10-4 AC/DC dB GHz WTF?

December 7, 2005 7:21 PM

We're thinking of buying my dad a Ham Radio for Christmas. I know nothing about them and don't know where to even start. Help!

When he was a kid in Mexico, he had a ham radio and loved it. He's a real gadget guy and we think it would be fun to give him one for Christmas. Seriously, we have no idea even where to begin - pretend money is no object, though on Froogle they seem to be around $200.

Which one should I buy for someone that would definitely be an amateur again, isn't afraid of knobs and turny bits but isn't an electrical engineer, and doesn't need the fanciest one on the market, but not the one that only works down the block either.

What else do you need? Headphones? Is there a great book? Any wires that aren't obvious? This would be used at home (not in the car?!) and doesn't really need to be portable. I'm not sure of other parameters that matter. Can you help me? 10-4, over and out.

posted by fionab to technology (9 comments total)

I would recommend this book.
He'll need a liscense to operate on HAM radio frequencies... Maybe a CB would be better for starters?
posted by ktrey at 7:34 PM on December 7, 2005

Keep in mind that in the US you need an FCC license to broadcast through a ham radio. (Licenses, as I understand it, are inexpensive but do require that the licensee pass a test.)

Here are some reviews of transceivers.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 7:35 PM on December 7, 2005

QRZ is a good place to start. They have a page that explains how your dad would go about getting a license. Gordon West writes a lot of (IMHO) good books about getting a Ham radio license. Your best bet might be to find a ham radio club in your area and seek their advice. A ham in your area might have equipment they would sell you cheaply.

I am a ham, but just a Technician class punk with a 2 meter rig. There has to be a more experienced MeFi ham who can give you additional advice.

On preview: My licensing test was given free by a local ham radio club, and there are on-line practice tests.
posted by Fat Guy at 7:39 PM on December 7, 2005

Oh, right, he's in Canada now. Not the US.
posted by fionab at 7:48 PM on December 7, 2005

I have an interest in this as well, FWIW. My girlfriend already has her license (KC2JCX!) and I was thinking of seeding her ham shack for xmas (if you know what I mean...). I would love to see any answers to the poster's question.

I mean buying her a beginner's ham radio, ya perv.
posted by TonyRobots at 8:24 PM on December 7, 2005

I'm like your dad: a ham decades ago, but no longer licensed. You might think about giving him a shortwave receiver instead of a ham transceiver. It requires no license/certificate, and would give him a chance to catch up on the hobby a bit and explore different areas of interest. The hobby has probably changed a lot from his earlier experience. A ham transceiver could come later if his interest is rekindled, and he'd probably have very specific views on what features were important to him at that point.

I don't know enough about current shortwave models to make a recommendation, but he'd definitely want single sideband (SSB) capability. You can find one with plenty of bells and whistles for the gadget enthusiast, for well under $200.
posted by Snerd at 8:32 PM on December 7, 2005

I've got a Kenwood TH-K2 handheld unit, which handles the 2m band. I use it mostly in my car, with an antenna magmounted on the roof.

It would also work for use in a house; I use it to listen (though not transmit, yet) from inside the basement I'm in and it picks up the local radio club's repeater just fine.

Really though, what to buy comes down to what your dad wants to do with it. If it's just talking on to people nearly, something like the TH-2K (or really, any 2M transceiver, for that matter) will suffice. If he wants to try making contact with people in other countries, you'll want to get something that can transmit and receive HF bands (which generally get more distance than the 2M band's VHF).

Usually, the biggest thing affecting 'performance' is the antenna. There are people out there with huge (~200ft or taller) antennas, and there are people that use the basic antenna that comes with the unit. Again, what to get depends on what your dad wants to do with it; the basic "rubber duck" antenna (the type included with handheld units) is generally good enough for talking with people nearby (with a basic antenna, I can get at least the 10 miles or so to the repeater).

73s,
KC2ONL
posted by Godbert at 8:36 PM on December 7, 2005

need the fanciest one on the market, but not the one that only works down the block either.

That question is really a matter of preference - what does he like about the hobby? Ragchewing with geezers across town on 2m or 220/440? Lite DX on 6m FM or SSB? The hobby is pretty navel-gazing with, IMHO, a lot of 'lurking' or passive monitoring... which is fairly boring on VHF/UHF where you pretty much have a limited pool of folks viz. propagation and power (higher the frequency the shorter the possible communication distance). But, hey, some people love this slice of life.

If he has nostalgia for listening to shortwave (tactile sensation of tuning through a band, foreign stations &c) I'd recommend getting just a standalone multi-mode HF receiver (Kenwood and Icom both make fine models) that can do the amateur bands (SSB, CW, AM) and the AM shortwave stations (numbers stations, VOA, fringe religious broadcasters, maritime traffie/ship-to-shore &c). Pair this with a G5RV dipole if you have the space. Doesn't need a license to listen. Here's a nice consumer Sony for auction that supports external antenna and does SSB, here's an Icom R71 communications reciever - solid rig.

As far as test preparation - I recommend the Now You're Talking! series from ARRL.

Here's a hamfest list - might be easier just to bring him to one and let him limn his curiousity.

73s de KE4CXF
posted by cottoncandyhammer at 11:38 PM on December 7, 2005 [1 favorite]

Ooh, the maritime ship-to-shore thing would be cool (this is in Vancouver). I might go that route, but maybe this is better for him to figure out, as I don't really know what aspect of it he'd like - he's never had one as long as I've been alive, and I'm sure all of this has changed considerably since he had his little radio on the roof in Mexico City in the 50s. Thank you all for your help and suggestions - I'll post a follow-up if we end up buying one for him.
posted by fionab at 9:07 AM on December 8, 2005