Yep, it's a personal choice and you should pick what works for you. The only reason I excluded the Yaesu was because I was looking for a radio to do both APRS on the sub-band and talk on the main band.

I actually like Yaesu a lot. They are the only radio company to feature a Land Rover Defender in their advertising literature. :)  More seriously though, I like the ruggedness of them.  If I get a handheld it will probably be a Yaesu.

My friend that told me about the 857D says it will do the APRS.
Not sure if it does it on the other band, I would have to ask him.
He is is SAR here, and really likes the Yaesu mobiles and HTs.
He uses them a lot during his SAR calls.

It will do APRS.  You are definately right in checking that it will send the packets on the sub-band instead of the main band though.  You don't want to broadcast an APRS packet in the middle of your conversation.  :)

What I vaguely remember from my research was that it couldn't be configured to send APRS packets on the sub-band without interrupting the main band. So, if you are talking on the main band and the APRS beacon gets sent your audio transmission will be interrupted while the APRS beacon packet is sent.

I don't remember if the Yaesu's can do this or not, but when the radio is transmitting packet data on the sub-band you'll want the radio to automatically mute. That way, if you use the sub-band to listen to the weather forecast you can hear it, but when your computer (or tracker) sends an APRS packet you don't have to listen to the modem squawking away.

Anyway, it sounds like you want to do your own research so I'll just shut up. Besides, I'm obviously not checking my facts today so I'm a pretty useless resource.

Noooo :(

Been to busy.
I still have not complsted my install either due to the crappy weather we have had.
I hope to finish the install over the next few months, and will get back to studying the book.

I am not into much of a hurry yet.
Just as long as I have the license by summer.

I really like my IC706MKIIG HF/VHF/UHF radio.  The head can be mounted separately from the body AND the hand mike can plug into either the head or the body or both.  The 706 series has been superceded by the IC7000, so if you look on eHam.net, you can often find them for sale with SSB and CW filters installed at very nice prices.

If you want to see owners' reviews of various ham gear, check out:

www.eham.net

scroll down to PRODUCT REVIEWS

click on: VIEW MORE REVIEWS

scroll through the various categories.  You'll find everything you want to know there.

Three of the categories you future hams would be interested in (Tech license stuff) are:

      Antennas VHF/UHF

      Transceivers VHF/UHF mobile

      Transceivers VHF/UHF Handheld

Also check out the HF mobile transceivers.  You will find reviews of all the Yaesu, Icom, and Kenwood rigs there.  These will be the multi-band babies you will be interested in. 

Craig, I think you mentioned the IC2720 radios.  Check out the reviews; they seem to suffer from a lot of intermodulation problems.  I have an IC207 which has now been superceded by the IC208 versions.  These rigs also have detachable heads, but the mics won't plug into the heads like on the 706/7000 multibanders. It is VERY small so can fit just about anywhere.

As an aside, I designed a little mount for my 706 head that places it just above the rearview mirror.  I use a Heil headset with a boom mic which I have attached to the radio body which is located just behind the driver's seat.  I like this location because I don't have to drop my eyes down below the dash if I need to adjust the radio.  The cabling runs behind the head liner to the door post on the driver's side.  From there it goes behind the plastic covers down to the floor and then below the metal sill plate to the radio.  So all wiring is protected and can't be seen until just a couple inches from where it reappears to be inserted into the rear of the radio body. Because I don't use fog or night lights, I ran some heavy stranded wire directly from the battery to a toggle switch on the dash, and from there to a fuse holder hidden under the rear jump seat.  All my radio gear (radio, AmCom DSP unit, Turbo Tuner, etc.) can be shut on/off using that toggle.  That way I don't have to worry about a slow drain on the battery if the truck sits for any length of time.  Wow, got a little windy there. Sorry....

Dale WU7X

 Craig,

Sounds like you really thought the process out.  FB (fine business!) as they say on HF CW.  I am glad all works well for you.  I have never gotten into APRS, probably because my ham interests revolve primarily around DXing.  But maybe I should look into it.  I am sure that my 207H doesn't do subtones, so would have to look into a new radio.  The D700 has been subplanted by the D710.  I am a Kenwood nut, so will look into that system and let you know what I think, if I can find one on eHam.  Will have to wait until I can save up the $$$.  Spent my kitty on the R2H.

Dale WU7X

Despite Yaesu putting their reputation on the line by being the only radio company to feature a Land Rover Defender in their advertising literature , I decided to buy my first radio from them anyway. 

I was looking for a simple 144/440 dual-bander that would be fairly easy to program so I ended up buying two FT-7800R's.  One for the my little Ford Bronco II and one for my wife's Ford Escape.  Programming instructions were like reading the Greek version of how to build an nuclear reactor so I bought a computer program designed for the job and set both radios up identically.  The program works great and so do the radios.  I really like them.

In the meantime I decided I wanted a radio with HF capability when I am traveling in remote areas so I bought a used Icom IC-706MKIIG for my Ford F150.  I love the 706!  It's really easy to program and the screen is large enough for my old eyes to see without squinting.   It's darned hard to keep track of programming one model of radio, let alone two.  I know, I tried.  I would spend several days on the Icom, run it for awhile then play with the Yaesu's.  By the time I got back to the other model I had forgotten most of what I had learned earlier and had to start all over again with the manual in one hand, radio in the other.  So I am in the process of replacing my Yaesu FT-7800's with MKIIG's.  So far I have collected three, two used and one factory rebuild.  And I want another one for use as a base station.  With prices coming down I expect there will be a good financial deal coming my way.  And I am also hoping to get my General license this winter...but, I'm not holding my breath. 

Wow, Jerry, great plan!  I'm envious.  focusing in on on radio really makes a lot of sense.  I'm a lot like you.  I loaded up my 706MKIIG with HF frequencies, along with some 2m/44 repeater and simplex freqs. many years ago when I first bought it.  Since then, I have barely touched it.  If I had to re-program anything at spur of the moment, I'd be lost.  Some guy does come out with small, laminated and wire bound mini-manuals for most of the popular rigs.  Maybe we should get one each to throw in the rigs, just in case .

My 706 must be at least 7 years old.  It has spent most of it's life in the Taco and has worked wonderfully for me.  The ONLY thing I don't like about it is my continuing problem with RFI generated by the Taco's "coilless" ignition.  Even with the AmCom DSP unit in the AF, I still get S5-7 noise levels when driving.  So HF has pretty much become something I do only when parked for the night.  But VHF/UHF work perfectly! A lot of us are using 146.58 MHz for simplex operations around here.  2 m simplex works surprisingly well!

HF antenna:  I am using the Tarheel 100HD mounted securely above the back bumper on the right rear corner of the truck. I think you can see how I mounted it in some of the pics I have in my member vehicle gallery.   It has a quick disconnect just below the 102" SS whip so when I get into brushy terrain, I can quickly pop it off and stick it in the truck.  i am using a Turbo Tuner for one button auto tuning of the antenna.  The system works very well.  I have talked with hams on the east coast, Hawaii, Alaska, and the southwest with good reports.  One evening while camping and fly fishing along the Stillwater River in SE MT, I had a long QSO with two hams in Ohio.  The river flows through a canyon approximately a half mile wide with steep mountain walls on the east and west sides.  That gave me a pretty good indication that these screwdriver type antennas are cloud warmers on 40/80 meters.  But on 6-30 meters they have a pretty flat take off angle good for really long distance QSOs. 

I am really seriously considering pulling the 706 and bringing it indoors for doing some satellite work.  I have to check if I can get it to work split frequencies on TX/RX.  I would replace it with my IC207 for 2/440, and my TS480HX (200 watts output) on the HF bands.  The biggest problem of course is then one is fighting two of everything, wiring, mounting, and especially mics.  But parked next to some fire lookouts putting out rare counties sure sounds like fun.

So Jerry please take the time to get that General license.  It would be a real pleasure chatting with you sometime.  Letsee, you in the Cascades and me in the Yaak Valley in NW MT.  Work for you?

Dale WU7X

Craig,

Please keep us informed on your future plans with the 700/710 radio(s).  I wish I had the $$ to sponsor your work in that area, and to get MT/ID covered for Navigator.  Ha ha! As primarily a loner on my off-roading adventures, i haven't seen a need for APRS, but perhaps in the future things will change and it will become much more useful for expeditioning and local stuff.  I do see that it would be fun to following everyone's whereabouts during the Overland Expo coming up.

BTW, I have been driving around with Navigator running on the R2H and am very impressed.  I especially like the fact that your control buttons disappear when not being used and reappear with a touch on the screen. that gives total access to the screen for the important stuff, like the topo map!  I loaded up DeLorme's Topo USA 7 and it works too.  BUT the useable screen shrinks due to all the peripheral junk covering it.  Good job!

I'm glad Overland Navigator is working well for you. If you have suggestions please send them to me directly. We are always looking for input on how to make it better while keeping it simple.

Craig