Before deciding on equipment, ask yourself how you will be using it? Base or mobile? That's likely to be one of the most important decisions. If the answer is both, then you'll need to research both types of radios. You'll probably also want an HT (Handy Talkie). These days, you really can't go wrong with any of the major manufacturers, and bby major manufacturers, I'm including Electraft, Icom, Yaesu and Kenwood. You'll pay more per feature for both Electraft and Kenwood than the other two. Also, when it comes to HTs, I'd suggest starting off with one of the real cheap Chinese radios like a Baofeng, for example. They cost practically nothing, but you also get only basic RX/TX features. HTs from the major manufacturers will give you lots more bells and whistles, but will cost 10x what a Baofeng will cost. However, if you plan to be in places where you can always hit a repeater and want extreme portability, that might be a great reason for a more expensive handheld vs a good mobile rig. Do keep in mind that with a HT, you'll get 5 watts output (except a few of the Baofengs, which have 8 - the extra 3 watts difference is marginal) whereas with a mobile you'll probably get 50 watts on 2 meters and either 35 or 50 watts on 440. If you live near one of the bnig ham radio stores (e.g. Ham Radio Outlet or AESHam, Universal Radio, etc. I'd suggest going in there and try before you buy. I've never been in one of those that didn't have good inventory of the latest equipment and wasn't willing to let you sit and play to get a feel for the different radios. They do tend to have the higher end radios on display to play with (at least that's the way the store here in Atlanta is), so you might not be able to play with the more basic rigs. If you can get to one of those stores, don't worry about spending a lot of time tinkering. Tell them you're new and want to get a feel for various rigs. I've spent hours playing with new rigs at HRO and they haven't minded at all. I'm glad they're just far enough away from me that I can't run over there every day or I'd be bankrupt by now.
I would be careful asking sales people at the radio stores about which is the "best" to buy. I don't know how they are compensated, but you can be sure there is some built in bias towards one brand or another, even if it's a temporary one that is being driven by cash back bonus from the manufacturers. In short, just remember that sales people do have marching orders set by management. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's just the way it is and you're not likely to get completely unbiased suggestions.
Another good idea is to join a local club. I don't know where you live, but in the Atlanta area, for example, there are literally dozens of clubs one could join. Some clubs have different interest focus areas than others. You'll find that some are focused on repeater and HT use and just local chat, where others are focused on HF and some more specifically on DX (long distance HF). One thing you're sure to get at any club is a lot of opinions on different radios, and that's a good thing for you being a newbie. Don't expect that information to be completely unbiased either. Most hams tend to settle on a brand they like after trying lots of different ones, then stick with it. For example, for the last 7+ years, I've had only Icom rigs as my base station. Why? Because I like their ergonomics, features and have had good luck with them in terms of reliability and repair services when necessary (I've been stupid before re: lightning, hence the comment about repairs services). Now that I've mentioned it, don't be stupid about lightning re: your radios. A perfectly grounded station will take a lot of abuse, but the best bet is to unplug completely during a lightning storm. That means everything: antennas, power, Ethernet, etc.) Do your homework re: grounding - it's important. But you will find that there are a lot of different opinions about and approaches to grounding.
I'd suggest joining the ARRL. It's a very reasonable investment and you'l get QST magazine every month (either digitally or printed or both). There are always fun things to read about it SQT, as well as LOTS of advertisments. If nothing else, the ads give you a good idea of what's out there. If you don't want to pay to join the ARRL you can always get the various publications from them and others digitally via various subscriptions. The big ones are all available digitally these days (QST from ARRL, CQ magazine, 73 magazine).
If you have any specific questions about rigs, please feel free to post them here. I'm happy to give you my opinion, based on my own knowledge and research (I'm always reading up on the new ones as they become available). However, the more sources you get information from, the better the information you'll get. Don't rely just on one person, make your own well informed decision after doing your homework.
You'll also find that there's always a good market for used rigs, so you can always buy used to start with, then upgrade by little steps over time. As with buying anything used, be extremely careful. No matter what the seller tells you, there's really no way to know how the equipment was treated, how many times it's changed hands, etc. There's always more risk involved buying used equipment than new equipment. If you do buy used, do your best to check the reputation of the seller first. Most of the places where you can buy and sell have a feedback system. That's the best place to look at comments from previous transactions about the seller. As with anything, don't rely only on that type of feedback about someone - it's easy to fake and plant good information.
73 - David, AG4F
