New Here! New Radio and I am in LOVE with HAM all over again.

[KM6QLM]

So, I've had my Tech license for about two years. My first radio was a Yaesu FTM7250 DR mounted in my truck. LOVED that thing. I learned to use repeaters, program my radio, simplex, a little bit of digital C4FM... and that was it... A friend i made at our repeater club in town introduced me to HF... I was amazed... still am. I operated with him in the room and was hooked... but, i needed to buy another radio, study and take another test (general)... Life was busy, with a new gig... HAM learning and growth pretty much stopped...

 

2 weeks ago, I purchased a Yaesu FTM 400XDR... I am completely in love with my unit. I was introduced to APRS (same friend) and on a trip to Reno, CA my daughters and ol' lady had fun looking at all the different packets we were picking up and even had a QSL with a station 250+ miles away! Not that amazing, i know, but I am still new and I have to say, this unit is exactly what envisioned HAM to be like when i broke in; Interactive, lots of options, APRS is awesome for our off-road / off-grid adventures (friends can tack me on an app from home), and wires-x? Holy smokes! I talked to someone in NY this morning and someone from Scotland chimed in... Absolute JOY. 

 

The local repeater is full of people claiming HF is dying... and I wouldn't know, but i would imagine having mobile units with THIS much "capacity" and versatility on just a tech lic. probably has a lot to do with it.  Do not get me wrong... I still want to go General and really explore HF. I am a geek at heart, the excitement I felt seeing my friend answer calls shouting "CQ CQ CQ CQ" I will never forget... 

 

What are your thoughts? I'm already thinking of getting a FT2 / FT3D or similar to take on hikes from the truck base camps. I just cant get over how cool HAM is when you have the right unit...