What Should be your FIRST Ham Radio?

Agreed that 10 watt signals are easily lost in the gigawatt pile up scrambles but you know what as someone who listens a lot I tend to ignore the kilowatt plus brigade with their multi element beams and listen for the harder to hear stations, biding my time until they float up with the conditions before trying a call - a bit like angling for fish patience wins the day eventually. I do occasionally succumb to the low hanging fruit but it's the difficult ones to catch that give the most satisfaction to chase. Yet to get a complete QRP both ways call sign exchange but I am working on it ! 73

 

I had a CB when I was 12, I had a lot of fun with it. Also, I bought a baofeng within an hour of passing my tech license. ...I mean, I also bought an ICOM 4100 two weeks after that once I recognized how much my BaoFeng sucked, but it's part of the learning experience to buy a radio and be dissatisfied with it, so in some ways BaoFeng is doing new hams a favor by helping them get that unpalatable experience out of the way as soon as possible with a really cheap radio (mine was under $15, all-in) instead of having them spend $800-$1200 on a 'shack in a box' design that later turns out to perform in a less than ideal manner on some or another band because shack-in-a-boxes always have to compromise something.

I completely agree with you: Tools and devices that drive people to become licensed amateurs are a net-good for our hobby. Snobbery about CB radio ops or BaoFeng owners is just that--snobbery. Well, looking down our collective noses doesn't grow the hobby or keep it strong. New membership, new licensees--THAT grows the hobby. And one of the ways you make something more attractive for new people to join is remove toxic elements that prospective hams are put-off by.

 

I can understand your point if someone doesn't really know what QRP is. However I wouldn't hesitate recommending QRP to someone new if they understand what it's all about. If their expectations are realistic it can be a lot of fun. With a little patience one can make their share of contacts but just don't expect a bunch for 5/9 reports.

 

I advise most newcomers to the HF bands (new generals) to purchase a second-hand rig. some excellent choices out there that won't break the bank and can usually be flipped again with no monetary loss if one decides HF is not for them, or if they want to upgrade their gear. Radios like the IC-735, IC-706, FT-890AT or Ts-440SAT are fantastic starter rigs that will cost one 25-30% of a new radio. They give you plenty to experiment with-- 100W, all bands, filtering, lots of flexibility and importantly avoids making the mistake of spending the same $300-400 on a 20 watt throw-away chinese HF radio that will surely disappoint the many new hams who use (lowest) price to determine their first HF radio.
Add
Power supplies capable of 30 amps at 13.8V are available for under $25 bucks now days -- perfectly workable. s
Add
A used manual antenna tuner and a 40M coaxial fed dipole will get you on two bands right away with none of the "G5RV and end fed drama' -- ie, RF in the shack, need a choke, wont tune up on xyz band, and other new-ham drama that is posted daily here and on reddit.

Once upon a time the standard recommendation was a Kenwood TS-520 series radio with the very forgiving 6146B tubes (unlike Yaesu sweep tubes in every box) along with built in power supply etc. But alas, new hams today are not taught to understand tuning a tube radio, so I generally avoid this suggestion except for the rare "new old stock" ham who left the hobby decades ago and is returning.

 

Kenwood hybrids (prefer WARC capable rigs) fit newer hams who kept a mindset of the 80s. Tuning is easy-peasy, just get a good SWR/PWR meter and a coax switch to a DL.
On top of being quite resilient, tubes help feel your antenna system.
Also, not too much incentive to wander between dystopian modes.
Stick to basics -is that still allowed nowaday?

Oliver

 

Yep, I was a CBer but well before it was popular..However, after time, when the CB craze started to build up, I did mange to have a SBE Trinidad, and a Star duster Antenna from Radio Shack...! Then I wanted to speak further, and presto, the Ham radio was the path!

I have no issues saying I was CBer, all good for me...

NN2X/Tom

 

First Radio National NC-98 Receiver with Heathkit AT-1 transmitter (1954) Followed by Harvey Wells TBS-50D Bandmaster Deluxe, Heathkit DX-100. by mid 1960 Heathkit SB-300 receiver then SB-401 Transmitter (still have this pair). First Solid State ICOM IC-735 then IC-706MIIG, IC-7100 and now a ICOM IC-7610. Sixty-six years of Amateur Radio
W7WIA

 

LOL nothing wrong with that mate

 

We're trying to implement this in our club. "Help a Ham". Have some who have excess gear they are willing to lend out to others.

 

As a practical answer... My first HF radio was a Yaesu FT-450D that I bought used from a ham I knew that I trusted had taken good care of it and not abused it.

If that radio wasn't available to me, for value, it's hard to argue against something like a Xiegu G90. They're inexpensive and offer a ton of high-end features normally only found in vastly more expensive rigs, and if combined with the default Xiegu amplifier can go to 100 watts, or if combined with a mid-range amp requiring 20 or fewer watts of drive, be your base HF rig driving amps pushing up to 500-600 watts until you can afford more exciter power. Plus, by approaching it this way, a new general can dip his toes in HF without going all-in for a full-power rig. When I a/b this against the ICOM 705, the only thing I see lacking in the G90 is the 2m/70cm/DSTAR nexus and given that there are zero DSTAR repeaters anywhere near me (and I can do DSTAR with my 4100 and my hotspot if I want to) and the ability to transmit pre-recorded voice-key messages but otherwise? It's a

With the G90, power-supply, an EFHW wire antenna, some scrap wire for counterpoise, a couple tree stakes and a tree limb (plus, of course, a feed line,) a new general could have himself on the air for about $600 all-in and do so in a power consumption footprint that won't require him to alter his electrical panel immediately.

 

no argument there

Ah... now that's totally out of touch with current pricing. Wishful thinking at best. These numbers have gone way up. There are still good deals every now and then, but it's much more common to see the "for parts only" ones at 50% of new radio prices and the working ones at 70-85%. And these aren't even modern models.

Glad I spent $500 for my G90 back then. That got me a 20 watt chinese HF radio that has drawn me deep into the hobby, allowing me to make loads of contacts all over and learn a lot about radio, all while saving me money. I guess it's a fine line.

That's about right...

 

The one you buy and learn to use!

 

Well..let's see the new FT-991A is $1200,, the IC7300 is $1000 and the FT-891 cheap rig is $625 or so (plus tax) here are some real "out of touch " ads for gear for sale. here are a few from the past couple days. Any of these radios will be 6-10 dB louder than the 20W xiegu radio at equal or less money. They are 30-40% of a new rig.

They also have a real VFO knob not like the wobble-slop excuse for a knob that comes with that junk xiegu G90. My buddy Raf has gone through 3 of those xiegu G90 ..back and forth with Radiodity... what a mess of a radio that is. Junk. junk junk

DRAKE TR-7 TRANSCEIVER
GOOD WORKING RADIO WITH SSB AND RTTY FILTERS IT HAS THE NOISE BLANKER. $400 PLUS SHIPPING.

Ten-Tec TenTec Triton IV SSB/CW Ham Tran
Ten-Tec Triton IV HF Transceiver – SSB/CW. I did make a SSB contact but did not do any additional testing.
Good SSB radio. Excellent CW radio with full break-in
Nothing else is included.
Asking $150 plus shipping.

ICOM IC-706
Plans changed so I don't need this rig. Good condx original IC-706 with an HM-103 mic, fused pwr cord, and an internet printed manual in a folder. $450.00 paypal preferred.
yaesu ft890at, 100w hf $475.00 paypal


i have a nice yaesu ft890at hf rig for sale, looks and works good!
with hand mic, power cord, manual!
475.00

 

Mine was an Army surplus EFJ 5300ES, but I have commercial two-way experience so a bulletproof PC-programmed rig made sense.

 

Anything with at least 100 watts, HF/6, vhf /uhf would be icing on the cake and all modes, cw,ssb,am,fm,rtty but for NO FT8, no DMR, no System confusion and no D-STAR FRUSTRATION modes nor anything requiring a computer, if you follow these guidelines then the new ham should be just fine.