2m/7cm mobile transceiver advice

[araugh]

Not laser related, but this place has the highest concentration of other HAMs that I know of and I'd appreciate any advice folks are willing to spare.

I really only use my license and transceiver a few times a year, but when I do use it I use the hell out of it for a day or two straight and my little yaesu VX-6R just won't cut it this time. I'm looking to get a mobile transceiver to put in my truck for these occasions so that I can have 25-50 watts instead of 5 watts as well as not having to worry about battery anymore.

Ideally this transceiver would have a few specific features:

-Minimum output power of 25w, 50w is ideal
-Well lit display and keypad
-Fairly simple to program. I'm not the lowest common denominator, but like I said this only gets used for a few days a year
-Dual channel so that I can listen and transmit on one frequency while also monitoring another (digital trucking receiver would be crazy nice, but I seriously doubt I'm going to find that for anything approaching a reasonable price)
-Local repeater function, the idea here is that I can wear my HT for when I'm outside the truck but still have the greater transmit power through the truck.

Unfortunately those last two features seem to drive the price up a bit but it's tax deductible and something I enjoy so I'm not against spending for quality. Buy one, cry once.

I'm leaning towards Yaesu just because my experience with this handheld has been so good, but when I do use this it will be fairly essential so it needs to be solid and reliable. I'm thinking about the FTM-350AR but if anyone else has a suggestion or has heard one way or the other on this unit I'd love to hear it. Also if you have a mobile that's just what I listed above you don't use I'd be glad to give you a fair price for it.

Thanks folks.

[Lased]

Hey there..

been a long time lurker of the forum, and finally decided to start a profile and maybe post once in awhile.. so this is a big howdy to you and the whole forum. This place is AWESOME!!

Anyways I saw your post and radio is one of my top interests along with lasers.. You may already know about eham.net, but whenever I'm looking for new gear I always check out the reviews there first. I havent had a case of buyer's remorse since I started checking up on equipment there before buying.

Also, I'm a huge fan of Kenwood or Yaesu.. in my opinion you can't go wrong buying from one of them. I don't currently own a dual-band mobile, and the last one I owned was an Alinco DR-610 back in '97 or so.. it was a a piece of junk though, front panel controls intermittently stopped working. That was the last and only Alinco I've owned.

Good luck!

[flecom]

I have a Kenwood D-700 thats really nice, has dual VFO dual band and APRS

no trunking though

anyway I don't run any ham rigs in the car... just my Harris M7100IP... 100W on 2M and P25 digital voice

http://www.pspc.harris.com/Mobile/M7100.asp

mega $$$ tho

[jooopy]

I would really look into the options/accessories you need /want /can or can't afford LOL.
I like Icom for build/options 1st esp.mobile
I like Kenwood for solid build 2nd esp.base units
I prefer fishing in the HF bands DX style~ local really doesn't do much for me.
I'm a power freak to so handie talkies are like pea-shooters to me. 25-50 slams around real well in those parts of the band so your frustrations will soon be over. alpha charlie 5 alpha kilo