Help Wanted...

[TX Devil Doc]

I have always wanted to be involved in Ham/SW radios.
There seems to be a good deal of info to sort through.
Where do I start? I know nothing about radios more than how to turn them on and off...
Any assistance would be appreciated.

[ozarkhillbilly49]

devil, find your local ham radio club. they will have folks that will help you out. you can buy study books on line or at radio shack sometimes. the local club will have folks that can give you the test. i am sorry i did not check in here sooner. if i can help you any more i will be around. qrz.com has practice test you can take on line. don't get discouraged and give up. 4bee on here started studying last year and got his general ticket in one test session. i bet if you buy the study books and read thru them twice you can do the same thing. getting a ham ticket is sure easier now than when i started out. some old timers resent this and will try to give new guys trouble over this, don't pay any attention to the old farts.get your license and go have fun. take care

[TX Devil Doc]

Thanks OH! I know this is putting the cart well before the horse, but what type of radio set up do you suggest for a beginner?

[ozarkhillbilly49]

do you want to get in to ham radio or short wave listening? for hf ob the ham bands a elecraft k3 and a big amp or a ten tec Orion and a big amp. note needing the amp this time of year. there are several nice short wave receivers that can be had for a lot less than a k3 or Orion. those are both top of the line rigs. neither are necessary to start out with. think about which direction you want to go and i mite be able to recommend for a rig. take care

[mrussel]

I have always wanted to be involved in Ham/SW radios.
There seems to be a good deal of info to sort through.
Where do I start? I know nothing about radios more than how to turn them on and off...
Any assistance would be appreciated.

 Contact the ARRL or go their website. They should be able to point you toward a group in your area. You have the most important qualification,you want to learn! http://www.arrl.org/

[mrussel]

devil, find your local ham radio club. they will have folks that will help you out. you can buy study books on line or at radio shack sometimes. the local club will have folks that can give you the test. i am sorry i did not check in here sooner. if i can help you any more i will be around. qrz.com has practice test you can take on line. don't get discouraged and give up. 4bee on here started studying last year and got his general ticket in one test session. i bet if you buy the study books and read thru them twice you can do the same thing. getting a ham ticket is sure easier now than when i started out. some old timers resent this and will try to give new guys trouble over this, don't pay any attention to the old farts.get your license and go have fun. take care

Yup,you dont have to learn morse code now. I felt it was a mistake to do away with it,but its done and thats that.

[ozarkhillbilly49]

mrussel i to feel like dropping the code was a mistake. unlike a lot of others i will not belittle or harass someone because they recently got their ticket, as you said thems the rules now and thats it. what i find funny is a lot of the new people are learning morse now because it is fun!  the subject of a first rig is another matter altogether. there are so many top performing rigs nowadays! the  yaesu ft-950, the ts 2000 kenwood the ten tec jupiter the alinco rigs. just about any radio will give acceptable performance now a days. 2 meter fm rigs just over a 100 bucks!!!!!!the ft 950 would probably be a good choice for a first rig. if money is no object then a ten tec orion 2 or a loaded elecraft k3. the k3 is my weapon of choice with a drake l7 amp and a kw matchbox for help!! another one to look at is the flex line of rigs. the new flex 3000 is a heck of a good value. the flex rigs will have to have a fairly modern computer to operate as they are a wholly software defined radio. sdr is probably the way of the future. the weather is decent today and i got tower and antenna projects waiting on me!!!!!! 73's to all

[IDMoose]

Here is a link that will help as well. http://www.hamradioclass.org/ I agree with checking with ARRL and local clubs. ARRL will help you find clubs in your area and maybe one of the clubs will have classes as well. For rigs that depends on what you want to do and the area you live in. 95% of hams starting out start with just a handheld radio. The one I recommend is the Yaesu FT-60.  It is the real work horse for HT’s. If you live in a area that has 1.25 repeaters the look at the Kenwood TH-F6. It is a very nice radio and will put out 5 watts on 1.25. If you want a mobile the door is open to a lot of different things. I like the Yaesu FT-8800 as you can crossband with it so that give you the ability to use it as a repeater if you are away from you car and need the extra power to reach a repeater.

 Hope that help as there is way more to it then I’m listing here. You can spend a lot of bones for radios and the different things they can do.

[TX Devil Doc]

Thanx for all the replies! I am looking into the local club too...

[AlbinoAlligator]

I don't know about you, but when I started the biggest problem for me was the cost of equipment. If money is tight be sure to look around, there's is alot of good used stuff to be found. If your a hands on type you can also learn to make your own antennas. I've made a few, and they work well, not to mention there alot cheaper. Good luck!