[bars] New Ham/new Radio recommendations

Sun Jan 19 07:49:29 CST 2025

Rick, I had meant to chime in earlier. Holidays have passed - did you buy a rig, and if so, what?

If still looking, I concur with others that going to HRO and asking for a test drive is a must. Have the salesperson show you how to change modes and filters etc rather than flying blind. 

Ebay can be the wild west especially for a new ham. Stick with real stores with warranties. 

Juan’s point about the 991A being able to cover all bases is true. But that’s an older model and newer HF only Yaesus have better band scope displays etc. I’d recommend getting a rig with a bandscope/waterfall as it makes a world of difference in finding contacts. Icom and Yaesu entry level rigs have them; Kenwood makes you spend several thousand for some reason!

Question, have you observed anyone operating HF or tuned it in during your Navy stint? There are 1000 facets to ham radio but HF and being able to talk across continents has always been my favorite. If you learn Morse code you basically double the size of the sandbox you can play in, too. By the way the latest BARS newsletter has an article by me highlighting some of the absolute magic of HF. 

I’ve had an IC-7300 for several years and would be happy to answer anyone’s questions. 

A better HT antenna (I have a Nagoya rubber whip) can help you reach the repeaters with what you have and you can put more into an HF rig instead. 

Like asking what camera lens or musclecar or fly rod to buy I am sure this all raises more questions than it answers but I hope you were helped by all this!
Andy
KA1GTT

On Dec 27, 2024, at 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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