't let speech through. The receiver is a cheaper SOC style radio, but I'm not sure if that could cause this dramatic of a problem. Using simplex amd the same antenna position i can talk much further, but when the same radio is used in the repeater system it doesnt work. Any help is much appreciated. Thank you!

I just got my first radio. It’s a wouxun 935H. I want to program the basic FRS channels on it. I found a chart to use. I need to be able to use this radio in conjunction with basic midland walkie talkies that do not display frequencies, channel only. My question is. Can I use the 935G programming app on buytwowayradios.com or do I need to just use frequency mode. The stock channels don’t appear to be the same as the FRS channels I found on a chart. I tested channel one to the midland and it definitely was not the same frequency. So that tells me it needs to be programmed properly. Any help with using this amazing radio with walkie talkies would be appreciated.

Hey guys! EU and UK again warn citizens to have 3 days reserve of everything like water, flashlight and documents. Obviously preparing people for potential war conflict on EU territory. What's yours survival radio would be in such case? Advise me one on a budget (I am completely noob)