HAM Radio Starter Kit - Information for Beginners

Mooseman · Jan 1, 2019

Crohnos01 said:
Hey; I just got my Technician license and I keep hearing folks using the '73' jargon on the radio. Mind telling a greenhorn what that means exactly?

Few codes survive to today since morse codes have survived only in amateur radio. One of the enduring sub-codes is "73" meaning "Best regards." Hams use it on voice, as well. It has become traditional jargon.

Crohnos01 · Jan 2, 2019

Mooseman said:
Few codes survive to today since morse codes have survived only in amateur radio. One of the enduring sub-codes is "73" meaning "Best regards." Hams use it on voice, as well. It has become traditional jargon.

Ah - Thank you. I assumed it was something like that, but it didn't show up in any of the "Q" codes that I was able to find and since I am just getting my feet wet without anyone I know who can "guide" me on some of this, I am slightly overwhelmed with some of the details such as the codes that folks use.

Thanks!

ATCclears · Mar 5, 2019

A review of the Quansheng UV-R50.
Quansheng UV-R50: More Bang Than Baofeng

Siglvr · Mar 6, 2019

Thanks ATC, do they have chirp for the Quansheng? Cause that's a good thing the Baofeng has. Also, for under $2 you can pick up a battery piece that will allow you to use AA or AAA (one or the other depending on which one you buy). For someone getting a radio for EMP, thats a great thing. Right now Bangood has the Baofeng 5R on sale for $22 shipped, and the Baofeng UV-82HP for $41.
US$22.22 39% BAOFENG UV-5R Dual Band Handheld Transceiver Radio Walkie Talkie Security & Protection from Electronics on banggood.com

US$41.20 BaoFeng UV-82 Portable High Power Dual Band Radio Walkie Talkie Two Way Radio Security & Protection from Electronics on banggood.com

coyoteman5 · Mar 6, 2019

You might look into what the fcc is saying about the Chinese ham radios like the baofeng due to it capability to transmit out of ham bands. I haven't fully looked into just caught some YouTube video talking about it but haven't watch it all the way through.

ATCclears · Mar 18, 2019

Tasks for the 'Designated Commo' Guy

cigars · Mar 18, 2019

coyoteman5 said:
You might look into what the fcc is saying about the Chinese ham radios like the baofeng due to it capability to transmit out of ham bands. I haven't fully looked into just caught some YouTube video talking about it but haven't watch it all the way through.

That may have been true for some of the older models. Not much to worry about today. Pick up a BF-F8HP and you will have a very tight little radio. There seems to be an entire legion of purists out there who spend all of their time bashing Baofeng radios every chance they get because they work and only cost a fraction of the higher end HT's. Www.Miklor.com does fairly objective reviews on everything. The advent of Baofeng and a few others have made entry to amateur radio very affordable. There's a lot of folks though who get snobbish if you didn't spend several paychecks on your equipment.

Crohnos01 · Mar 18, 2019

I use a Baofeng courtesy of NWFA last drawing and it works fine. I did take the win as a sign of the universe telling me that I should get my HAM license and did so. I built a J-pole antenna out of copper pipe and actually use the little Baofeng as a base radio in my office. Works great

cigars · Mar 18, 2019

Crohnos01 said:
I use a Baofeng courtesy of NWFA last drawing and it works fine. I did take the win as a sign of the universe telling me that I should get my HAM license and did so. I built a J-pole antenna out of copper pipe and actually use the little Baofeng as a base radio in my office. Works great

Rockstar!!

coyoteman5 · Mar 18, 2019

cigars said:
That may have been true for some of the older models. Not much to worry about today. Pick up a BF-F8HP and you will have a very tight little radio. There seems to be an entire legion of purists out there who spend all of their time bashing Baofeng radios every chance they get because they work and only cost a fraction of the higher end HT's. Www.Miklor.com does fairly objective reviews on everything. The advent of Baofeng and a few others have made entry to amateur radio very affordable. There's a lot of folks though who get snobbish if you didn't spend several paychecks on your equipment.

I'm not bashing baofeng I have one nice little radio. Just giving a heads up there is talk about it with the fcc and be careful not to transmit outside of the ham bands
Due to it being capable of doing so.

cigars · Mar 18, 2019

coyoteman5 said:
I'm not bashing baofeng I have one nice little radio. Just giving a heads up there is talk about it with the fcc and be careful not to transmit outside of the ham bands
Due to it being capable of doing so.

Oh I get that. I was referring to frequency drift in some of the earlier models. But you are correct, although you can program GMRS/FRS frequencies, the radios are not FCC certified to transmit on them.

zenbreath · Mar 20, 2019

Oathkeeper1775 said:
Yeah it was a good event. Don't forget to email me your callsign, maybe we can do a periodic NWFA net call on 2 meters...?

I have an MFJ-615 balun on the feed line and an MFJ-902b Tuner attached to the radio, and still trying to learn how to use it. Lol

The 40 meter sections of the antenna are @ a 6' long extension on each end of the 20M legs. I gotta get out there and experiment with the length to see what it will do.

SWR on 40m was @ 2.5 tonight.

Lots to learn.

Greetings, what day, what freq are the 2m net calls? ZB

cigars · Mar 20, 2019

zenbreath said:
Greetings, what day, what freq are the 2m net calls? ZB

Here are a couple of good places to start.
ARRG Amateur Radio Relay Group
Western Oregon Radio Club Home Page

citizen a · Mar 28, 2019

Taking the Technician exam next Saturday. Getting better than 90% on the hamstudy.org practice exams, should be ready to roll.

Crohnos01 · Mar 28, 2019

Great! Hope to catch you on the air. I'm talking the general test on the 13th.

Let me know when you get your call sign. KJ7CXX

citizen a · Apr 7, 2019

Passed the Tech exam, 4 questions short one he General but I didn't study at all for that one. I was surprised how crowded the test was, nearly 30 people.