I have two:

Kenwood D710a - dual bander (two radios in one) w/ integrated APRS including email/messaging.  I can talk on one of the built in radios while APRS runs on the other radio.  Very good and clear documentation.  Very easy to use radio.  Free PC programming software.  Negatives include:  Large faceplate is hard to mount discreetly, handset LED color can't be changed from amber (even if headunit is set to green).  Super easy to integrate with the new APRS functionality in Overland Navigator.  Great radio, I strongly recommend everyone in our group get this radio.  It is perfect for what we do.

Icom 2720h - Late model w/o the problems of the early units.  dual bander (2 radios in one).  I like the small faceplate and ergonomics of the handset.  Lot's of options for where to plug the handset in makes it easy to install.  If you have a Tiny Tracker 4 or similar device you can talk on the main band while the sub-band is used to silently transmit/receive your position via APRS.  You can't do APRS email/messaging w/o a separate computer running something like UIView though.  There are no named presets - frequencies only.  This radio does the job, but as a hobby the D710a is WAY easier and WAY more fun.

In general, I encourage everyone to pick a dual bander that allows you to talk on one side and do APRS on the other side.  Other uses of the second side are to monitor a repeater, listen to a weather forecast, or talk to someone else while still monitoring the group.

Craig

i have the yaesu VX-8 HT. i like it alot. it is water proof and shock proof so i am not worried about it breaking on the trail. i was happy with its range. obviously doesnt do as well as a mobile with a good antenna but that is to be expected. i have the external mic and gps antenna for it, this makes it more conveniant to use while driving. i have not used the APRS yet. i also am not sure if it will connect with a computer and push the APRS data to it. maybe this could be the subject of a class/trail run? if some one who is smart in this stuff does the tahuya run we could maybe make a class out of it?

mike you make a good point. a cheep radio with a good antenna will out perform an expensive raido with a junky antenna any day. i have an old alinco set up in my rig, havnt had a chance to run the antenna yet. i used my ht on the run because i didnt have the antenna up.

Craig, i will do a quick search for the paper work for my radio and start a thread for it. all those terms are greek to me at the moment. i tend to learn better when some one can translate the owners manual into something i can understand and while they are explaining it i can apply it. thanks for the things i need to look for, im going to see now if it will work.

 like the Diamond NR770HB radio attached to the hood lip with a K400 mount.  My present radio is a IC207a.  This replaces the IC706MKIIG/Tarheel combination that I recently removed and sold.

The faceplate for the 207a mounts on the holder I fabricated for the 706's face.  It sits directly above the rearview mirror. this location allows me to quickly glance up and see what frequency I'm on without having to take my eyes off the road for too long.  I am attaching an older pic of the 706 in place to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

My NEXT radio will be a Kenwood system just like Craig Miller's.  I want to be able to replicate what he is doing.  Besides, it give me another good reason to use his software .

As an aside, I'd like everyone to question the reason for purchasing a dualband radio.  How often are you guys on the west side really using 440?  I think I've made less than a dozen contacts on that band in almost 30 years of hamming. 

 I have a Yaesu FT-2800 FM Transceiver with a hatch mounted Comet sbb1-nmo antenna and also a Larsen 5/8 whip.  It is only 2m but it is very rugged and gets surprisingly good reception from a long distance.  I believe this is the one that the military uses.  I use the short comet antenna most of the time but when I am out in open areas, like Death Valley, I use the whip.  Although I did lose the whip going through some brush in Death Valley.  The nice thing about the Larsen is that you can just buy the whip and not the entire antenna to replace what is broken.  I mounted the transciever to the roof of my land cruiser and that seems to work very well and it won't get flooded out if I get stuck in the middle of a river.  

forum.ih8mud.com/electronic-toys/145444-2m-radio-mounted-overhead-fj60.html#post2992561

Dale the term "Daul Bander" has 2 meanings that confused me when I was purchasing too.

Meaning 1. Ability for a single radio to tune in one frequency at a time but from either the 2 meter or 440 cm portions of the spectrum (bands).
Meaning 2. Ability for a single radio to tune in and transmit to two different frequencies at the same time. D700, D710, IC2720h, IC2820h, etc.

Note that some radios make this even more confusing by being able to tune in/listen to multiple frequencies but are not able to transmit on the sub-band. Others can receive and transmit, but when the sub-band transmits it interrupts the main band (that you are talking on). There are various other quirks that need to be looked at as well.
 

In this thread, and the replies from the PCRC were all focused on the idea of having two radios in one.

Craig

Thanks for the clarification Craig.  BTW, the IC207 and I would imagine 208 heads are so light that I just used sticky backed Velcro (TM) to hold it to the mounting plate.  Works FB.

Dale

I am impressed with Craig's setup and the patience required to install and operate that equipment. Unfortunately I am not anywhere near that patient so I ended up with something more basic.

RADIOS - After earning my Technician License I purchased a used Icom IC-706MKIIG for our pickup, the rig we use in remote areas. The MKIIG is a multi-band HF/VHF/UHF radio, and although I did not possess a license for HF the bands were available in case of emergency. It's tough hitting a repeater from the Owyhee River canyons, but you can usually find someone out there on HF. Anyway, the MKIIG was easier for me to program than the Yaesu FT-857D, so I went with the Icom. I have since purchased a total of 3 used and/or rebuilt MKIIG's, 2 installed in vehicles and the other used as a base station. After Technician I followed up with a General License then Extra and I use the 706 for HF as well as 2/70 at my home base. I also have 2 - Yaesu FT7800R VHF/UHF dual banders, one in my wife's car and the other at the base station. The base station 7800 was originally mounted in our backroads vehicle, but I replaced it with a 706.

ANTENNAS - I installed a Larsen 5/8 wave 2/70 NMO with the spring-like coil in the center and mounted it on the front fender. I also purchased Hamsticks for 10, 20, 40 and 75 meters, placed a mounting bracket on the winch mount and stored them in a pvc tube until they were needed. At a later date I bought a Comet CSB790A high-gain VHF/UHF antenna that I use in place of the Larsen in wide open areas. While on the trail the Comet is stored in the PVC tube with the Hamsticks and a 5' CB antenna.

OBSERVATIONS - I really like the Icom IC-706MKIIG, it's simple, easy to program and accepts some neat HF filters. But, it does have some drawbacks. It only offers 105 memory channels. You can store all of the allocated 2-meter frequencies, leaving room for only 25 of the available 70 centimeter frequencies (there are lots of 440 repeaters in the Seattle area). Also, the MKIIG is capable of only 20 watts on 440, but I must say that while in the Owyhee's I hit a 50-mile-distant UHF repeater in Nevada on 20 watts. Our pickup has enough room for the MKIIG, an Icom AT-180 Antenna Tuner (for HF) and a Cobra 148GTL CB radio stacked one above the other so size is not a problem for us, but it could be a deciding factor in other vehicles.

The Yaseu FT-7800R (now 7900R) offers a huge number of memories for an inexpensive radio, but it is an absolute nightmare to program...at least in my opinion. So I use a Freeth software program when making permanent changes to the radio. The FT-7800/FT-7900 radios are small and probably the least expensive of all dual banders. We have a 7800 mounted in my wife's car with a separated face plate to save space and our's is programmed to scan 78 two-meter frequencies without duplication of tones and 70 - 440 frequencies without duplication of tones.

In my opinion the Larsen 2/70 NMO is a piece of junk. But, to be fair to Larsen, I think most ham antennas are junk. For the most part they are flimsy and in some cases barely able to support themselves on a calm day. I have bent the Larsen every-which-way from Friday and sooner or later it will break like a coat hanger that is bent too often. Actually, materials in the Larsen remind me of a coat hanger! And talk about snagging leaves and small branches in that spring! I might buy a Firestick 2M-4, fiberglass, 5/8 wave 2-meter antenna for the back country, but it is only a single-band antenna. Good enough for our local trips when everyone is on 2-meters.

So that's my story and I'm sticking....er, ah...stuck with it.