[Jerry]

I shouldn't even reply because I am not a good example and I have not finished programming my radios. To date I have programmed all listed repeaters in my main stomping ground, between Lake Chelan and Baker City, Oregon, trying not to duplicate frequencies. I also programmed all Washington State-legal 2m and 70cm simplex frequencies. Washington allows 2 or 3 fewer freqs than either Oregon or Idaho so I programmed only those allowed in Washington just to be on the safe side. God knows there are plenty to go around without missing a couple. I don't suppose most guys pre-program simplex frequencies, but there are specific freqs designated for simplex use. Programming them takes the guess work out of it.

I scan all 120 programmed frequencies when driving in remote areas and I am pleasantly surprised at the various repeaters that pop up in the most unexpected places. A drawback of scanning so many frequencies is the intermittent reception of far-off stations that barely break the squelch. Darned annoying at times.

I have not used any of the sub files and may never get around to doing so. I have a tendency to "play" with the radio while driving and given my need for bifocals, the distance of the face plate to my glasses and general glare and reflection I know it is only a matter of time before I run into a tree (or something worse) while fiddling with buttons on the radio. A neat feature of the FT-7800R are 5 separate buttons on the face plate (and controllable from the mic) that when pushed take you to whichever freqs you have pre-programmed. My radios are programmed to take me to three different Yakima repeaters, 146.520 the national simplex call channel and 146.580 the simplex channel we used in the Columbia Gorge.

I am running two Yaesu FT-7800R dual banders (50wVHF/40wUHF), one in my wife's Escape and the other in my Bronco II. Both radios are programmed identically. I run an Icom IC-706MKIIG (100wHF/50wVHF/20wUHF) in the F-150 pickup with only a few repeaters programmed. I'll get around to finishing that one this winter. I have another IC-706MKIIG for use as a base station and I'll get around to it this winter, too. Neither the Wrangler nor the FSJ Cherokee run ham radios and I doubt they ever will.