Yeah you would think it would be the other way around. "No antennas visible on vehicles!"
which model are you using?
I think that's just a marketing term Gigaparts uses for their MARS mod, but not really sure. I took a look at my order invoice when I was responding to @Tye and that's how it was listed, so I passed it along. No idea if they offer mod levels 1-3 or what those might entail.
I haven't found it to be too bad, but it's a possibility. On my Yaesu, the active transmit band is slightly brighter and has white characters on the display, while the characters on the other band are gray. You can tell from a quick glance which one is currently active. To switch bands, just tap the band on the touchscreen to make it the active one.
Doesn’t look like the Yaesu 400 or 500 radios are supported by Chirp programming software. How’s the Yaesu software native to the radio? Fairly easy?I haven't found it to be too bad, but it's a possibility. On my Yaesu, the active transmit band is slightly brighter and has white characters on the display, while the characters on the other band are gray. You can tell from a quick glance which one is currently active. To switch bands, just tap the band on the touchscreen to make it the active one.
Here's a pic I got from Google that shows the difference:
I will say this: if you don't have any interest in learning how to program the radio and just want it to work out of the box, the two-radio scenario is a far simpler option.
Buying a HAM radio and getting a MARS mod to unlock non-HAM VHF frequencies is more involved: it's not quite as simple as installing it, turning it on, and talking. You'll have to get a list of the frequencies you need to use, then manually program them into the radio's memory presets and name them. None of it is hard, but it's also not exactly plug and play.
On the Kenwood question- if you're looking at the one on the PCI Race Radios website, I don't think that one is a dual-band unit. Also, I think they can pre-program it to use WEATHERMAN when you purchase it, so you won't have to worry about a MARS mod.
Hope that helps you out!
Sorry, but I honestly don’t remember. I vaguely remember using it on the second radio and it being somewhat simplistic, but I can’t offer any meaningful insight.
Yea that is what I was thinking. I did the mod myself so curious what other levels meant. Thought I was missing something!I think that's just a marketing term Gigaparts uses for their MARS mod, but not really sure. I took a look at my order invoice when I was responding to @Tye and that's how it was listed, so I passed it along. No idea if they offer mod levels 1-3 or what those might entail.
I haven't used Yaesu's software but can say the RT Systems programmers work very well, worth the $25 license. I wouldn't bother with RT's cables as I found it much faster to enter your freqs and settings on a computer, write to a micro sd card and move the sd card to the radio to read.
