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UPDATE 24/04/2003 With the new 81.5750 FM sets, quite a few people have been asking about whip lengths. The concensus seems to be 87.490cm for the aerial length as measured from the groundplane, i.e. roof of vehicle with the mag-mount or whatever stuck on it. You may also wish to visit the Crompton web site, calculate aerial lengths, www.crompton.com/wa3dsp/hamradio/antcalc.html Hope this helps. UPDATE 29/03/03 All it now looks like the specifications have now been 'agreed' by the MSA and all '86' license holders should now have been contacted. Besides the desire by many to 'claim' their £50 back from the MSA as a contribution toward the cost of new sets, there is also the the 'hassle' of locating suppliers of these new sets and associated costs. (The MSA letter to your call sign license holder should have detailed the £50 scheme). At this point in time I know of three commercial suppliers and I've had a rough indication of likely costs, though ring to check particularly as you may be able to obtain as slight discount if you are ordering several sets (if you don't ask you don't get, though don't be dis-appointed if no discount is forthcoming). Not having dealt with any of these companies I can't recommend one over another. Additionally each supplier may specialise in one manufacturer or several, so it might be useful to discuss with the company concerned your precise requirements, i.e. I understand that TAIT offer a 1yr warranty whilst MOTOROLA offer a 3yr warranty with slight differences in prices for each. It might also be worth contacting your local MSA Radio Co-ordinator, particularly as they might well have dealt with one of the above companies, even know a different supplier of new equipment all together, or even a local supplier of reconditioned (pre-owned) sets to the new specifications. * * Remember if pre-owned then you won't be eligible for the MSA £50 'cash back', but then again you'll be buying significantly cheaper
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