for you that don't like the squelch on the 2900,
it has a feature of setting the squelch in terms of the S-meter readings, it is a separate menu item, but super handy in places with lots of noise and you are wanting a strong signal only
I like the 2900 lots,
it has quite low current draw on receive, so it is a good one for battery operation,
is pretty efficient on transmit as well,
has fantastic audio out,
plenty of power out,
no moving parts to break or make noise,
and I think the menus are pretty easy to use
by the way,
broke mine by leaving it in a damp car for a year,
the humidity got to the ceramic filters (yes the front window leaked water when it rained),
so, this is a just in case, if it quits hearing strong signals first, it is likely the ceramic filters,
the super quick fix is to change to the narrow FM as it does not have DC voltage on that filter and is not subject to this issue
not to hard to replace the filter either,