Cheap 440 mobile

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lilradiojon
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Cheap 440 mobile

#368405

Post by lilradiojon »

Whats the cheapest 440 or dual band 2m:70cm radio out there? I have a few ht's but want something for the truck. Thanks
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Radar-DLDN
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Re: Cheap 440 mobile

#368406

Post by Radar-DLDN »

The cheapest option would be to use an HT with a mobile antenna and a battery elimanator. The whole thing, UV-5r radio included, would run well under a hundred dollars. Downside would be the low wattage no matter what HT you use.

If you want a mobile radio you can find some relatively inexpensive Chinese dual banders for less than $200. If you are looking for one from the Big 3 manufacturers it will run you at least $200 for a single bander and closer to $300 minimum for a dual bander. I got an IC-2300h a couple months ago. It is 2-meter only and runs around $200 but is feature rich, easy to program, and I really like it.

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795
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Re: Cheap 440 mobile

#368411

Post by 795 »

JETSTREAM JT270M 2/440

DOCTOR/795 :icon_e_geek:
73
795/doctor/ chnl / 36//USB/AM
HAMSPHERE<NO LICENSE REQUIRED>
VOICE OF THE CORNFIELDS
SGT VIETNAM 1967-68/14th ICC
US COAST GUARD 1971-1980
AIR NATL GUARD 123RD COMM 1981-1991/RETIRED
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panther air
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Re: Cheap 440 mobile

#368461

Post by panther air »

A couple of thoughts for you...

As far as a cheap 440, I bought a TYT Th9000 as an experiment about a year ago for $150 (including cable and programming software). To be honest, I've used this in my shack so I don't know how well it would work as a mobile in your truck (although it's a mobile unit). In the shack, I routinely work repeaters 60 miles away off a J-Pole antenna, so no complaints there.

On the upside (besides the price), the radio is built like a tank...Mike feels kind of cheap but I've always had good audio reports. On the downside, programming on the fly is a real pain...the buttons are labeled P1-P5 and you really need a cheat sheet to keep track of what buttons do what. The manual is pretty awful...written by someone who really didn't have command of English (it's a Chinese radio). Using the software (or CHIRP) makes it fairly easy though.

The unit I have in my truck is a Yaesu FT 7900R dual bander (mounted with remote separation kit and external speaker). Love the radio, although the Mike suffers the "Yaesu over-deviation gremlin". Good price for a dual bander IMO...I shopped around and got it NIB for $235 about 18 months ago.

Just a couple of thoughts.

-- Friday, 13 February 2015, 12:17 PM --
795 wrote:JETSTREAM JT270M 2/440

DOCTOR/795 :icon_e_geek:
Didn't know about that one...dual band for $130...

Any feedback on the radio itself? I might jump on that LOL
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