2 meters ...hmmm

[Bearcat]

Got my ticket a few years ago but never set up my station...i have watched alot of videos of 2meter action...well I'm not real impressed with bouncing signals off of repeaters...kinda kills the fun of it right?? I like to dx on 11m but 2meters just seems like talking local...simplex seems cool but how far can line of site take you? Ssb 2m....seems like fun on groundwave but hardly any rigs make ssb 2m mode...why?...someone lift me up on this band...just seems boring

 

[Singularity35]

Depends on what you want to get out of it. I do find repeaters boring. I'm a simplex kind of guy and I used to enjoy getting out as far as I could. I can do that anymore since I live in an antenna height restricted area(straight path on a runway).

As also enjoyed our local ragchews immensely and we could have coffee with each other often because of our proximity.

I say enjoy the hobby however you want with the corollary that if there's a part of the hobby you don't like, just avoid it.

We are very lucky today where we have an immense number of choices of where we can focus on to enjoy it best. Additionally, I find that when I knock the choices of others, I enjoy the hobby less.

 

[Bearcat]

Depends on what you want to get out of it. I do find repeaters boring. I'm a simplex kind of guy and I used to enjoy getting out as far as I could. I can do that anymore since I live in an antenna height restricted area(straight path on a runway).

As also enjoyed our local ragchews immensely and we could have coffee with each other often because of our proximity.

I say enjoy the hobby however you want with the corollary that if there's a part of the hobby you don't like, just avoid it.

We are very lucky today where we have an immense number of choices of where we can focus on to enjoy it best. Additionally, I find that when I knock the choices of others, I enjoy the hobby less.

Not knocking anyone? I just don't see the point if the help of repeaters...when I'm a dx guy....simplex may be the only thing I find interesting..thank u for reply

 

[w9cll]

Not knocking anyone? I just don't see the point if the help of repeaters...when I'm a dx guy....simplex may be the only thing I find interesting..thank u for reply

Then get your general ticket and get on HF.

2 meters is hams version of CB, yes there can be some dx there but you really have to work for it. Years ago I ran a full 2 meter ssb setup, I had a pair of stacked Cushcraft 17b2 17 element beams at 100 feet. With just 25 watts I was easily able to work stations 3 to 4 hundred miles away daily. If there was a rare band opening on 2 meters then that would go to 1000's of miles. There also was Aurora bounce, point the antenna north and bounce the signal off the Aurora and talk to someone far south of you. The is also EME, bounce the signal off the moon and back.

Most of 2 meters nowadays is HT's and repeaters.

 

[Atlasta]

I was the same way- until a recent bout of inclement weather. It was then that I realized the reliability of a privately-owned repeater system was invaluable in such situations. The crystal-clear audio and mannerisms of the local operators made for excellent real-time reports on conditions in the area.

On CB I need 400 watts to put a decent signal to a base station about 60 miles away (yes I can do it with less, but the signal is buried in all the 11m trash). Using a simple J-pole antenna mounted on the house I can communicate with the same station on 2m using less than 20 watts- and not have to worry about all the other yahoos, dingdongs and lugnuts that seem to populate 11m - not dissing 11m, it will always hold a place in my heart- but for reliable communications it's hard to beat a well-established and networked 2m / 440 rig.

I upgraded to a General last week- been doing a lot of listening because I don't have the HF antennas up yet, but my 11m vertical is usable on 10- and it was there that I made my first HF contact just yesterday! A couple of guys on the tech portion of 10m, one in Tenn. and the other in Kentucky- both 5x9 to me in Arizona and they said I sounded just as good and strong- all this on 100 watts!

BTW, 17 meters is a cool little band!

VHF/ UHF / HF is different from CB, but it's no less fun.

 

[w9cll]

BTW, 17 meters is a cool little band!

17 is my favorite band

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Not knocking anyone? I just don't see the point if the help of repeaters...when I'm a dx guy....simplex may be the only thing I find interesting..thank u for reply

If you want DX get a general ticket at least. 2m repeaters are for people that want reliable wide coverage or need the extra range a repeater can provide over their HT or mobile radio. You won't be working reliable simplex over 50 miles from a mobile radio on the daily commute but with a repeater it is easy. Many repeaters are linked. Up here we can cover the entire provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island by linking various repeaters thereby providing coverage over many thousands of square miles ( 20,000+ in Nova Scotia alone) which you will NEVER get on your own. To each his own. Pick an aspect of the hobby and embrace it while letting others do the same.

 

[Singularity35]

If you want DX get a general ticket at least. 2m repeaters are for people that want reliable wide coverage or need the extra range a repeater can provide over their HT or mobile radio. You won't be working reliable simplex over 50 miles from a mobile radio on the daily commute but with a repeater it is easy. Many repeaters are linked. Up here we can cover the entire provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island by linking various repeaters thereby providing coverage over many thousands of square miles ( 20,000+ in Nova Scotia alone) which you will NEVER get on your own. To each his own. Pick an aspect of the hobby and embrace it while letting others do the same.

We've had a lot of near misses from typhoons in our area. We sustained damage where power was knocked out for days at a time. People were displaced by flooding. And even one largish earthquake. The repeater of our club is situated on top of a hospital, the rationale being that we can always have power(Hospital has a large power plant for backup) even if the grid goes down.

The repeater served us well in those cases. So even if I'm kinda bored with rpt comms, it does serve a useful and possibly vital, purpose for us.

 

[W4KVW]

Don't underestimate 2 meters.I have worked stations in Canada,Puerto Rico,North & South Dakota,Michigan.Kansas,& many many more from here in North Florida on 2 meter SSB with just over 100 watts & a single 15 element beam at 61 feet.Recently we had some openings on 2 meter FM where we had stations in Tennessee,North & South Carolina,& even Missouri working into Florida.It takes patience & watching the prop loggers or APRS map so you will know when the band is open but it's a lot of fun when it opens up.I have worked the world on HF but get a lot more enjoyment from working some 2 meter or 6 meter DX.If I have a choice & all of the bands are Open I'll take the VHF bands because HF DX is EASY & VHF DX is much tougher & many contacts on VHF may be a once in a lifetime event so I'll take them when I can get them.I even enjoy working repeaters 3 or 4 states away & listening to the response from those stations when they realize where I am.It's a lot of fun so just don't look at 2 meters as an HT & repeater world because there is far more to it than that I promise.

 

[W4KVW]

17 is my favorite band

It's my Favorite HF band but 6 meters is & always has been my Favorite band overall.