Ham Radio

 It's funny when ever I mention to someone I am a Ham Radio Operator they either say so you talk around the world or they say what is that. Once I explain what Ham Radio is all about they do seem pretty interested. The biggest concern they seem to have is what does the license cost. The second concern is boy that's an expensive hobby.
 I usually explain next that yes it can be expensive, but it does not have to be. I get them to realize that one the license does not cost anything, but some of your time. As far as the cost of Ham Radio Equipment goes you can buy a used Ham Radio off Ebay for a pretty good price. Also if you are starting out there are some fairly inexpensive Ham Radios through Amazon for 2 meters that are fairly cheap. You can also build a 2 meter quad antenna for very low cost. The other items are going to be a power supply, which MFJ makes some that are not too expensive. I would also invest in a swr power meter and again MFJ makes some that are not bad at all in cost.
 It's also good to explain that as time goes by you will acquire various types of Ham Radio Equipment. Let them know they start out in uhf and vhf primarily and then when they go for the General Ham Radio License they can get into HF. That's where a good used HF Ham Radio will come into play and there are lots to choose from. There are also some New Ham Radios from Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood and Alinco that make what I like to call starter Ham Radios. That's not to mentio some off brand Ham Radios that do a decent job.
    

Pass The Ham Radio License Tests By Learning Not Memorizing

Take the time to learn about the Ham Radio Hobby and don't just memorize the answers to the tests. Then you can take that knowledge and pass it on to others.

How To Pick Your First Ham Radio

Click Here To Check Out The Kenwood TS-480HX

 What an awesome task it is picking out your first Ham Radio. It can be a real challenge and will take some time, thought and reading. The first concern is obviously what is my budget, in other words honey how much can I spend on a new Ham Radio. The second part of your task is what are Ham Radios are there to pick from. Finally do I go with a used ham radio or do I go with a new ham radio.
 Well what I did was to determine my budget and check out websites like universal radio. This way I could get an idea as to what brands were and how much they cost. There are many excellent Ham Radio Websites to choose from, so be prepared to take some time. There are many excellent deals on amazon in the new category of Ham Radios. Just make sure to read the reviews and see what previous thought about a particular ham radio you may be interested in. I chose my Kenwood TS-2000, because it had excellent reviews, it fit my budget and it covers all the Ham Bands. That way I could listen to various ham bands before I had my General Ham Radio License.
 Now the next road to travel down would be the used ham radio plan. Here you will find the good, the bad and the ugly. In other words when buying a used ham radio, be prepared to read the reviews about the seller. This way you don't get stuck with a boat anchor. The best source of used ham radios is on ebay. There are tons of awesome deals and you may find a fairly new ham radio with lots of bells and whistles.
 One of the ways to go is to pick a ham radio that is what I call a starter Ham Radio. Some of the manufacturers like Icom and Alinco as well as many others. There are some ham radios that are lower cost like TYT and others in the 2 meter mobile ham radio category. In fact a mobile ham radio can be set up as your base ham radio until you can afford one of the big ham radios. You can find these on amazon and ebay for some pretty good prices.
 What ever ham radio you pick out, just make sure you enjoy it.