How Much Is Too Much And Where Does It Stop??

[TailGator911]

AND firearms??? i think we are going to be very happy together. the description of your wife however tells me we should work something out to keep her around too though. some may consider it "living-in-sin", but i think she could could bring alot of good to our marriage.

HAha too funny! Yeah, she comes in handy on the loading bench

 

[TailGator911]

Yeah, a dying hobby since 1912...ham radio operators have always been a very small niche in the hobby world. Is the hobby actually dying? That has been said when the Millennials came of age, when the internet began to grow, when the equipment started going digital, when Radio Shack turned into a cell phone kiosk, etc , etc. Here is a very interesting blog/article which explores this opinion.

Millennials Are Killing Ham Radio

This is a good read, but only opinion mixed with fact. Does make ya think tho...

JD
kf4anc

 

[hokiewheeler]

I don't have enough anymore. The last radios I bought were an IC 706 MkII at Dayton brand new and the trunk tracker 3 or whatever one did GE. I look at the prices of new equipment versus my disposable income and it's like, no way. I bought those radios when I was still in high school, before college, rent, home ownership, vehicle ownership and life in general. I think something the inflation calculators miss is that jobs paid a decent wage in days gone by and that is really no longer the case. Most things, and I've done a bunch, are paying 90s wages with 21st century prices. My Astron power supply still works as does the 706. The old kenwood 2 meter rig, my standard 528, and a bunch of old scanners aren't worth the space they take up.

 

[DaveNF2G]

Millenials might be killing ham radio, but the old farts are holding it down for them.

 

[jafarm66]

From a scanner user POV I set a limit on most I would pay for a new scanner of about $500 so both the TRX-1 & BCD436HP are attainable. On a comm receiver about 600 so an ICOM R30 makes my budget though I don’t have one. You could spend 15000 on an ICOM 9500 scanner but what good is it if it can’t scan trunked systems like my $500 portable?


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[trentbob]

Glad to see someone Reviving this thread. Interesting topic. Just to put it in perspective...

I've been buying scanners since the 60s, then we had tunable monitors first then Crystal controlled scanners.

When Electra Bearcat came out with their first programmable scanner the BC 101 I bought one from Lafayette Electronics in 1974. I'm pretty sure as it's hard to remember it was $399.99. I think I was making about $12,500 a year then.

In other words that was a really really expensive radio. No more buying crystals, it was a 16 Channel radio that you programmed a series of tabs using codes from a manual and it was terrific.

In today's market limiting yourself to a budget could result in your not being able to hear your hometown system if it was to convert to an LSM susceptible simulcast system. The x36 might work and the TRX definitely will not work.

Today's new scanners like the SDS series are very expensive and I'm willing to pay the money and I do own a sds100. I got my fingers crossed it will keep working.

The bottom line is you have to pay what the market requires to fulfill your needs. Unfortunately paying the high price tag should result in buying with confidence in the product and that it will be problem-free and meet expectations. I think now that is the focus of the consumer as much as the price tag is.

When my County went simulcast with a tough system very susceptible to LSM and no consumer scanner worked I ended up paying over $3,000 with some subsidy from my employer for one of the alternatives that worked great. It was worth it to me because... It met my needs.

Again, it's not so much the high price tag, it's being able to purchase with confidence that the product is going to deliver as advertised and meet your needs with consistent quality, performance and dependability. There's the problem.

 

[TailGator911]

<< x36 might work and the TRX definitely will not>>

I have to stick up for the TRX-1 here. Before the SDS series scanners, I used 3 different digital scanners to combat my LSM issues on the Ohio MARCS Phase 1 P25 digital simulcast system. My TRX-1 did better on the system than the Whistler WS-1065 and the BCD536HP combined. Less garbled transmissions and the least of silent gaps. If I were to pick any other scanner than the SDS's to listen to a digital simulcast system it would be the Whistler TRX-1. But, as the old saying goes, your blues ain't like mine.

JD
kf4anc

 

[TailGator911]

Have to agree with trentbob here on the issue of hobby budgeting. If you are within a budget I would think it quite difficult to keep up with the technology of our hobby. As scanners and HF rigs prices skyrocket with the addition of different modes and protocols, I find myself spending much more than I did say 10 years ago. It's hard to justify spending almost $1k on a radio just to be able to monitor a particular aspect of the band plan that your other radios cannot cover. I guess it all depends on how far we are willing to go to stay in the race. I just dumped almost $4k into my hobby at the beginning of the year and as I sit here looking at the new equipment on my desk I feel a bit deflated. Was it worth it? You bet. While I may not agree with the prices, I will justify the expense. I always do...

JD
kf4anc

 

[trentbob]

<< x36 might work and the TRX definitely will not>>

I have to stick up for the TRX-1 here. Before the SDS series scanners, I used 3 different digital scanners to combat my LSM issues on the Ohio MARCS Phase 1 P25 digital simulcast system. My TRX-1 did better on the system than the Whistler WS-1065 and the BCD536HP combined. Less garbled transmissions and the least of silent gaps. If I were to pick any other scanner than the SDS's to listen to a digital simulcast system it would be the Whistler TRX-1. But, as the old saying goes, your blues ain't like mine.

JD
kf4anc

That is very true. Every system is different and on the East Coast our LSM issues are the worst. Just to go on the record one more time I love the TRX 1 format. It is the psr-800 with a keyboard... Something it should have had all along but that is an issue for Threads past gone. I do own a TRX 1, a psr-800 and they are identical on our P2 simulcast system. They don't work, not a lick. Every system is different and I have heard tell of whistlers working on simulcast albeit choppy with missed Transmissions. Out of fairness I do own both x 36s and even though they worked better there was still many missed transmissions and garbled modulation.

Hence, the big expenditure for the apx 7000 in 2015. My newspaper did subsidized the cost but I was not alone. For reporters and photographers we could not afford missed Transmissions or not being able to monitor our livelihood.

So there you go, how much is too much? It all depends what your needs are. That's why I bought the Electra Bearcat 101 in 1974 for $399.99. Hahaha.

Hey, at least we are on topic here.

 

[TailGator911]

If someone were to ask me my opinion - if I only had $500 to spend on one scanner, which would you recommend? There would be the usual qualifying questions (lsm or not) and if they did not have a simulcast system to deal with, I would recommend the TRX-1. If they did have lsm to deal with, and could not wait out saving another $150 for an SDS model, I would still recommend the TRX-1 for their budget and all around quality.

JD
kf4anc

trentbob - Not saying my TRX-1 is without glitches here on the Ohio MARCS system, just saying it has the least glitches lol. And, agreed that it is still an awesome scanner, regardless. I guess if someone were to call me a 'fanboy' they wouldn't necessarily have to be specific.

 

[trentbob]

If someone were to ask me my opinion - if I only had $500 to spend on one scanner, which would you recommend? There would be the usual qualifying questions (lsm or not) and if they did not have a simulcast system to deal with, I would recommend the TRX-1. If they did have lsm to deal with, and could not wait out saving another $150 for an SDS model, I would still recommend the TRX-1 for their budget and all around quality.

JD
kf4anc

trentbob - Not saying my TRX-1 is without glitches here on the Ohio MARCS system, just saying it has the least glitches lol. And, agreed that it is still an awesome scanner, regardless. I guess if someone were to call me a 'fanboy' they wouldn't necessarily have to be specific.

Well I've been on this site since the beginning on another account that was shared by other reporters and photographers. One thing I would not call you... Is a fanboy, that's pretty low, he he he. You are what I am, an older guy who has been doing this a long time. I started when I was about 12 with SWL and CB, it wasn't long before I had a slide rule dial monitor for VHF High.

I owe my career to my early adoption of the hobby. When I started freelance photography of news stories it was my Police radios that caused me to excel. You can imagine? Very few people had the knowledge and capabilities to do what I did as a teen.

I'm going to say we are in the group that have forgotten more than a lot of the folks here know. Getting old Ain't Easy. LOL.

 

[TailGator911]

I'm going to say we are in the group that have forgotten more than a lot of the folks here know. Getting old Ain't Easy. LOL.

You said it all right there, trentbob.

 

[jafarm66]

Been in scanning since I was maybe 12 in the mid to late 70’s. Got into it when heard scanner at a neighbor’s house and my dad got me a Regency 10 channel crystal controlled scanner to go with my CB Radio at the time


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[TailGator911]

After rereading this thread I appreciate the insights from you guys. It seems that juggling hobbies and interests and spending limits are a commonality for most of us. Once the kids are out of the house and on their own it's like we hit the lottery or something. My hobbies are expensive to me, but after reading some of the expensive hobbies folks in this thread have (flying, golfing, etc) I don't consider my hobbies as too expensive at all. I was a snowbird for a time but no longer have the Florida house, so that black hole closed up for me. I recently bought a 2016 Winnebago Via Rv and that has become my new vice, so to speak. I buy, sell, and trade vintage guitars (and newer ones) but I have curtailed that activity for a while as I focus on the Rv hobby and what I need to do to upgrade the coach. (which justifies new radios, right?) My son's father-in-law has a Cessna and flies all the time, so I know how expensive that can be. And, I had a friend who was a golf nut for a few years, but he burned out on it and now says it was a huge waste of money for him. I never felt the urge, thank goodness. Guitars can be very expensive. I have a Gibson acoustic worth almost 10K, customized by Ren Ferguson @ Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville. A Fender Jazz bass that put me back 5k. As of right now I own 37 guitars. Too many, considering I do not tour anymore. Too many, even if I did. How many basses can I put in the bus? But, they're like radios to me - how many is too many? When does it stop? The only answer is, I guess when I do.

So, all in all, I kind of think my radio hobby might be the least expensive of my extra curricular activities. I am soon going to purchase another SDS200 and some Rv/radiio necessities for the Via and I think that should be the end of my annual spending for that. We'll see. Guess that depends on what Whistler comes out with. So whaddya think, 2020-2021? lol

JD
kf4anc

 

[N4DJC]

From my experience, getting in the deep end of the pool in any hobby is expensive.

 

[prcguy]

If I posted a list of all the radio stuff I've purchased over the last year someone might call the loony truck to come pick me up. The insane spending ends when your dead, but then your other half or family has to deal with your pile of stuff. A good friend of mine passed away a little over 5yrs ago and his pile is tiny compared to mine. His wife has only been able to get rid of about half of it over the last 5yrs.

 

[bob550]

A good friend of mine passed away a little over 5yrs ago and his pile is tiny compared to mine. His wife has only been able to get rid of about half of it over the last 5yrs.

The moral of that story is, don't die without a valid will that bequeaths your radios to a trusted hobbyist, or at least allows for an orderly disposition.

 

[iMONITOR]

You have to wonder how many tons of radio equipment are just sitting in attics, basements, garages, unused rooms in homes all over the world, left behind from those who passed away and their families don't know what to do with it.

 

[N4DJC]

You have to wonder how many tons of radio equipment are just sitting in attics, basements, garages, unused rooms in homes all over the world, left behind from those who passed away and their families don't know what to do with it.

Some ham clubs help with the sale of equipment from the estates of silent keys.

 

[pb_lonny]

This is something I wrote a few years ago that makes a lot of sense to me.

Launceston Analytical Radio Scanning: Could a Cheaper Scanner Be All You Need