Easiest way into HAM radio?

JcMack

JcMack

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I want to buy a hand held. Is 2 meter the easiest to start with? I need to take the no code test. I have no license. Any thoughts/info appreciated.
Jim
 
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The VHF/UHF bands are all about equal as far as ease of use.
No real difference as all those antennas are fairly small and
easy to deal with. So what really matters are the bands that the
locals prefer and hang out on. I'd ask a few of the locals what
the most popular machines are.
If you can swing it, I actually recommend getting a dual band
hand held. "2 m and 70 cm."
That way you will have access to most all the popular ones.
But another plus is most of the dual band radios also have
pretty wide range receivers and can usually also listen to the
PS bands, like police, fire, etc. So some extra bang for the buck.

All the tests are no code now. I've been a ham since the 70's..
20 wpm Extra here.. :) I started out on 40 m CW. I worked a lot
of CW through the years, and could do 55-60 wpm at my peak
around the late 80's or so.
But the past few years I seem to work less and less, and my CW
speed is slowly dropping off a bit every year. :(
 
A Technician class license is what you are looking for and

The VHF/UHF bands are all about equal as far as ease of use.
No real difference as all those antennas are fairly small and
easy to deal with. So what really matters are the bands that the
locals prefer and hang out on. I'd ask a few of the locals what
the most popular machines are.
If you can swing it, I actually recommend getting a dual band
hand held. "2 m and 70 cm."
That way you will have access to most all the popular ones.
But another plus is most of the dual band radios also have
pretty wide range receivers and can usually also listen to the
PS bands, like police, fire, etc. So some extra bang for the buck.

All the tests are no code now
Click to expand...


testing is done locally by a VE (volunteer examiner)

google amateur radio for your area.

I have been licensed since 1968
 
I don't go anywhere without mine...no new fangled ephone or blueberry for me. I also have a slightly smaller one for when I need to dress up a bit.

oliver_kb6ba.jpg
 
LOL.. I like that. Depends on how long his whip is, but he could
be on 40 or 20 meters with a decent length whip.
His brain is getting a pretty good dose of RF.. chortle..
Maximum current will be at that loading coil behind his head.
His body, coupling with the dirt he's standing on is the lower half
of the antenna. Even with that fairly lowly setup efficiency wise,
he's got the capability of talking most anywhere in the world, if
the conditions are right. If he's on one of the higher HF bands, it
would be fairly easy to work DX. By his call, I can see he lives in
Sunnyvale.
 
2M beats 70cm in most areas in terms of the density of both regular and internet linked repeaters. 70cm is a wasteland around here and I think the .gov is thinking about making off with some of it.

The only thing I use 70cm for is "house to tractor" wife calls.
 
There should be a club near by that teaches a course to get your Technician License.
The ARRL also has excellent study manuals and Getting Licensed is just a matter of some study - Most ham stores carry them.

There are also on-line practice tests that you can take (The Questions AND Answers are published, btw - You don't really have to learn anything anymore :( ) A BUNCH of the questions on the Tech test are common sense stuff.

Good luck!
DE K4BEV :)
 
2M only, $100-125 new, a little less used. By the way, it's not HAM radio, it's just ham radio or amateur radio. Nobody knows for sure where the 'ham' came from, but it's not an acronym for anything.

Now the Wouff Hong - that's entirely different.

I can say no more . . . .
 
my father still has the Heathkit radio he built some 40 +years ago. Most of the origional tubes have still held up this entire time...try to find anything electronic today made overseas that can last this long....
 
A dual band (2m and 440) talkie is a good bet. There will be more open repeaters on 2m than on 440. Get a repeater directory, it is a small book that covers the whole country. They are for sale at any ham radio store real or internet. In my experience I would buy Yaesu or Keenwood equipment. I have owned Alinco and Icom as well, but the Icom has been a bit more prone to problems. This may be just my own experience. You can put up an out door antenna and hook it up to your talkie to get much more performance from your radio. I would seek out a local club if possible. It will be a great place to learn and they will probably give the tests as well. Check with American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources to find a club.

Dwight - N5WRW
 
The FT-60 should be a good radio. I've had Yaesu handhelds for about 30 years and always been happy with them. I'm currently running a VX-7R for ham radio and a matching VXA-710 aviation handheld in the airplane.
 
beemerphile said:
2M beats 70cm in most areas in terms of the density of both regular and internet linked repeaters. 70cm is a wasteland around here and I think the .gov is thinking about making off with some of it.

The only thing I use 70cm for is "house to tractor" wife calls.
Click to expand...

Probably depends on the area. Here in the big mildew city, "Houston"
both bands are pretty saturated with machines. If I had to choose one
band, I would go 2 meters. But in areas like this, having a dual bander
can be a plus. One reason are some of the repeater systems are linked
together and can be accessed from both 2m, and 70 cm.
The Salt grass link system is one example. If you were traveling around
the south Texas area, having both bands gives you a better chance of
accessing that system as you move from one area to another.
IE: I usually use 2 meters here local to access that system, but if I were
driving a bit out of town, often the 70 cm machines will let you stay on
on the link when you start losing some of the 2 m machines.
So I think having a dual bander can be handy even if you tend to favor
2 meters in the long run. And like I say, most dual banders will receive
a much wider range extending into the UHF spectrum, which can be handy
for PS use. IE: I can use any of my UHF capable radios to listen to the
Houston Police Dept. They are still on 460 mhz, and a holdout from the
trunking systems many dept's have gone to the last few years.
So to me, that is very handy, but the value would vary depending on
the frequencies his local services use. When I'm up at my place in OK,
they use the VHF high band, and the same radios can generally receive
those also.
Out of all my radios, my little Icom IC -706mk2g is probably my favorite.
It can work on almost any band worth listening to, in any mode.
I work mostly lower band HF myself.. 40 meters in the day, and 75
meters at night are my usual routine.
I have dipoles strung up in the trees at my OK place, and keep the
coax rolled up on a tree branch. When I get there, I just unroll it and
hook it up to the radio, which I power off my car battery.
A short video showing the 706 on 75 meters tuned to a OK weather
net I tuned across.. That particular day, the bands were in pretty good
shape and I tuned stations on every single HF band from 75 to 10
meters. That little radio can receive almost anything worth listening to.
http://home.comcast.net/~disk100/radio.wmv
Some of the other bands..
http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/40.wmv
http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/20.wmv
http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/17.wmv
http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/15.wmv
http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/10.wmv
A handy device to have when you are out in the woods in the
middle of nowhere.. I bet ham radio is getting a workout in Japan
right now.. Loads of hams in Japan. So even if all the cell phones, etc
are out, many of them are still communicating.
 
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