Handheld for new Technician Class License holder

[Justin]

Hi folks. I just past the first basic HAM radio test. I was looking at
getting a hand held radio that I can keep in my car or in my backpack
for use in am emergency, like the 2003 Northeast Blackout.
The problem is, there must be a billion choices out there!
I'm not rich, and I'm not on food stamps either. I'm willing to spend a
pretty decent amount for a product that's worth it.
I'm in the US.

I used the 2003 Blackout as an example, because I was lucky enough to be
in NYC when that happened. I was stranded with somebody who had a hand
held radio, he used a repeater and was able to have his friend (with
power) on the other end call people and say they were OK. I thought
that was pretty awesome.
I used to have a pair of Maxon GMRS-210's but I sold them on eBay many
moons ago.

[Ralph Mowery]

"Justin" <jus...@nobecauseihatespam.edu> wrote in message
news:k7vbmb$k5s$1...@dont-email.me...

> Hi folks. I just past the first basic HAM radio test. I was looking at
> getting a hand held radio that I can keep in my car or in my backpack for
> use in am emergency, like the 2003 Northeast Blackout.
> The problem is, there must be a billion choices out there!
> I'm not rich, and I'm not on food stamps either. I'm willing to spend a
> pretty decent amount for a product that's worth it.
> I'm in the US.
>
>

I think I would look at a Wouxun KG-UVD1P. This is a dual band Ht and can
be bought for around $ 110 to $ 125 depending on where and what extras you
get. Be sure to get the programming cable with it. While you can program
them without the cable, it is worth the extra couple of bucks. Softwear for
it is free.

I have one and several others in the club have them. Be sure to get one
from a dealer in the US and not order from China off ebay. There is nothing
wrong with this, except if you do get a bad one, it is just easier to deal
with locally.

Here is an ebay number for one to look at.
261125157834

I know nothing about this dealer,but it seems he is in China where the
radios are made.

There are a couple of others with a number of 2 or 3 in it that seem to be
the same radio in a differant case.

There is another company that makes one about like it for around $ 50 called
Baofeng. I do not know anything about that brand.

[Justin]

Ordering from China... I know stuff comes from there anyway, but the
last time I had a problem the Chinaman ignored me and there was nothing
I could do.
I'd rather order from a US distributor.

What about Kenwood?

[Ralph Mowery]

"Justin" <jus...@nobecauseihatespam.edu> wrote in message

news:k81ps6$9qm$4...@dont-email.me...

>
> Ordering from China... I know stuff comes from there anyway, but the last
> time I had a problem the Chinaman ignored me and there was nothing I could
> do.
> I'd rather order from a US distributor.
>
> What about Kenwood?

Kenwood is fine. Here is a place in the US that has the ones I was talking
about.

http://www.wouxun.us/category.php?category_id=46

I am thinking the programming cable for the Kenwood and this one are the
same. I wouldn't doubt if many of the HTs are made in China.

I am waiting on one of the dealers over here to start inporting some of the
dual band mobile rigs that I am seeing on ebay that are in China now.

[Channel Jumper]

A handheld transceiver should be the last thing you should buy, not the
first.

A handheld transceiver is only good for a couple of things..

If you get a flat tire - you can stick it under the tire and use it to
keep the car from rolling away.

If you need to kill a small animal for food, you can throw it at it.

The first thing you need to realize is that in order to be a effective
communicator, you need to operate frequently - not just when there is an
emergency.

It is not like talking on the telephone.
There is a certain lingo you need to learn and certain things you need
to learn to do.

If you wait until there is an emergency - most times you will find that
when you need it, you will usually find that the batteries are dead and
the repeaters you thought that you would be able to hit - might not even
work.

Buy yourself a mobile transceiver and mount it in your automobile and
buy the best mobile antenna you can afford..
My choice is the Larsen NMO 2/70

Buy yourself a power supply and a good piece of coax - LMR 400 or Belden
9913 and a good antenna - Diamond X 510 would be my choice and use it
often.

Technician class license is not a stopping point, but a starting point.
Keep studying and get yourself a General or better class license.




--
Channel Jumper

[Patty Winter]

In article <k7vbmb$k5s$1...@dont-email.me>,

Justin <jus...@nobecauseihatespam.edu> wrote:
>Hi folks. I just past the first basic HAM radio test. I was looking at
>getting a hand held radio that I can keep in my car or in my backpack
>for use in am emergency, like the 2003 Northeast Blackout.
>The problem is, there must be a billion choices out there!
>I'm not rich, and I'm not on food stamps either. I'm willing to spend a
>pretty decent amount for a product that's worth it.

How about attending some of the meetings of the club that gave you your
ham (not "HAM," btw) test and talking to members about their HTs?

Check the website of that club, your local ARRL section, or the
main ARRL website (http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendar)
for upcoming hamfests where a variety of units might be for sale and
you can find out more about your options.

Unfortunately, the Ham Radio Outlet website doesn't have product
reviews, but I found this site that does:

http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/49

I hope you plan to use it more than just for a once-a-decade emergency!
If you get on the air frequently, you'll know what repeaters are available
in your area, whom you can talk to simplex if the repeaters go down, etc.

Good luck!

Patty N6BIS

[Dave Platt]

Justin <jus...@nobecauseihatespam.edu> wrote:
>Hi folks. I just past the first basic HAM radio test. I was looking at
>getting a hand held radio that I can keep in my car or in my backpack
>for use in am emergency, like the 2003 Northeast Blackout.
>The problem is, there must be a billion choices out there!
>I'm not rich, and I'm not on food stamps either. I'm willing to spend a
>pretty decent amount for a product that's worth it.

I'd suggest that you make contact with your city/county ARES
organization, as they are likely to be the people most familiar with
"ham radio during local emergencies" issues.

They could probably provide you with some advice as to which HTs have
and have not worked out well for their members - reliable, easy to
use, easy to program, and having the features and bands needed for
communication in your area.

They can also probably help you with additional learning, about how to
communicate effectively during an emergency. There's a lot more to it
than "grab the radio, tune to a channel, hit PTT, and yell for help".

In my area (about 45 minutes south of SF), we teach a couple of
classes fairly regularly. One is an "OK, I passed the test and got my
license... *now* what do I do?" class for new hams - it's intended to
give first-level experience with HT programming, proper protocol and
etiquette when using simplex and repeater communications, that sort of
thing... how to get on the air effectively.

The next is a "fundamentals of emergency communications" training.
It's an initial training for people interested in organized emergency
communication support (ARES/RACES, Red Cross, etc.) and is useful for
anyone concerned about how to use ham radio (or similar, such as GMRS
and neighborhood FRS for CERT) in an emergency or disaster.

Your community (ARES or ham-club) may have something similar.

--
Dave Platt <dpl...@radagast.org> AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

[Channel Jumper]

To introduce myself - I have been involved in communications since 1970
and I have been a volunteer examiner for 1.5 years.

At the very basic level - we have been giving one test session per a
month for the last 18 months.

Most every test session with the exception of Ham In A Day classes - the
only participants are the people that I enticed to come along and take
the exam.

I even went so far as to have the first VE test session in my county in
25 years!

Two people showed up and one person passed the exam...

I thought about what I could do to make ham radio more user friendly.
I came to the conclusion that I could round up as many ham radio
magazines as I could find.
I contacted the local vendors of ham radio equipment - HRO and AES and I
got them to send me a case of catalog's.
I then circled the best transceivers, antenna's, coax, power supplies,
SWR meters etc and I handed them out.
I also gave the surplus catalogs away to the other VE's so they could
give them out at future events.

The Key to Amateur Radio is to have a Elmer!
You say - what is a Elmer?
A Elmer is a experienced HAM - a person who operates every day and is
willing to open their shack to anyone that wishes to use their equipment
to get on the air.
A ELMER is a person that is willing to LEND you equipment - short term,
so you can get on the air and make some contacts!

Note I said short term!
Some people - once they get something that works - even just a little,
will stop - because they dont want to spend their own money!
Those people are not HAMS!

As a example - the one person who passed the test at my VE test session,
had a transceiver that was given to him when he worked for the Forrest
Fire Service in Colorado.
He felt that since he had a mobile radio and antenna - he didn't need
anything else, because it was programmable into the 2 meters / 70 CM
bands.

Only when he took the test - it was 65* outside, and when he got his
license it was only 55*.
Now it is only 35* and operating outside is out of the question...

So he got one of his forest fire friends to send him a power supply,
FREE - all he had to do is pay the $18.00 shipping..
He actually complained because he had to pay $18.00 for a 20 amp power
supply..
At that point, I washed my hands of the guy - because he won't ever make
it in my world...

Yes you can make a couple of contacts with a cheap - $50.00 walkie
talkie, but NO - it is not a reliable form of communications...

The only exception to the rule is a old Radio Shack HTX 202 that I
bought at my ELMERS SK auction.. It was broke, no manual, the battery
was dead.
No one wanted it when it did not work!
I bought a battery pack and I made a mobile power cord and I was given a
mobile handheld MFJ magmount antenna to use.
For 6 watts - it does remarkably well in certain conditions.

I have been able to hit repeaters 40 miles away - that are in a good
place, as long as I am in a good place.. No one is going to drive 12
miles to the top of my mountain to operate on 2 meters...
So yes it can work - as long as you are in a good situation..

The problem is - I live in the mountains and If I drive down the road
1/4 of 1 mile, the signals all drops out and I have spotty coverage
while mobile.

The other problem is - most people I know that are old hams - do not
know how to program their own radios.
The exception is the ones with the Alinco's and ADI's because they were
so simplistic - all you had to do was program it from the VFO and add
the PL and Split and there you have it.

Try to do the same thing with my Kenwood TS 590S on 10 or 6 meters and
you will see the difference immediately..
Those same people - who usually doesn't even know how to operate simplex
- unless someone programmed it in for them, are perplexed when you ask
them to show you how to program your transceiver and they usually make
excuses why they are too busy to do it.

Some transceivers like my Yaesu FT 8900R - its so difficult, you are
better off just using the programming cable and a aftermarket
program...

Maybe this will explain a little of why I am so against handhelds for
primary communications..




--
Channel Jumper