I passed both my tech and general exams over the weekend and am not anxiously awaiting the chance to send the government my money so I can get my call sign.
To keep myself from refreshing the page too much, I’m starting to look at gear. I have a cheap HT that I’ve been using to listen to the local repeater, but now that I’ve got privileges I am interested in doing HF stuff (mostly SSB voice and maybe some CW once I actually get proficient at it). I live in a suburban/semi-rural apartment without a lot of space for a huge amount of gear.
I have soft budget of 1500 USD (with hard upper limit of 2k) which ideally needs to cover everything to get going. Apart from the radio itself, an antenna of some sort, a power supply, and coax to connect it all, I’m not entirely sure what I need right out of the gate and if 1500 is even a reasonable budget for what I’m looking to do. I am looking to buy new for my first one since I don’t have the knowledge or skills to do any repairs or tinkering inside of a used unit. Any suggestions/advice?
To keep myself from refreshing the page too much, I’m starting to look at gear. I have a cheap HT that I’ve been using to listen to the local repeater, but now that I’ve got privileges I am interested in doing HF stuff (mostly SSB voice and maybe some CW once I actually get proficient at it). I live in a suburban/semi-rural apartment without a lot of space for a huge amount of gear.
I have soft budget of 1500 USD (with hard upper limit of 2k) which ideally needs to cover everything to get going. Apart from the radio itself, an antenna of some sort, a power supply, and coax to connect it all, I’m not entirely sure what I need right out of the gate and if 1500 is even a reasonable budget for what I’m looking to do. I am looking to buy new for my first one since I don’t have the knowledge or skills to do any repairs or tinkering inside of a used unit. Any suggestions/advice?
