Made the Plunge...Ouch!

[Rob Wadsworth]

I had to get into HAM as the Emergency Mgr for the county strongly suggested.
So, I went up to 'The HAM Outlet' in Sunnyvale CA and asked them to set me up with all the trimmings to make it work.

Purchased was:
*Gordon/West Tech Class 2006-2010 HAM prep element 2 FCC training book
w/companion CD
*Diamond NR-77OHA 2m/440 mobile antenna
*Diamond SPM-35 Magnet mount w/13' coax
*Samlex SEC-1223 110AC/13.5DC Power Supply
And
*Yaesu FT-8800R 2M/440 Dual Band mobile radio
*Yaesu YSK-8900 remote kit for FT-8800R

The remote mount kit was free, and there was a $30 factory/store rebate on the radio (list $399, store price $379-$30=$349).
The out-the-door price for everything was $619.49 tax/incl.
OUCH!

I have used CB's in the past 20 years, so I am keen on the electronics side of the test - but I have always screwed up the station operation side of the test.
So, that is why I bought the book and CD.
Hey HAM's; any/all advice is welcome at this point.
Help me help my County, please?

 

[Johnathan Brouwer]

HamTestonline is the best approach...

 

[Jason Tunzer]

Expensive little hobby aint it! Here is how must people pass the HAM test. Take the book and highlight the correct answers. Go through and read the questions and the correct answer 5-10 times. Go to qrz.com and take the online practice test. Keep reading and taking the test til you get 80-90% right each time. Then go and take the test. Good luck.

KC0UJT Clear...

 

[Skip Talbot]

Getting a technician ham license is cakewalk. Just read through your study guide and cram the question pool.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I thought you had to have an active licenses to buy ham radio equipment?

Anyways, I just studied using the ARRL Now You're Talking book, I studied it for a week and took the test and passed.

 

[Steve Miller]

I thought the same thing Joey. Times have changed a little I guess.

I too studied the Now You're Talking book and passing the test was a cinch.
That said, I believe the question pool is changing soon. It was mentioned to me by a Volunteer Examiner so you might want to cram more sooner than later...

 

[Eric Wolf]

Joey/Steve,

I don't believe there's ever been a legal requirement to become a ham to buy ham equipment. Also, the question pool for tech just changed, so you are good to go on the new one for a while.

 

[Jay Cazel]

I thought you had to have an active licenses to buy ham radio equipment?

Anyways, I just studied using the ARRL Now You're Talking book, I studied it for a week and took the test and passed.

I thought the same thing but when I went to the ham store here in Wichita to get the book for the test the guy who owns the place said anyone can buy the equiment and use it to listen, but can't talk unless you get a license. But I guess one could buy a scanner and listen in anyway. Would be cheaper.

 

[Aaron Dooley]

Ham License

A couple of things PAY ATTENTION to #3:

1) No, you do not have to be a Ham to buy equipment or use it. It is actually similar to one of the questions on the tech exam. Any licensed Ham can be a control operator of a station and allow third party traffic from a non Ham as long as the Ham had control over the control station. I did it quite often at KSWO during weather events for Andy Wallace, Mike Francis & Dave Wallace.

2) Read this while skimming the section: http://www.qrz.com/i/study.html

3) This is the "free", "no-book buying" way to study for the tech and general exam. PAY ATTENTION to this one: http://www.qrz.com/p/testing.pl Take the tech tests, 1-11 over and over until you are scoring 90+ every time. That's simply what I did and I only got one wrong on the test when I took it. If you want the cheapest, easiest, and best way, this is it: http://www.qrz.com/p/testing.pl

4) This is why I say take 1-11 over and over: http://www.qrz.com/i/practice_tests.html

5) These test are the most up to date tests available in the new pools. Books in the stores you may want to watch as they will want to sell their old products to move inventory.

Write me if anyone has any questions.

 

[Tyler Allison]

*Diamond NR-77OHA 2m/440 mobile antenna
*Yaesu FT-8800R 2M/440 Dual Band mobile radio

That's the same gear I run in my car. The guy at the store didn't steer you wrong, which is good to hear.

-Tyler

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

That's the same gear I run in my car. The guy at the store didn't steer you wrong, which is good to hear.

-Tyler

How do you feel about the competitor Kenwood that is $10-$20 more and has backlit panel buttons amd larger freq readout?
Do you have/use as switching power supply or a linear supply?
I'm glad that the salesman made the right choice for the radio; but I know some chasers have 2 or more radios. The only pitfall (if it could be considered one) is that the speaker output isn't stereo for each band dedication.
Thoughts?

 

[Chris Nuttall]

I know several people that have the FT-8800. I have one, and I think it's the best bang for the buck. The mic can control most of the essential radio functions and is backlit. I've had three different radios (2 HTs, 1 mobile). I highly recommend doing research at http://www.eham.net/ before making any purchases.

Rob, I considered that Kenwood radio, but bought the Yaesu after reading so many postive reviews. My other radios are Yaesu, so I knew would be getting a high quality product.

 

[Jason Foster]

Pass the test, but read the books completely.

Some pretty sound advice about how to pass the exam. However, I will say, you do need to read the book and understand it. Memorization gets you past the exam, but you need to know proper operating procedures and etique of ham radio. Unfortunately, there are quite a few Skywarn folks and storm chasers that have become hams simply to radio into NWS or use in the middle of a chase. Their radio conduct is not good and violates many of the rules. They are few, but nontheless needs mentioning. Just please be mindful of the hobby as a whole. I suggest joining a local radio club as well...even before you pass your test(s). This way you can get a jump on the ham radio society.

 

[Eric Wolf]

I highly recommend doing research at http://www.eham.net/ before making any purchases.

Research there, but be weary. A lot of people go on eham and post reviews after only having the item in question for a few days. I have a habit of filtering those reviews out. Other people will give something a low review because they don't fully understand how something works (usually from not reading the instructions properly, or at all). Just like anything else, put it into perspective before you make your decision.

Personally, I am an ICOM guy. Not to stir anything up, but for VHF/UHF, I like the options a little bit more.

That being said, I don't have a lot of experience with the FT-8800 (virtually all of my friends do, though) but the FT-100D and FT-857 are some of the finest mobile rigs I have ever owned.

Bottom line, if at all possible, try it before you buy it, and use what is going to work best for your situation.


My current dual bander is an ICOM 2820, and I like it because it has two receive oscillators. This past year when I was stuck at home a lot during severe weather, I found it very handy to be able to listen to the spotter net in the county to the west, while running ours in this county. Because of the dual oscillators, I was even able to listen to the other receive frequency during transmit. If you don't need that capability, then it's probably not for you, but I sure do love it.

 

[Eric Wolf]

How do you feel about the competitor Kenwood that is $10-$20 more and has backlit panel buttons amd larger freq readout?
Do you have/use as switching power supply or a linear supply?
I'm glad that the salesman made the right choice for the radio; but I know some chasers have 2 or more radios. The only pitfall (if it could be considered one) is that the speaker output isn't stereo for each band dedication.
Thoughts?

Hi Rob,

If you are hooking it up in your vehicle, which it sounds like you will be, then you won't need either power supply. Virtually everything ham, save amplifiers (and even some of those), will run 12 volts directly from your automobile battery. For just a dual bander putting out 50 watts, either a switching or linear power supply will serve you just fine, but the switching supply may come down a little cheaper, especially second hand.

The reason that your speaker outputs will be mono is because there really is no left/right audio channel to split into stereo...it is purely two way audio in mono format. Usually, people will run one external speaker somewhere closer to their ear in the vehicle (my new one will be directly behind my left ear). I highly advise this route is you can go that way, because even with the radio receive volume all the way up, it's still not enough to overcome road noise, or other things going on that could occur in the heat of the moment.