I broke out my W32A handheld today. Got a couple of things coming up that will require it. Chris' new truck doesn't have a rig in it yet, and we will be going out tonight to the TRARC monthly meeting (tomorrow's post) as well as the Tour 'de Cure bicycle event this weekend.
Since I haven't had it out lately, I forgot how to program it. No problem, whipped out my Nifty Quick Reference . Its a "cheat sheet" laminated card (about the size of a credit card) that gives you the bottom line on how to do stuff with your rig. Five minutes later, its all programed. The Nifty card isn't a comprehensive manual, but a great memory jogger. Well worth $3.95 I spent at some long ago hamfest.
Anyway, I love my W32A handheld. Its the perfect size for me, has a little weight to it and is powerful. Choice of 1/2 watt or 5-1/2 watts. In the old days the main criticism of this rig was its short battery life. That was the early 90's. Battery technology has come a long way, and I now have the after market NiMH from W&W Manufacturing and that problem is solved.
I like the feature where I can simultaneously listen to a VHF and UHF frequency. It can actually be used a s cross band repeater. (I actually don't see much practical use for this feature, but that said, it is the absolute best hand held to use when in cross mode operation.) I believe its the only handheld now that you can transmit to the remote rig in cross band mode, and then listen to the remote rig's output and the source AT THE SAME TIME. This is difficult to describe, but once you've had this capability, it would be tough to give up. When you do communications for public service events, this is a very handy feature to have. Not absolutely necessary, but very nice.
I will be getting another one in the near future so that I can have a pair. The used street price is coming down, and having commonality is a nice feature.
Hope to see everyone at the TRARC meeting tonight, I'll give an update on that tomorrow.
73
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