Inexpensive Ham Radio Recommendation?

[poorguy]

Do not take offense to the title.

This free pdf book is excellent for learning about Ham Radio in plain language.

https://www.qsl.net/sp9hzx/img/Ham%2...%20Dummies.pdf

[jetsam]

Got it, thanks...

I've found a few books in that series helpful-- accounting, calculus... they're usually at a community college level with some extra attention to explaining vocabulary and avoiding common misunderstandings. I think the quality varies with the book and author a lot, but the good ones can be very good.

[uRock]

Gonna do a book report here? I have a CB in my bug out kit.

[uRock]

Have you powered it on yet?

[Skaperen]

the best source of advice is your local ham radio club at their regular meeting. most clubs meet monthly. google can find schedules and lists. my recommendation is to get the license and practice using whatever radio you get. this will teach you about which bands to use for what and when. in a major disaster you don't want to be trying to figure out what to do or risk doing it wrong. Morse code is no longer a requirement to get a license though it is a way to communicate in extreme conditions that many hams practice on every day. you also want to regularly be sure your radio(s) work right with your source of emergency power.

go be on it !!

[jetsam]

Patience, Doge(s)...

I'll keep the thread posted. It will be slow going though. I really did buy the radio expecting not to use it, so I don't really want it displacing a ton of time for other things...

solar installation, nimh battery banks instead of lithium ion because cheaper and safer and only somewhat heavier for a given capacity, the guitar finger bandage thing... there's more... I should install Linux at some point around here. I've heard it's pretty good

@Skaperen: Ham radio club probably a good idea, at least casually. Plus the swap meets appeal to me...

in a major disaster you don't want to be trying to figure out what to do or risk doing it wrong.

That's a good point, too. I won't be fully ignorant, and it is a back-up to the back-up that is the cell phone system, plus we have cars and live in a populated area... Still, I'll keep that in mind.

[jetsam]

OK... got a few things figured out. How to remove and replace battery, where to connect the headset/lavaliere mic, how to change volume...

...Annoyingly, they wait 'till page 11 of the manual to tell you to fully charge the battery before using it...

Ah, well. It was barely on much time at all. Just enough for the nice radio lady to say "frequency mode" three or five times.

It's thicker but not much bigger than a wireless phone handset and comes with a charging cradle like they have. It seems fine so far, which isn't very far, I admit...

It's now charging for the next five hours on top of the washing machine. I usually charge lithium ion batteries on top of metal appliances because they can and just might make wondrous fireworks displays if things go wrong internally during charging...

[jetsam]

Handheld transceivers have diverse applications:
B52s Planet Claire FULL HQ Restored best version!!

I knew that beepy intro was bubbling into my brain for a reason...

Edit: where did they get the vocal effects from?! Stolen from Universal or something.

[sdsurfer]

This is coming in quite late, but the title subconsciously caught my attention as I scrolled through . . . Facebook Marketplace. I saw two ads last night for barely used ham radios, one for $10, the other for two radios, $20 both or $15 each. The two radio set were both Cobra's. Almost bought them myself but don't have time for it lol . . . Might be a good place to pick up backups.

Marketplace is about the only thing interesting on Facebook any more, I have picked up some killer deals, half the furniture in our house, a lot of tools including a 5 cu. ft. gas cement mixer for $150. Interesting, until they recently started flooding it with commercial ads for t-shirts and women's clothing. You want to screw up a good idea, give it to the Facebook marketing team.

[jetsam]

What have you done? You've given me the first compelling reason I've ever heard to be interested in Facebook. I simply never understood the appeal of that site.

I'd spent years on the net previously to Facebook's arrival. I did a two year stint as a graphical chat room rat; that was the most social I've ever been, cracking jokes all night long for nights on end...

When The Palace parent company died, I knew never again to trust a marketing company with anything tangible, and never depend on network services because they can go away in the blink of an eye.

Edit to add: The Palace is only mostly dead. You can still download a client chat program, but the servers are ghost towns.