I quote from the beginning this statement: "The QRZ-1 is a brand-new, entry-level, dual-band ham radio transceiver that has been custom manufactured for QRZ and GigaParts and is available for sale at GigaParts. We worked with an established radio manufacturer to make a special edition radio just for new hams. Our involvement was much more than a re-labeling of an existing product, because several important improvements have been made. For starters, the radio firmware has been modified to make user interaction straightforward and easy to understand. In addition, the user manual was rewritten in English (not simply translated) so that new hams may grasp its operating concepts clearly."
People will attack anything for any reason. If newbies are getting a kick out of it so be it. I see no requirements to get it past getting a ticket. If you could encourage new hams with pink zippo lighters more power to ya.
Just like KC3VJQ this QRZ-1 jumpstart got me started in December after getting licensed as a technician. I used it on a road trip from Illinois to Florida and back with a mag mount antenna and had much fun passing time as a passenger. Santa upgraded me to a Yaesu FT-65r so the QRZ-1 makes a great backup radio to keep handy in the vehicle. It has better firmware than the TYT it is cloned from which is exceptionally easy to use and has a very newbie friendly paper manual to bridge the gap from studying for the technician license to practical 2M/70cm use. It was very easy to add repeaters on the fly as I approached various metropolitan areas on a road trip. I replaced the stock antenna with a signalstuff antenna. Chris K9DGY
I think its very appropriate that an "unbranded" radio is the core of the New Ham program. To offer a branded radio would be tacit promotion of that brand, which is unfair to the other brands. Neither QRZ nor Gigaparts want to be accused of brand preference. So in this sense, the QRZ-1 is perfect. It got me on the air immediately and has helped me learn. The quality is good enough and extremely affordable. I got mine with the external mic and 12v adapter for $50! Then I bought the larger battery for only $15 that has a USB-C charger port when most others do not! And because the menu system has been tuned to make it easy, that's a bonus especially for new young hams. It's a win for everyone! W7BTM
Hello Everyone. This QRZ Jumpstart Package is truly awesome. I have heard and seen many good reviews of it. Welcome to the new Hams that have been active in the discussion to this topic....Some Hams are Elitists or Ham Click Kings. They think that unless you have a 100 foot tower, topped with a Stepp IR or similar antenna, and run a KW or more, you are a deplorable and not on their uppity dirt bag level. And I want nothing to do with these jerks as they do not exemplify what the true spirit of Amateur Radio is. Here is what my Ham Station consists of a 50 watt 2m/440 rig with an Ed Fong dual band antenna. My HF station is a 100 watt HF only rig. And a portable 10 through 40 M antenna. I can’t have our door antennas, so I make due with indoor antennas, that in reality are about 25 feet off the ground, as my shack is on the second story of my dwelling. Here are some of the awards I have earned with this extremely modest station: ARRL WAS, IARU WAC, QRZ Grid Squared Award, QRZ United States County Award, and POTA All States Hunter Award. I am currently at 947 parks confirmed toward the 1000 Hunter Award. Any Ham Radio Operator can become a darn good, and efficient operator, with whatever their particular operating conditions are, when they develope specific operatoring skills to be sucessful on the specific bands and modes they operate on. I have an extremely “ low cost low budget “ Ham Radio station. And because I have developed relatively good operating skill/ ability, many of the local Hams in my area are surprised at the success I have on HF phone. I humbly submit to those that read this, I am not boasting, bragging, or the like. The simple fact is that I have learned certain operating skills that make me successful using my low end, low budget, low power station.....I entered Ham Radio as a No Code Techician. Many said I was not a REAL HAM, exc. But I was and still am active on the local repeaters, and having a ball lol. And I upgraded to General Class in 2007 when the FCC elimimated the Code Exam for all classes of Amateur Radio Operator. Again on the HF bands, I was called NOT A REAL Ham, as I did/ do not know CW...But many of these individual who did not welcome me as a new Tech on the repeaters, or a new General, have either become SK/ Silent Key, or gotten out of Ham Radio.....The point I am making is this: If you are a New Ham with a limited station with limited operating ability.... You are Awesome! Welcome to Amateur Radio! You made a great decision to become a Ham! Get as involved in this hobby as ya want to be. If ya wanna stay a Technician Class foreve that is fine. If ya want to upgrade to General or Extra, that is fine too. Follow your heart....Whatever you chose to do, stay on the air, make friend on the radio, and try to assist a new upcoming Ham any way you can. 73 from Dan - N9 Windy Forever Talker, El Paso, IL
I may agree that paragraphs make reading longer posts easier to do. And seperating individual thoughts can be beneficial. But many of the readers here are educated individuals and will be able to tell by reading my post where one specific thought in a message starts and stops, and a new thought begins... I have a high school education and am a US Army Veteran....I may not have a PHD, But I have a DD -214 . You can see that even though I lack a PHD/ College Degree, I have developed a degree of articulation, I put my thoughs together in logical and easy to undestand. I have read several posts in this thread that have been all run together, and had no problem seperating the different ideas/ topics presented in a given post. However Sir, I see you are definately an individual, and a quite skilled in the art of interacting with others in a successful manner. As a matter of fact, I view you as an Instructor Type of Individual, and one to be admired. Although I did not take your wise advice in this post, I will certainly try to execute spacing of individual thoughts and ideas in my upcoming posts, should they become lengthy. Respectfully N9WFT, American Legion Post 59, El Paso, IL
I don't have a Ph.D. either, and I do have a DD-214. I am not sure what that has to do with anything here. The feedback I was giving you, while your post was succinctly written, it is hard to see/read the font/font size on the blazing white background. Apologies for the suggestion.
