I think another reason a mobile-base at home will be a huge learning advantage , is the task of setting up a station from scratch . Hoping a newbie has a good Elmer and teaches the operator about antenna height, SWR-Reflect , coax loss , velocity factor , types of antennas for different bands , making cheap effective dipoles , or copper tube J-Poles , etc Basically the stuff I had to learn the hard way and go down a rabbit hole until I found a few good Elmers many years later
@ugsisr
16 күн бұрын
I went backwards and a Handheld was my first radio. I get your point and it holds water.. Thanks
@michaeltyniec7010
15 күн бұрын
Great video! Trying to determine my first radio and after watching this I may lean toward a mobile unit instead of HT.
@Xanavi
Ай бұрын
Buying an HT worked out great for me in Milwaukee, 30 repeaters available that you can sound decent on with a quarter-wave antenna.
@SK-rj1ti
Ай бұрын
We are lucky here. I can listen to the 145.130 and 443.800 repeaters with the antenna removed:) I can also hit a few more distant GMRS repeaters (eg Racine, New Berlin) with just a 5 watt HT. Unfortunately, this may not be the case for folks living elsewhere.
@rogersherrill5741
25 күн бұрын
Thanks Keith you certainly helped me
@patthesoundguy
Ай бұрын
It's about managing expectations... Most newbs expect so much more than a small 5 watt HT will deliver. An HT is just another tool in the tool box and it has some uses but the mobile is going to be a better investment to get some real results. This video is the honest truth. I started out before getting licensed with a UV-5R to listen in on the action and I already knew long before what the limitations were going to be. I have a bunch of Hats hanging around but I also have mobiles in the vehicles and one in the house with a good quality antenna on the roof and it's well worth the investment because they work so much better.
@ericblair3009
Ай бұрын
I got a mobile unit and generally used it at home, later I got an HT which I use daily.... a friend got an HT first and tried to use it for a weekly net from his basement.... he could never get anyone other than me to talk with him[i lived on the same block] and I had to relay for him to the net..... Generally I concur with you....
@neillewis181
Ай бұрын
I completely agree. I live out in the country. I do have an ht, however it is useless around home. I have a mobile rig as a base set up. It will crossband repeat. Using the crossband repeat feature, then I can use my ht,but it is still not the best. The ht is fine if I go into town. Thanks for another great video, N2NRL
@JohnSScott2
Ай бұрын
As a new licensee (KQ4TAF), I think you're dead on, Keith. Would have loved to have heard this before I got my license and bought the HT. I've had my license for 45 days, and have been able to do some listening on my HT, but no conversations. Out in the middle of the trees in Beech Bluff, the HT doesn't have the range to get out. Currently shopping for a mobile ...
@SK-rj1ti
Ай бұрын
With a good outside antenna even an HT might work wonders. Just make sure to get a good HT (a superhet) whose RX won't overload when connected to such an antenna. Wouxun superhet HTs are excellent and are generally cheaper than the YIKes.
@Kq4hcuDan
10 күн бұрын
I agree, and I almost got discouraged although i was gifted a uv5r i like it. I ended getting a ft-817 but its complicated and frustrating for me at times i have a nice vertical hf antenna and a crummy 2m/70cm antenna mag mount. I do have a ADI ar-147 and a Kenwood tm-221a im saving up for a antenna, coax and power supply. I really should get a elmer but i suspect the local radio club in my area. 73, kq4hcu
@Kq4hcuDan
10 күн бұрын
I wouldn't mind obtaining a xeigu sdr HF radio, mountain-topper radio, pixie HF radio, htx-100 and, a ft-891 eventually.
@GG-vx7gi
Ай бұрын
I agree that a h/t with rubber duck may be disappointing. However, I got a moderate base antenna at about 20 feet as well as a mobile mag mount for car. Using an h/t with those, Ive been able to use for all my local repeater and simplex needs. Although my h/t is a Yaesu, I dont criticize anyone for having a Chinese made radio. That kind of attitude is what will drive more people away than anything else. Certainly the Japanese radios are of much better quality, but most Chinese h/ts sound just as good on the air.
@denzilbritt2314
Ай бұрын
A base or mobile radio as a base with a good antenna is much more fun and capable than an HT.
@geraldscott4302
Ай бұрын
First things first. DO NOT buy a Chinese radio. Of any kind. Not only are they garbage, but you are helping the enemy by buying their garbage. Second, unless you live right next to a repeater, a handheld is worthless. I have a Yaesu FT60-R, 5 watts, with a longer antenna, and live about 7 miles from a repeater. That repeater is on top of a mountain almost 1500 feet higher than my house. I can't even hit it from inside the house. I can climb up on the roof with it, and hit the repeater, but it does not have enough power to maintain reliable communications. I can connect it to my 12V power supply in the house, and to my 2 meter outdoor antenna, which is up about 20 feet above the house, and use it on that one repeater. I can hit a couple of other local repeaters with it, but not well enough to maintain reliable communications. It does make a good receiver, especially when connected to an external antenna. So for me, a handheld is mostly useless. It has to be connected to a power supply and an outdoor antenna to even use the closest repeater, 7 miles away and 1500 feet up. So yes, I would have to agree that a handheld has VERY limited use. If you are in a large group of amateurs, like at a hamfest, then you can talk to them on simplex on a handheld. What you want is a mobile radio. You can get them in different power levels, 2 meter only, 2 meter/70cm dual band, and even 2 meter/70cm/220 triband. But almost nobody uses 220, and there are no 220 repeaters in my area. I have a few mobile radios, but the one I use the most often is my Yaesu FT2900R. It's 2 meters only, which is mostly what I use, cost me around $140 brand new (don't forget you can get used name brand radios that are light years ahead of the chinese JUNK) and has a max RF output of 75 watts. Used at home, with my Jetstream switching power supply (about $100) and connected to my Diamond dual band base antenna (about $150) on a 20 foot mast, I can use repeaters almost 100 miles away with 75 watts. I live in AZ, am a member of the EAARS (Eastern Arizona Amateur Radio Society) and we have a network of interconnected repeaters that cover a good part of AZ, NM, and CO. I have made contacts over 300 miles away on that system with my 75 watt radio, and an outside antenna. Yes, with the radio, power supply, coax, antenna, mast, and some miscellaneous bits and pieces, it's going to cost you around $500. But you will have a nice reliable system that you can talk long distance on (using repeaters of course) I would avoid HF if you just got your technician license. 10 meters and 6 meters is dead most of the time, and unless you are REALLY into code, there is really not much there for a technician. I got my novice and technician licenses in 1988, but didn't get my general until 2009, because I was unable to pass the 13 wpm general code test. I barely passed the 5 wpm novice test. I do not like code. You might want to get a used HF radio (you can find them at a hamfest or even on eBay for decent prices, put up a wire antenna if you have the room, so you can listen to it and see if it sounds interesting to you) If you think it is something you would like, the general class test no longer requires code and is pretty easy to pass. The big expense with HF is the antenna. Unlike VHF/UHF, HF needs a whopper of an antenna. My current HF antenna only works on 20 meters and 40 meters.
@nativetexan9776
Ай бұрын
So, I am going to go buy 10 mtrs and 6 mtrs, 2 bands that are rarely open and just sit around for weeks and wait for band openings so I can talk to people. And technician privilege CW is not where most hams want to start out with. HTs are a good way to get over mic fright and to figure out whether they like radio before they go spending hundreds to thousands of dollars.
@geraldscott4302
Ай бұрын
I agree that HF is not the place for a new technician to be. But unless you literally live within a mile of a repeater, an HT is pretty much worthless, other than as a receiver.
@Kq4hcuDan
10 күн бұрын
Ive seen power supplys that cost 20 bucks
@BarticusMax
Ай бұрын
Totally and unequivocally disagree!! The cost effectiveness of an HT is unbeatable!! Most of your distance estimations, which may apply to flat and difficult terrain, are dreadfully pessimistic. I admit I am spoiled, on the front range of the rocky mountains I can easily simplex 30-40 miles, and use repeaters well over a hundred miles away!! I certainly live in an excellent low power uhf/vhf environment, so I take issue with your “most” and “ usually” blanket statements!!! I also cordially invite you to come visit Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and I would be pleased to show you what “most” guys do out here with 5 watts and a small beam!!
@geraldscott4302
Ай бұрын
You can get the 80 WATT Yaesu FT-2980R mobile for $170. SIXTEEN TIMES the RF output of a 5 watt handheld. You won't always need that much power, but it's nice to have it if you can't get through with lower power. Remember, it's the RF leaving the antenna that counts. 80 watts will make a mobile omni directional antenna work like a huge beam with 5 watts. If you want to get into QRP later, that's fine. But a beginner needs something that works without being too finicky.
@LightningSpeed64
Ай бұрын
I agree. We’ve got multiple repeaters in the hills around Boise, and I can hit them easily from 30miles away with my baofeng. I can also attach my Yaesu FT5D to the base antenna 20ft above my house, and hit repeaters 60-70miles away with 5 watts. Not everybody lives down in the hollers.
@scottfranklin6186
Ай бұрын
My first radio was htx202!
@geraldscott4302
Ай бұрын
My first radio was a Kenwood TH215 handheld, back in 1988. That was almost a $400 radio at the time. And I quickly discovered it was worthless by itself. I put a mobile antenna on my truck, connected the radio to the cigarette lighter plug, and drove to within range of the closest repeater, and had to set there in the truck to use it. I now only use both VHF/UHF and HF from the comfort of my home. Traffic is so bad where I live I no longer take the risk of using a radio while driving.
@UltraZelda64
Ай бұрын
I think I'd rather cut all the bullshit and juse use GMRS/FRS or MURS. Far less crap to worry about and no test. The main disadvantage is that repeaters aren't as plentiful as in ham (there are none within range of where I live).
@SK-rj1ti
Ай бұрын
MURS shines in the woods, but sucks in the city. My buddy and I tried MURS in a concrete building. We couldn't hear each other from a 100 yards away. FRS/GMRS worked like nobody's business. FRS/GMRS works pretty well in the woods, too. All things considered (inexpensive license that covers your family, more power, removable antennas, repeaters), I would totally suggest going with GMRS.
@ncphotos
27 күн бұрын
Great video! de W2CSI
@dennistate5953
Ай бұрын
If it is or has to be get a mag mount antenna, a round metal baking tray, a cheap or homemade dipole, and a robust battery supply. I made do for a while. de kf4vbd.❤
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