I have some new radios! I’ve been researching, and pricing, and looking, and… well… its hard to know what direction to go as a new ham. But, my son, who is a ham already, offered up some radios he’s not using anymore, so now I have something to start with. Nothing like a couple of freebies to set your direction for you!
Prior to getting these radios, I had made up my mind that I wanted to start super simple and get a single band (2m) mobile that could double as a mobile, and a base station. All of the local repeaters that I can hit with my HT are cross band repeaters (2m & 70cm). I can’t hit them on 70 cm, but I can hit them on 2m. My logic was that if I can hit them on 2m, and its retransmitted on 70 cm, what was the point in having a dual band radio? I knew good and well that I would eventually get a dual band radio, but just to start out, I wanted to keep it simple.
I was texting with my son, telling him what I wanted to do, and first he told me I should just go ahead and get a dual band radio, and that I was being silly. Then, he said if I didn’t want to get a dual band, that he had a single band radio that I could have, an old Yaesu FT-2500M. I wanted to start simple, but whats more simple than getting a free radio, and figuring it out from there?? He told me it was old, and that he never actually plugged it in, so he isn’t even sure if it works.
He also said I could have his QYT KT-980 Plus that he started out with so that when I was done messing with silly single band radios, I would have a dual band radio to use. He said the reason why he never used the Yaesu was because he got the QYT, and didn’t see the need in messing with one band when he had 2!
He also offered up a couple of other radios for sale… a TYT MD-UV390 handheld radio, and a TYT MD-9600 mobile. Both of these are DMR radios. I haven’t even gotten on the air yet, and I already have a couple of DMR radios. I know digital radio is something I want to play with, just not yet. Right now, I just want to be able to hit a repeater and have someone answer me! These will probably sit for a little while before I jump into that world.
I still need a few things… programming cables, coax, and a power source. All of these things are on order now, I’m just waiting…. PATIENTLY…. for them to get here. For a power source I picked a TekPower TP30SWI switching power supply. Its 30 amps, which should be plenty enough to last me for the foreseeable future. I got a 50 ft section of PL259 coax, which should be plenty for now. I also got a Nagoya UT-72 mag mount antenna for mobile use. For home use, I already have a Tram 1480 that I purchased a few years ago on sale. I just need to get it mounted somewhere.
I think for now, I’m going to mount my Tram antenna in my attic. I have a spare bedroom where I’ll be setting up my radios for a little while. I can drill a hole in the closet ceiling to run my coax. This keeps things short and easy, plus by having the antenna in my attic, it keeps me from having to ground it. I don’t feel it necessary to have lightning protection for something that’s in my attic. If my house gets struck by lightning, these radio’s are the least of my concern. I’m also running into conflicting information as to whether attic antennas need to be grounded for better reception. I’m going to try it with no ground for now and see what happens, and if reception is an issue, I’ll ground it and see if it gets better.
Eventually, I will move my radios to my basement, and have an outside antenna tower. But I have a lot of planning to do to make that happen, so for now, I’m going to be thankful for my blessings, and work with what I have. Maybe I won’t need a ground for my antenna. Maybe I’ll be able to talk to Nova Scotia. I’m just going to play with it, and see what works and what doesn’t. After all, isn’t ham radio supposed to be an art? Sometimes art requires a little trial and error.