Good Starter Rig

[Pushrod]

My father and I have been talking about dusting off some old equipment and getting back into the hobby. He had given me all his old 11 meter stuff when he retired from driving a truck. He says he'd like to eventually get into ham. I don't know if he ever will, but I'd like to get him set up so he will have the option if he wants. I have absolutely no idea what bands are for what level, or what good starter/second hand rig to look for. This will be a surprise for him, so I really can't ask him about what he wants. What I know is he will start out on 11 meters. He always like to talk on sideband above 40. So that’s where he will be comfortable starting. I want to make sure he has room to grow. I would also need some recommendations on a wide banded antenna that he could use for it. I do not think he will ever actually get his ticket, but he will probably listen in quite a bit.

What would be some good radios to look for near the $500. mark? I don't want to spend a ton of money on this, but I do want to make sure he'll be happy. He is bored and needs something to do. I have been looking at radios on eBay, but don't really know what is what. Is there a better source for used equipment?

Thanks
Dennis

 

[W5LZ]

If ol'Dad retired more than just a couple of years ago, he might wanna listen for a while before spending much. Things have changed a bit.
I've found that almost anything will 'work' as a 'starter' radio. It's just something to get a 'preview' with, right? So, I would think you're looking at the 'used' market for that price range, older stuff. No harm in that, just remember a few things. The older a radio is the less likely you are to find replacement parts for. Not that you can't, but it isn't always very easy, and things do break. Solid state is "better" than tube stuff (notice the {"}s on better?). The biggy is that solid state stuff tends to be more accurate, easy to tune, etc, etc. That's not written in stone, but whatever it's written on it's harder than 'silly-putty'. In general, 'used' prices are the same as 'new' prices, not something you want to base 'quality' judgments on, sort of. Sticking to the major brands is a sort of good idea (K, I, Y). Things from the same 'era' are mostly about equal, sort of. They all used each other for comparisons. Some differences but nothing really earth shattering until you get into the really big $$$. [And as those of us of discriminating taste always say, "If you ain't got Kenwood, you got squat." Sorry, couldn't resist.]
Especially while learning something new, the "KISS" principal really does make sense. After you get a 'taste' of that 'new' thingy, you'll also have at least some idea of what you might like, or what may work better for you. It also gives you the option to 'up-grade', which is always sort of something to look forward to, you know?
Tell him to go get that @#$ ham license! It ain't impossible at all. If he decides not to use it, well, who sez he has to? Then you don't have to wait!
Radio isn't exactly the cheapest hobby around, but it's certainly not the most expensive (fishing). The idea is to have fun, so have fun...
- 'Doc


It's just my opinion, but 'eBay' is the worst place in the world to buy anything. Good place to sell, but not buy.

 

[SR385]

There are a bunch of great starter rigs.

I like to point people to the Yaesu FT-857D, bang for the buck, you can't go wrong. It will get you on HF 6m 2m 70cm. It's not the best at any one thing for sure, but it gets you a taste of anything you want and it makes a great mobile rig if you wind up wanting to upgrade to a more specialized radio for home use.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

If you ain't got Kenwood, you got squat. - 'Doc

I have found this to be quite true. Why don't you make that your signature file Doc?

 

[KingCobra_CDX882]

So many Great rigs out there
Is cool to get your father a rig

i would say get any of the starter units of Kenwood Yaesu or Icom

Icom has a 718 that is in the $500 range brand new
I would instead suggest as i did it..
I think the 706 MKIIG is quite hard to beat
has all modern gismos while still very easy to use
You will need get a used one to stay in your range but they are easy to find in Ebay
(However Kenwood and Yaesu have exellent rigs also)

As far as antenna goes
Do you want to get a true all band type vertical
if so what frequencies you want it for (more then just 11 meters ? )

If you are ok in using a tuner
then likely a A99 or Imax-2000 is ok (if not going to use a amp-high power on it)


You are at the right place for help
many good people here
(be it CB or Ham)

FYI - Dont count your dad ut on getting his ticket
It is actually very easy t take and pass the test

 

[Pushrod]

Thanks for the advice. So would something like a TS-430 be good to start out with? I'll be buying this for him, so I'm trying to be fragile and get something he'll be happy with at the same time. He hasn't been in a truck, or on a radio for about ten years. I have no doubt that he can get his ticket, it is more if he'll get motivated to do it. He has a few acres of land in the country, so I was thinking about a nice ground plane antenna. Something that will work on 11 meters and can be used on other bands also. I don't see why a tuner would not work. Though, I have no knowledge about what works best for this sort of thing. I just want to get him into doing something again, he is bored. I'll be setting up some old mobile equipment on a power supply for me in the garage. I'd like to be able to talk to him on some of the "funny" channels in my old radio. We're about 100 mile away so we'll need good antennas. I'm more challenged in that regard, track home, cc&r's. I'm thinking of a sigma 4 clone, but the jury is still out there. My dad's setup is where the majority of my funds will go.

 

[KingCobra_CDX882]

Yes....I am sure the 430 will do fine

Getting out well is most dependent of the antenna

Although to stay closer to on the cheep
the A99 or Imax 2000 is ok

To do a good job of getting out and still staying simple
Jay's Interceptor I-10K
it is a 5/8 wave GroundPlane

it isnt small....not exactly cheep
given you clearly have the space for it
it is a darn good (excellent antenna)
it is what i use and many other on this forum can vouch for it

you can easily make it a swr of 1 to 1 on the extra channels
(those ssb channels above cb 40 but still staying well below 10 meters)

www.a1antennas.com

then if he decides to go past say cb to perhaps 20 channels up
all he or you would need to get him is a simple hf tuner

 

[Pushrod]

I found something that looks promising. I am concerned about one thing in the description. The bold part is what kind of alarms me. Is this something I should be concerned about? What is something like this worth, or rather, what is a good stopping point for a price? I do not want to pay too much for this.

“I have a TS-430S with matching PS-430 power supply, SP-430 speaker, original hand mic and manual. The 430S has the FM board, AM and CW filters installed. Everything works as it should. I have recently cleaned all switches and controls and re-soldered all solder points on the PA board. Full output+ on all bands/modes and I get great audio reports. Great receiver also.”

 

[SR385]

If it was done properly, it's no big deal. The 'If' is the key.

Older radios from duty cycle can get cold joints, it's not uncommon to go through them and do that, but there are a lot of hacks with soldering irons out there.