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Hello I live in Issaquah and was wondering who I could talk to on 2 meter and how far in the state and...... what is a good 2 meter hanheld.

I think I understand what your asking.



Who you can talk to on 2 meters:
Me (K7INW)
Santa Claus (?????). You know the dude is a ham, and he gets around.
For the most part, anyone holding an amateur license, including the many friendly people in your area.

Who you can't talk to on 2 meters:
Hitler - dead and not a ham, although dictatorship has it's privileges.
Tommy Chong - in jail and not a ham.



If your a new ham the 2 meter band (144-148MHz) is a great place to get
started. Think of 2 meters as the gateway band, next thing you know
you'll be doing moon bounce and working sats just to feel normal ;)

In a nutshell, you have two basic types of operation, simplex and repeater.

When operating simplex your radio is communicating directly
with another radio, the distance you can transmit is limited by the output power of your radio. Depending on terrain, you can typically transmit several miles with a handheld unit. The key is elevation, the higher you are (did I just type that?) and the fewer the obstructions, the farther you can generally transmit.

A repeater actually retransmits your signal, allowing you to communicate
over greater distances than with simplex.
Repeaters can also be linked together or connected to the internet to provide regional, national, even global communications.



I'm partial to the Kenwood units
eham.net is a great
place to read reviews.

Hope this information helps, others in this group should be able to provide
a more refined explanation.

-Marcus
K7INW

I am fond of my Yeasu VX-7R. Waterproof, tri-band, and WIRES capable.

As for repeaters in the area, 147.2 (K7PP http://www.k7pp.com ) is one of my favs. Four repeaters giving you linked coverage from BC to Oregon. :lol:

_________________
I taste copper.
Comments, views, opinions - and trails of destruction - are my own.

I am also fond of the Kenwood products. I'm using a Kenwood TH-F6A as my primary handheld. 5 watt operation on the 144, 220, and 440 mhz bands. Has been a wonderful radio for me.

As for 2m operations...I mainly use 2m for APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System). Kind of like an amateur version of automatic vehicle locator (plus a lot more). If you tune to 144.390, you'll hear a bunch of data streaming by (no voice, though...).

For voice, I'm mainly on 50mhz and 220 mhz. But, if I have to use 2m, I'm on the 146.920 repeater on Mt. Pilchuck, or the 146.780 repeater on Gunnysack Hill in North Lynnwood.

I'll listen for you...

Brad N7JGX
Lynnwood, WA (soon to be Whidbey Island Control)

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Whatever.....

JJL if you just received your ham, congrat's its a party out here, hams are great peopletheir are so many HT's out their, I use one, BUT my usees vary,I do a lot of disaster comms, and my radio of choice is the kenwood THF6A and or the THF7 w/ APRS i ALSO HAVE THE vx5r, all great little radios 8)

ALso try a good club

I'm going to pushn one
at www. nwSOAR.org
a full function club a lot of good people

GOOD LUCK
STEVE F.

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GOD BLESS 73s