New to Amateur Radio

[TxSharpShooter]

I have always been interested in ham radio and have recently started reading a lot about it. I am thinking of taking the test for my license soon but I am having trouble deciding on what I need to start out with to be successful at it. I am thinking of the Yaesu FT-7800R radio for a mobile and maybe a base radio. My problem is that the nearest repeaters to my location are a minimum of 25 miles away. There arent many folks around here that are into ham, so I would be most interested in using duplex/repeater to talk to folks. I don't know enough about what it would require to reach a repeater at that distance with that radio. I know there are many variables, but would it be difficult and require a large antenna to reach that far? I also like the idea of having a handheld radio such as the Yaesu VX-6R. A friend of mine has one of these and he is a beginner but I know that it would be no good for duplex from my location. What do you guys think about it? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[wendallb]

25 miles is not much. I am not familiar with that radio but have no problems making 40 miles with a 50 watt radio and a mag mount antenna on my car...I had a 2 meter talkie at 5 watts and a home made outside antenna and made 20 miles easy...I hope that helps...

 

[redhelmet13]

If you will be installing an antenna out the house, (outside antenna) - no problem hitting repeaters that far.

For what it it's worth,, I hit a repeater in my car from 40 miles out (Have a good antenna with decent gain), althought there is a bit of oise, I ca carry on a conversation with no problem.

Use good antenna's!

Ed

 

[geoff5093]

The 7800 is a great radio, it was the first one I purchased as well and it's a great radio for the new HAM. As for hitting the repeater, it really depends on a few key issues. One, are you going to be setting up an external antenna? And two, are you down in a hole with hills all around you? If so then you may have trouble hitting repeaters, but if you aren't then 25 miles really isn't that much. If the repeater is located at a fairly high elevation above the surrounding terrain then you can hit repeaters 100+ miles away.

 

[tekshogun]

How well you can "get into" a repeater and receive from it will typically depend on how well the repeater and it's antenna(s) are setup. I have a four watt Motorola, a 5 watt yaesu vx5r, and 7watt icom V-82 that gets into several repeaters perfect that are well over 20 miles away from my usual location on both 2-meters and 70-centimeters and that is because the repeaters and/or antennas are set HIGH above the horizon, typically well above 1000+ feet above ground. You can have a great high power radio and the best antenna setup money can buy but if the repeater's antenna(s) are blocked by obstacles such as the tower (if not a top mount repeater antenna), a building, or is too low to the ground to get over curvature and small obstacles then your radio is useless for that repeater.

My first radio just happened to be a Yaesu FT-7800R and I think it is a great radio, one because it is cheap (and presently comes with a remote kit from various vendors), it is a dual band (2m and 70cm which are most common for VHF and UHF communication in ham), it has a wide receive from 108MHz up to the 999MHz (or close to it) and it puts out a massive 50-watts.

My only suggestion, don't run the radio continuously at 50-watts and make sure you get a decent mobile antenna for vehicle use and a base antenna for a base setup and tune them and keep the SWR as low as possible. I made the mistake of doing this with my yaesu and with variously bad antenna setups (I was still learning), I eventually burned my radio out. I can say I got my then $250 investment out of it but it could have lasted longer. Now I know better. I am planning no purchasing another for my vehicle.

KI4GIC

 

[kb2vxa]

To begin with an HT is an extremely poor choice for a "starter rig" due to it's limited range and versitility. Those who buy one right off the bat usually end up disappointed and many give up and quit the hobby because it has very limited use and really should be considered an accessory, not a primary radio. The better choice is a dual band FM mobile which obviously fills a dual purpose with a power supply and rooftop antenna for the home. Best yet is an all band all mode mobile as a future investment for when the beginner upgrades to General and gains additional privileges he already has the rig for, meanwhile it's an extremely useful monitoring tool.

The obvious question is "What's in your wallet?" which of course is of major consideration. Compare money spent over time upgrading equipment with the initial investment and you'll find more often than not you have wasted money buying equipment no longer needed when you finally buy your all in one wonder box. A penny saved is a penny earned and all those pennies add up to a lot of dollars, patience is a virtue so wait until you save enough and go for the gold... you'll be glad you did.

"But I have to get on the air NOW."
Shut up or I'll give you such a smack! (;->)

 

[tekshogun]

To begin with an HT is an extremely poor choice for a "starter rig".....

Agreed. So, TxSharpShooter, go ahead and get that FT-7800R. Down the road, you can pick up an HT.

That HT will be great but like kb2vxa said, and I think most of us hams can't stress it enough, GET THE DUAL BAND MOBILE!

 

[jleverin]

To the OP: Go ahead and study and get that ham ticket. I got mine about 2 months ago and am VERY glad I did. What radio you get is up to you, but I have always heard-GET A GOOD ANTENNA. Apparently you could have a top of the line radio but if you have a crappy antenna, it doesn't matter and vice versa.
If you can go with a mobile and a good antenna to start out that's okay. I started out with a little VX150 HT and a dual band mag mounted antenna for my car and that's my station. Am saving up the money for a good mobile to use as a home station but havent' gotten there yet. Guess what? I'm stll okay, we have several repeaters around here and I can hit them pretty well, am a member of the local ham club and am able to talk to them on nets without any problem. Yeah, any distance is a problem but I will be fixing that before too long. Good luck with getting your ticket, I used the ARRL licensing manual and some of the websites that will let you use their online test bank for free. Practice, practice and practice some more and you will get it.

 

[TxSharpShooter]

I appreciate all of the input. It sounds like the way to go would be the 7800R to start out with once I get my license. I will probably end up putting up a fairly tall antenna here at home and some kind of mobile setup too. Thanks once again!

 

[tekshogun]

I appreciate all of the input. It sounds like the way to go would be the 7800R to start out with once I get my license. I will probably end up putting up a fairly tall antenna here at home and some kind of mobile setup too. Thanks once again!

If you can locate a local ham or more, ask them to help you get your antenna and rig setup properly. It doesn't hurt to get someone's help especially if they know about SWR and antenna gain. Many seasoned hams are happy to help out either over the air or in person. Don't get the mic freight, no need for it. Just keep up and put out your callsign.

Good luck to you and most importantly, have fun.

 

[kb0nly]

Go with the FT-7800R, darn good radio for the money! I have two of them here now, one in each vehicle. Comes with a free seperation kit still, its just the best bang for the buck for a dual band rig and makes a great starter radio. You can get a single band 2m radio for around the $100-$125 range, the FT-2800M for example, but for a little more money you add a second band that you might end up needing/wanting later anyway!

25 miles is easy, depending on terrain of course, hills/mountains, lots of trees, etc.. It all varies your range when mobile. Most the repeaters around here that i use when mobile are 20-40 miles out. And from the shack i work them out to 60-100 miles no problem.

Have a look at my website and you can see pictures of all my installs, the mobiles are running the 7800 and might give you some ideas for mounting.

Get in and enjoy the hobby!

 

[tekshogun]

Have a look at my website and you can see pictures of all my installs, the mobiles are running the 7800 and might give you some ideas for mounting.

Get in and enjoy the hobby!

WHOA! That has got to be one of the most professional looking antenna rigs (both of them) that I have ever seen. The ham shack looks nice but your antenna structures are quite impressive.

Question about your mobile setup, did you use a standard serial programming cable for the GM300 to connect to your TinyTrack3? I never really though of it, but as cheap as you can get some of those Maxtracs, you can make it an APRS radio and just tuck it away somewhere and forget about it.

Nice all around.

 

[DODGEIT]

I don't agree with the statement that the HT is a poor choice for a starter rig. I for one started with a Icom T2H
and was able to hit several repeaters right away. One entry said they use as a Base, Mobile and HT. That is what I did for the first couple of years. I eventually bought a mobile and then a second mobile for a base. I now own 2 T2H's and have had great success with both. My suggestion is buy what you can afford and enjoy the hobby.

 

[kb0nly]

WHOA! That has got to be one of the most professional looking antenna rigs (both of them) that I have ever seen. The ham shack looks nice but your antenna structures are quite impressive.

Question about your mobile setup, did you use a standard serial programming cable for the GM300 to connect to your TinyTrack3? I never really though of it, but as cheap as you can get some of those Maxtracs, you can make it an APRS radio and just tuck it away somewhere and forget about it.

Nice all around.

Thanks, i put a lot of time and effort into everything, i actually just rebuilt the shack as i was getting tired of the big desk i had, went for a more streamlined counter that makes it easier to get to cables and such.

For programming the Maxtrac/GM300 series radios i have a RIB that i bought as a kit and built, there is plenty of cheap choices for them on eBay, both USB and Serial. For connecting the TinyTrak look on the Radio Mods section of my website, there is info on interfacing to the TinyTrak. Mine is a 16 pin radio, so there is a 16 pin accessory plug to DB9 serial cable that i made up. You can use the 5 pin accessory radios as well and just interface everything through the mic jack, just make up an RJ45 to DB9 cable. Its all on my website.

Maxtrac to TinyTrak

They are a good cheap choice for this use, program, connect, and hide away.

 

[kb0nly]

I don't agree with the statement that the HT is a poor choice for a starter rig. I for one started with a Icom T2H
and was able to hit several repeaters right away. One entry said they use as a Base, Mobile and HT. That is what I did for the first couple of years. I eventually bought a mobile and then a second mobile for a base. I now own 2 T2H's and have had great success with both. My suggestion is buy what you can afford and enjoy the hobby.

Just to toss my .02 in on this subject...

All depends on where you live. If 5w and a HT, and maybe an external antenna, gets you to the repeaters you want to work then nothing wrong with it! Plus you got a portable you can haul around as well. Around here, well your a bit limited when it comes to an HT, but then i live in the boonies compared to what some are used to, the closest and largest city is 25 miles, and they only have one VHF repeater that from here you need good height to get into. I got two repeaters i can use portable and one is my own UHF, the other is a nearby VHF that gives me spotty coverage in town on the HT. Other than that your going to need a good beam to make 5w work for you to hit anything else around here due to terrain more than distance. For the cost of an amp to add some power to your HT you can just as well buy a good single or dual band radio.

Now in a bigger city with more repeater coverage nothing wrong with an HT, but eventually your going to want a mobile as well.

 

[tekshogun]

I'd say that about sums that up.

 

[TxSharpShooter]

Well I went and took my Technician test this weekend and made a 100. Still havent bought a radio yet but have been doing some research on the local repeaters and different radios. There are not any UHF repeaters in the area. I have been thinking of the ICOM 2200H single band mobile for use as a base radio to start off with. Maybe the VX-6R later for traveling around to other areas. I like that the ICOM has 65 watt output and people seem to have good luck with them from what I read. I also looked on google earth and got the distance to all the local repeaters...the farthest one is 55 miles with 1400 feet elevation. I am at 400 feet elevation. I can hear it from here with my scanner if I put a small antenna up on the top of the porch. The closest repeater is 20 miles. I figure I should have some luck with an antenna up a ways with that 2 meter ICOM...what do yall think?

 

[DX949]

I have always been interested in ham radio and have recently started reading a lot about it. I am thinking of taking the test for my license soon but I am having trouble deciding on what I need to start out with to be successful at it. I am thinking of the Yaesu FT-7800R radio for a mobile and maybe a base radio. My problem is that the nearest repeaters to my location are a minimum of 25 miles away. There arent many folks around here that are into ham, so I would be most interested in using duplex/repeater to talk to folks. I don't know enough about what it would require to reach a repeater at that distance with that radio. I know there are many variables, but would it be difficult and require a large antenna to reach that far? I also like the idea of having a handheld radio such as the Yaesu VX-6R. A friend of mine has one of these and he is a beginner but I know that it would be no good for duplex from my location. What do you guys think about it? Any advice is appreciated.

I would go with the FT-8800,then if you want you can get a handheld,The FT-8800 has Cross-Band Repeat something that the FT-7800 does not,with cross band repeat you will be able to piggy back of your 8800 outside your house or car.Cross Band repeat is a great feature and goes hand in hand with a Handheld.
And if you do become a Ham.............please don't come bash us poor CB'ers in are forum and start telling us we are bad and are equipment sucks.....lol.....just kidding,but seriously get the FT_8800R
Good luck. http://www.cvarc.org/tech/crossband.html