Finally...after 40+ years

[DAVZOG]

HI

When I was in high school I wanted to become a Ham...studied for the old Novice exam, got almost good with CW, and my parents would not let me "waste" the money on a "silly" radio set up...

Well, I just took early retirement, and not I am finally going to get my ticket....BUT I have a whole lot of questions....just don't know what to ask!!

I just signed up for the ARRL online course, which includes ARRL membership....

The technology has changed drastically, and all of thegear I set seems to be extremely expensive compared to what I expected...of course, the equipment is far superior to the old regenerative stuff I was used to years ago...

I always wanted to build a Heathkit but I guess they are out of business.

Anyway, I sure would appreciate any information on how to get started, assuming I will be able to get the technician license...ha

Thanks in advance for any advice....hope to get on the air in a few months...

[K1FSY]

Welcome. I've noticed people selling unbuilt heathkits in the classifieds section of these forums lately, could be a good place to start. Also, I'd suggest buying someone's used gear rather than buying anything new at this point. You can get some excellent equipment from yesteryear here or on ebay.

[VE3FMC]

What a great way to ease into retirement :D

IMO if you plan on operating HF right after you get your ticket you might want to look at new HF radios instead of used.

No offense against Ebay but I tend to think radios sell for too much on there these days. The "I gotta have it" mentality takes over with some bidders.

You can buy a new Icom 718 160-10 meter radio for just under $500. Or take a look at the Yaesu FT-450.

Why pay $350-500 for a used radio if you can buy a new one with a warranty for a few bucks more. Most people that retire are able to retire because they are secure with their finances.

If you are going to use VHF for awhile I suggest a good dual band mobile such as the FT-7800. Buy a power supply (Get a 25 amp supply, you will need it when you buy a HF rig), a decent dual band vertical antenna and some coax and you are on the air for under $500. You will always have that radio so it is not a waste of money.

Good Luck, have fun studying.

[DAVZOG]

Thanks for the replies...I have been looking around the internet for a lot of different transceivers....the two that were mentioned (new) I can't find for under $699 or there abouts. I don't mind spending that much, but I was hoping to get on the air for $400 or so, including antenna and such...

I will certainly keep looking, and if anyone has a good deal on good stuff, please let me know...thanks

[W6ONV]

Depending on the mode of operation, you can buy some very inexpensive kits and get on the air. Give N1JER (http://jeremychase.net/)'s web site a look, he has some great little kits he has built and has been having a ball with him.

[K4TLJ]

I was in pretty much the same boat; Too poor when in my teens to buy much of anything beyond necessities, life intervened and there were much higher priorities. Then I retired and got my ticket. I had already restored several 'boat anchors' and am now using them on the air. You might consider restoring a Heathkit. I have two HW-101's and a SB-301 - 401 pair that I had a ball restoring. I refurbed a Swan 700CX that gets fine reports. The big advantage to me was the parts were big enough to see with my 67 year old eyes.

[KL2LZ]

I was in the same place as you last year. New license but no idea what to do with it. I bought a second hand Icom IC-706MKIIG for $700 and it has really worked out well for me. I use it more in my camper than at my QTH and this radio, while being primarily an HF rig, does hit all of the bands. Also, it has CW capabilities and the physical size of the radio makes it easy to take along. I think the radio does just about everything except cross band repeat. I'm sure there are other radios that would work as well as my 706 but it sure was a good place to start for me.

Dan

[VE3FMC]

Thanks for the replies...I have been looking around the internet for a lot of different transceivers....the two that were mentioned (new) I can't find for under $699 or there abouts. I don't mind spending that much, but I was hoping to get on the air for $400 or so, including antenna and such...

I will certainly keep looking, and if anyone has a good deal on good stuff, please let me know...thanks


Texas Towers had the Icom 718 for $495 a few weeks ago, but I see it has now gone up to $589.

What you should do is find your local Amateur Radio Club and see if you can get some help from the members.

[W0IS]

I always wanted to build a Heathkit but I guess they are out of business.

Heath is actually still in business, but not in the kit business anymore. So that's my small nitpick.

But the big nitpick is that there actually more kits available today then there were in Heath's heyday. Many of them are small QRP (low power) radios, often kitted by clubs at very reasonable prices. MFJ and Ramsey also have quite a number of kits, mostly QRP rigs.

But among the best rigs available (certainly for the price) are the offerings from Elecraft:

http://www.elecraft.com/

So you can still build an HF rig from a kit, and the end result will be vastly superior than anything that Heathkit ever had.

There are quite a few rigs in the $600 price range. When you think in terms of inflation, that's a lot cheaper than it was back in the day. When I got started in 1974, my station (all used) set my parents back about $200, and it did CW, and that's it.

Today, for about $600, you can find many rigs (new) that do HF, VHF, and UHF, all modes. That was unheard of "back in the day".

With used gear, if you wanted to get on HF for less than $100, it could be done, although it would take some scrounging.

Good luck on getting your ticket!

[DAVZOG]

WOW...what a great amount of information...thanks to all. I did find that the a local club meets on Wednesday at the local COmmunity COllege....I will be there on Wednesday.

Thanks again to all....a great help

[K0RGR]

There are lots of good used rigs around in your price class. I was just admiring a couple of Ten Tec rigs on Ebay. Those will probably top out around $400 or less. One good thing about Ten Tec is that the company is still around ( In Tennessee) and they repair everything they used to sell. Their new rigs are not bad either, their top rigs are competitive with anything.

Another reason I would look at Ten Tec is that they tend to use more knobs and fewer menus. The displays are usually easy to read and the rigs are fairly simple to operate. And, there are just a lot of good old ones around fairly cheap. Most folks are barely aware that Ten Tec exists, because they only see the Japanese rigs around.

The Elecraft K2 is a kit worthy of Heathkit, and then some. I've heard less than great things about the K2 on SSB, but it shines on CW. The newer K3 is a real top-of-the-line rig. It's a 'semi kit'. They also make a couple very nice little QRP CW rigs. Elecraft, too, is a US company.

I noticed a couple older Kenwood transceivers on EBay that might be worth a shot. The TS-120 and 130 are approaching 30 years of age, and may show it. The TS-430 and 440 are sollid radios, but also fairly old. All of these are fairly easy to use.