Radio suggestions

[Victorkilo31]

Afternoon and thanks in advance for the help. Currently studying for my license (technician to start) and I'm trying to get an idea on a radio. I'd like one I could use in my M998 and take out and set up in the house fairly easy(ie not 4 hours to pull it off the truck and another 2 to set up on a desk) would like to keep militaryish. mostly considering this type option as I'd not want to keep the radio in the truck all the time, and if I can use it at the house, even better. Could save on a separate radio for each. been looking around and seems to my limited knowledge and experience, something similar to a prc117 seems to fit what I have in mind, however not sure about base station use. Anyway some suggestions would be appreciated

 

[papakb]

Go talk with Mike Murphy , he's knowledgeable, sells the radios and can help you.

Address: 401 N Johnson Ave, El Cajon, CA 92020

Phone: (619) 444-7717

 

[mweidhaas]

The first question I would ask is "who do you want totalk to"? Your FCC amateur license, technician class, covers only selectedfrequencies. Operating in other areas of the frequency spectrum can get you introuble fast if you don't know what you are doing, especially on the military /government ones. That being said, I would suggest you start with a radiointended primarily for the ham bands. More specifically, a dual bander coveringthe 2M (144-148 MHz) and 70cm bands (420-450 MHz). Here you will find lots ofother "hams" to talk with. If you are so inclined, you can also joina public service group like ARES or RACES. Repeaters are everywhere in theseband segments, extending your somewhat limited transmitting power rig into acommunication device capable of QSO's over great distances. If you areinterested in military communications, I suggest you join a state based MARSgroup (Military Auxiliary Radio Service). MARS purpose is to serve militaryneeds in case their primary communications fail. Here you will learn the art ofsending, relaying and receiving precise military message traffic. A MARSlicense will allow you to operate in some of the military spectrum for practicepurposes and if needed in time of duress.
Going back to your original question, I would suggest aKenwood TM-V71. This is a true dual band radio (2M & 70cm) capable ofoperating repeaters and cross-banding. Yaesu and Icom also have similar rigs.There is a MARS modification for this radio that will open it up totransmitting 136-174 MHz and 400-520 MHz. This will give you access to FRS,GMRS, land/marine mobile frequencies as well as the popular off road landmobile frequencies in the 150-155 MHz area. Most likely to be the areas wherecommunications would be most valued if the SHTF.
For a mobile antenna I personally use a Comet CA-2x4SR. Thisis a wide band antenna capable of 350 watts on transmit. For a base stationantenna a 3x5/8 colinear antenna like a Comet GP-9 is very popular. Remember,military vehicles generally operate on 24 VDC, so some sort of buck converterto produce 12 VDC will be required for mobile use. For a base setup a simple 12VDC power supply will suffice. There are also a number of amplifiers availablefor these frequencies.
I have a TM-V71 (MARS mod) in my M35A2C along with a custom TESystems 144-174 MHz amplifier connected to a CA-2x4SR. This has proven to be avery robust setup with impressive capabilities.
I hope this information helps. If you have more questionsjust ask me or any experienced ham, most are willing to be “Elmers”. See mystation at https://www.qrz.com/db/W7MGW.
73 de W7MGW / AAR9GP (MARS)

 

[papakb]

You might want to repost this is a readable color. I tend to use the orange because it stands out so well. Just highlight your text and then click on the A in the menu bar. A drop down menu will come up that allows you to select a color for your text.

 

[snowtrac nome]

another good option is finding a bendix king eph radio and a docking station and the look like the prc 127's

 

[papakb]

mweidhaas' comment is important because beyond mere pricing you need to figure out what you want to do with your radio and who you want to talk to. If you want to talk to other military vehicle owners then you should probably be looking for radios that operate in the VHF LO spectrum of 30-75 (88 Mhz. This is the area most of your military tactical radios operate in, however, even with a ham license this unfortunately limits you to the 6 meter band of 50 - 54 Mhz though the range of the radios is much wider. Radios like the BK EPH serious would be usable but will limit you to the 2 meter amateur band. There are plenty of HF radios out there that are very usable to the amateur radio community but their military variants tend to be extremely expensive. So your expected use will play a big part in which radios you acquire and what your outlay for them will be.

Kurt
KG6KMJ

 

[Victorkilo31]

Well my pl lan is to have a usable radio in the hmmwv and be able to use it as a base as well. Right now I'm not hugely concerned with talking to people across country, I'm sure I'll get there one day, but to start I'd like a military radio, or one that looks like it belongs in the truck. The ability to use it as a base would be a huge plus but not absolutely required. I understand that I'll be limiting myself on usable bands and feqs with a military one l, as well as the expense, and I'm good with that. Just my preference for the truck is influencing my decision right now. I'd like to stick with a military theme at the very least. Even if it means redecorating the radio case. I'm sure its probably a tough way to go to start, but I'm sure it will work out in the end I'm not limiting myself to just one radio either. If I can get 2 that fit my requirements and operate on a wider spectrum then it's something I'll definitely consider. I can make the truck handle 2 radios pretty easy and itll keep me from a CB radio as well

 

[papakb]

Moderately priced radios in that region would be the RT-524 and the R-442. Both relatively available and there are plenty of knowledgeable people out there to help you with them. Accessories are in the same ballpark. This series of radios is known as the "new family" that replaced the old Korean era "old family" radios. They were introduced during the Viet Nam War and stayed in service until they were replaced by the Sincgars series of radios.

Get ready for a nomenclature overload with them though and it will be confusing. The radios in this series are RT-246, RT-524, and R-442. These go into mounts MT-1898 and MT-1029 and use antennas AT-1729 which consists of base AT-6707 or AT-912. Then when you start mixing and matching RTs and receivers the sets get numbers like VRC-46, 47, 48, amd 49.

Here's a link to a website with more valuable information: https://olive-drab.com/od_electronics_anvrc12.php

 

[Victorkilo31]

Seems like a good place to start. Are they fairly easy to set up as a base station? I dont think I've seen (not that it doesnt exisit) a power supply or anything for non mobile use. I might not be searching correctly though