- Hand Held Radios (HT)
- VHF-UHF Radios
- HF and 6 Meter Radios
- Base, Mobile, and All-Band Radios
- Antennas
- Cabling, Towers, and Accessories
Welcome! You found the fun part!
Hams love their gear and love to TALK about their gear. Chances are you will too.
Remember – you cannot TRANSMIT on your new radio until you’ve successfully tested and received your license, but remember – before you are licensed, you can RECEIVE all you want. It’s not a bad idea to have some kind of radio while you’re prepping for your test. By listening to the ham bands, you’ll be able to learn about the on-the-air procedures and get a better understanding about how the much of the material you’re studying applies.
Yes, you can spend thousands of dollars on a ham station, but you don’t have to. You can save money by making smart purchases and by purchasing used equipment online, on-the-air swap nets, and at local “hamfest” gatherings. As many know, there are no shortages of online review pages, and for ham gear, here are two reliable ones – a forum QRZ.com and another at Eham.net.
While there are many online sources for new ham gear, for simplicity purposes, the product links found on this page are from the provider DX Engineering.
Ham gear is a VAST subject! The six boxes below are designed to answer the basic questions you may have and point you in the direction to make wise purchases. Read the information, check out the links, and have fun shopping!
Hand Held Radios (HT)
Convenience, Portability, Price – these are three of the top reasons why many hams have one. Convenient because you don’t have anything to pack up or set up. Portability because they are lightweight and you can use them anywhere – no need to plug into a power supply or an external antenna. Price because some models can be purchased for under $30.
And because of price, the HT is the first radio for many hams. Also, because they’re typically built to work on the VHF-UHF bands in which Technician Level hams are permitted to use. Because of the built-in antenna, most HT radios are limited to the 5-watt range due to concerns of having higher wattage that close to the person.
Baofeng – even the mention of this brand of radios stirs up controversy in many ham radio circles. Because their manufacturer, Fujian Baefeng Electronics Co., is based in China, these are criticized as being cheap and are called “illegitimate” by some. Others argue that they have put ham radios into the hands of many who cannot afford the cost of radio equipment found in many ham “shacks.” Who’s correct? That’s up to you to decide. Just know that they can get you on the VHF-UHF airwaves as is. Keep in mind – Baofengs notoriously perform better on transmit than receive. It will take a strong, close-by repeater to allow you to hear indoors with the stock antenna. You can boost the receive by going outdoors, finding an elevated location free of buildings and trees. You can also upgrade the antenna in a couple of ways. You’ll find inexpensive online 15.6″ replacement antennas which will boost both your transmit and receive capabilities. There are also external “mag-mount” mobile antennas that come with cable and a plug adapter which will help even more. These can be temporarily attached to your vehicle fender or roof. For use away from your vehicle, you will increase it’s performance by mounting it on a round, metallic plate such as a pizza pan. (See VHF-UHF Radios, programing repeaters.)
More on the HT – Even if the HT is your first radio, you’ll find it can be very useful when you’ve branched out into one or more additional radios. The portability aspect as well as their adaptability into emergency use or ham club events make them worthwhile to hang on to. Also, many VHF-UHF base and mobile radios are equipped with a feature known as “Crossbanding.” In crossband mode, the more powerful radio receives transmissions from the HT and re-transmits the signal on another frequency. Likewise, the crossbanding radio receives signals and retransmits them to the HT. In this way, the crossbanding radio can greatly extend the range of the HT. All of the major manufacturers offer high-quality HT radios. Some can connect you with a repeater equipped with one of the web-based modes like DMR, D-Star, or Wires-X (see the page EXPLORING THE MODES.)
See the BEACON LINK “Shop HT Radios” to see examples.
VHF-UHF Radios
Since the Technician Level ham is permitted to use the VHF-UHF bands, they typically serve as that first radio (besides the HT). The traffic on VHF-UHF bands is in primarily FM phone mode (see EXPLORING THE MODES). One key thing to remember about the FM phone mode the signal is known as “line of sight.” The Frequency Modulated signal does not normally bounce off the atmosphere to land hundreds or thousands of miles away as AM (amplitude modulation) or SSB (single side-band.)
The Transceiver – as with the HT radios, we are actually talking about transceivers – radios designed to both receiver and transmit radio signals, providing for 2-way communication. Your VHF-UHF transceiver is typically designed to operate with 50 watts of transmit power in phone mode. And as with some of the more sophisticated HT radios, some modes allow you to work in the web-based modes.
Repeaters – To assist hams in reaching greater distances, repeaters have sprung up all over, with over 400 just in the state of Missouri alone (see Finding Repeaters).
Repeaters are both radio club-owned and privately owned. Like crossbanding, as explained in the last section, these repeaters are designed to better receive a weaker signal and re-broadcast it with a stronger signal. Since the repeater cannot receive and transmit on the same frequency simultaneously, it utilized one frequency for transmitting and a different one for receiving. A repeater is typically located in an elevated location and equipped with a tower-mounted antenna to enhance its performance.
Simplex – Many hams enjoy communicating on the VHF-UHF bands WITHOUT the use of a repeater, or simplex. Without a repeater involved, transmit and receive happens on a single frequency. Frequently used simplex frequencies can also be programmed into the radio for quick access.
See the BEACON LINK “Shop VHF-UHF Radios” to see examples.
Find your amateur radio gear - Ham Hand Held Radios (HT), VHF-UHF Radios, HF and 6 Meter Radios, Base, Mobile, and All-Band Radios Antennas, Cabling, Towers, and Accessories.
HF-6 Meter Radios
As we outline in the Getting Licensed section, the second class of radio licenses is General Class. With the general class license, you will be allowed to work a good portion of HF bands (160-10) and 6 Meters. The Extra Class license privileges allow you access to ALL of the ham bands. Working these bands will give you access to long-distance (DX) communications.
Standard transceivers generally work the 160-6 meter frequency range, transmitting with 100 watts of power. They typically allow you to communicate in AM and Single Sideband phone modes as well as CW mode (see Exploring the Modes). With modifications, they can interface with your computer so you can operate in the digital modes as well.
Differences in models include the front panel design. While the more traditionally designed models display your operating frequency via a slide rule dial or a digital readout. Other more modern designs provide a waterfall display of the radio band. The waterfall reveals the active band radio traffic, allowing you to find the on-the-air activity. Some hams prefer the traditional display, others prefer the waterfall.
See the BEACON LINK “Shop HF-6 Meter Radios” to see examples.
See the BEACON LINK “US Amateur Radio Bands” for which frequencies, bands, and modes are permitted for each license level.
Base, Mobile, and All-Band Radios
Base-Mobile – There was a time when transceivers were design specifically for either base (home, indoors) or mobile (car, truck) operation. That line has been blurred of late as most radios can be used for either operation. Designed for operation to be connected to DC power, smaller radios typically used in mobile applications draw power from the vehicle 12 volt battery. Larger radios typically used in base operation also draw DC power, but in those cases from a DC power supply which converts from 110 volt AC power. While some of the larger transceivers work well in base operation, they may be a bit bulky for use in a vehicle. Conversely, some of the more compact designs work well, some hams choose them to operate as a base radio. In either case, this becomes the choice of the ham.
All-Band Radios – Sometimes known as a “shack in a box,” these transceivers are designed for the bands 160-6 meter in AM, SSB, or CW modes as well as VHF and UHF FM phone mode. For the ham that doesn’t want to invest in multiple radios, this might be an attractive option. CLICK to see examples.
Antennas
VHF-UHF Antennas – In your studying for your license, there is quite a bit of information regarding how antennas work. A general rule, these antennas are vertically designed, base or mobile. Base antennas are typically of a ground plane design – a taller vertical radiator with shorter horizontal radials. CLICK to see examples. Mobile antennas tend to be short, some with permanent mounts, others with temporary “mag-mounts. CLICK to see examples.
HF-6 Meter Antennas — This is an extremely VAST category of products. Base antenna designs include wire antennas, verticals, dipoles, end-fed antennas (CLICK to see examples), and directional antennas such as beams and yagis (see Beacon Link below). Some products are designed for a specific band while others are multi-band. . The wire-type antennas can be used for “field day,” where hams are required to compete from a temporary outdoor location. Mobile antennas, due to the longer wave length, tend to be longer than the VHF-UHF mobiles.
Stealth Antennas – For many reasons, some hams seek outdoor antennas that blend in with the surroundings and draw little or no attention – “stealthy.” These antennas help in housing areas with strict COA rules as well as with spouses who would really prefer not to announce visually that they have a ham radio inside. These antennas include vertical flagpole designs, available from some manufacturers to operate on multiple bands but look just like a flag pole. Many of the wire antennas can be hard to spot but yet provide good performance. Loop and J-pole antennas have been disguised to appear as a plant or part of a statue. Other hams set up, quite successfully, hide their antenna installations in their attic.
Cabling, Towers, and Accessories
Cabling – coax cable with appropriate connectors is the universal method of connecting a ham transceiver to a base or mobile antenna. Pricing of cable is affected by the thickness and shielding – the greater shielding, the lower the signal loss in the transmit mode. Two standard connector types exits – N connectors and the PL-259. Make sure you are using the type required for your antenna.
Towers – antenna height can be key to determining the performance of a an antenna. Towers not only help with raising antenna height but typically serve to mount multiple antennas at once.
Accessories – This is also a very large category of products. Most common are DC power supplies, meters for optimizing antenna or radio performance, equipment covers, mobile mounts, and microphone upgrades. General and Extra Class operators take advantage of maximum power allowances in the HF bands by adding a power amplifier. CLICK to see examples. Accessories always give the ham operator new and fun things to add to the experience.
BEACON LINKS
Baofeng Radios and Accessories
Examples found at Amazon.com
CHIRP Programing Software
Program your Baofeng repeaters with this free open-source software.
Shop HT Radios
Examples found at DX Engineering
Shop VHF-UHF Radios
Examples found at DX Engineering
RT Systems Programing Software
For specific radios, found at DX Engineering
Shop HF-6 Meter Radios
Examples found at DX Engineering
US Amateur Radio Bands
Download a printable copy to post
Shop Directional Antennas
Examples found at DX Engineering
Shop for Towers
Examples found at DX Engineering
The Eastern Missouri Beacon Contact Form
The Eastern Missouri BEACON is a non-profit website that exists solely to serve as a resource for amateur radio enthusiasts. Owned, designed, and maintained by Ray-KE0YXX.
