Well, i took the plunge.  Ordered two HX370s radios which arrived yesterday..  Put them on charger right away.  Listened on the way home as i skirted the Port of Tampa.  Lot of transmission lights....but not close enough to hear anything.

Waiting on my cable so i can reprogram the radios.  Thanks AR-JEDI for the link to the thread with the cable info.  Linky .  I promise not to email you directly again.

I talked to my 12 year old and he is going to take the Tech test with me so that we can be legal when using the radio's.  Anything to get him away from video games is great.  My wife thinks i'm nuts, but is actually supportive of this endeavor.

Once i finish the rest of my preps...i plan on making a portable box based on AR-JEDI's .  RACES, but first things first.

Quoted: I talked to my 12 year old and he is going to take the Tech test with me so that we can be legal when using the radio's.  Anything to get him away from video games is great.  My wife thinks i'm nuts, but is actually supportive of this endeavor.

Good job. My nephew is about the same age and got licensed with his dad. They do ham activities together. Most wives feel the same way (thinking we're nuts) so you're in good company.

Don't forget to put the MURS channels in there in case any non-hams need to communicate!