[bars] New Ham/new Radio recommendations

Fri Dec 27 13:33:13 CST 2024

Hi Rick,

I'm still fairly new, licensed in September of 2023. The best thing I did
was borrow the BARS loaner HF rig. It gave me practical experience on HF
before I committed to a rig. I would also get a cheap VHF/UHF mobile rig
and learn what you do or don't like about it. You can also experience
having a separate HF and VHF/UHF rig and see if you use both at the same
time. These things helped me immensely when I went to buy more expensive
equipment, especially the HF rig. I was able to learn what features I
needed on my rig and which I needed quick access to, as some are buried in
menus on the newer rigs.

The other thing I'd say is to figure out what you like doing on the air and
make a list of activities. For example, do you like talking to people, do
you like getting points for doing stuff, do you want to be able to go
mobile with your hf rig or operate in a field, do you want to connect a
computer and do communicate non-voice. Personally, I got into radio because
I have a background in computer science and wanted to see how radio and
computer communication meshed so I knew I wanted a rig with a USB port and
the ability to control it via the computer. I also wanted to build antennas
so I built a 2 meter and 10 meter dipole and put them in my attic which
DRASTICALLY improved my ability to get into VHF/UHF repeaters. I also found
out I liked talking to people on VHF/UHF while working HF so we could
compare signal reports or try to both hit the same stations so a "shack in
the box" was out.

Once you know what you think you want, schedule a few hours to go to HRO
in Salem and use some radios. I sat there for over an hour working the
three rigs I thought I wanted but I had the ability to see how they did
very specific things because of my experience. I bought mine at HRO because
the price was as good as online and they are a helpful group up there.

I hope this helps. I know it doesn't provide the answer to the question you
asked, but as you may have already figured out, there is no right answer.

Good luck and 73!

Dave KC1TLF

On Fri, Dec 27, 2024 at 10:49 AM Christopher Lennon <kwaj.speedo at gmail.com>
wrote:

> It is good to poke around to figure out what corner(s) of the hobby you
> want to occupy.
>
> With the Explorer you are in the game.  The HT I use is a differently
> branded twin, and it has served me well.  Others can help you with the 100W
> class of radios far more than I can.  But you mentioned building your own
> equipment.  If you want to explore that dimension look at kits by QRP
> Labs.  Up until last week my shack consisted of the HT and two 5W CW only
> radios that I built from QRP Labs kits.
>
> Also, if you are unsure if Ham Radio is for you look into Parks On The
> Air.  You can use simple low power small footprint systems because other
> hams will be hunting for you.  Every POTA day is like Field Day!
>
> Make sure you go to the upcoming Club dinner!
>
> Chris W2BPL
> Sent from my phone.
>
> On Fri, Dec 27, 2024, 2:12 AM Richard T <radiohamateur at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Well Rick, congrats and welcome to the Fraternal order of Ham Radio. You
>> pretty much have most of the research needed. But answer a few questions.
>> 1. What bands interest you? If just 2 Meter ragchewing, a Vhf/Uhf rig may
>> be all you need. Yaesu has  many rigs  that will serve you well. They have
>> basic to full boat rigs available. If you like HF band work, Yarsu again
>> has a wide choice of rigs, starting with their FT 710 AESS SDR rig or the
>> FTdx10. The Icom 7300 is the Volkswagen of radios, good but now a bit
>> dated. The Yaesu rigs offer more bang for ham buck IMHO. As for antennas,
>> Diamond or Comet are good choices for Vhf/Uhf. For HF look at  Palomar
>> Engineers for their wire units, especially their Off Center Fed or their
>> Non Resonant End Fed models. If still unsure, trek up to HRO in Salem NH
>> and play with the display models there and ask a salesman your questions.
>> You may just be happy with a 2 Meter handheld. I own two (!) Baofeng UV 5RM
>> HTs bought on Amazon. The complete pair cost $70. This is two radios,
>> batteries, chargers and three different antennas plus earphone/mic and
>> programming cable. Hope this gives you some ideas and welcome to BARS.
>> RichieT
>> W1RJT
>>
>> On Fri, Dec 27, 2024, 12:36 AM Richard Heckbert <
>> richard.heckbert at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Happy Holidays everyone,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I recently got into ham radio after retiring.  I purchased a QRZ-1
>>> Explorer handheld soon after getting my license and have been using it to
>>> check in to the Wednesday night net.  I replaced the stubby antenna with a
>>> hamstuff one and seem to be getting out much better but occasionally I
>>> still hear “I think I heard you say . . . “   My thought has always been to
>>> get a decent base unit eventually although to be honest I’m not sure if ham
>>> radio is for me (but I want to try!)  My wife asked for my Christmas list
>>> this year and I mentioned several radios that had been recommended on the
>>> hamradio and amateur radio subreddits on Reddit.  Unfortunately, if you
>>> follow those subreddits, you’ll know that for each recommendation asked
>>> you’ll get a hundred different suggestions that soon devolve into a Yaesu
>>> vs ICOM vs Kenwood battle.  My wife was even more overwhelmed than I so
>>> rather than purchase one she put aside a budget of $1,000-$1,200 and asked
>>> me to purchase it myself.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> So, I’m not sure what I really want to do specifically, at this point
>>> I’d just love to be heard a little better Wednesday nights!   I think I’d
>>> like a rig that gives me the most options – a shack in a box as they say.
>>> I would also need an antenna and associated wiring although I’m not nearly
>>> as spry as I once was and I’m not putting anything in a tree any more.
>>> Maybe an attic antenna?  I see ARRL has a new Indoor Antenna book out, has
>>> anyone looked at it yet?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I’d ask on Reddit but I don’t want 100+ different opinions from 100+
>>> fellow Redditors so I figured you all (the local Elmers!) would be a much
>>> better place to ask.  I did get my Amateur Extra ticket recently so no band
>>> restrictions.  The rigs I’ve heard mentioned are (in no particular order)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Yaesu FTdx-10 (might be too much of a stretch)
>>>
>>> Yaesu FT-991A (did see a nice used one on one of the forums for $875
>>> shipped)
>>>
>>> ICOM-7300
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> But I am definitely open to others.  I’ve looked at used rigs but
>>> besides less features, there seem to be no bargains in that area!  I’ve
>>> thought about asking to borrow the club loaner rig but I don’t want to set
>>> something up only to have to take it down in a bit – it wouldn’t be fair to
>>> other new users/members to keep it too long (in my opinion).
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In addition to choosing a rig, I need to choose where to order if from.
>>> I primarily research and purchase online.  A few places I’ve heard about
>>> are Gigaparts, DXEngineering, HRO in Salem, NH, any other good places to
>>> buy? I did look on eBay but right now, it seems lower power Japanese
>>> versions are the vast majority of offers.  I also worry about warranty
>>> purchasing on eBay.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Just to throw this out, I have a background in electronics courtesy of
>>> the USN and I taught electronics at a trade school for a number of years as
>>> well as retired from a career in IT so I have this crazy idea that pops up
>>> occasionally to build my own gear?  Is this even done any more? I feel I
>>> might be biting off way more than I can chew with that approach.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> This might be a dumb question but are the included microphones decent
>>> enough?  In my way younger CB radio days the mic was the first thing you
>>> upgraded
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> So, thanks for taking the time to read through this and many, many
>>> thanks to those who take the time to answer (and many thanks to everyone in
>>> BARS who also made me feel welcome)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 73s,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Rick Heckbert
>>>
>>> W1OLU
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>> bars mailing list
>>> bars at w1hh.org
>>> http://mail.w1hh.org/mailman/listinfo/bars_w1hh.org
>>>
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