Starter ham radio

[dime196604]

I am going to take my HAM test in a week and a half and wanna know what is a good starter radio to use, one in the 3-400 dollar range used is fine, i know with my tech license i can only mostly talk in the VHF/UHF range but i want a HF ring i can make talk on rthe 11m band too. Please remember 3-400 dollar range, thanks

[231]

$300-$400 will buy allot of good rigs. If you are looking for specific models, the big 3 (Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu) can all be had for that...albeit older units. Assuming you want solid state, I happen to be an Icom fan and can tell you the following models would be likely in that range and are easy to open up;

Icom: IC-720A, IC-730, IC-735, IC-740, IC-745, and probably a few others. The IC-718 can be had for that too...but it's a little more difficult to open up.

Kenwood: TS-50, TS-430, TS-440, and TS-450 can be had for that, but likely going to be pretty used. I've always liked the Kenwood rigs, too.

Yaesu: Probably looking at the FT-747 & FT-757 series. Another good rig. I've not seen any FT-450's that cheap...but I'd bet they are around. That's allot more modern rig to consider too.

Those are just a few by the way, but take a look at Rigpix and get familiar with them. Out of all the ones listed I think the Kenwood probably has the nicest eye appeal out of the bunch, but I have to tell you I've owned an IC-745 Icom for years and I wouldn't part with it. It's a stand by and field day rig mostly nowadays but a very easy rig to use, great receive, and very easy to open up.

There are a few ideas for you to start. I'm sure lots of others will have great input too.

Best of luck on the test and let us know how it goes.

[Punkin Head]

I will agree with everything that 231 said. I love Icom rigs they are my personal favorite. I have however owned a Yaesu FT-450AT and it was a great rig. It was my first HF rig and for the money you cant beat it. I think Yaesu replaced the FT-450 and FT-450AT with the FT-450D which is the updated version with newer firmware. If you look hard you may find one in the $400 range but probably more realistically in the $5-600 range. If you were able to save that much it would be a great starter for you. All the rigs that 231 mentioned would be great starters as well, but I can only speak for the FT-450 from expierence with it.

Good luck and enjoy whatever you pick

[Ronin]

I absolutely agree with 231 and Punkin Head.... any of the rigs listed would be excellent choices. IMO...if you can swing the extra 100 bucks or so for a used Yaesu FT-450 you will probably have the best rig across the board for your money.... and with little or no reason to look to upgrade the rig in the near future.

I have always been an Icom afficianado myself....(curently owning an IC-746, IC-706MkIIG, IC-730, IC-271H, IC-251A, IC-22U and an IC-229H plus a few HTs) but about 5-6 months ago I bought a Yaesu FT-450 on closeout for just under $600 brand new (I couldn't resist the price) .... so they should start showing up on the used market for about $500-600.

Even though I love my IC-746 as compared to most other HF radios I have owned, the FT-450 is by far the quietest, most sensitive receiver in it's class (IMO) and has excellent audio even with the stock microphone on all the modes.

Honestly.... my 746 has been relagated to 80 and 40 meters (on the dipole) and is primarily scanning the VHF public service frequencies in my area since I got the FT-450. If you can lock into one for around $500 used you won't be sorry.

[dime196604]

Any body know a good place to find a used radio?

[Night Crawler]

Here's a few besides ebay

http://swap.qth.com

http://www.eham.net/classifieds/search

http://forums.qrz.com/forumdi ... r-For-Sale