Not sure what to do, Need a bit of advise

[KJ6UPZ]

VQF, Interesting, just from the sounds of it that project seems hard, but so worth it. That is why I actually became an amateur radio operator, just for the reason that you can spend $20 dollars in parts and put some time into it and come out of the situation with a radio you can use pretty much forever.

[WB2WIK]

UPZ if you have time and not much money, I'd recommend watching some of the HamNation videos on line at http://twit.tv/hn

Each "episode" is about an hour long, and there are dozens there, so it's a lot of watching. However most all episodes show how to homebrew stuff, what's involved, etc.

[WA9SVD]

Get thyself to a club or an Elmer.

And....always remember and never forget...your first car wasn't a Maserati; it was probably a Yugo! Beg borrow or steal a "beater" radio...they are out there by the thousands.

Eric

That's kind of a low blow, Eric. Most Yugo's could barely "GO" if they were pointed downhill. Could you at least rephrase that to a "GEO Metro, " or "Ford Fiesta?"

I'd recommend something like a "gently used" radio such as an IC-706; the original versions are available for perhaps a bit over the OP's budget, but waiting and saving $ a few extra months until he can afford it, would be beneficial. I hate to see "newbies [no insult intended]" have to mess with a radio that needs tuning procedures, when the rest of operating is already overwhelming in many cases.

[KJ6UPZ]

SVD,

I think you have officially found the only two cars that look worse than the Yugo? Maybe a rephrase to a Suzuki Samurai is needed? And no offence taken, We were all newbies once.

Anyway, WIK Thanks for the tip off to ham nation, I'll be watching those when i have time, I'm going to be studying for tests I have to take at school this week and when I have time left over it will be devoted to studying for my General class which I will be trying for this weekend.

[KJ6UPZ]

I want to ask you guys another question, Would you think $250 is a fair price for a clean Kenwood TS-180S? I found a guy selling one for $300, but I might be able to talk him down to $250 - $200 because I am a new ham and well..I would need to buy an antenna tuner and a new power supply ( Or just make a power supply, little bit ghetto, but 12v deep cycle battery with a float charger on it...I could draw a couple hundred amps minimum from that )

[KA9VQF]

For several years a used deep cycle battery and a cheap motorcycle
float charger were my power supply.

As far as the antenna tuner. If you cut your antenna pretty close to the frequencies you plan to work you do not need one.

Fan dipole antennas are not really that hard to build. You cut several dipoles for the different bands and connect them all to the same center insulator. The ends of the wires can be held apart and in place with a single length of PVC tubing or other insulating material. 50 ohm coax works fine with them with just an ugly balun {a few turns of coax wrapped around a form like a 2 liter jug}

Get the center up as high as you can and keep the ends off the ground far enough that you don't clothesline anyone wandering around the yard.

Its true that you can spend a lifetime actually getting each segment totally flat SWR wise but they generally are close enough that you do not need a tuner.

A power supply can be made from a computer power supply. I knocked one out to use with my TS-120S.

[KJ6UPZ]

For several years a used deep cycle battery and a cheap motorcycle
float charger were my power supply.

As far as the antenna tuner. If you cut your antenna pretty close to the frequencies you plan to work you do not need one.

Fan dipole antennas are not really that hard to build. You cut several dipoles for the different bands and connect them all to the same center insulator. The ends of the wires can be held apart and in place with a single length of PVC tubing or other insulating material. 50 ohm coax works fine with them with just an ugly balun {a few turns of coax wrapped around a form like a 2 liter jug}

Get the center up as high as you can and keep the ends off the ground far enough that you don't clothesline anyone wandering around the yard.

Its true that you can spend a lifetime actually getting each segment totally flat SWR wise but they generally are close enough that you do not need a tuner.

A power supply can be made from a computer power supply. I knocked one out to use with my TS-120S.

Ah, interesting, the fan dipole idea seems like a very good idea from what I have found out about it.

I don't quite know what to do at this point, I think i'm just going to wait on all the HF stuff until this weekend when I get my general class taken care of.

[KJ6UPZ]

Well, Let the HF craziness start again, I passed my general class exam today!

[WA4OTD]

For $40 or so you can get a 12V/20A-30A power supply off ebay. I use two and really like them.

For ghetto, find an old computer supply and use the 12 volt from it. I use one for my 10M beacon. Check the current capacity of the supply.

I want to ask you guys another question, Would you think $250 is a fair price for a clean Kenwood TS-180S? I found a guy selling one for $300, but I might be able to talk him down to $250 - $200 because I am a new ham and well..I would need to buy an antenna tuner and a new power supply ( Or just make a power supply, little bit ghetto, but 12v deep cycle battery with a float charger on it...I could draw a couple hundred amps minimum from that )

[KJ6UPZ]

For $40 or so you can get a 12V/20A-30A power supply off ebay. I use two and really like them.

For ghetto, find an old computer supply and use the 12 volt from it. I use one for my 10M beacon. Check the current capacity of the supply.

I didnt even think about ebay, I have a 13.8v/10 Amp regulated SMPS sitting on my workbench, though I doubt it would be anywhere enough to power a base station style HF radio