Category: Broadcaster's Lounge
Hi all,
I've recently gotten into ham radio. I'm planning on getting my technician class license soon, and am studying for it using the aarl manual. That, unfortunately, is about where my knowledge ends.
If there are any folks out there who know about ham stuff, I'd love to chat.
Before I make too much of an investment, I'd like to start out with a relatively inexpensive handheld radio. I want something that's fairly straightforward to use- maybe even something that can talk, if that's not too much to ask.
I have very little experience with ham stuff, so I'm just reaching to see what's out there as of now.
I've read some reviews on websites, but most of the talking accessible radios seem to be big base station types. All I want for now is a small radio I can carry around. I'd like not to spend more than 150 or 200 dollars on it if possible.
I'd hate to break the bank if ham doesn't turn out to be a major hobby.
Hi there.
First of all, good luck with your exam.
I took it almost 20 years ago and haven't done much with ham for about 15 years so my knowledge would be useless. lol
It seems like I saw a handheld duleband that had speach for about the price you were looking for. I can't remember exactly what the brand name was but I think it was something like Wixon, or Woxon or something like that.
Good luck!
I'm a newbie, a couple years in.
Get the Wouxun series radio, I would get the 1440 / 350 or something like that, it goes 2 meters / 70 cm which will cover basic VHF UHF frequencies, and there is an eyes-free manual on there.
Anway go to wouxun.us and when you order yours, tell the guy in the comments that you are blind and need to have it talking, and he will supply the eyes-free manual in RTF.
He sells a lot of accessories for it, which I ultimately bought when I bought mine, in preparation for a few months from now or less, when I will be able to participate in local emergency services radio. I am a newbie and so don't know a whole lot, but that much I do know.
Also Echolink software is free, and once you have your license, you will be able to use that to communicate all over the world with other hams. I don't use Ham Radio often, but got mine as instructed by a radio officer in the local Coast Guard Auxiliary, since I had no experience at all with radio of any kind beforehand. And, they tell us, getting involved in the emergency services radio will sharpen our skills.
Getting over the mic fright is harder than taking the test, in my opinion, but I did another thing one of the Coast Guard instructors suggested, and that was rehearse what you have to, even in the shower, until it comes to you naturally. If you're not prone to mic fright, you're good.
Anyway best of luck from a relatively fellow newbie. Most the ham people have been in since before I was alive, and long before many on this site were even thought of.
Very cool. I'll keep this stuff in mind.
I'm glad there are still hams out there.
I too hope to do emergency radio.
I have visions of camping out on mountain tops and doing radio relay, lol. I don't know if that'll actually happen, but I'm very interested in ham stuff. I'll look into getting the recommended radio. By online reviews and websites, it seems like a good little handheld to start out on.
Yep, Leo, that's the one to which I was referring.
I take it you've found it accessible and usable?
Good to know.
Yes I have and wrote down a bunch of the menus options from the Eyes-free manual.
Hi all. I too want to make my foray into ham land, but have a problem. I fear my landlord would shit his pants if he saw an antenna at his house, so are there radios that can remody this? Also, how do you all tune the radio and the antenna at the same time, or is that even the case? I hear stuff about antenna tuners, and antennas, and it just gets far too confusing.
I can't answer the antenna tuning questions because that is for bigger rigs. You can have a handheld like the Wouxun radios and either the ducky that comes with it, or buy an 18" long whip and this all stays inside.
The big gear is for people mounting stuff and running repeaters or doing a lot of contacting far distances. If you can get onto several local repeaters, you can let them do the legwork for you in terms of distance. Of course I am only operating on 2 meters and 70 centimeters, operating being the radio word for just using those. I know, I had not known any of this before joining the Coast Guard Auxiliary. This was all news to me 3 years ago.
Bassplayer, you'll want to check out the arrl technician class manual. This book can be found on bookshare if you've got that, or by other means if you do some googling.
That'll teach you the ropes concerning equipment. You can start out with a handheld or mobile rig, like leo says. Local hamming won't require you to put up a mind bendingly huge, able to communicate with other plannets type of antenna, lol.
There are also lots of ham resources online that show you how to use radios, and tell you about what models of radios are particularly accessible for blind hams. I don't have any of those links on me at the moment, but just google "blind ham radio." That's what I did, and I found a wealth of info.
Hope this helps. I'm getting ready to take my tech license test here within the next month or two, so I'm learning more as I have time.
I have a cool little roll-up J-poll antenna. It just hangs in the window when I want to put it up. You can't also get a 5/8 wave magmount antenna and set it on a cookie sheet in front of the window.
Good luck.