I'll add a few comments as a Kenwood D700 user.  I've had a D700 in the Defender for several years and been very happy with its features and performance.

The radio has two channels and two bands, 140 and 440.  When using APRS, I have that set for the "B" channel, and have a repeater or simplex frequency set on "A".  It's easy to go from APRS, to standard radio use, and back to APRS on the "B" channel with just a few commands, so both channels can be used for monitoring repeaters or simplex.  The digital packet transmission interval protocol on the national digipeater network is 3 minutes.  When traveling in groups with other APRS users, we commonly go to a simplex frequency for our APRS and shorten the interval so the other truck's locations are updated much more frequently.  The radio can only transmit on one channel at a time, so if a digital packet goes out while transmitting on the chat channel, it is interrupted for a fraction of a second.  Others would hear a tiny break in a word, but it is so brief it does not interfere with what is being said.  I have not found this to be a problem during a conversation.

The remote mounted head displays the frequency, with a line available for any description the user wants to add.  I label my memory frequencies with things like "APRS", "Chat", and repeater names such as "Mt Hood", "SS Mtn", etc.  The radio will display 8 characters.  Programming software is free on Kenwoods web site, so the only purchase is am inexpensive cable.  The D700 uses a serial port programming cable which is no problem for me with an old Panasonic Toughbook, and I'm sure the D710 has gone to a USB programming cable.    

I use APRS very frequently, including solo trips so my spouse can follow my progress.  An APRS user can be followed on any computer in near real-time.  With that 3 minute protocol, the web site is being updated with each packet transmission.  When a radio is turned off, or the APRS disabled, the last report will stay on for 10 days unless updated again before that time.  The site my wife uses is http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=kd7trx   I just drove around the block to demonstrate what a report looks like.  Note that heading and speed are included.  You select the icon to be displayed in the radio menu, in my case used the 'jeep'.  Monitoring someones progress via this web site, the browser needs to be refreshed to see a position change.

When I purchased my Nissan in June '07, the second purchase was a ham radio (the first was a tent from Todd).  The D710 had just recently been released.  HRO is close by, and had a 710 on display so I was able to explore it and the owner's manual.  The 710 added a lot of features, but I knew quickly that they were features I would not be using so decided to stay with the D700.  I use the radio for chat, simple APRS, and as a cross-band repeater.  It does all of those very well, and I didn't need the extras or want the 710's larger remote head for my particular install. 

That's all I can think of at the moment.  Feel free to ask questions, and Todd is a D700 user as well.

I bought the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual a few months ago and have sporadically studied it.  It works better than prozac!  I have used HamTestOnline a few times although just the sample exams.  My goal is to take the test by March.

Brad,

That's a great goal. Have you picked a time/place to take the test? I found that setting a specific test date and just *deciding* that it was the day helped motivate me to study. I'm kind of deadline driven though. As a small business owner, nothing gets done if I don't create deadlines for myself.

Good luck!

Craig

I have not pinned down a date yet.  Yes, it is true that it won't happen until I do.  I'll take it in Portland somewhere.

www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examsearch.phtml

There are a bunch of exams in the Portland area over the next 2 weeks.  No time like the present. :)

Craig's last post is full of excellent information.  Just memorize the answers, get the license, and when you start getting on the air you can then begin to really understand what it is all about.  Back in the pre-hamtestonline days, you know, the days of yellow legal pads and Wang computers.  No, I guess you probably don't, at any rate, I made 10 Xerox copies of the complete question pool for the Extra exam.  for 10 days prior to the exam, i sat down and went through an exam .  After two days I started dropping off the answers I had gotten correct and focused on those I didn't.  When I took the exam, i aced it.  With a today's computers it should be a pretty simpe task to do something similar.  Find out what you know and focus your time on what you don't.

Remember too that the question pools for the exams are changed every couple of years on a rotating basis.  If you purchased a study manual some time ago, I would recommend that you check to confirm the question pool in it is still up to date.

Most of your VHFers here are much more technically qualified than I am.  When I get ready to really get into APRS, I'll be coming back here for your valued suggestions. Now if any of you want to practice CW at 20-25 WPM, give me a call.

Dale WU7X

Well, technically speaking Ham radio is not a hobby.  It is a service.  You are awarded a license by the FCC for passing various levels of exams.  Our government wants a group of skilled, technically literate folks around to help it communicate during times of national distress. They also want all that superior radio equipment all over the country for the same reason.  When katrina blew out all forms of communications in New Orleans, the hams stepped in to deliver emergency and Red Cross communications between the public and various fed/state/local agencies. 

If you have ham plates on your vehicle, the WA State Highway Patrol can pull you over and request that you assist them with emergency communications.  During such emergency communications, you can use whatever form of communications your radios are capable of to help the requesting agency.  Example, you're a Tech but have an HF capable radio in your truck.  You can legally use it to contact help on any frequency and mode you have available.  I can't remember the exact wording but the FCC defines emergency communications having to do with the protection of life and property.  That's pretty broad.

Personally, I really enjoy talking directly with peope in other countries.  For example, right now it is great to get someone's perspective about their local economy instead of the pap we get from U.S. radio/TV.  When chatting with people in third world countries the hams tend to be the upper tier folks.  They are very intelligent, literate, multi-lingual folks who can give you a different perspective about how the global recession or global climate change are impacting their countries.  It is an eye opener.  Of course, there are a lot of countries where hams are only allowed to talk about the technical aspects of the hobby.  but that can be very interesting too. I could never imagine building a multi-band HF transceiver together from scratch, but I have talked to a ham in India that did just that. An imported radio (Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, Elecraft, Ten Tec, etc.) in many of these countries costs 4-5 times what they do here, and the average income can be pennies a day.

I believe that just about every person who gathers here on NWOS is a pretty tech savvy person.  Those technical skills are what draw you into building up your rigs and exploring with them.  It is also what draws you to ham radio.  Very similar skill sets.

Ham radio is like fishing.  You throw out your bait (CQ CQ de WU7X) and you never know what you'll catch!

Mike,

then you are doing exactly the right thing at this time.  Keep it up and when I need help with APRS you'll be there to give me a hand!

Dale WU7X

Just upgraded from Technician to General...passed my exam tonight.  Maybe I will put up an antenna someday.

Well then, Mike thanks for prodding Craig, and Craig thanks for the general encouragement to all and suggestion on hamtestonline...

The test was soo easy. I signed up to hamtestonline on Thursday. I took a blind practice exam and got 54% just guessing at most of it. I used the study guide mode for about three hours and then aced 4 practice exams. Huh?

I couldn't believe it was that easy, so I checked the ARR's published question pool for any questions that I hadn't seen on hamtestonline (there really weren't any) so I went and took the test in Renton this afternoon.

35 multiple choice ABCD questions and you can get 9 wrong! You only need to memorize four formulas, be able to carry out simple calculations, a little light memorization, and the rest is bureaucratic common-sense response really.

A couple hours at the computer, $25 for hamtestonline and $15 for the exam.

Congratulations Joe!  We'll have to do a HAM only run this spring.  :)