First radio?

[ecarvalho]

First radio(s) were the crappy little 27MHz walkie-talkie kids transceivers. The ones with the Morse code chart on the front. I'd get them for birthday and Christmas presents.

First CB that I owned was a Robyn 23 channel mobile.

First real radios were a Motorola MCX100 and HT90 & HT500 portables. I won them at an auction. I still have the MCX100s.

Growing up, I got to play on my Grandfather's Browning Golden Eagle Mark III, Years after he passed away, my Dad gave that radio to me and I still have it on the bench.

First ham radio was an FT411E. I got it at a ham radio store in Memphis, TN. It was used and the guy said it was a good deal. I bought it after I passed my test, but did not receive my ticket for several more weeks. I got a reciprocal license in Japan (7J6CDD) and had to add my license sticker to that radio. I wish I had never sold that radio.

What a great story! I enjoyed reading your post, thanks!


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[BigLebowski]

My interest in radios was there long before I ever had an amateur radio license. My first was a Radio Shack PRO-79 scanner I used for railroad monitoring. I quickly learned how crappy those were and picked up a couple of Motorola MT500 (ex-Chessie radios, wish I still had them) with the appropriate receive elements for the local AAR channels. From there I got a Motorola GP68 and progressively upgraded until 2007 when I got my license. At the time I had a brand new VHF XTS5000, so I would say that was my first radio I used for ham.

I don't do much hamming anymore but i keep a few channels programmed in case I get the desire to jump on there.

 

[AK_SAR]

My first amateur radio is an Anytone 868. I've had it since last spring, and have been quite happy with it. Mostly using it for analog VHF, plus a bit of DMR. DMR is just beginning here in Alaska, so most of my DMR experience has been when traveling in the lower 48. So far it has proven to be a reliable, well built radio.

One other reason I like the 868 is that it is also Part 90 certified, so in a pinch I can use it for SAR related activities on public safety frequencies. Normally I use my issued Motorola HT 1250 for SAR stuff, but there could be times when I don't have that with me, but I might have the Anytone.

My next radio will probably be a more powerful mobile rig. I'm currently looking at options for that. Whatever I finally get, I will probably set it up first as a home station. Eventually it will go in my vehicle. Then maybe start looking at HF. I guess I'm a one step at a time kind of guy!

 

[wa3hdi]

My first rig was a Hammarlund HQ170AC-VHF which could receive all ham bands 160-2M, paired with an Ameco TX-62 VHF AM transmitter. (I initially held both a Novice & Tech licenses in 1964.)

The receiver was a bit of overkill, since I only worked VHF before going off to college -- and my parents got rid of my gear so that they could reclaim the room. Heartbreak city!

 

[ergbert]

I started out with CB radios (truck driver, it sort of just happened), then went to getting a cheap Baofeng to listen in to ham and other frequencies. That led to a GMRS license, a handful of Tait commercial radios, and finally a Tech license along with a few Chinese DMR handhelds. Don't do much talking as I have debilitating mic fright, but once I get my DMR hotspot to cooperate I'm going to attempt to get over that.


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[reedeb]

My first Ham was a Yaesu FT208R 2 meter HT with Power supply/ station. with hand held mic. I was able to get it for $50 from an estate sale by a SK. I used it for almost a year until I got my Radio shack 202 And 212 HT and Mobile 2 mtr radio's.

 

[n4fo]

I received my Novice license in April, 1979 so HF was really the only option for me at the time. The first radio was a Heathkit HW-16 with HG-10B external VFO. I believe I was the third owner of that rig as I did not build it. I did build a Heathkit code practice oscillator to practice sending code. I really liked Morse code so I made a lot of CW QSOs on the HW-16 with a 40 meter dipole I made and strung up in our back yard. Worked both 40 and 15 meter CW with that rig and had lots of fun with it.

Heathkit HW-16 with HG-10B VFO (pic not of my rig):


Code Practice Oscillator I built:


Had lots of fun with the Heathkit gear, lots of good QSOs and memories; hard to believe that almost 40 years has gone by!

73,

Steve H.
N4FO

 

[ShawnInPaso]

Great question, I'm abbreviating my answer quite a bit.

About 1976 I bought a used Yaesu FT101EE from a man that lived across town at the time, I was sixteen. My dad drove me to the place and we met the guy. While my dad was negotiating price, the man pointed me to another room to have a look at the radio. Sitting in front of the radio was a very pretty girl just a tad younger than me. I naturally offered her to listen to the radio at my house anytime she wanted, as we purchased the rig.

Some years later we were married. Then a few years after that divorced. The good news is I still have the radio.

Moral of the story, a radio will never divorce you, so hang onto it.

PS. Been happily married for a few decades now.

 

[jwt873]

I was a starving college student when I got my ticket 44 years ago..

All I could afford for my first rig was a used Heathkit HW-100 that someone else built. With the Canadian 'novice' ticket all you were allowed to use on HF was CW. So I picked up a $5.00 key from Radio shack and ran a 20 meter dipole from the chimney on my parents house to a clothesline pole in the back yard. I used it for many years.. Made lots of contacts.

 

[ad8g]

I just wrote an article with some recommendations for new hams: Recommendations for your First Station | KD8TWG

 

[KD2FIQ]

I'm relatively new to ham radio all things considered (Licensed 12/30/2013). I picked up the typical Baofeng UV5R+ and a CRE-8900. The CRE-8900 was a neat 10 meter radio. 10 meter had a little life back then so 40 watts was all it took to have lots of fun. It's also badged as an Alinco DR-135DX. I progressed shortly there after to a real HF rig Yaesu FT-990 which I still have. For a new ham, I'd recommend the Icom IC-7100 (which I also have).

 

[wd9ewk]

Hi!

When I got WD9EWK originally in 1977, my father bought me a Heath HW-16 with the HG-10 external VFO. Unfortunately, after moving to Arizona, we moved into an apartment that would not allow antennas. That radio and VFO were sold. When I got back to ham radio in the late 1980s, I bought a Kenwood TH-215 HT. At that time, many HTs didn't come with a CTCSS encoder. The TH-215 has that built-in, and the CTCSS decoder was an option I didn't purchase.

When I moved 18 months ago, I came across the radio with the accessories I bought at that time - soft case, 6-cell AA case, and Larsen 2m antenna. I hadn't seen the radio in many years, and the NiCad packs were dead. The radio works fine with the AA case, but I wanted a working rechargeable pack. I bought a NiMH pack online, and now I have a rechargeable pack with more than double the capacity of the original NiCad pack.




The radio still works fine. I use it from time to time, even as a downlink receiver for some of our amateur satellites. I had it with me at the 2017 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention in Torrance CA, and had ARRL test it for spurious emissions. Where all of the Baofengs tested during that convention failed, and some failing in spectacular fashion, the TH-215 more than met the Part 97 requirements.



73!

 

[KB4MSZ]

My first piece of Ham candy was a used Drake TR-4. It worked well on the lower bands, but was a mite deef on 10 meters.


My first new Ham rig was a Yaesu FT-757gx (the first version of this radio). A wonderful piece of equipment, I regret ever selling it.


At the same time I owned a Yaesu FT 2700RH mobile



Along with the dual band FT-727R handheld

That's my first candy store goodies.

 

[K2NEC]

All of these are awesome! Thanks everyone for your replies. My signature shows that I have all radios that are post 1990 but I bet some of the old timers are enjoying the eye candy I love reading these stories so keep them coming!

MY first radio was a 4 channel CP150. 2W. Still have it but doesn't see much use since I have a 1000 channel radio that does much more lol!

 

[KB4MSZ]

You ask about everyone's first ham gear, which is what I listed. But my first contact as a ham wasn't with my radios, as I didn't own any yet. A friend of mine (CB operator) bought a Kenwood TS430S on a whim. That was the radio I made my first 10 or 15 contacts with. He never did get licensed. He sold the Kenwood to another friend of mine who used it until lightning destroyed it.

 

[K2NEC]

You ask about everyone's first ham gear, which is what I listed. But my first contact as a ham wasn't with my radios, as I didn't own any yet. A friend of mine (CB operator) bought a Kenwood TS430S on a whim. That was the radio I made my first 10 or 15 contacts with. He never did get licensed. He sold the Kenwood to another friend of mine who used it until lightning destroyed it.

That's a bummer to see a radio get destroyed like that! Antenna not properly grounded or electrical surge?

 

[KB4MSZ]

That's a bummer to see a radio get destroyed like that! Antenna not properly grounded or electrical surge?

The lightning destroyed every piece of electronic gear in his shack, his TV, most of his major appliances, and took out a number of main circuit wiring near the breaker box. It was a direct hit to the power service inlet. That's life in Tampa for ya

 

[prcguy]

My first new amateur radio was a Wilson 1402SM, a 2.5W 2m crystal controlled hand held in 1975. I bought it from an ad in Ham Radio magazine as an incentive to get my license, which didn't happen until sometime later. Within a year I was working at a company that imported the exact same radio under their name and had rebuilt mine several times over with better parts.

On the Torrance, CA hamster convention, I did a tech talk there not too long ago.

Hi!

Snip...

The radio still works fine. I use it from time to time, even as a downlink receiver for some of our amateur satellites. I had it with me at the 2017 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention in Torrance CA, and had ARRL test it for spurious emissions. Where all of the Baofengs tested during that convention failed, and some failing in spectacular fashion, the TH-215 more than met the Part 97 requirements.



73!

 

[riccom]

You know alot of us got started with a "hand me down" setup, and that is what I miss of the hobby.

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[Markb]

As you started your adventure into ham radio what was your first radio and why did you specifically pick that radio? Do you still have it and does it work?

Kenwood TH-26A

It was recommended as a good 2M HT by a family friend who was an experienced ham.

Don't have it anymore.