Ever since I got into ham radio I have noticed that it’s hard to find people who work 1.25m or 220mhz. I believe this is partially due to not being able to find cheap equipment that operates on this band since 220 equipment can easily be double the the cost of 2 meter equipment. Another reason I believe many people do not invest in 220 equipment is the lack of hams to talk on this band. So why invest money in 220 the equipment? While these reasons may hinder some peoples’ interest, they fuel mine. I like having radios that may be hard to find and 220 radios are hard to find. I have found only a few radios that are still being manufactured that will transmit on this band. Here is the list, it is by no means complete:
—-Still Being Manufactured—-
Kenwood: TH-F6A (Handie Talkie)

Yaesu : VX-6R, VX-7R (Handie Talkies)

Alinco : DJ-296T (Handie Talkie)
DR-235T (Mobile)

ICOM : NONE KNOWN

ADI : AR-247 (Mobile)

—-No Longer Being Manufactured—-

ICOM : IC-38A (Mobile)
IC-37A (Mobile)
IC-2330A (Mobile)
IC-V21AT (Handie Talkie)
IC-3SAT (Handie Talkie)
IC-03AT (Handie Talkie)

Kenwood: TM-321A (Mobile)
TM-631A (Mobile)
TM-331A (Mobile)
TM-642 (Mobile)
TM-742A (Mobile) *220 Module is a add-on
TM-3530A (Mobile)

Standard: C288A (Handie Talkie)

Yaesu : FT-33R (Handie Talkie)

Alinco : DJ-280T (Handie Talkie)

Yahoo Mail and Forbes are teaming up to give the public Email time capsules. Essentially you are sending an email to yourself or someone else in the future. Would you like to send your boss hatemail?? Send it twenty years from now and tell him how you feel!! You can send an email 1, 5, 10, or 20 years from now. This only offered as a service from Oct. 24, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2005. Email yourself in the future Here

I was on a map the other day and I saw this guy super bounce. Super bouncing can give you a unfair advantage but is not considered cheating according to Bungie. Here is a how to video that you might find helpful.

Rapid Share
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I had a couple of friends ask me how the FCC allocates amateur radio call signs. For example why would someone receive KC9IHP who lives in Northern Indiana opposed to WD8OLG who lives in Southern Michigan. Here is the answer.

About two years ago I lost my beloved VX-5R in the Chicago Ohare Airport. I was on a trip and I had the radio strapped to my bookbag and it either fell off or someone ganked it. Anyway I was heart broken about losing it and the thought of having to replace it saddened me. Well, my awesome girlfriend at the time, soon to be wife currently, bought me a VX-7R for my birthday to replace it!! It has got to be one of the best handie talkies out on the market at the moment. Right along next to the Kenwood TH-F6A. It does everything the VX-5R did and more!! It also has the capability to transmit 0.3mw on 220/1.25m. It can also be modified with FREE VX7Commander Software to transmit out of band. Anyway here are all my frequencies off of my VX-7R. I have all of the local repeaters, Elkhart County and City Police Freqs, local resturants and many more. The csv file can be opened using any spreadsheet application like Microsoft Excel. The vx7 file has to be opened by VX7 Commander

VX7RFreqs.csv

VX7RFreqs.vx7

Yaesu has just introduced the VX-6R to the VX series of Handy Talkies. The 6R is very similar to the VX-5R and VX-7R in that it transmits on 2m and 70cm and has a wide receive capability. They 6R seems to be a clone of the 7R without the ability to transmit on 6m/54mhz. The kicker is the 6R will transmit on 1.25m/220mhz at 1.5 watts which exceeds the 7R’s 300mw. The list price on the new radio is $256 at Ham Radio Outlet

VX-6R Brochure

VX-6R Operating Manual