An email written from Susan Smith KJ7ABC
to participants in the SLC SE Division CERT net
sent February 13, 2012
Dear Friends of Amateur Radio,
The classic two-pronged question a newly licensed ham usually asks is
"Which radio should I buy and how much will it cost?" As in
most hobbies, this question cannot be answered in a straightforward, easy
fashion (but read on for a particularly low-budget option). I
venture to say that the typical ham has more than one radio, including one or
more handheld transceivers in addition to his or her main station, which may be
a mobile radio or base station. After the primary question of which radio
come the questions about antennas, power sources, other equipment, gear,
manuals, organizations, nets, etc.
But, let's get back to the question of which radio to purchase. The Web
offers many primers and guides to choosing a ham radio, including one at
http://www.eham.net/newham/firstradio
and one by ARRL to download at
http://www.arrl.org/buying-your-first-radio
. Some important considerations in choosing a radio include:
1.) Which bands do you plan
to use? For instance, 2-meter and 70-centimeter bands are common for the
Technician class and will get you onto a variety of simplex and repeater
frequencies, but if you plan to upgrade to General or Extra licenses relatively
soon, a broader range of bands might be considered. Do you want a radio capable
of operating on more than one band? Dual-band handheld and mobile radios
with 2 meter and 70 centimeter are common, with 1.25 meter as a third band on
some models.
2.) Where or how are you
going to be using the radio? For instance, will you be using the radio
only at home, in the car, at work and/or roaming the city or hills? Many
hams enjoy assisting communications for public service events such as
marathons, parades, and festivalKG-UV3Ds. More and more cities are involving ham
operators in preparedness for emergency disasters and in real-life community
emergencies. Reaching other operators either by voice or CW (Morse Code)
around the world can be exciting and challenging.
3.) Is D-Star or packet radio (etc.) of particular interest
to you? Radios and the extra equipment for such options can be pricey.
4.) What is your
budget? Some people ask whether this is
a hobby they can afford even before they prepare for a licensing exam; hence,
asking licensed hams their opinions and doing research on your own is extremely
important to answering that question. There is a huge range of prices for
radios and radio-specific accessories, from memory-programming software to
replacement antennas for a handheld to
GPS
capabilities for some radios, and some manufacturer's accessories can have a
hefty price tag. As many hams purchase multiple radios over the years,
there are used radios for sale that might be in the price range of even the
most humble budget.
5.) What other personal considerations do you have to
take into account? Is the weight or size of a handheld a major
consideration? Will the radio fit your hand well if your hand is large or
small? Are the keys too small for you to tap? Might you have a difficult
time seeing a display with lots of information in a small font?
So, what does this boil down to? I have not attempted to develop here a
guide on this topic, especially as I am a relative newbie myself and am not
conversant with much of amateur radio yet, but I will offer a few insights and
possibilities to those who are at the earliest stages as an amateur radio
hobbyist and can't or don't want to spend a whole lot of money at this
time. I plan to keep this short and sweet: radio, power, antenna.
My husband and I have purchased multiple radios since licensing as technicians
in July 2010. Recently, I purchased a Wouxun (pronounced o' shing) KG-UV3D
2m/70cm radio online (
http://www.powerwerx.com/wouxun-radios/kg-uv3d-dual-band.html)
for $119.99 and the high-gain antenna for $29.99 to carry to work and on trips.
If I'm a bit rough on packing it around, I know I'm not spending hundreds to
replace it. Also, knowing that some prospective hams in the
SLC
Southeast Division are concerned about the cost of getting into ham radio, I
wanted to test it. After using it a few times over the last three weeks,
I believe this inexpensive radio and its accessories may suit many an amateur
radio operator at a budget price, particularly for use at shorter distances
(e.g., the Southeast Division) and on repeaters.
In case you consider buying a Wouxun, here are some things of which to be
aware. The purchase list I have attached below serves as a reference on
this topic.
* I find the relatively short and simple operator's manual helpful and
succinct.
* Some operators may feel they need a lot of memory for programming
frequencies. This radio has "only" 128 memory channels.
* The connector on the radio for the antenna is not a typical
U.S.
connection; hence, purchasing the longer high-gain antenna and adapters such as
the SMA Female to UHF SO-239 Adapter (for connecting to certain antennas, such
as rooftop antennas) at the time of purchasing the radio is advisable.
* Charge at least six to eight hours before first use, even if the green
light on the charging base appears before then.
* Judging by experiences of another recent buyer and myself, the radio
comes set in duplex with negative offset ... as if connecting to a
repeater. For simplex operation (as in 147.50 MHz for the
SLC
SE Division Net on Thursdays at
9 p.m.
-- yep, a shameless plug!), the operator must remove the negative offset.
(See instructions in the manual.)
* The Wouxun weighs 9.2 ounces and is 2.3 x 4.1 x 1.6 inches.
* Unlike some other radio manufacturers, the software for programming
frequencies into the Wouxun is free by downloading from the Internet. One ham recommends using the free Chirp
programming software at
http://chirp.danplanet.com/
.
* I would be glad to lend my programming cable and/or cloning cable to
anyone who purchases the Wouxun.
|
WXAAB
|
|
$10.99
|
|
|
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WXNRG
|
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$5.99
|
|
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WXCLN
|
|
$9.99
|
|
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WXGAT-RV
|
|
$22.99
|
|
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WXBTE
|
|
$14.99
|
|
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WXS16
|
|
$5.99
|
|
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KG-UV3D-2/420-520
|
|
$119.99
|
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WXUSB
|
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$15.99
|
|
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HM05JSJ
|
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$14.99
|
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WXHST
|
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$8.99
|
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WXRSM
|
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$44.99
|
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WXLTR
|
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$14.99
|
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Flashlight
|
|
$0.00
|
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|
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Product Total:
|
$290.88
|
|
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Saving:
|
$9.99
|
|
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Shipping:
|
$14.11
|
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Tax:
|
$0.00
|
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Total:
|
$304.99
|
In response to an email on this topic, a ham says,
"After playing around with my wife's Wouxun, I don't think I'd be afraid
to try one of the other Chinese brands.
For example, AsiaRadioSales (
http://www.asiaradiosales.com/en/) has dual-band handhelds
starting at $46 shipped direct from
Hong
Kong. I've purchased some
other stuff from them and been satisfied.
It only takes a week or so to get here."
In addition to a radio, power and antennas are extremely important components
for effective communications.
A radio can receive ("hear") radio communications on relatively low
power, but transmissions require a great deal more power. If you have a
handheld radio with a rechargeable battery such as the Wouxun above, most hams
recommend buying an alkaline-battery pack/adapter (i.e., for AA's or AAA's), if
available for your radio, and lots of batteries to act as standby when your
rechargeable battery gets low. Over time, rechargeable batteries can
decrease in power capacity or life, and batteries with a full charge can be
critical for effective communications. There are lots of other battery or
power options for handhelds, but I will not cover that here.
As antennas are a vital consideration in good radio transmission, many
experienced hams recommend dedicating extra money to the antenna over buying a
pricier radio when other features of possible radios are about the same.
When I attached the Wouxun via the adapter mentioned above to my dual-band
rooftop antenna, I was able to reach a repeater in
Utah
County, where hams reported they
could hear me "clear as a bell." (Keep in mind that although my
rooftop antenna is relatively modest, I have a good location in the
SLC
Southeast Division, rising above
Highland Drive
but not too far east, to have great reach across
Salt
Lake Valley
and a bit beyond.) Additionally, I purchased a magnetic mount ("mag
mount") antenna for my Wouxun to use on my car and at home threaded
through a slightly open window to the rain gutter. This is a two-part
system -- both Diamond -- the SPM-35 mag mount (
http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-000002)
costs $44.95 and the NR-770HB antenna (
http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-000063,
also available in silver) is $59.95. The ham that recommended the Diamond
antenna to me says Comet makes something similar that may cost less; I
just wanted to get what he knew works great.
If anyone has experience with the Wouxun, other handhelds, mobiles or base
stations that could be considered budget radios for new amateur operators,
please let me know your impressions of them, including model numbers, at
ssmithrph@aol.com .
