If you want 2 meters only, the Kenwood TM-271A is the first choice I'd go 
with. It's about $170 give or take where ever you go, you can program it by 
counting knob clicks off the beep at the lowest setting, and I have the 
cheat sheets for it already I can email you. I use one mobile and I have 
another one in my go kit and the thing is as solid a radio as you'll find 
these days with a great receiver by today's standards.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Martin McCormick" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 2:42 PM
Subject: Which 2-meter Base Station to Buy


> Our local repeater is going to install a tone on the
> input, something that really needs to be done, but that means I
> need to either procure a CTCSS board for my old Kenwood TR7800
> or buy a new transceiver.
>
> I would imagine the new transceiver is the smartest move
> as the Kenwood is around 28 to 30 years old. It works great, but
> I don't have the tone module as those things weren't really
> necessary when I  bought it back in 1981.
>
> The receiver is excellent, without a single pager or
> other out-of-band signal so I am spoiled as to what a good
> receiver can do.
>
> Which of the new transceivers are fairly accessible, can
> generate CTCSS tones, and hopefully cost under 300 Dollars?
>
> For me, accessibility means that you can start from a
> known state and count button presses or knob clicks to get where
> you need to get.
>
> Of course, speech chips and computer ports are nice, but
> a good receiver is what it is really about.
>
> The repeater probably will not transmit the CTCSS tone
> so I would need to be able to receive without CTCSS but transmit
> with it.
>
> I imagine the 7800 will still see some use if I ever get
> on packet, but I guess it's time to get modern.
>
> Thanks for any good ideas.
>
> Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK
> Systems Engineer
> OSU Information Technology Department Network Operations Group