New to Ham Radio and needs some answers please!!!

[alabamaguy]

Hey everybody,

I am very interested in obtaining my ham license but I have some questions...

What website can I use to find out where I can take my test? Also, where can I get the book or whatever else is needed to study for my test?

Also, if I pass my test, I am interested in buying a mobile radio to put in my pickup truck. I currently have a CB but was planning on replacing the CB and CB antenna with the Ham radio and whatever Ham antenna I use. What would be the best mobile ham radio for the money that would cover all the bases???

Oh, and please make your answers as easy for me to understand as possible. LOL!!! When I say I know nothing about Ham radio, I really know nothing.

Thanks guys!

[John_D]

Hi and welcome to the forum. For all info about US ham radio have a look here. It is the governing body for the hobby in the US.
http://www.arrl.org/

[alabamaguy]

Thanks for the reply John, I will take a look at the web site today.

Can anyone tell me about what mobile radio to look into?

[John_D]

What mobile radio/
Well it depends on a lot of factors.
1. Do you want to use FM and work through repeaters?
2. So you want to sue SSB and seek longer distance contacts?
3. Do you prefer HF bands and seek inter-continental qso?
I have the Kenwood TM255 which is a mobile SSB and FM transceiver. it runs 5 watts or 40 watts output.

[K5RFD]

The first thing is to pass the test and get your license. There is a bit of a learning curve unless you have some background in electronics and/or communications. I had neither, but passed the test just fine and within a year had my General license - this was in the 5 word code days.

The ARRL website referenced earlier is the place to start. They sell the books for the tests, which are excellent. They give you the questions and the answers plus some explanation if I remember correctly. Study about 10 to 15 questions a day for a few weeks and check the site for a local testing group. There is a small fee but I don't know what it is anymore ($10?).

Just studying for the test will give you a lot of information about what is possible with different radios and what different frequencies are best for. From there, you can think about what you want to do with Ham radio and decide what kind of rig to get. There are some factors to keep in mind.

VHF/UHF is the most commonly used mobile frequency set. Everything from Skywarn to local emergency services use these frequencies. They are not terribly long range which is the reason for repeaters (you'll learn about this when you study for the test). With the right antenna, a decent rig and enough power, however, you can hit repeaters up to 60 miles away . . . sometimes more, but don't count on it. There are a LOT of VHF/UHF repeaters out there and ARRL publishes a book and CD with almost all of them. Its an ideal way to start (along with joining a local ham club).

HF gives you greater distance, but these frequencies are used less for emergency work. They are, however, a lot of fun and quite interesting particularly if you get into intercontinental DXing and such. The tricky bit with running an HF rig mobile is that A) the equipment is often larger (not always) B) the equipment is often more expensive and C) antennae are significantly larger and more complex. Even VHF/UHF antennae can be long, but you need dramatically more antenna for HF. It can be done, however, and many people do it - but you may want to 'work up' to running HF mobile.

That having been said, there are multi-band radios available with antennas designed to handle any frequency with the aid of a tuner (more stuff you'll learn when you study). Those can be great, but the more technology pumped into a radio, the more chance of stuff going wrong. My suggestion is to start simple with a VHF/UHF dual band radio (144 and 440 MHZ) and work your way up. They are easy to install, the antennas are not nightmarishly expensive (usually) and you can be up and running with minimal experience. Then, start making contacts locally and you'll find a lot of guys who will be more than happy to help you learn and grow in the hobby.

I, personally, run a Kenwood, but I've had a Iaesu which was a rock - you could drive a truck over it (literally, don't ask me how I know) and it would keep working. Alinco and Icom are also good bets. For the cheap end, you can find stuff at Radio Shack, but sometimes they don't work the way they should.

Good luck and 73!

K5RFD

[Gringogigante]

What mobile radio/
Well it depends on a lot of factors.
1. Do you want to use FM and work through repeaters?
2. So you want to sue SSB and seek longer distance contacts?
3. Do you prefer HF bands and seek inter-continental qso?
I have the Kenwood TM255 which is a mobile SSB and FM transceiver. it runs 5 watts or 40 watts output.

When the OP said, "Oh, and please make your answers as easy for me to understand as possible. LOL!!! When I say I know nothing about Ham radio, I really know nothing" I think he may be refering to this kind of ham-speak. Can you explain what all that means?

[m0bov]

Best to do some reading and research, purchase a few books from ARRL, get yourself a shortwave radio and maybe a cheap scanner and play with that. Find your local ham club and visit them.

[K7KBN]

Define "cover all the bases".

73
Pat K7KBN