I am new to Amature Radio I am awaiting for my tech licence in the mail and I am studying for the general licence now. I am also helping my Son who has aspergers and ADHD study for the Tech test. I am a SKYWarn weather spotter as well as a CoCoRaHS weather reporterand a Spotternet reporter. We want to be able to take the radio moble in the SUV as well as be able to bring it in and use it as a Base when we arnt going anywhere and we wanna chat with people. My son eventually wants to talk to the Space Station as well. My problem is cost. What would be a good cost effective one that can be mobile and base that can be used on Tech and higher licences. I am not sure if I will go higher then general but I might go all the way dont know. I could always buy a different unit when I get to the top and use the one I buy now as the mobile one only. I want to be able to report to Skywarn and chat. Any help info would be very helpful. And what do you guys think of this one
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ ... /2900.html
Thanks
Angi
Whats a good Radio to purchase?
Re: Whats a good Radio to purchase?
Angi:
To meet the needs you have described you will need two radios, a mobile unit and, perhaps, a hand held unit. Both units should be dual banded, having both VHF (2 meters) and UHF (70 cm) bands. The mobile installation will require a dual-band antenna. The dual-band antenna for the HT come with it in the box.
Don't forget, you will also need a good regulated 12 volt DC power supply for your home radio. Instead of buying a power supply which used AC power, I recommend you buy an inexpensive lawn mower battery from Wall-mart (etc.) and small low current automatic battery charger (8 amp version, perhaps). Since you interest is in weather watch, the battery and charger option will provide you power when the weather you are watching causes your electric power to to off.
You don't need to spend your hard earned money on both at the same time. You probably will want to find a mobile unit first and use it indoors until you are familiar with it and the repeaters in your area. Use it as a base station with a dual-band outside antenna. I recommend a discone antenna since it is small and does a fairly good job. Radio Shack might still have these; I'm not sure. Regardless which antenna you choose, don't rely on an inside antenna.
For mobile, if the repeaters in your area are accessible, you might need just a 5 watt HT. The advantage is you can take it with you wherever you go and will not have to install and deinstall a mobile rig in the car. You will be amazed at how far an HT with and outside mobile antenna can reach.
Congratulations on the new license. Find a ham club in your area and join. You will be amazed how much help you can get from a bunch of hams.
Cheers,
AL
K4ICL
To meet the needs you have described you will need two radios, a mobile unit and, perhaps, a hand held unit. Both units should be dual banded, having both VHF (2 meters) and UHF (70 cm) bands. The mobile installation will require a dual-band antenna. The dual-band antenna for the HT come with it in the box.
Don't forget, you will also need a good regulated 12 volt DC power supply for your home radio. Instead of buying a power supply which used AC power, I recommend you buy an inexpensive lawn mower battery from Wall-mart (etc.) and small low current automatic battery charger (8 amp version, perhaps). Since you interest is in weather watch, the battery and charger option will provide you power when the weather you are watching causes your electric power to to off.
You don't need to spend your hard earned money on both at the same time. You probably will want to find a mobile unit first and use it indoors until you are familiar with it and the repeaters in your area. Use it as a base station with a dual-band outside antenna. I recommend a discone antenna since it is small and does a fairly good job. Radio Shack might still have these; I'm not sure. Regardless which antenna you choose, don't rely on an inside antenna.
For mobile, if the repeaters in your area are accessible, you might need just a 5 watt HT. The advantage is you can take it with you wherever you go and will not have to install and deinstall a mobile rig in the car. You will be amazed at how far an HT with and outside mobile antenna can reach.
Congratulations on the new license. Find a ham club in your area and join. You will be amazed how much help you can get from a bunch of hams.
Cheers,
AL
K4ICL