Got my ham ticket, now what? (1 Viewer)

[CV Kurt]

I aced the tech exam this morning. Now looking at what radio to get. Plan on taking the general exam in a couple of weeks.

This I intend to use it mostly for trail communication. What bands/modes are used by BBCNN'ers during trail rides? 2m simplex? Would be nice to be also monitor a repeater at the same time.

I'm also planning on assisting in emergency coordination during fly fishing (and other) events. We already have a team which run both a in-the-field station and a in-town station, so thinking an HT here (to carry with me as I "guide" the participants).

But thinking a mobile would be more appropriate for trail rides. 2 radios, hmmm... that's going to put a serious dent in my toy budget.

And I'd like to get into APRS, packet radio, etc.. hmmm....

so many choices

BTW, I highly recommend HamTestOnline™ - Ham Radio Exam Courses study courses. It only took me a few hours of study to become confident that I would pass the test first time, and a few more hours to become confident I'd get a perfect score.

 

[primer7]

Want to sell your study materials?

 

[chicago]

Youre gonna get a BUNCH O REPLIES to this!
Congrats on the pass.
I run the Yaesu ft 2800 (I think). Mounts in the rig, relatively in expensive and pretty durable from what I gather.
I havent gotten all GEEKED OUT like some folks, I use it ONLY on the trail and havent wheeled in over a year, so its sitting in a box right now.

 

[spressomon]

Congratulations on getting licensed!

I have the Icom 208H which has been a good radio. My #1 decision to purchase was the very small form factor for the remote mountable display. It is a dual band but single display so not real useful to me on the fly for monitoring two different frequencies.

If money were no object the new Yaesu FTM-350R looks like the "one". Large readout, dual band and dual display with separate volume controls, etc.

The Yaesu 8800R is nice dual bander too...

For me 95% is in simplex mode; although it would have been nice to have had the Sinbad linked system programmed when we were in Utah this past spring (CruiserDrew used it in our group). We use the NorCal guy's 146.460 for our favorite frequency.

 

[CV Kurt]

Want to sell your study materials?

The online course is not transferable. The tech course is only $20 and is all you really need.

 

[primer7]

Roger that

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Want to sell your study materials?

Let me check my books, I may have one to loan you. I also used hamtestonline and missed one question between both of the exams (Tech/General) it worked very well for me.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

The Yaesu FT-2900R is a killer little unit that has 75 watts, is easy to use and works really well. I had the previous version of it and Spresso can attest to how well it worked. Especially on the Sweetwater trip. The only down side is, it's not a dualbander.

As far as mobile HT's, my father and I both have Yaesu VX6R's. Again, it's a bomber unit that has worked well for us. Eventually, I'll add a silver 7R to the line up. The HT has worked well inside vehicles with no external antennas on numerous
trips.

I know three guys with the 350r's and they seem to like them quite a bit.

I think my next rig radio will be the now discontinued Icom 706 MKIIG. they just stopped selling this Mil-Spec radio and I missed the boat on picking one up. Now I watch fleabay for the right kit to appear.

Be sure to let us know what you pick up.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Want to sell your study materials?

There are a couple of copies of the ARRL tech manual floating around someone should have one you can borrow. If all you want to do is get your ticket you can just use the free on-line practice exams. If you want to learn something you can use the ARRL Tech Man. and the on-line exams. No need to spend anything either way.

If you have specific questions I can probably help or point you to a place that can.

 

[rusty_tlc]

The FT-2900 is a great radio for a starter unit, Chicago and I have the Ft-2800 which it replaces. It's very easy to use which is a bonus when you are driving. Dual band is nice but I've never used anything but 2M for trail comm.

There are a slew of HT's coming out of China, QST did a review of one of them in the Nov issue. They are actually pretty good. If your want to go this way I can get the brand name of the unit they reviewed in QST for you.

If you have a bunch of money you just have to get rid of look at the Ft-8800. I have the FT-8900, the quad band version of the 8800. My only complaint with this radio is that is has so many features it's took me forever to learn it ( I still need to look at the manual fairly often).

I seriously wish I had started with a simple inexpensive unit instead of the more complex radios I got. There is a great market for used entry level radios so even if you get gung ho you can off your starter radio pretty easy.

 

[CV Kurt]

Be sure to let us know what you pick up.

I ordered a VX-8GR. I'll likely pick up a magnetic mount antenna, allowing me to easily move it between my FJC and my wife's Rav4.

This should be more than enough radio for now... allowing me to play with APRS, dual band capabilities, etc. This experience will greatly aide me in deciding which mobile to get.

Thanks all for your advice!

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Nice choice, your not going to outgrow that HT anytime soon. Be sure to post up how you like it.