4 ms·

I'd recommend getting something that can do HF, because that's where things get interesting. For 500, maybe you can get a used FT-857D. You'll need a power sup

I'd recommend getting something that can do HF, because that's where things get interesting. For 500, maybe you can get a used FT-857D. You'll need a power supply, too. And an antenna. If you have a local club, talk to the folks there and tell them you're interested in getting started. Someone might have stuff to sell or give to you.

jimhefferon 7y ago
> If you have a local club, talk to the folks there Second this. I'm VP of an active club and for someone with a real interest we can do a lot. Here is a way to find a club, in the US: http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club
mindcrime 7y ago
I'd recommend getting something that can do HF, because that's where things get interesting. That kinda depends on what you consider "interesting". IMO, there's plenty of "interesting" stuff to do on 2m / 70cm, plus anything you can do in receive only mode on other bands. But to me, "interesting" includes things like listening in on air-traffic control using an RTL-SDR, participating in the local ARES group, working the local repeaters in voice mode, and experimenting with decoding various digital modes. This is not to say that working HF doesn't open up additional doors, because clearly it does. My point is just that there's a lot of fun to be had with just what you can do with a Technician license, a $40 Baefung radio, and a $25 RTL-SDR dongle.
- Gracana 7y ago
  > This is not to say that working HF doesn't open up additional doors, because clearly it does. That's basically it. Shit, I was a tech for twenty years, but never did much because I wasn't interested in club stuff or chatting on the local repeater. At some point I got an RTL-SDR, but dealing with noise and frustrating software issues killed my interest in it... Then around the time my license was up for renewal again, I studied for a week and got my extra ticket, and bought a rig that could do HF-70cm and suddenly I was able to try anything that interested me. If you've got a $500 budget, you can do the same... no reason to limit yourself.

jimhefferon 7y ago

> If you have a local club, talk to the folks there Second this. I'm VP of an active club and for someone with a real interest we can do a lot. Here is a way to find a club, in the US: http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club

mindcrime 7y ago

I'd recommend getting something that can do HF, because that's where things get interesting. That kinda depends on what you consider "interesting". IMO, there's plenty of "interesting" stuff to do on 2m / 70cm, plus anything you can do in receive only mode on other bands. But to me, "interesting" includes things like listening in on air-traffic control using an RTL-SDR, participating in the local ARES group, working the local repeaters in voice mode, and experimenting with decoding various digital modes. This is not to say that working HF doesn't open up additional doors, because clearly it does. My point is just that there's a lot of fun to be had with just what you can do with a Technician license, a $40 Baefung radio, and a $25 RTL-SDR dongle.

Gracana 7y ago
> This is not to say that working HF doesn't open up additional doors, because clearly it does. That's basically it. Shit, I was a tech for twenty years, but never did much because I wasn't interested in club stuff or chatting on the local repeater. At some point I got an RTL-SDR, but dealing with noise and frustrating software issues killed my interest in it... Then around the time my license was up for renewal again, I studied for a week and got my extra ticket, and bought a rig that could do HF-70cm and suddenly I was able to try anything that interested me. If you've got a $500 budget, you can do the same... no reason to limit yourself.