I'm jeeping in socal and just got my tech license

was looking at 2m rigs and the dealer suggested a dual band 2m/70cm

Is the second band useful for off road comms?

 

Yes dual band. I picked up a Kenwood v-71a and couldn't be happier. That is a dual receiver, a little bit more than just a dual band but I can monitor two channels at once. HAM is more useful than just for wheeling, it's like CB on steroids. Once you learn your local repeaters you can talk for MILES! We have a set of repeaters called PapaSys that link all of SoCal.

 

I would NEVER purchase a mobile rig that did not cover at least 2m and 70cm. These two bands are so heavily used for local area communications throughout USA that it seems crazy to choose to only go with one.

 

Thanks for the input. It sounds like it's worth the money then.

 

If you're wheeling with friends who are Hams, then it's a really great feature. The lead vehicle is on one band (UHF), and the following vehicles are on the other (VHF). This way, the group can yap at one another, but if the leader needs to warn the followers of an obstacle or incoming everyone can hear the warning (all vehicles are dual-band).

And, there are occasions where there's no VHF repeater coverage, but there might be UHF.

Basically, for very little money, you get two radios in one.

 

exactly !!

I wish the Jeep world would get rid of CB's and go HAM..

Dual Band all the way..

welcome to HAM Radio.

73's

 

Bare with me here new to radios. But can CB radios talk to Ham and vice versa?

 

Nope. Not legally anyway.

 

Amateur Radio can't talk to Citizen's Band and it is not just a legal question. Citizen's Band works on 11 meters (26.965 MHz through 27.405 MHz) while Amateur Radio works on 160 meters (1.8 MHz through 2.0 MHz), 80 meters (3.5 MHz through 4.0 MHz), 60 meters (5.3 MHz through 5.4 MHz), 40 meters (7 MHz through 7.3 MHz), 30 meters (10.1 MHz through 10.15 MHz), 20 meters (14 MHz through 14.35 MHz), 17 meters (18 MHz through 18.168 MHz), 15 meters (21 MHz through 21.45 MHz), 12 meters (24.89 MHz through 29.99 MHz), 10 meters (28 MHz through 29.7 MHz), 6 meters (50 MHz through 54 MHz), 2 meters (144 MHz through 148 MHz), 1.25 meters (219 MHz through 225 MHz), 70 centimeters (420 MHz through 450 MHz), 33 centimeters (902 MHz through 928 MHz), and 23 centimeters (1240 MHz through 1295 MHz).

As you can see by the extensive list of bands/frequencies, while Amateur Radio covers many different spectrum, it does not overlap with Citizens Band, Family Radio Service, General Mobile Radio Service, and Multi-Use Radio Service. There are individuals who will take radios design for Amateur Radio and modify them to also transmit on CB and or FRS/GMRS frequencies.

 

My local HRO recommended Yaesu 2900 for 2m or 7900 for dual band. They both look well built. Based on the comments here I'm leaning toward the 7900. Are there other radios in that price range that are significantly better?

Thanks Tim