Way before I got my license, I got a CCR (Cheap Chinese Radio)… When I was looking up information for new Hams, over and over folks would say the best way to learn about Ham Radio is to Listen In. Learn how to connect it to the 2m (VHF) and 70cm (UHF) repeaters you may have in the area. You’ll learn about offsets and PL Tones, stuff you need for the test! You’ll find out where the action is, when and on what repeaters the “nets” are on, and what folks are rag chewing about. I listened to local repeater traffic for many months before I took the test; I’m glad I did, even though I couldn’t join in the conversation; I had more confidence on-air when I did get my ticket, and I was on the air as soon as it posted.
You don’t need a License to posses or purchase a Radio and listen in, you just can not transmit. Like many, my first CCR was the infamous Baofeng UV-5R (pictured below). There’s plenty of controversy on the UV-5R, and all the CCR’s, especially the Baofengs. I won’t go into it here; I’ll just say, I have two of them. For $30-$40 you get an inexpensive Radio that will be a good learning tool as you figure out how to use it, connect it to a PC and program it. These are skills you need that are not covered in the Manual or Exam.
Your first Radio should be a dual-band hand held or “HT” (Ham for walkie-talkie). The bands covered should be VHF/UHF on 2 Meters and 70 Centimeters. These are the frequencies between 144-148 Mhz and 420 – 450 Mhz (respectively). At least in my area, 2m is the most active. There are tons of radios with these bands, from the Baofengs I mentioned, up to the ICOM/Yaesu/Kenwood brand transceivers for hundreds of dollars more. Most put out 5 Watts of Tx power, some do 7 or 8 Watts. IHMO: A couple of watts is not a determining factor. I wouldn’t buy anything too fancy or expensive until I knew where I was going in the hobby, and where most of my activity occurred. I’m already looking to sell off my GMRS mobile unit and quad-band mobile bought so I can upgrade to something that better suits needs.
It was much fun when my first radio arrived from Amazon… I spent the rest of the evening (and most of the next morning) learning how to
- Connect my radio to a PC with the Programming Cable (you’ll need one of those) and getting through the challenges of installing the correct drivers.
- Download and installing CHIRP, the universal freeware radio programming software on to my PC
- Learning how to use Chirp
- Download settings automatically for all the repeaters in the local area
- Download NOAA weather channels (TX = OFF)
- Download FRS and GMRS channels
Chirp connects to the Repeaterbook.com database thru the software, you can query for repeaters in your geographic area and Chirp sets them up in your radio automatically! The NOAA and FRS/GMRS is also downloaded in the same way.
It is illegal to transmit on FRS or GMRS frequencies using any radio intended for use on the Amateur Bands. Radios for FRS/GMRS must meet certain FCC requirements like maximum power, locked channels/modes, non-detachable antennas, etc, etc… It’s OK to listen, but don’t hit the PTT button, unless it’s an “emergency”.
At the time of this writing, there’s a deal for newly licensed Hams on Gigaparts.com. In collaboration with QRZ.com, they made available a free Radio and accessories for anyone Licensed in the last 30 days. The free Radio promotion ended October 2021. But there are still packages left and they are offering these at a huge discount. Until March 31, 2023, anyone Licensed in the last 6 months can get the same package discounted big-time. Maybe they’ll extend the date if they have a bunch leftover. I got one just to have as a knock-around HT. Details on the New Ham Jumpstart Program are here: https://www.qrz.com/jumpstart.
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