Crossbanding?

[KC5YN]

OK, been out of the Ham loop for a while and before I spend the extra money for a rig capable of crossbanding (uhf/vhf) does anyone use it after the
newness wears off? Any opinions, experiences appreciated.

Fred
KC5YN

[K0JEG]

I used to use it when I was hiking in a remote location where I couldn't hit repeaters on 5 watts. That is to say, I set it up, but didn't really use it. Just figured it would be a way to possibly call for help if I got in a bad way.

The Kenwood D700 has some ability to control it via touch tones which makes it a little more useful, if you remember what the commands are. I kept a laminated, shrunken copy of the manual pages in my backpack. I used the 440MHz side to communicate with the HT and 144MHz side to hit the repeater. It all worked if you put everything into memory channels first and got the PL settings right.

[NA4IT]

I use it shomw when I am out in the yard or shop. Base rig (Yaesu FT-8800R) on crossband (UHF in, VHF out), with Yaesu FT-60 as the HT. NOTE: use a DCS code on the input to the crossband.

And, if any clubs have members using crossband, it is good to start a database of what members uses what input. Assign one base and one mobile frequency to each. Below is a listing of recommended frequencies from the http://www.sera.org band plan:

FM Cross Band Repeat Simplex (NBFM)
Channels for Fixed Stations ONLY, 12 Simplex Channels, for Fixed Cross
Band Repeat
440.7375     440.7625     440.7750     440.7875     440.8125     440.8250   
440.8375     440.8500     440.8625     440.8750     440.8875     440.9000
Channels for Mobile Stations ONLY, 12 Simplex Channels, for Mobile Cross
Band Repeat
445.7375     445.7625     445.7750     445.7875     445.8125     445.8250 
445.8375     445.8500     445.8625     445.8750     445.8875     445.9000