Made the Plunge...Ouch!

[Rob Wadsworth]

The Ham Radio Outlet sale ended today at their stores. I made a bigger plunge today; I bought an Icom IC 718 for the sale price of $559.
O U C H ! !
When I consider that the top-of-the-line 160-10 meter radios can go all of the way to $10,000 (that's right - four zeros!), I did all right to get this radio for the price that I did. An entry-level, numeric pad frequency call input, minimal features, 100w, mobile/base, LCD face, lightweight HAM radio. Icom also gave me a $50 rebate form to fill out and send in, so it really cost me $559+tax-$50.

I also bought a MFJ Auto Tune antenna tuner, that has provisions to be able to plugged directly into the back of the radio for power and front panel auto antenna tuning. That cost $149+tax-10% (because it was a display model - it was the last one they had). So, now I want to find a multi band vertical antenna and mount it on my chimney. I don't know if that idea will pan out, though. I have a Samlex 25 amp power supply that I bought a month ago - when I bought my 2m/70cm Yaesu Dual Band radio for storm chasing/NWS reporting.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

So now I have began practicing to take the General exam to extend the frequencies I can use on this radio. One needs a calculator to answer some of the electrical problems posed by some of the questions. I'm sure they will allow that on test day. The next Ham test in my area is in less than two weeks; so I have all of that time to prepare. I've taken the first four of the practice tests and gotten 90% or better; now I will add a practice test a day and repeat all until I can pass them. Then, I will add another test the day after that - and so on until the test day. Hopefully, that should get the job done.

Since I haven't opened up the box on my antenna tuner, I am going to exchange it for a different model. The SG-239 Smartuner will replace the MFJ Auto tuner for $50 more; this provides some wattage headroom and can also plug directly into the Icom IC-718. I've decided to get a dipole antenna for the 10-40m range instead of a vertical. If I do add a vertical, I will consider the Hustler 4 or 5 BTV; a very broadband antenna.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

In the culminating 'saga' of past posts on this thread, I decided to go down to the Sunnyvale VEC for the General Ham test this morning at 10:30AM PST.
I studied all week and spent most of last night taking practice test after practice test - again - untill I felt confidant. When I woke up this morning, I studied for an addition two hours - only thirty minutes before the test. I passed the General exam, and now I am "KI6USW/AG. Only missed one question on the test - too.

I hope that this thread has made clear to those considering what it takes to become a Ham for service to the community and to the NWS while storm chasing. Getting your Tech Ham license isn't that easy, and I have found that it also isn't that difficult either. But it is all you need for chasing, if you are interested. To get your General license; well, it's not that easy I'll admit and not even necessary for chasing. But, you can never know how much you can do until you give something the full effort that it deserves and challenge yourself. I know this now and shared my experience with you. A cell phone still may be the quickest way to get a warning out; but in many areas of the Plains where many people still use radios and listen to them, it is indispensable.
Thanks!

 

[Joe Dorn]

Well, I Now that I have the CSCE and passed the Tech test - I now have up to the next 365 days to prepare for the General exam and try again. I'll be using the same means and methods to pass that one - too...

Rob... Congratulations on passing your General License test.

I backtracked through the thread and found a minor error in one of your earlier posts...

The 365 day limitation on CSCE's (Certificate of Successful Completion of an Exam) has little use since the Morse code requirements went away... While Morse code was still a requirement, candidates would quite often pass the written test and then work on the Morse code requirement;the CSCE for passing a component of the requirements was good for 365 days and then you had to re-test.

The only significant use of the CSCE now is to prove you passed the test if your paper work gets lost before it hits the FCC data bank.

There is no legal time limits on when you can test or retest. I allow one retest in our VE test sessions and usually encourage people that miss the first test by one or two questions to try again (I have five versions of each test).

The $15.00 dollar test fee allows you to take each level (Technician, General and Extra) one time; a retest cost another $15.00. Quite often people will try the higher level exams just to see if they can pass them and to get an idea of what they are like.

BTW, the test fees vary depending on the sponsoring organization, I use the ARRL VEC... The VEs recieve no pay, same scale as a NWS Spotter.

(VE=Volunteer Examiner, VEC=Volunteer Examiner Corordinator)