wrote:
I have a general class ham license but have been out of
it a LONG time

I want to get back into some form of free ham radio
comms that would allow me to stay in touch with people
while living in an RV

So.... I want something small and compact. And Im not
sure what "mode" of communications I want. I may want
some form of digital comms like packet or pactor....
not sure

Any advice on all this? What to get equip wise? What
modes to get into?

I agree with "Sky King", my recommondation for a does-it-all "RV
transceiver " is the unique FT-847.

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/1467.html

It's larger than the current crop of very popular mobile xcvrs like the
IC-706 which were designed for underdash installations. But RVs are
usually not as cramped for installation space as are cars & small
trucks so an FT-847 would likely "fit"OK. The major advantages of the
847 vs. the mobile rigs include a far better receiver front end
(overload & intermod) and ease of operation (much less "menu dipping"),
among others. It's basically a complete full-blown home desktop station
in a very compact package vs. the collection highly compromised mobile
rigs out there today.

I'm an old fart hard-core HF dxer and CW dx contester and was inactive
for 25 years who came back to the hobby just a few years ago. I'm very
demanding when it comes to topics like receiver performance and
operating flexibility/convenience. I wanted a compact and lightweight
but not miniaturized rig for portable operations. With jaundiced
expectations about it's performance after reading all the reviews and
such I bought a new FT-847 a couple years ago.

When I first got it on the air during a Field Day operation I quickly
concluded that it was a diamond in the rough. Except for it's rather
dismal selectivity it perforned far beyond my expectations and my
jaundice evaporated. Particularly since it only cost me about a third
of what I would have spent on a "real" HF xcvr. From there I fixed it's
selectivity problem by installing eight-pole 400 Hz and 2.1 kHz xtal
INRAD xtal CW & ssb filters. The addition of the filters dramatically
changed the whole character of the thing and turned it into a real gem.


http://www.qth.com/inrad/

The two filters cost me $310 bucks grunt! on top of what I'd already
paid for the radio but now I'm absolutely convinced that I've managed
to come up with the biggest bang for the buck rig out there today.

847 Modes: CW, AM, FM, ssb, satellite, all digital modes via a
computer, 12 bands 160-440 out-of-the box plus 60M with mods. Simple
null modem cable between the radio and the computer and done.

The two most common HF digital modes are RTTY and PSK-31. Pactor and
packet are out there but are nowhere near as commonly used as RTTY and
PSK-31.

http://www.aintel.bi.ehu.es/psk31.html

Depending on who you'd like to stay in touch with while you're on the
road my take is that you're pretty much stuck with a cell phone based
on it's much higher reliability compared with any ham radio mode/band.
At this point in history "traffic handling" via ham radio has all but
died. The Internet has eaten it.

w3rv