It has been on my geek “bucket list” for many years to get my license. This story and a recent job change are just the motivation I needed to finally do it.
It has been on my geek “bucket list” for many years to get my license. This story and a recent job change are just the motivation I needed to finally do it.
Now that the there's no Morse requirement, getting a tech license is trivial - any geek can do it with a couple hours glancing over a study guide. Most of the "technical" questions are common sense to anyone with a bit of electrical knowledge, so you just have to familiarize yourself with things that need to be memorized like license restrictions, power limits on various bands, etc.
Thanks. I believe I heard that from Leo Laporte on TWiT as well. I'm going to do it! Now the bigger issue: Will my wife kill me if I buy a nice ham rig? I do have a nice "man cave" in the basement with a spot for it:)
Thanks. I believe I heard that from Leo Laporte on TWiT as well. I'm going to do it! Now the bigger issue: Will my wife kill me if I buy a nice ham rig? I do have a nice "man cave" in the basement with a spot for it:)
Depends.
A nice radio (used) can be around $1000-2000+. A nice HF rig can be $5000+. And don't forget the antenna farm you need, so if your wife cares about the backyard, it can be an issue.
(If you have a PC, a fully kitted out Flex 5000 (HF+VHF/UHF, tuner, 2nd receiver) is only around $5000. B
by Anonymous Coward writes:
on Wednesday April 18, 2012 @05:43PM (#39728353)
But you can also put together a very workable station with only a few hundred or less. My first HF rig (IC-737) I got at a flea market for $300. Strung up a simple wire antenna on the back fence and five minutes later had my first QSO with Hawaii. My first VHF/UFH mobile rig was only $200 used and spent another $75 for the antenna and mag mount.
Motivational! (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
It has been on my geek “bucket list” for many years to get my license. This story and a recent job change are just the motivation I needed to finally do it.
Now that the there's no Morse requirement, getting a tech license is trivial - any geek can do it with a couple hours glancing over a study guide. Most of the "technical" questions are common sense to anyone with a bit of electrical knowledge, so you just have to familiarize yourself with things that need to be memorized like license restrictions, power limits on various bands, etc.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Depends.
A nice radio (used) can be around $1000-2000+. A nice HF rig can be $5000+. And don't forget the antenna farm you need, so if your wife cares about the backyard, it can be an issue.
(If you have a PC, a fully kitted out Flex 5000 (HF+VHF/UHF, tuner, 2nd receiver) is only around $5000. B
Re:Motivational! (Score:1)
But you can also put together a very workable station with only a few hundred or less. My first HF rig (IC-737) I got at a flea market for $300. Strung up a simple wire antenna on the back fence and five minutes later had my first QSO with Hawaii. My first VHF/UFH mobile rig was only $200 used and spent another $75 for the antenna and mag mount.
Ham radio doesn't need to be expensive to enjoy.