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Old 04-06-2009, 04:28 PM   #1
tcbetka
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Hello folks, Tom here--KF9QL.

I have an Advanced license, but haven't used it for several years due to college, graduation school and then post-graduate training. But I have been wanting to get back into HAM radio for a couple years now, and am trying to get things going again.

We have had a class C RV for the past 6 years, but recently purchased a 1997 Holiday Rambler DP unit with one slide-out. It isn't perfect, but it's in great condition--but there are some things that need to be fixed. But we now have something that is the right size for us, and I don't mind spending a couple years getting it fixed up like we want it. We've only owned it a few months, and already have made significant improvements...

Well, that's enough for now I suppose. I plan to break out the old HAM radio training book and brush up on some theory. I am looking at buying a nice mobile rig with computer interface capabilities--and thus far I like the looks of the Yaesu FT-857D and the Icom IC-7000. As far as antennas go, I have no idea yet, as there are (seemingly) so many possibilities to consider.

This seems like a great site to hang out and learn about RVs & HAM radios though, so I am very glad to have found it.

Nice to meet all of you, I'm sure.

TB
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Old 04-06-2009, 05:13 PM   #2
One Country Boy
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Glad you found us Tom. Also glad you are getting back active again with the ham ticket. This is the right place for questions about installation, etc. We've got some sharp members.

I run a Kenwood TS450s in the 5'er. I recently bought a TS2000 for the stickhouse. The TS2000 is a nice radio. Several of the members have them. The TS2000 is nice in the RV. All the bands in one compact unit. Not that I'm trying to change your mind, it's just that I've always liked the Kenwood gear.

Jump right in and enjoy yourself. By-the-way, what is the QTH ?

Jim



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Old 04-06-2009, 07:13 PM   #3
tcbetka
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Green Bay, WI here...although we moved here from Titusville Florida in 2006. I didn't use my HAM ticket at all while we lived there though.

I will look at the Kenwood TS-2000. Does it offer computer interface capabilities?

TB
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Old 04-06-2009, 10:34 PM   #4
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I will look at the Kenwood TS-2000. Does it offer computer interface capabilities?

TB
Yes Tom it can be interfaced to the computer. It has a built in TNC. Lots of good stuff I've not even gotten to. Reasonably priced to comparable radios. Take a look at this Thread Tom. I started it when I was considering ordering my TS2000.

The TS2000 is loaded with features. I didn't order it, but you can order it with the 12 gig band too. WA8YXM has one and is well versed with it. Maybe he will pop in and tell you more. I enjoy mine. Also, Mark (a member in Miami), W3ZI, is full timing it in his motorhome. He operates a TS2000. There are several others on the forum. Oh yes, if you do any CW work, it also has a built in keyer. I ordered mine from HRO Atlanta, they had a pretty good deal going on them back in November.

Jim



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Old 04-07-2009, 05:26 PM   #5
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Wow, nice (and capable) looking radio...

I read that thread you referenced, and will go to YouTube tonight and try to find some videos that demonstrate the TS-2000's features and capabilities.

Thanks for the post, and the reference to the thread. I will definitely check out that radio a bit more, as I have plenty of time before making a purchase.

TB
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Old 04-07-2009, 08:44 PM   #6
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I just got back on the air in the past few months and I aos went with the TS-2000. Purchased during the sale.

I can not say a negatve word about this radio. It does everythng I need/want and much more.

I love mine!!!


Mike
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Old 04-08-2009, 07:38 AM   #7
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Hi Tom. My TS2000 has been great for me. I dont remember for sure but I think I bought it in 1990 or 2000. Had to send it back once -- VFO was unlocking. But it has performed well and I have it in my RV here as Jim said, I have been full timing for the last couple of years. Its great to have the full features and its capabilities for VHF/UHF for Hurricane /Skywarn Info. I have a TS850 which was the predecssor to the TS2000 and have done some on the air comparisons. The TS2000 gets great reports but the TS850 has much better audio quality on transmit. I did that comparison quiate a while ago before I played with the radio much. The TS2000 has both a transmit and receive audio equalizer plus you can adjust the transmitted bandwidth on ssb to 3 khz etc if you are really an audio buff. I suspect that it more the way I had the TS2000 set up. The audio quality though isnt really that important to me.

Another great thing is the remote kit. I have used it but not put that on the rig yet here in the RV. I have the rig set up on the dinnette table and the TS2000 is kind of a big radio with all its features but the remote kit will free up a lot of space when I get around to putting it on the air.

Welcome and 73
Mark, W3ZI
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Old 04-08-2009, 08:14 AM   #8
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Thanks for the posts, Mike & Mark. Nice to meet you guys!

I am curious Mark--how does the TS-2000 compare to the FT-857D Yaesu?

The three radios that I have been focusing on thus far are the FT-857D, IC-7000 and the TS-2000. As you guys are all undoubtedly aware of, it's very hard to make a decision between the three of them, when you cannot access *any* of them, lol. My guess is that there'll be a HAM-fest coming up in the area sometime over the next couple of months, and I think that would probably be a good place to take a look at them in person. I also only live about 1.5 hours from Milwaukee, and I believe that there's a big HAM store down there yet--I know there used to be.

I am jealous of Mark though--full-timing it with that HAM gear! I'm only 43 and will have to work a few more years before I can think about going FT in the RV, but maybe someday I'll get there.

Thanks again for the information.

TB
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Old 04-08-2009, 09:19 AM   #9
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I also only live about 1.5 hours from Milwaukee, and I believe that there's a big HAM store down there yet--I know there used to be.


TB
HRO or AES used to have a big store in Milwaukee. I just looked at my HRO catalog, it must have been AES. Yep, AES, here's the link:

http://www.aesham.com/milwaukee.shtml

With ALL the help you'll get from here Tom, you will be sporting a TS2000 before you know it. I didn't even know if AES was still in business. I've usually always ordered from HRO. The Atlanta store is in my same UPS area. Order my toy one day and it's at the front door the following.

You said you have a few more years to work Tom, what kind of work do you do up there ? I've been retired since '05 and not regreted it.

Jim



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Old 04-08-2009, 01:15 PM   #10
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Thanks for the link...I see that AES is indeed still in operation in Milwaukee!

As for me, I am a wound care & hyperbaric medicine physician in Green Bay. I used to fly airplanes for the State of Wisconsin (before medical school), and that's when I got my Novice license (1990). I can remember flying around over Wisconsin in 1992, practicing morse code by reading all the placards in the cockpit, and converting them all to code! When I took my code test in 1992, they had us try the 20 wpm run, and then take that test. Well, I only missed it by one point--the dipole was mounted on a POST, but I said a POLE...20wpm goes by really quickly, lol. But I got my Advanced then, and then actually got an HF rig with a long-wire antenna in the back yard, and was able to make some Dx contacts via CW mode. Then I went to medical school in 1993, and only used 2-meters after that. No more HF since then, and I miss it.

So now I am settled in practice here in Green Bay, and we just bought a 1997 Holiday Rambler Endeavor DP rig. Well, we are planning to use the coach 2-3 weeks per year in the summers while our daughter is still in high school, and then some on the weekends around those summer trips. Well I'd really like to get back into working HF, so I've started back towards getting that done--though it's going to take another month or so to investigate this some more. Incidentally, I still have a G5RV and a while bunch of really good coax, so I am good to go for home base...at least to some degree.

But whatever radio I decide on, it will undoubtedly be used in the house, and in the RV. And (in my spare time...) I am a computer science student here at a local college, taking one evening course per semester. So anything I buy needs to be radio-control capable...simply because I am such a computer geek! But YouTube has some neat videos of the TS-2000 under computer control--and in fact that may be the strongest argument for that radio (over the Yaesu & ICOM), simply because there may be more software available than for the other rigs.

TB
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Old 04-08-2009, 10:59 PM   #11
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Hyperbaric medicine is interesting from what I've read and seen. Amazing how it speeds the healing process. I think they have done a lot of experimentation with that process at the Naval Coastal Systems Lab on Panama City Beach, near my QTH.

".... and in fact that may be the strongest argument for that radio (over the Yaesu & ICOM)" Hmmm ? Kenwoods are just real radios Tom. Those others are like comparing apples and oranges. Hi Hi. I've just always been partial to Kenwood.

Thanks for the info Mark and Mike. Good luck in your descision Tom.

73,
Jim



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Old 04-09-2009, 06:54 AM   #12
tcbetka
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I called AES in Milwaukee yesterday, and they have all of those radios in stock. I think they are only about 75 minutes or so from my house, so I guess I'll need to take a ride down there to check them out. I am going to dig out the old "Tune In The World" text I have someplace, and do some reviewing over the weekend. I'm not sure when I will buy something though--I really need to investigate different possibilities for antennas first. Getting a radio without having the right antenna for my neighborhood, won't be good.

I might dig out the Yaesu FT-2400 2m rig though. I think I could rig up an antenna to hit a local repeater, and maybe get back on the air anyway. I might have to do it from the RV in the driveway though...depending upon the antenna I have laying around.

TB
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