How hard is it to get the license? I really want to get into HAM radios but the license is pushing me away from it. For my situation would a CB be better?

 

If you are of average intelligence, you can study about a week and pass. All of the questions and answer pools are available online.

 

Most Ham operators have at least two radios in their shacks. Usually a dual band 2 meter/ 440 mhz. rig and then an HF rig. All in ones are available, I have one, but two radios is a lot more doable. Often you want to monitor 2 meters while your running HF.

A very nice HF rig, but with no 6 meter, is the Icom 718. Affordable and easy to learn yet has all the needed features you want. Be sure and get an antenna tuner to go with it. Any of the MFJ's should suit your needs.

The Yaesu FT-8800 is a great dual bander. The FT-2900 is a very affordable, yet very powerful, 2 meter only rig.

You will also need a good 12 volt power supply to run these. Look at the Mega Watt S-400 on eBay. Make sure you get the US one and not the China counterfeit.

I would not recommend older equipment to a new user. Its pretty confusing at first on HF without adding the unknowns of older gear.

I hope this has been of use.

 

Thanks for the input so far. I'm sure I'm going to have lots of questions about getting this whole thing setup.

Windowshopper, getting our technician license was VERY easy. I highly recommend the following book. It has the entire question pool on there.

My wife is what we always refer to as "electronically challenged" and she had no real problems passing her tech exam on the first try. Within a month she had added a general license study guide to her amazon wish list and ordered it the next week
http://amzn.com/0945053797

 

Hamexam.org

Free site with practice tests and flashcard learning. No log in required.

I used that site to study for a month. Took both the tech test and general tests and passed with high 90's. Failed the extra with a 50 something percent...but didn't study that at all.

 

I use my VHF/UHF rigs for paper weights and door stops. I honestly cannot remember the last time I turned one on. LOL

Get a decent HF rig with 6 meters.

FTDX-1200, FTDX3000, TS-590SG, Ten Tec Eagle/Omni xxx, etc...

The receiver and antenna is what it's all about.

 

So one of the ideas that has been proposed to me is to use a mobile for my 2 meter work, and get a base station for everything else. If I do that, would I pretty much set up two different antennas for that, or is there a way to run them together through the same antenna or on the same mast at least?

 

When you say base station, do you mean a HF+6M base station? Or a 2M/70cm??

 

Icom 706 does all you want.

 

Most don't know what they mean by "base station" other than it isn't mounted in a car.

 

By base I mean that it is my house / permanent location. As in non-portable. This doesn't exclude portable equipment, but that it will be setup in a non-portable fashion. Yes I know what I mean by base station. It may not be the same as others definition, but that is what I mean.

My wife and I have been to two different HAM fests in our area (indianapolis) and both appeared to be more of a flea market than anything radio related. We were very disappointed. We are going to another one next june or july, hopefully it will be better. I've tried to find a club to get some help, but so far that has been a bust as well, seems most of them have ceased to exist :-/

I was really looking more along the lines of the Icom IC-718 or something in that price range if I went new. I'm really not adverse to trying something alot cheaper (I'm going to keep an eye out at that HAM Fest for some well priced used gear, like that Kenwood TR-7950 you mentioned).

 

I would suggest Icom 718 or 7200 for an HF plus 6-meter base station. Maybe an Astron or Powerwerx power supply to run it.

I use a Yaesu 7900 as a 2-meter/440 base station. It works for me.

I use an Arrow two band j-pole antenna for 144/440 and a hexbeam mounted at 25 feet for 20 thru 10 meter HF. And a POS vertical for 40 meters. Small yard.

These work for me. YMMV

 

Look up when the next local hamfest is going to be. Hang around, talk to some folks, and usually you can find some great deals on stuff. Link up with the local club, they usually always have good folks trading decent gear.

Icom, kenwood, ten tec, and elecraft are great radios. I own a yaesu ft 817, and it's excellent. The 857 is its bigger brother, running 100w. Im in the market for a decent 897, the largest of the yaesu mobiles. True "shack in a box" rigs.

 

Check out the ICOM IC-7100 has everything you need and more. A bit pricey but buy once cry once. Buy nice or buy twice.

This is my route now that i've upgraded to general and working on extra

 

Adding a bit to my last(since I was dozing off when I posted), I just got done doing a little work with the FT817 over coffee with my wife. She likes how simple it is to operate, and that's saying something as she's hated every HT I own. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the options presented in this thread, but back when I faced the purchasing dilemma, I realized running off battery power and being as versatile as possible was a plus. The 817 fits that bill, as does the 897.

I'll also add that a lot of the older gear is built stout, much more so than some of the offerings I've seen new. At the Hamfest last weekend, there were a couple of Kenwood TR-7950 2M rigs for $35 each, one only needing a new mic. They may not have DTMF or CTCSS, but for a simplex setup at maybe two sites(yours and a friend/other member of your team) it's hard to beat at that price. They're also very simple and relatively easy to repair. I passed on it(reluctantly) only because I'm scrounging for an FT897 to run as a base.

Lastly, I place a big emphasis on listening. I have a couple HT scanners and a communications receiver. Having digital capability is a must in most areas these days, just to maintain situational awareness. Having one is great, having two is even better, as one may miss some stuff. The communications receiver, while similar, has a different purpose. I can listen in on pretty much anything not digital, and I can use it as a spectrum search to find out who and what is breaking squelch. The AOR AR-mini is my receiver of choice(and makes a nice SW receiver too) but the Icom R2/5/6 are all really nice too. Both are waterproof and very rugged from my experience.

Didn't mean to write a book for you this morning, but I've been where you are now. I'm still there to a large degree, mainly because I love the hobby. Kudos for getting your wife into it too. I know it's not always easy.

 

Delvan, feel free to reach out to me in private messages if you are interested. I've worked with a few individuals before and I'd be willing to work 1x1 with you to help you figure out what you want/need for your situation.

 

Look for an all band/all mode radio, like my Yaesu 897D or the Yaesu 857D. Icom makes one as well, I think. The buy once, cry once idea is right on. It's tough to spend 600+ on a radio, but you'll never need another. I bought the auto tuner that bolts onto the side of my 897D (although I don't care for it) and the internal power supply, so I don't ever need an external ps. The dual band mobiles are nice, but rarely do sideband. You never know when you might want it on 2m or 70cm, although simplex is more common. 100w is plenty. You'll work the world with it.

 

Also, if you're wanting to talk to people 300 miles or closer on HF, that'll take a different setup with your dipole antenna. With my vertical, I blow completely past Springfield, a couple hundred miles north. I can barely make contact sometimes on 80m, but mostly it just goes past them.

 

There are a ton of things to think about and to talk about in answer to your questions. To give meaningful advice regarding a station, it is pretty important to know your communication priorities, and your intended application. Is this setup going to be for emergency communications, or for everyday conversation, or both? Are you willing to rely on VHF/UHF repeaters (which cannot be depended upon in any serious emergency)? You mention 50 to 100 miles range, and you also mention 6 meters. Do you want reliable 50 mile range without repeaters? If so, unless you have line-of-sight over 50 miles, and you don't want to depend on VHF repeaters, such performance on 2M is tough. Line of sight is needed on the VHF bands.

Reliable communication over 50 to 100 miles is often do-able in the daytime on 80M band, but there are just a ton of variables. Time of day affects propagation greatly unless you have line-of-sight to the other station.

These variables mostly explain why all serious emergency-capable ham shacks will have HF and VHF stations. You just can't be sure where the other person is going to be, or the time of day when you will need to reach out. If you want emergency communication capability, you need the option of HF. VHF without repeaters is really only good for "around the ranch" ranges, unless there are special conditions of long line of sight, or special directional antennas.

Your antennas are actually more important than your radios in terms of determining reliability of communication, and without throwing a lot of money into antennas, you might need to consider a lot of alternatives. This means a lot of study. It also means that there's a lot of misinformation out there about antennas put forth by well intentioned but uninformed hams.

The 6M band is pretty worthless for reliable communication most of the time, except in special situations, like if you have a friend on that band to make schedules with and you have directional antennas pointed at each other, or unless you are interested in just chewing the fat with the occasional other ham that you happen to hear on that band. You will find there is very little activity on that band. That is, you mostly will never hear any other stations. This is mostly because of the not-very-useful nature of radio wave propagation at those frequencies.

I have a rock-solid reliable Yaesu FT-890 transceiver as my backup HF radio. I bought it new 25 years ago, and it's a keeper for me. It's worth adding to the mix of HF radios to consider.

A very good resource to learn the pros and cons of almost every possible radio and all sorts of ham related equipment is the www.eham.net/reviews forum.

Damonte makes a very valuable offer to consult with you directly. You should take him up on that.

There is a lot of fun stuff to learn about. Much better than watching TV.

 

I have several different radios, the two I use most on HF are an Icom 706MKIIg that I use for mobile operation, it covers the HF bands, 6 meters, 2 meters and the 440 mhz band. It has a very small footprint and operates on 12 volts DC. The radio that I use most in the Shack is an older Yaesu FT900AT HF radio with built in automatic antenna tuner. I've got several vhf/uhf mobiles and hand held radios as well. I've been doing this since the late 70's so its easy to accumulate equipment over time. You will also probably want a good general coverage communications receiver as well. If you focus on getting a good antenna set up and installed properly, you really don't need a big amplifier. I haven't had my KW amp even turned on for the past ten years. Find a local club and you will normally find experienced folks willing to help you get set up properly and make it a very enjoyable hobby.

 

I have talked to people in the my state and even in the same county on 40M using a multi-band dipole. The closest one was less than 10 miles away from me. So it can be done.

The Icom IC-7200 is a very rugged radio that is reasonably priced. Works good as a base station and is portable. It does HF to 6m. You would need to get a second radio like the Yaesu 8800 if you want 2m and 440. I have the IC7200 and plan to upgrade eventually and then make a go-kit with the 7200.

 

I thought you needed to learn Morse Code to get a Lic.?

 

Not anymore. They stopped requiring Morse Code some years ago. Although it would be good to learn it anyway. Morse Code is a form of digital and digital will get through when voice will not.

 

Yaesu FT-897

My vote would be the Yaesu FT-897d, hands down.

The Yaesu FT-897 will basically "do it all", and it CAN be used as both a "Base" and a mobile radio, except for situations where an HT/ "Walkie-Talkie" is the only practical solution.

I can transport it anywhere, and it features the option for internal batts for "anytime, anywhere" off-the-grid operation.

KC0BIN

 

I am running a Yaesu FT-897D in the shack. It does everything you ask, however, I also have an Icom 2m radio in the shack as well, and use it for 2m FM work. I like to have it on in the background to monitor the repeaters and what not when I am working HF. I just got a new car, and have not figured out what radio I am installing in it yet.

The Icom 706 mkIIg has been around a while, and might can be found at a reasonable price, and the 897 is likely to drop soon as well with the release of new radios recently.

 

Here soon, we're hoping to begin looking at getting a nice base station for the house. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on a good base station, mostly for the 2m and 6m bands, but I would like to get on some of the other bands as well.

Welcome to the hobby: whatever you're interested in doing, there's someone doing it now on ham radio.

For what it's worth, I've been a Ham for over fifty years. I've put Teletype machines on the air, used Unix, Linux, and BSD software to provide Internet gateways that other hams could use for email, run "boatanchors" on AM, modern transceivers on CW (Morse Code) and SSB (Single-Sideband voice), and I participate in the MARS (The Military Auxiliary Radio System).

So, here's my advice. Your mileage may vary, and that's OK: this is just one man's opinion.

1. Talk with your spouse about the kinds of things you both like to do on the air. If you are attracted to public service, such as Emergency Communications, traffic handling, or supporting Civil Defense, that will lead you both in one direction. If you prefer to "ragchew" and talk about a variety of things without any expectations about when you're do it, that's another direction. Your equipment has to help you both do what you like, not just what one of you will like.
2. Join an Amateur Radio club. You can practice a wide variety of activities without spending any money, and go out with the club for "Field Day", which is the last weekend in June. Visit the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) web site at arrl.org, and look for clubs in your local area.
3. If you decide to use your General-class privileges, let other hams know that you're looking for "HF" rigs: you might get a good deal on an older rig which one of the club members has on a shelf. Sad to say, I recommend that you avoid Craigslist unless you're an experienced negotiator, since almost all used equipment is overpriced there.
4. If you decide to make six and two meters your focus, you'll probably want to consider one of the store-bought VHF/UHF units, and I'd recommend getting a new rig, since VHF and UHF rigs are harder to repair.
5. Take a good look at your house and lot, and ask yourself if you have room for antennas, towers, supports, etc. Check out your home insurance if you're getting a tower.
6. If either of you are fluent in another language, you may want to "work DX" and talk to others who share that tongue. That's a third possibility.

Above all, remember that it's a hobby, not your life's work. Start slowly, choose equipment carefully, and keep learning. Hope this helps!

William Warren

 

I would suggest a Yaesu FT-8900R 10m - 70cm VHF/UHF mobile rig and a Yaesu FT-897D if you can find one (they have been discontinued) and if not then a Yaesu FT-857D using a Yaesu PF1030A 25 amp 13.8v power supply as base stations. The two radios give you redundancy on 70cm, 2m, 6m, and 10m, plus 12m to 160m.

Add a Yaesu ATAS 120 HF/VHF/UHF antenna, base counterpoise, and duplexer for 40-meters to 70cm and a 6-reel Yo-Yo antenna for 80m & 160m for the FT-857D
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/fm_txvrs/0890.html
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/1857.html
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamps/3640.html
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantm/4547.html
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantm/cduplex.html
http://www.hamradiofun.com/yo-yo-vee-4-6-reels-balun.htm

And an MP Super M 2m/70cm antenna, Arrow 6m antenna, and Solarcon A99 10m antenna for the FT-8900R
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamants/0307.html
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamants/1001.html
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamants/0206.html

One pole to mount the Solarcon, the Arrow, Super M, and hang the Yo-Yo, with the ATAS-120 on a short pole, coax, a couple of two position coax switches, and you have a complete set up.

Just my opinion.

 

+1 to "Buy once, cry once" - it seems that too many who are new to HAM radio buy the wrong thing, struggle with it for a long time, then loose money when they sell it. Here's the short story...

360 degree coverage antennas - 3 different antennas for 3 different ranges..
1. 0-8 miles = VHF/UHF
2. 0-250 miles = HF (20-80 meter) "Near Vertical Incident Sky Wave" aka "NVIS"
3. 150+ miles = HF vertical dipole

Radios -> If you really know your antennas, then it is possible to cover nearly 100 miles with only 1 watt of power

3 different radios for 3 different ranges of power and portability...
1. Handheld (carry) - 5 watts, 3 bands (VHF/UHF/6 meter) (Yaesu VX-8D)
2. Portable (backpack or car) - 100 watts, all bands, all modes (ICOM IC-7000)
3. Base (home) - 1500 watts computer driven "software defined" radio (Apache labs ANAN-100D)

Also - for emergency use only - locate hacks for your radio so that you can transmit on any band+mode that its hardware is capable of.

 

6M - I gave up...

I agree with Johncfii about 6 meters. We have tried several experiments with different antennas and rigs to have local 6 meter communications around town. We gave up and stick to 2M or 70cm.