Passed my General.

[r_eugene1]

Well passed my general class test today. Now I need to study and take the extra test but that will be later on in the year.
Any recommendations on a reasonably priced HF rig and antenna system.

Thanks in advance.

 

[davedaver1]

That's a pretty tall order - "reasonably priced" is hard to meet without knowing what you want. Would you be happy with a mobile/small radio to start? Many perform well, but are probably not something you are going to love (though many do). The smaller radios have much function hiding behind menus, whereas the larger radios bring that functionality out to the front panel. I have an Icom IC-756 PRO III which I really like - it's a good medium-sized radio which has all the essentials out front.

I suggest you go look at the catalogs to see what you like, then use the various web sites (AES, HRO, Texas Towers, etc.) to price them. Go read the reviews on eham.com, the ARRL site, and so on to get a picture of how they perform. Download the manuals and read about how they work. If you can, go to store and try them on. When I made my decision, it was between the Yaesu FT-2000 and the Icom. Visiting an AES store helped me decide very quickly which one I would like better when I actually played with them.

I would not even try to recommend antennas. It depends entirely on what space you have and what bands you want to work. There is no catch-all antenna and discussions of what antennas are good can go on all day... There's a reason the ARRL publishes whole books on antennas!

 

[Rt169Radio]

Congrats on passing!

 

[ranger821]

Look at the Kenwood 480. Either the Sat or the HX. I have one and I love it. I run a carlolina windom at 38 feet. If I can hear them, I can talk to them.

KB4OIF
John

 

[Jimru]

Congrats!

I am going to suggest that you join a local ham club, if you haven't already,

Although it's great to ask questions here and other places online (such as eHam.net), it's better to get some experienced guys to help you out in person.

As an example, I passed my General exam in 2011, but at the time, I was living in NYC, in a building that did not allow any kind of antennas up on the roof. Because of that, I never bothered to get an HF rig.

However, on Feb. 1st of this year, I moved to a house in Cape Cod, MA and I have been to a meeting and joined the local club; already I have offers from two guys to help me choose a site and type of HF antenna.

I bought a Yaesu FT-450D, as I have limited space for a rig. It is feature laden and is under $1000. You can wait for a sale, like I did, and get it for under $800.00! Not bad for a 100 watt full featured rig.

As has been suggested, you need to know more about what you want to do, and what kind of space you have to use, and how much money you want to spend, in order to determine what type of antenna. In my case I am going to look into wire antennas, as they are the least costly, and can be made fairly easily by hand.

That is where having in-person help will be invaluable!

Once again, congrats!

73,
Jim KC2LMH

 

[w2txb]

Congrats on the new license and best wishes on the upgrade to Extra Class.

There are a number of good, relatively inexpensive transceivers out there. Check with the folks in your area's ham radio club, and look at the radios that most interest you.

A ton of transmitter power is not necessary, but an excellent receiver is.

Sometimes more fun can be had with a basic low power transmitter.

Simple wire antennas can achieve astounding results.

Everybody has favorite radios, and most have a list of most reviled radios; buy what best works for you. If your choice does not work for you, then sell or trade it.

 

[vagrant]

Congratulations now keep going!

I typically use a Kenwood 480SAT and an OCF (Off Center Fed) antenna.

With the 480 you don't have to go deep into a menu to do things. Most controls are right on the front. The built in tuner is nice. I connect it up to a laptop using a cable for the data/control and an audio cable to RX/TX. I can also RX/TX digital modes like PSK31 and SSTV via DM780 (part of HRD) without another piece of hardware like a SignaLink. Just the 480, the computer and Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) which is free. You can log your contacts with it as well as easily upload them further to eQSL and LOTW with a couple of clicks. 100 watts does a fine job for DX work. I get through some pile-ups as well. I change the TX Equalizer to HB1 and the filter to 2.0. Even with the hand microphone you'll do the business. I do use a Heil HM-12 microphone now though.

The other and important part of your setup is antennas. The 480SAT handles two antennas with a click of a button. I use a vertical and an Off Center Fed antenna that work different areas of the HF bands and meet up at 18 meters. * Disclaimer: My antenna setup works for me. You may find, or need an entirely different setup at your location. Experiment, but don't avoid a wire antenna because it's inexpensive.

Anyways, Ham Radio Deluxe I pull up the DX Cluster Spots and simply select the spots in the list. With the connected cable it will change the frequency right on your radio. Make the QSO and move on to the next if you're working a wild weekend of DX.

*** By the way, I use Kenwood's free software, ARHP-10 and ARVP-10H host programs to run on my laptop at home. When I'm away, I run the remote version of those programs and I'm able to control, listen and talk on my rig via the Internet. All of that with the 480SAT, two antennas and free software. Actually, I think even HRD will allow me to remotely connect to the 480SAT. I've just not tried the remote control with HRD yet, so that could be pure folly, but the Kenwood software works fine.

 

[WX2CIB]

Congrats! I passed mine in February and a buddy of mine passed his today!