[SGVHAK] ham radio equipment recommendation

Sun Jun 28 22:25:09 PDT 2015

I was first licensed as a novice when our family lived in Globe, AZ. I
remember receiving my license in the mail in the summer time when I had the
mumps. I don't remember the exact year, but I think it must have been 1966
or 1967. The license was good for one year and was non-renewable. The
license expired before I was able to pass the 13 WPM Morse code exam and
was allowed to take the written exam. I passed all the written exams that
they allowed me to take and got an Advanced class license. I never tried
for the Extra class license until they dropped the code requirement (it had
been 20 WPM) in the early 21st century. I never had any problem with the
written exams, only the Morse code though I suppose with enough practice I
could have passed it.

In the late 1960s, no one in small towns was on VHF and above. HF was where
it was at. For a high school graduation present, I received a Yaesu
FTDX-560 transceiver. Prior to that, I used a 3 band CW transmitter I put
together from a kit and a Knight Star Roamer receiver I had also put
together when we lived in Phoenix (we moved to Globe on Thanksgiving
weekend in 1964).

The 2-meter FM crazed got going in the early 1970s and I purchased a Swan
FM-2X mobile transceiver. You had to have separate crystals for transmit
and receive.

Nowadays of course a lot of new hams purchase the Baofeng 2m/70cm handheld
radios. They're pretty good for the money, but not in the same quality
class as the big names--Yaesu, Kenwood, Icom and (to a lesser extent,
Alinco). I own radios from the big 3, but the only thing I own made by
Alinco is a power supply which has the virtue of your being able to adjust
the frequency of the switching power supply so it doesn't interfere with
your reception.

One radio I saw recently that I'd like to get is the Yaesu FT-1DR 2m/70cm
handheld which costs $310. It has an integrated GPS and APRS (Automatic
Packet Reporting System). A newer radio with a few more features, the
FT-2DR just became available for $550.

You might want to go to Ham Jam on Saturday, July 11, at Ham Radio Outlet
in Anaheim. I'm planning to go to that even though that's the same date as
the next Amateur Radio Emergency Service meeting (always the 2nd Saturday
of the month) which is usually held in the Wingate building (unless we get
bumped somewhere else) at the Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. On the 4th
Saturday of most months (conflicting with the TRW swap meet except when
there are 5 Saturdays in a month).There is also an informal meeting in a
conference room in the west tower (adjacent to the cafeteria) where various
topics of interest to beginners (and sometimes others).

HRO had Ham Jam for the past few years and I highly recommend it. They will
have some giveaways for some fairly nice radios, but I think you have to be
present to win. In past years, I only won some LED flashlights and T-shirts
that were bigger than my size (medium). Gordon West, WB6NOA usually does
his famous blazing pickle demonstration. Since I have to use public
transportation these days, I usually take the Metrolink to Fullerton and
either bicycle or take the bus from there or at least part of the way there.

You are also welcome to visit the monthly ARES meeting if you like. As I
said, it's on the 2nd Saturday. It begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 11 a.m.
when amateur radio exams are administered. One of the more famous members
is Kate Hutton, K6HTN, who just retired from CalTech. She's one of the
"earthquake ladies" you might have seen on TV. (The other is Lucy Jones of
the USGS, but as far as I know, she's not a ham.)

The Pasadena Radio Club meets at the Kaiser facility on the NW corner of
Los Robles and Walnut on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Visitors
are always welcome and I finally joined this year. I am not always able to
come to the meetings because I often have choir rehearsals at PCC on
Tuesday evenings. Topics vary and can be either technical or non-technical.
See http://w6ka.net/monthlymtgs.php

One club that strictly technical is the San Bernardino Microwave Society
which meets in Corona (which is actually in Riverside County). I can get
there by Metrolink, but can't get home afterwards, so I usually watch it
via the Internet when possible. One of the members Gary, sets up a couple
of video cameras, a switcher and a 2.4 GHz dish aimed at Santiago Peak. A
repeater there picks up the signal and retransmits it on several amateur TV
repeaters around Southern California. This includes Mt. Wilson which
retransmits it in the 1.2 GHz band. It is also streamed from batc.tv . Look
for W6ATN. The meeting is not streamed if Gary can't make it to the meeting
for some reason. This web site requires flash, so on Android and iOS
devices I use a browser called Puffin which costs a few dollars.

On Sun, Jun 28, 2015 at 6:45 PM, Mic Chow <zen at netten.net> wrote:

> Since I have always lacked space, went with a 5watt  handheld with the
> intent of getting a mobile (car) unit later for greater range.  However,
> I never got around to installing a mobile unit into my car, so I stayed
> with my handheld.  Nowadays with the Chinese company Baofeng, the units
> have become cheaper.  Baofeng are of surprisingly decent quality
> especially for their price.  I personally like my Yaesu VX-7 that I
> bought 20 years ago and still use.  The VX-7 has been replaced with the
> VX-8 with lots of additional features.  The big quality brands that
> remember are Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood and Motorola.  Alinco used to be in
> there, but I think they have disappeared.  Motorola being the only
> American in the bunch with the rest being out of Japan.
>
> If I could have started now, I would have started with a Baofeng UV-5r
> (the very same ones used at SCALE), because they are decent range, and
> are of a decent quality; and they are under $50 so you do not feel as
> bad if you do something silly to them.  Comparing to the equivalent
> Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood and Motorola being north of $100 with most of them
> easily over $200.
>
> I have heard of folks taking mobile units and decent antennas to make
> base stations.
>
> I say for the cost go with the Baofeng UV-5r and then move up from there.
>
> I take it that several people passed their test?
>
> -Mic
>
>
>
>
> On 06/28/2015 05:14 PM, Tux Lab wrote:
> > what's a reasonable amount to spend?  I am leaning toward a handheld
> > to start.   Do you like your handheld units?
> >
> > On Sun, Jun 28, 2015 at 5:07 PM, Mic Chow <zen at netten.net> wrote:
> >> How much do you want to spend?  Handheld or base units?
> >>
> >>
> >> On 06/28/2015 04:52 PM, Tux Lab wrote:
> >>> Any equipment recommendations for beginner ham radio users?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >
>
>
>

-- 
Stan Slonkosky
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