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I have a couple of /\/\otorola Sabers on the MURS freq's that I use in a similar way.





I paid $200.00 for both. Then just grabbed a couple new batteries,and new antennas.
They work great

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i snagged my UHF Saber II off ebay for about $100, including battery and shoulder mic a while back. Minus the PITA it is to program them (thank God i have an old Windows 3.1 486 in the closet), it's a great radio

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The HX370S is Part80/Part90 FCC Type Accepted but wouldn't it have to be Part 95 for MURS and doesn't MURS have a 2 watt limit?

"UP: Transmit Power Selection (User Power)
This parameter indicates whether transmit power selection capability by the user shall be
Enabled (“UP”) or Disabled (“––”)."

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use the HX370S at the LOW (1W) power setting to be compliant with the 2W MURS limit.

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What's the programming software like?

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Did I fail to mention when we go out in the sticks there isn't usually any cell phone towers that are useable?

Its been quite a while since I posted to Arfcom, but something has happened to me that really impacted me and I think others might benefit from hearing about it. Before I start the story, I want to give a little history of how and why I got into ham radio. In 2006, I decided that there was a big problem with some of my preparedness plans. I had no plan for communications. In looking at things, I saw two very real situations that might require comms beyond the use of a cell phone. The first and most obvious would be another 9/11 style attack. Conventional communication methods were almost useless and that could only get worse in the future.

The other situation was more personal. I hunt in an area with no cell coverage. I also like to hunt by myself and that had been bothering me for a while. I finally decided to do something about this. I found this forum on Arfcom and after reading a lot from AR Jedi and posting some questions, I decided to get licensed. I got my Technician’s ticket in February of 2007, my General in March and Extra in July of that year.

My first two radios were purchased with more emphasis on the hunting scenario. I got a Yaesu VX6R hand talkie and a Kenwood TM V708A for the truck. I got the Kenwood because I wanted the ability to “crossband repeat” or CBR. Because my hunting area is fairly remote, my HT can’t always hit the local repeaters. For those who don’t know, CBR means you use your HT to communicate to your base station (in the truck in my case) and the base retransmits your signal on a pre-determined frequency. Signals coming back and again retransmitted by the truck to the HT. When properly set up, it’s a very clear and reliable way to hit active repeaters when you can’t do it with an HT.

On Wednesday, November 5th, 2008, I drove to my hunting property and set my truck up for the CBR. I tuned to the Warrenton VA repeater, run by the Fauquier Amateur Radio Association. I had listened to this repeater enough to know that it was used frequently and monitored constantly.

I arrived at my tree stand at 6:15 AM and started my climb up. One of the ladder steps fell out from under my boot. That steps were 16” long pieces of 2x4 pressure treated lumber that I had nailed to the tree with 16d nails. I still managed to make it up the tree without problem.

My habit when hunting it to check the stand with my foot, climb into the stand and then attack my safety strap. For those reading this who think that is the wrong order, you’re right. When I stood on the stand with both feet, the stand broke away beneath me. I fell 20’ to the ground, landing on my back.

Remember that 2x4 with the nails sticking out of it? Well, I found it. It happened to be lying with the nails up, right at my impact point. Four nails penetrated between my spine and shoulder blade. I was wearing only a t-shirt with my jacket tied around my waste so they went all the way in. The pain was excruciating. At first, I didn’t realize I had landed on nails and thought the sharp pain was due to breaks in my spine and ribs.

With the wind knocked out of me and writhing in pain, my first instinct was to turn on my HT and call for help.

“Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is K4GUN. I need emergency assistance!”

Immediately, my call was answered. I had two guys at first then one took over. He called the local rescue squad and got them on the way. He asked questions about my injuries, location and state of mind. He kept calm.

As I regained my senses, I figured out that the board was in my back. I also realized that I could still move my legs and arms. I sat up and drank some water and listened for the sirens. I directed them right to me through my friend on the radio. They were at my location within 30 minutes of my fall.

The paramedics tried unsuccessfully to remove the board from my back. Yes, that hurt just a bit. They were absolutely amazed that I was able to call for help. They couldn’t believe I had the foresight to have the radio with me and actually use it.

Aside from the obvious lesson about tree stand safety, there is a big lesson to be learned. Accidents will happen. Emergencies can’t be predicted. The thing you owe to yourself and your loved ones is to be prepared to deal with them. Having communications when all else fails is a big part of that.

I’ll post pics when I have a chance.

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I actually have Win 3.11 running in a virtual machine (Sun VirtualBox) for similar reasons. Keeps you from having to dig out an old computer.


 

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Just don't try that with the older Motorola radios. You very well could brick them. Cheap surplus computers are a dime-a-dozen nowadays, and you only need true DOS for an OS. My used CF-28 works with all the radios I have except my Maratrac, I use a old P1-133 laptop for that.  

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Kind of curious why it would brick the radio. Can you elaborate on what specific technical issue might cause this?

 

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If its listed on the Pentium Compatibility Matrix as safe, then you shouldn't have to worry. I believe it has to do with the radios not keeping up with the computer, and that causes problems somehow. You have to remember that most of the ones affected were designed in the 80's and a 286-10 was top of the line and very fast back then. If you search BatBoard, I'm sure you can find a proper explanation.