Tuesday, June 28, 2022

A Field Day-inspired purchase

Every 7 or 8 years, I go through a phase where I "need" a 2-meter FM radio. I keep it for 6 months, get bored with the band, then sell the rig.

Rinse and repeat, for 44 years (starting with a Midland 13-500 in 1978).

The VHF station at a local FD site this past weekend consisted of a 2m/70cm radio that just might be a keeper, so I ordered one - a BTECH Mini UV-25X2, and it arrived today.

Here are the marks it hits:

  • 25 watts
  • Small. Tiny, in fact. Will fit anywhere, even in glove box of car when not in use.
  • Cheap. If it stops working after 2 years, it won't result in financial ruin. Reminds me of a one-liner from Mitch Hedburg (RIP): "I bought a $25 pen because I got tired of losing pens and not caring". This radio represents the opposite of that philosophy.
  • It's a weather radio when I want to hear about the approaching hurricane as I dive home from a POTA.
  • Maybe it will work as a cheap downlink receiver to work FM sats in conjunction with the IC-705 on uplink.

I ordered the recommended programming cable with it and had no problem loading some of the 2m and 70cm repeaters into the radio. 

Received audio sounds good; reports of transmitted audio are equally positive.

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2 comments:

  1. Hello John, yes a nice VHF/UHF radio. Seen them on the radio rally lately. Not my piece of cake. The only thing I would use them for is indeed working SATs. I have a couple of UHF/VHF HTs which are more then enough for my needs. Still have my IC-706MK2G which is capable of little more power on those bands. But rarely use it for that. I'm more kind of a HF HAM. 6m and 4m are exceptions....they are more a mix between VHF and HF. Good luck with the new radio! 73, Bas

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    1. Hi Bas, not really my piece of cake either but there have been occasions since moving here that it would have come in handy. A few POTA interested people wanted to meet at a park and talk on the way there. I went to a second FD location and would like to have monitored their 2m activity as I drove. Plus, it's always a wx radio - not a bad thing to have when on the road. But maybe the pattern will continue and I'll sell it in two months ;-)

      73,
      John

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