What did you do to your Gen 3 today?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

KevoUsmc

FRF Addict
Joined
Jun 10, 2021
Posts
1,338
Reaction score
2,856
Location
Lancaster, PA
Got the RT Systems programmer for my Yaesu FTM-400XDR dual band radio and programmed a local comms load. This software allows you to download a list of repeaters (any amatuer band) in a given area from Repeaterbook or in the case of RFinder, a given area or travel route for upload. Oh, and passed my amatuer radio Technicians exam, so now I can actually transmit, lol!
Sheesh, what are you going to get next? A blue force tracker? But in all honesty that's pretty cool. I don't know much about amateur radio, who exactly do you talk to? Is it just like the movies where you pick up anyone on the road and chit-chat?
 

RotorOver

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2021
Posts
434
Reaction score
686
Location
Greater Atlanta
Sheesh, what are you going to get next? A blue force tracker? But in all honesty that's pretty cool. I don't know much about amateur radio, who exactly do you talk to? Is it just like the movies where you pick up anyone on the road and chit-chat?
Ha! Good question, but it’s also funny you should ask that because the radio supports a BFT like functionality as well. With a digital radio there’s a way to communicate with and navigate to folks in a group, so you can track their where abouts, which might be handy when you don’t have a visual on folks, but need to know where they are. There is also a mode called APRS where you tune up the freq (144.39 in N. America) and broadcast and receive positions (GPS input), so you can see who is nearby, send them a message or a quick voice call if you need help or whatever.

My thoughts for installing the dual band and GMRS radios was simply to have a comms capability when out of cell phone range. If you can hit a repeater your comms range can be hundreds of miles, especially if they are linked, which is the case for a group of GMRS repeaters in and around Georgia. And yes, making casual “contacts” is another use for the radios and many people get into it for that reason alone, especially in the HF bands where the contacts end up being worldwide. Then there is the geekiness of the equipment set-up and install, which I enjoy as a project and learning experience. The FCC gives folks lots of leeway here to play with equipment and even homebuilt stuff, so lots of folks get into that aspect.

Getting philosophical, you could also make an analogy to the second amendment in that this is just one of those “rights” that needs to exercised just because we can as free people. If we don’t, someone will try to take away our ability to communicate with one another and that is as much or more of a threat to our liberty than the loss of our second amendment rights.
 
Top