New to Amateur Radio

[nd5y]

Look at some of the dealers and compare prices and specs.

DX Engineering | Ham Radio Equipment & Supplies

Ham radio antenna, transceivers, coax cable & other amateur radio gear. DXE carries top ham radio brands including Yaesu, Kenwood, ICOM, MFJ, Butternut & more.

www.dxengineering.com

https://www.hamradio.com

MTC Texas Sized Ham Radio and Electronic Deals | MTC

Free shipping over $100, great deals on cool stuff, ham radio, icom, kenwood , yaesu, wouxun, MTC, scanner, two way, commercial

www.mtcradio.com

Universal Radio shortwave, amateur, scanner and CB radio since 1942

www.universal-radio.com

 

[ltginrage]

How hard is it to obtain Motorola programming software?

 

[alcahuete]

How hard is it to obtain Motorola programming software?

It's not terribly difficult, but it will take up the majority of your budget. It is $169 for a 3 year license.

 

[ladn]

Ok, So lets say I raise my price range up to under $200. Would that be better? If so, what could that get me?

A lot more quality!
I like to recommend the Yaesu FT-60 as a first handheld. Solidly built, VHF/UHF plus RX into the 900 MHz region. Lots of accessories. It's well within your price range, even with the RT Systems programming software and cable.

I don't like to recommend digital as a first radio, since the learning curve is steeper and there are at least three, non compatible, digital modes used in amateur radio.

The answer to your other question about obtaining Motorola programming software: Software for current radios is available by subscription from Motorola. Not cheap (several hundred $) range, plus cables). Motorola software is not particularly user friendly and Motorola doesn't support their older products.

 

[ScubaJungle]

Not supporting baofeng here, but I understand money shortage. Just so you know you can get a Baofeng for ~$20:

23.25US $ 16% OFF|Baofeng UV 5R 8W High Powerful Two Way Radio Walkie Talkie 8 Watts CB Ham Portable Radio 10km Long Range Pofung UV5R for Hunting|Walkie Talkie| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

While theyre not good, it will work to begin until you get more money for a good radio.

 

[ltginrage]

Yes, I thought about that and said I need to be able to reach a good 10-20 miles from a base about 3-5 miles when I'm out in the field. Mainly because I would like to start making SKYWARN reports through amateur radio and the nearest spotter repeater is about 13 miles away. There is a unused repeater within line of sight of my house about 3-4 miles. Sadly they do not use it for the NWS network

 

[ltginrage]

Not supporting baofeng here, but I understand money shortage. Just so you know you can get a Baofeng for ~$20:

What is the range on these?

 

[krokus]

Yes, I thought about that and said I need to be able to reach a good 10-20 miles from a base about 3-5 miles when I'm out in the field. Mainly because I would like to start making SKYWARN reports through amateur radio and the nearest spotter repeater is about 13 miles away. There is a unused repeater within line of sight of my house about 3-4 miles. Sadly they do not use it for the NWS network

Reaching 13 miles with a handheld is going to be very terrain dependent. Setting up a crossband repeater could work, but it might be better to have some relay, via the closer repeater. (If the owner of the repeater doesn't object.)

 

[ltginrage]

It's Unknown who owns the repeater

 

[alcahuete]

It's Unknown who owns the repeater

The repeater has to have a callsign attached to it. Somebody knows who the trustee is. It should also have a CW ID giving the callsign.

The range you get on a Baofeng or any handheld is going to be way more dependant on the base or repeater than it is your handheld. Handheld to handheld or mobile radio, it's going to be a few miles at best. But a base with a high antenna or repeater and the range is going to increase significantly. I realize you have no mountains in North Central Illinois [] but here in Southern California, for example, I hit several repeaters that are 50+ miles away ,full quieting using 1/4 watt. That's because they are at 8000' with a good antenna.

 

[Hit_Factor]

Ok, So lets say I raise my price range up to under $200. Would that be better? If so, what could that get me?

Maybe a Yaesu Ft70 would do what you need. It's in that price range. Check the specs on at the Yaesu site.

 

[nd5y]

What is the range on these?

There is no simple answer. Range mainly depends on antenna height above ground and the terrain between the two stations.
Using a good antenna on Baofeng radios can often render their poor quality receiver useless.
If you need to talk to a repeater 13 miles away for Skywarn use then you probably should not be looking for a hand held.

 

[k6cpo]

Emergency Management Agency | Lee County, IL

Learn about the Emergency Management Agency.

www.leecountyil.com

EMA departments are usually open to new volunteers.

Emergency Management Agencies run by government are going to have a stringent set of requirements for volunteers. You can't expect to just walk in and start operating on the radio right away. Beyond the usual fingerprinting and background check, there is going to be a minimum training level of FEMA courses in the Incident Command System (ICS) and the National incident management System (NIMS.) These courses are free and can be taken online.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is a function of the ARRL and is not required to meet the same stringent requirements as an government EMA. However, because ARES usually serves some type of governmental agancy, the requirements, particularly for background investigations are likely to apply. In addition, the ARRL has adopted the governmental "task book" model. This requires the completion of certain requirements to be able to qualify for some positions within ARES.

It's best to contact your respective agencies to see what their requirements are.

 

[n5ims]

Considering that this is the Amateur Equipment forum and you're wondering what kind of radio should be used for making Skywarn reports it should be noted that at least around here, most of the ARES and RACES groups that do the Skywarn nets indicate that a user should use a radio capable of transmitting with at least 25 watts of output power so using a handheld does not qualify. The reasons given are that during an emergency, extra power may be required to punch through the heavy rain and hail and provide sufficient power to make it through areas that may not have great coverage by the repeaters in use. It has the side benefit of greatly reducing the unreadable transmissions and associated "Please increase power or improve your location" transmissions that prior to that rule being made and enforced made up about a quarter or more of many of the nets. Now many of those very same organizations understand that many spotters will have a handheld with them and may try to send reports using them, but those spotters understand that if there is any issues with their signal, they're to hold it until the return to their vehicle and make their report using a proper radio.

 

[Hit_Factor]

We are using Icom ID-5100 radios in the EOF and Hospitals. We use conventional 2m, 70cm, and DStar repeaters.

For our area. There were 4 FEMA courses that are online. Each class was about 1.5 hours for me.

No fingerprints, but they did run a background check. Technician license will get you into the bulk of it. We have HF, but rarely use it.

Always looking for additional volunteers.

 

[ltginrage]

Considering that this is the Amateur Equipment forum and you're wondering what kind of radio should be used for making Skywarn reports it should be noted that at least around here, most of the ARES and RACES groups that do the Skywarn nets indicate that a user should use a radio capable of transmitting with at least 25 watts of output power so using a handheld does not qualify.

What is the area your in?