I am thinking about being ham radio operator any help or advice would be great.
Hams
- Thread starter lowboy654
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Welcome!
Hi there, and welcome to the hobby. I'll reccomend a few things to
do and give steps to accomplish them.
1. Make contact with local hams in you area. I see you are in Washington,
so if you do a google search for "<your city here, or the nearest decent sized city> amateur radio club" you should find something. If not, contact your county's civil defense/office of emergency preparedness office (that's what I did many years ago), or red cross chapter, and they can almost certainly put you in touch with a ham or two.
2. Now days, you shouldn't have to pay a dime for ham exam study materials as they are readily available on the net for free (testing sessions usually charge a small fee for the actual ham exam). Eham.net (on the left column) has the question pools for the three ham liscenses as well as practice exams. You might also check out
http://www.hello-radio.org/ which is a web site of the ARRL (American Radio Relay League), the largest US ham organization. There website also has a handy utility that
can help you locate hams in your area.
3. Carefully consider your first radio purchase. For many, this is often a 2m or dual band handheld or mobile radio. For most folks, a 2 meter (144mhz)/ 70cm (440mhz) radio is a good choice. Although these days, many might choose one of the new all in one hf/vhf/uhf/6m rigs like the ft857d, ic706mkII and the IC7000. Eham.net has reviews on many such rigs.
4. There is no need to wait to be liscenced to buy your first ham rig, but there is a need to wait to transmit with it! Listening is highly encoruaged. Listening to hams on the local repeaters can give you a feel for how they communicate (hopefully they are courteous and efficient communicators).
If you want any further information do not hesitate to contact/PM me.
Jean B.
Hi there, and welcome to the hobby. I'll reccomend a few things to
do and give steps to accomplish them.
1. Make contact with local hams in you area. I see you are in Washington,
so if you do a google search for "<your city here, or the nearest decent sized city> amateur radio club" you should find something. If not, contact your county's civil defense/office of emergency preparedness office (that's what I did many years ago), or red cross chapter, and they can almost certainly put you in touch with a ham or two.
2. Now days, you shouldn't have to pay a dime for ham exam study materials as they are readily available on the net for free (testing sessions usually charge a small fee for the actual ham exam). Eham.net (on the left column) has the question pools for the three ham liscenses as well as practice exams. You might also check out
http://www.hello-radio.org/ which is a web site of the ARRL (American Radio Relay League), the largest US ham organization. There website also has a handy utility that
can help you locate hams in your area.
3. Carefully consider your first radio purchase. For many, this is often a 2m or dual band handheld or mobile radio. For most folks, a 2 meter (144mhz)/ 70cm (440mhz) radio is a good choice. Although these days, many might choose one of the new all in one hf/vhf/uhf/6m rigs like the ft857d, ic706mkII and the IC7000. Eham.net has reviews on many such rigs.
4. There is no need to wait to be liscenced to buy your first ham rig, but there is a need to wait to transmit with it! Listening is highly encoruaged. Listening to hams on the local repeaters can give you a feel for how they communicate (hopefully they are courteous and efficient communicators).
If you want any further information do not hesitate to contact/PM me.
Jean B.
n3ncn
Member
Jean,
I don't think anyone could of said any better. 73's
I don't think anyone could of said any better. 73's
You can download a study guide here, http://www.geocities.com/w8bbs/2004techstudyguide.pdf
And to look up some local repeaters so you can start listening here, http://www.artscipub.com/repeaters/
Many times a repeater will have a net weekly or daily depending on where you're at, and what agency or group is involved. Often times during the net they will advise on how hams or non-hams not involved can contact the net control station, or club and become a participating member.
And to look up some local repeaters so you can start listening here, http://www.artscipub.com/repeaters/
Many times a repeater will have a net weekly or daily depending on where you're at, and what agency or group is involved. Often times during the net they will advise on how hams or non-hams not involved can contact the net control station, or club and become a participating member.
safetyobc
Member
Be advised that the testing question pool is being changed beginning July 1, 2006 so older study guides may steer you wrong if taking a test after that date.
I have been looking into the same thing but have yet to decide if I want to or not. www.qrz.com is a good resource.
good luck,
matt
I have been looking into the same thing but have yet to decide if I want to or not. www.qrz.com is a good resource.
good luck,
matt
mkh
Member
kb5udf covered the subject well.
The only thing I would add is - do it now. There is really no reason to put it off.
The only thing I would add is - do it now. There is really no reason to put it off.
STiMULi
Member
No matter what you see and what you hear most HAMS are not 100 years old and talk about the good ol' days. Many are young and younger than you think. In spite of what you thought your whole life you do not need to know code.
You can spend small bucks and big bucks. Spend big bucks later unless you are planning on APRS then get a Kenwood TMD700A. If you want to meet hundreds of people you would have never thought as Ham Radio Operators get involved with Club and Pro Rally Racing (see Rally-America.com for more info)
I have met some of the most interesting people, helpful people and knowledgeable people I will ever meet in my life on the HAM radio. I have met some of the most boring self-serving concieted, know-it-alls on the radio as well. (I probably fall within the latter
)
After you get your ticket go with a Vanity. My 1st ticket was so difficult for others to understand unless I said it phonetically. D's sound like T's sound like B's. The M's sound like N's and the F's sound like S's.
Get a Vanity !
You can spend small bucks and big bucks. Spend big bucks later unless you are planning on APRS then get a Kenwood TMD700A. If you want to meet hundreds of people you would have never thought as Ham Radio Operators get involved with Club and Pro Rally Racing (see Rally-America.com for more info)
I have met some of the most interesting people, helpful people and knowledgeable people I will ever meet in my life on the HAM radio. I have met some of the most boring self-serving concieted, know-it-alls on the radio as well. (I probably fall within the latter
)After you get your ticket go with a Vanity. My 1st ticket was so difficult for others to understand unless I said it phonetically. D's sound like T's sound like B's. The M's sound like N's and the F's sound like S's.
Get a Vanity !
Thanks for all of the great input, I am thinking getting this radio and just listening,YAESU
VX-7R, and joining a local Ham group. I grew up with short wave and C.B. radios my Dad and me have QSL cards from all over the world. we would talk skip on upper and lower side band, He was in the Navy and i grew up all around the world, I like to think of it as the old INTERNET the 60's and 70's style.
VX-7R, and joining a local Ham group. I grew up with short wave and C.B. radios my Dad and me have QSL cards from all over the world. we would talk skip on upper and lower side band, He was in the Navy and i grew up all around the world, I like to think of it as the old INTERNET the 60's and 70's style.
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