Comments By Scott Nasby KB8ZO
New & soon to be new hams ask all the time what radio should I get.
Hand Held Radio's
I say go for your budget alloys you too buy. But a free radio is always good, The QRZ Explorer program located on the Gigaparts webpage has a free bundle, When the program is going on. If it’s not running Radio is Just under $60..00 and VHF & UHF This radio is a antilog only. This means you cannot get on Digital modes.
Another low cost radio is the Baofeng UV5R it retails for $45.00 or so and you can get it locally at Keller Survival in Cross Lanes or you can get it on Amazon and wait 2 to 3 days. These radio's have gotten a bad rap. But you can’t beat a low cost VHF & UHF radio. It’s a difficult radio to program by hand. Free software is available called chirp. But I prefer RT Systems. This radio is a antilog only. This means you cannot get on Digital modes.
Now if your budget can afford $165.00 to $180.00 radio I hole hearty recommend a Yeasu FT70 D. Still a low cost radio in my books with other running $300 to $600 You can get these from Ham Radio Outlet, Gigaparts, DX Engineering. It is UHF,VHF and C4FM. This radio is the easiest to hand program, But you can get software from RT Systems. C4FM is a digital mode with great clarity WVAR has a C4FM repeater in Scott Depot. This mode will get you in to other repeaters or nodes up to Wheeling or Morgantown. Being A digital radio you can even connect to a MMDVM or Open spot. And the possibility are endless.
Base Radio's
The Common Radio used in the club is the Yeasu 991A this also known as a radio shack in a box
160 Meters through 70 Centimeters - SSB/CW/FM/C4FM Digital/AM,100 Watts (2 Meter / 70 Centimeter: 50 Watts) of Solid Output Power Performance. C4FM is a digital mode with great clarity WVAR has a C4FM repeater in Scott Depot. This mode will get you in to other repeaters or nodes up to Wheeling or Morgantown. Being A digital radio you can even connect to a MMDVM or Open spot. And the possibility are endless.
Antennas.