What radio or radios ?...

[Oatmeal]

I have a Yaesu FT 840 radio, in which I also have a Tech lics, but havent talked on it yet....but have talked dx on this radio on ssb a few times...

Seems like since Ive had the lics Ive kind of lost interested in it and I dont hear nobody local on the 10 meters either so this doesnt help any....

So I was wondering what would be a good radio to go to where I can use with a Tech lics ?.....thanks..

 

[VA3ES]

We have a group here in Ottawa, that monitors 10M constantly, as well as Ch. 6 (as a propagation beacon). As soon as the "superbowl" wakes up, we are notified on 2m, and go to our 10M calling frequency of 28.420. In the last few weeks the band has been quite active on and off. As cycle 24 heats up, 10 will become more active. Unfortunately, with your FT-840, and your Tech licensce, 10M is the only band where you can use SSB. Don't give up hope, the band is more and more active everyday. There are openings daily now, some only minutes long, others lasting for hours. The other aspect to think about is that too many 10M ops are just listening and not calling CQ. When you have thousands of hams just listening, it makes for a very quiet band!

You can use SSB from 6M and up. I would look for a rig that has at least 6M, if not 2M and 70cm. 6M is a great band and as cycle 24 progresses, it to will open up. When the 6M band is open you can work anything from a station 700 miles away to real DX (Europe, etc). I'm always monitoring 6M too, in several spots.

I have a Yaesu FT 840 radio, in which I also have a Tech lics, but havent talked on it yet....but have talked dx on this radio on ssb a few times...

Seems like since Ive had the lics Ive kind of lost interested in it and I dont hear nobody local on the 10 meters either so this doesnt help any....

So I was wondering what would be a good radio to go to where I can use with a Tech lics ?.....thanks..

 

[unit248]

Here in San Francisco, it seems like 11 meters will open up regularly from around 10AM to 12PM (PST). Unfortunately, I work 9-5 weekdays, so I don't get to take advantage of this except on weekends.

However, it seems like when 11 meters opens up, 10 meters doesn't necessarily open with it. I hear very little activity on 10 compared to 11, and very often none at all. It doesn't always happen like that, but that seems to be the case lately.

It seems like the best 10 meter openings here occur when I can hear WWV on 20Mhz. It's been a few weeks since that's happened though. But when there is a good opening, it's amazing. There was one particular day when I was able to work Europe, then near the end of the day propagation shifted west and I had contacts with Hawaii, Japan, and even one in China (my only one so far). All with 100 watts.

-Bill

 

[VA3ES]

Very often, when 11M is open, 10 is as well. The problem is two-fold: the number of available hams at the time of opening, and the fact that most 10M hams are listening, and not calling CQ. You have thousands of hams waiting for the band to come alive, all just sitting there, listening... dum-de-dum... diddle-dee-dee... This is why our 10M gang runs a mobile net all day, on 28.420. There is always someone there, either talking, or calling in every few minutes. If the band opens up, we announce that fact on our 2M repeater, and guys check in immediately. You should hear us from the west coast no problem, if propagation allows. We are all here in Ottawa, up in the northeast of the continent. Unfortunately, much skip lately has been sporadic-E stuff which is relatively short distance stuff (within 1000 miles or so). Lately the band has been open every day. It was open last night past midnight. We were working into Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, PA, northern KY, etc.

The "superbowl", Ch.6 is a good beacon. If that is alive, try 10M. Give us a call on 28.420, or just call CQ on your favorite frequency.

Here in San Francisco, it seems like 11 meters will open up regularly from around 10AM to 12PM (PST). Unfortunately, I work 9-5 weekdays, so I don't get to take advantage of this except on weekends.

However, it seems like when 11 meters opens up, 10 meters doesn't necessarily open with it. I hear very little activity on 10 compared to 11, and very often none at all. It doesn't always happen like that, but that seems to be the case lately.

It seems like the best 10 meter openings here occur when I can hear WWV on 20Mhz. It's been a few weeks since that's happened though. But when there is a good opening, it's amazing. There was one particular day when I was able to work Europe, then near the end of the day propagation shifted west and I had contacts with Hawaii, Japan, and even one in China (my only one so far). All with 100 watts.

-Bill

 

[bamacj]

Up grade to General and keep your radio. That will open a whole new world.A vhf all mode would be nice too.

 

[W5LZ]

The best radio to have is the one that furnishes the bands you have the privileged of having use of. I also think that up-grading your license is a very good idea, cuz then you would have more privileges and more bands you could use! If you know for -sure- that you will never up-grade (and I wouldn't bet much on that) then you would probably be ahead if you had a radio that only covered the bands and modes you can use now.
I haven't looked for a radio from the Tech's point of view, so can't make any recommendations about that, I don't know what's available. Sorry 'bout that.
- 'Doc

 

[longhaireddwb]

Up grade to General and keep your radio. That will open a whole new world.A vhf all mode would be nice too.

What he said!

 

[Highlander_821]

What he said!

Nice looking station in the pic there. Love the lighting.

 

[Oatmeal]

10-4 thanks guys...

I got me a study guide from ARRL and hopefully soon I can get interested in it again and get to studing and get my General lics....I looked through that book and boy it looks like fun...in which I dont no much at all about the electronics part...

Guess Ill just keep the 840....if or when I get my General lics Id like to find a radio that covers it all...lol.....boy these radios are high $...

 

[Quiksilver]

Upgrade to general (easy) then get a Yaesu FT-897. 160m-70CM. Great radio in my opinion. Can be modded MARS/WARC, and with some adjustments, can be decent on AM.

Welcome to Yaesu.com

 

[wa4gch]

I have a Yaesu FT 840 radio, in which I also have a Tech lics, but havent talked on it yet....but have talked dx on this radio on ssb a few times...

Seems like since Ive had the lics Ive kind of lost interested in it and I dont hear nobody local on the 10 meters either so this doesnt help any....

So I was wondering what would be a good radio to go to where I can use with a Tech lics ?.....thanks..

The FT-840 is a solid radio i still use mine .... worked the world with it.

There are many good radios but AVOID the ft-000d if you out looking on a new radio I like my TS-2000 a shack in a box ....