I've had a lot of cheap fun. I only have Baofeng rigs. They work great on all the FM birds. To me, and maybe its just me, but it is very offputting to be told I "must" go full duplex in order to get on the birds. It would be really nice if I could, but $$$ are definitely a problem for me. I cannot afford 2 $300+ HTs or 2 $200+ HTs or 2 $100+ HTs and 1 or 2 MFJ diplexers at $30 each and then coax jumpers at $20 each and then an Arrow at $160. That's a lot of $$$ for a retiree on a fixed income. I'm not trying to turn this into a pity party but I'm just trying to get folks to understand that jumping on the sats in full duplex mode ready to kick butt and take names is not always possible. Yes, it is a nice goal but not always achievable by everybody.
73 John KI4RO
shop ebay, eham, QRZ and find a clean D7 for $175- full duplex plus packet for ISS/APRS. Mine has worked great for years. Only one radio and an elk, arrow, or one of the many homebrew dual band antennas. Superior quality and function, and definitely budget friendly
Craig N6RSX
-----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John KI4RO Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2017 5:47 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [amsat-bb] Radios and Satellites
I've had a lot of cheap fun. I only have Baofeng rigs. They work great on all the FM birds. To me, and maybe its just me, but it is very offputting to be told I "must" go full duplex in order to get on the birds. It would be really nice if I could, but $$$ are definitely a problem for me. I cannot afford 2 $300+ HTs or 2 $200+ HTs or 2 $100+ HTs and 1 or 2 MFJ diplexers at $30 each and then coax jumpers at $20 each and then an Arrow at $160. That's a lot of $$$ for a retiree on a fixed income. I'm not trying to turn this into a pity party but I'm just trying to get folks to understand that jumping on the sats in full duplex mode ready to kick butt and take names is not always possible. Yes, it is a nice goal but not always achievable by everybody.
73 John KI4RO _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
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John,
You have been using two Baofengs. You are full duplex!
That is a low cost way of doing full duplex that can be added to this discussion - using two cheap HTs instead of one expensive HT capable of full duplex.
73,
Paul, N8HM
On Thu, Mar 9, 2017 at 8:46 PM, John KI4RO [email protected] wrote:
I've had a lot of cheap fun. I only have Baofeng rigs. They work great on all the FM birds. To me, and maybe its just me, but it is very offputting to be told I "must" go full duplex in order to get on the birds. It would be really nice if I could, but $$$ are definitely a problem for me. I cannot afford 2 $300+ HTs or 2 $200+ HTs or 2 $100+ HTs and 1 or 2 MFJ diplexers at $30 each and then coax jumpers at $20 each and then an Arrow at $160. That's a lot of $$$ for a retiree on a fixed income. I'm not trying to turn this into a pity party but I'm just trying to get folks to understand that jumping on the sats in full duplex mode ready to kick butt and take names is not always possible. Yes, it is a nice goal but not always achievable by everybody.
73 John KI4RO _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
I'm with you, John. I try my best to not be annoying on the birds when I've got my two Baofengs and my Arrow out in the backyard. If it gets to the point where we MUST have the latest and greatest full-duplex rig, then you'll lose me as an amateur satellite supporter.
Steve AI9IN
On 2017-03-09 20:46, John KI4RO wrote:
I've had a lot of cheap fun. I only have Baofeng rigs. They work great on all the FM birds. To me, and maybe its just me, but it is very offputting to be told I "must" go full duplex in order to get on the birds. It would be really nice if I could, but $$$ are definitely a problem for me. I cannot afford 2 $300+ HTs or 2 $200+ HTs or 2 $100+ HTs and 1 or 2 MFJ diplexers at $30 each and then coax jumpers at $20 each and then an Arrow at $160. That's a lot of $$$ for a retiree on a fixed income. I'm not trying to turn this into a pity party but I'm just trying to get folks to understand that jumping on the sats in full duplex mode ready to kick butt and take names is not always possible. Yes, it is a nice goal but not always achievable by everybody.
73 John KI4RO _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Full duplex doesn't have to be expensive. I've made full duplex QSOs with a $5 hamfest IC-2AT and a scanner that I couldn't give away. It is however, the courteous way to operate the FM satellites, as well handy for making better, easier QSOs.
73, Drew KO4MA
On Mar 9, 2017, at 9:18 PM, [email protected] wrote:
I'm with you, John. I try my best to not be annoying on the birds when I've got my two Baofengs and my Arrow out in the backyard. If it gets to the point where we MUST have the latest and greatest full-duplex rig, then you'll lose me as an amateur satellite supporter.
Steve AI9IN
On 2017-03-09 20:46, John KI4RO wrote:
I've had a lot of cheap fun. I only have Baofeng rigs. They work great on all the FM birds. To me, and maybe its just me, but it is very offputting to be told I "must" go full duplex in order to get on the birds. It would be really nice if I could, but $$$ are definitely a problem for me. I cannot afford 2 $300+ HTs or 2 $200+ HTs or 2 $100+ HTs and 1 or 2 MFJ diplexers at $30 each and then coax jumpers at $20 each and then an Arrow at $160. That's a lot of $$$ for a retiree on a fixed income. I'm not trying to turn this into a pity party but I'm just trying to get folks to understand that jumping on the sats in full duplex mode ready to kick butt and take names is not always possible. Yes, it is a nice goal but not always achievable by everybody.
73 John KI4RO _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
participants (5)
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Andrew Glasbrenner -
D. Craig Fox -
John KI4RO -
Paul Stoetzer -
skristof＠etczone.com