2 Meter Radios

I have heard pilots expressing their enthusiasm for
2 meter shortwave radios. (ie. clear channels, repeaters
provide extended range, ability to make telephone calls)
I would like to hear comments on specific models so
Santa can make a certain little boy happy.

"Guy Acheson" wrote in message
...
I have heard pilots expressing their enthusiasm for
2 meter shortwave radios. (ie. clear channels, repeaters
provide extended range, ability to make telephone calls)
I would like to hear comments on specific models so
Santa can make a certain little boy happy.

Does that "little boy" have an amateur radio license? It is the
requirement for licensing (which requires passing a rather stiff written
test) that pretty well keeps two meter radios out of glider cockpits. I
have been a licensed amateur radio operator far longer than I have been a
glider pilot and I have never even considered taking a 2-meter radio flying
with me. Why would I want to carry yet another radio?

Vaughn (WB4UHB)

"Guy Acheson" wrote in message
...
I have heard pilots expressing their enthusiasm for
2 meter shortwave radios. (ie. clear channels, repeaters
provide extended range, ability to make telephone calls)
I would like to hear comments on specific models so
Santa can make a certain little boy happy.

If you're in the U.S., spend the six bucks or so it costs to take the test
to get the Technician amateur radio license.
When I took it , it was 55 questions, from a known question pool. Radio
Shack has a book called "Now You're Talking" for twenty bucks, and it has
the question pool, or you can probably find them on the net.
Studying for the test will give you a good idea of what you can expect from
the radios, and if you talk to the volunteers that give the tests, you can
get lots of opinions on what the best brands are.
The Morse-code-free Technician license gives you access to 50 MHz and up,
which includes the two meter band, but not the lower frequencies that are
usually referred to as "shortwave".

Vaughn wrote:

Does that "little boy" have an amateur radio license? It is the
requirement for licensing (which requires passing a rather stiff written
test) that pretty well keeps two meter radios out of glider cockpits. I
have been a licensed amateur radio operator far longer than I have been a
glider pilot and I have never even considered taking a 2-meter radio
flying
with me. Why would I want to carry yet another radio?

Vaughn (WB4UHB)

Well, I found the test to cover such complex concepts as "Don't stick your
head in a microwave oven", and "Don't stick your fingers in the light
socket". I found a test site on a Wednesday, my wife and I studied the
question pool the rest of the week, and we both passed on Saturday morning.
Perhaps it's harder now. It's certainly not as expensive as ninety or a
hundred bucks to take the glider written.

As to why you'd carry one, it's not that unusual in the western U.S. to be
able to hit a repeater but not a cell phone site, at least on the ground. A
dual band (2m/70cm) HT with a collapsible gain antenna and the ARRL repeater
guide can be useful.

If you want to chit-chat, it leaves the crowded air-band frequencies a
little less congested.

Tim Ward
KD6UTW

Tim Ward wrote:

As to why you'd carry one, it's not that unusual in the western U.S. to be
able to hit a repeater but not a cell phone site, at least on the ground. A
dual band (2m/70cm) HT with a collapsible gain antenna and the ARRL repeater
guide can be useful.

If you want to chit-chat, it leaves the crowded air-band frequencies a
little less congested.

Well, I'd certainly vote for less chit-chat on 123.3/.5, but are people
getting these in addition to or instead of an aircraft radio? And how
much chit-chat is on the 2 meter bands they'd be using from 10,000',
where they'd get much more range than the hams on the ground? Does that
bother the hams?

--
-----
change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

In message , Eric Greenwell
writes
Tim Ward wrote:

As to why you'd carry one, it's not that unusual in the western U.S. to be
able to hit a repeater but not a cell phone site, at least on the ground. A
dual band (2m/70cm) HT with a collapsible gain antenna and the ARRL repeater
guide can be useful.
If you want to chit-chat, it leaves the crowded air-band frequencies

little less congested.

Well, I'd certainly vote for less chit-chat on 123.3/.5, but are people
getting these in addition to or instead of an aircraft radio? And how
much chit-chat is on the 2 meter bands they'd be using from 10,000',
where they'd get much more range than the hams on the ground? Does that
bother the hams?

The hams will probably go ballistic. In the UK it will bring the wrath
of the radio authority down around your shoulders in the US I suspect
the ARRL would also want to have a big beef as well

Robin,
Astir Pilot and Radio Ham
--
Robin Birch

"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
...
Tim Ward wrote:

As to why you'd carry one, it's not that unusual in the western U.S. to
be
able to hit a repeater but not a cell phone site, at least on the
ground. A
dual band (2m/70cm) HT with a collapsible gain antenna and the ARRL
repeater
guide can be useful.

If you want to chit-chat, it leaves the crowded air-band frequencies a
little less congested.

Well, I'd certainly vote for less chit-chat on 123.3/.5, but are people
getting these in addition to or instead of an aircraft radio?

Hmm. I was using them XC in hang gliders, so it was typically instead of.
Hang gliders may be a special case, because we usually had more than one
pilot to a retrieve vehicle. So small groups of pilots find it useful to
have their "own frequency".

When I used 70 cm in my glider, it was in addition to.

Since there's now an HT that is both airband and 2m, there's no reason it
couldn't be in addition to, even if the HT is the only radio in the glider.

And how
much chit-chat is on the 2 meter bands they'd be using from 10,000',
where they'd get much more range than the hams on the ground? Does that
bother the hams?

Well, done correctly, the pilots ARE hams. Notice I'm not saying everyone
should just go out and buy a radio. Getting a Technician ticket is not
hard, and will (probably) teach you how to operate without irritating other
hams..
Hams use 2m when driving and hiking and biking and all sorts of things. I
don't see why hams shouldn't use 2m flying gliders (though in some countries
it is not legal to operate aeronautical mobile). But there are lots of
simplex channels, and if you stay off of the simplex calling frequency, it's
unlikely to be a problem, especially in remote areas.

OTOH, calling up as aeronautical mobile is enough of a novelty to get some
attention. Some of my ham friends have wondered about the weird "alternator
whine" of the vario in the background.

Tim Ward

The problem with 2 meter is there would not be a way to call the closest FSS
to get weather, or to contact the tower when you land.

"Tim Ward" wrote in message
...

"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
...
Tim Ward wrote:

As to why you'd carry one, it's not that unusual in the western U.S.
to
be
able to hit a repeater but not a cell phone site, at least on the
ground. A
dual band (2m/70cm) HT with a collapsible gain antenna and the ARRL
repeater
guide can be useful.

If you want to chit-chat, it leaves the crowded air-band frequencies a
little less congested.

Well, I'd certainly vote for less chit-chat on 123.3/.5, but are people
getting these in addition to or instead of an aircraft radio?

Hmm. I was using them XC in hang gliders, so it was typically instead of.
Hang gliders may be a special case, because we usually had more than one
pilot to a retrieve vehicle. So small groups of pilots find it useful to
have their "own frequency".

When I used 70 cm in my glider, it was in addition to.

Since there's now an HT that is both airband and 2m, there's no reason it
couldn't be in addition to, even if the HT is the only radio in the
glider.

And how
much chit-chat is on the 2 meter bands they'd be using from 10,000',
where they'd get much more range than the hams on the ground? Does that
bother the hams?

Well, done correctly, the pilots ARE hams. Notice I'm not saying everyone
should just go out and buy a radio. Getting a Technician ticket is not
hard, and will (probably) teach you how to operate without irritating
other
hams..
Hams use 2m when driving and hiking and biking and all sorts of things. I
don't see why hams shouldn't use 2m flying gliders (though in some
countries
it is not legal to operate aeronautical mobile). But there are lots of
simplex channels, and if you stay off of the simplex calling frequency,
it's
unlikely to be a problem, especially in remote areas.

OTOH, calling up as aeronautical mobile is enough of a novelty to get some
attention. Some of my ham friends have wondered about the weird
"alternator
whine" of the vario in the background.

Tim Ward

much chit-chat is on the 2 meter bands they'd be using from 10,000',
where they'd get much more range than the hams on the ground? Does that
bother the hams?

The hams will probably go ballistic.

Not in my experience. When hang gliding on a non-XC flight I kept my
radio on lowest power setting because anybody I wanted to talk to was
within a few miles line of sight. On the days when we got to 7k - 10k
AGL hams 30 miles away could pick us up. Most of the reaction was
friendly. They were curious about antennas and about hang gliding.
The only unfriendly reaction was to folks not using their call signs,
or not having callsigns. But that's the same unfriendly reaction the
unlicensed users got when standing on the ground.

"Libelle Driver" wrote in message
...
The problem with 2 meter is there would not be a way to call the closest
FSS
to get weather, or to contact the tower when you land.

This is not a problem with 2 meter radio. This is a problem with not having
an air band radio.
I haven't seen anyone in this thread advocate replacing the air band
tranceiver with 2m.
I think amateur radio can be a useful tool for some XC pilots.
I think if you use 2m, you should get the license, or, contrariwise, you
shouldn't use 2m if you don't get the license.
I think getting the Technician license here in the US is pretty easy.
I think the Yaesu VXA-700 ( http://www.pilotshop.hu/yaesu/vxa-700.pdf ) isa
really nifty package, and I _really_ wish they'd been available when I was
flying hang gliders.

Tim Ward

"Tim Ward" wrote in message ...

Well, I found the test to cover such complex concepts as "Don't stick your
head in a microwave oven", and "Don't stick your fingers in the light
socket". I found a test site on a Wednesday, my wife and I studied the
question pool the rest of the week, and we both passed on Saturday morning.
Perhaps it's harder now. It's certainly not as expensive as ninety or a
hundred bucks to take the glider written.

Then you wonder why QCWA members don't respect the newer hams. My
test was free, BTW taken at a FCC field office, (SF) and with a 13 WPM
code requirement. From what you describe, a novice in 1963 would know
more than you were expected to. BTW, one week after becoming WB6EOQ,
I took and passed the FCC Second Class Radiotelephone. (P2-12-8015)
Course, that's back when we had to know something. Novice was limited
term, two years, no renewal. General had all current priviledges,
Extra required a very stiff technical test, 20 WPM, and minumum of
five years with a lower class license. Three months after getting the
first station license, I became WA9JTF, from 1963 to 1988 when I let
it expire. Too many appliance operators that couldn't have figured
an 80 meter dipole for themselves. Still have my J-37 and D-104,
although I doubt that you'd recognize either one of them. Used to
amuse myself by building 7 to 10 element yagi's for 2 meters. Guess
no body wants to do anything for themselves anymore.