s1mp13m4n
March 24, 2017, 12:10pm
21
SawMaster:
I use cheaper hand-helds but I also don’t ‘ragchew’ with them because they are not heat-sinked well and are not meant for that kind of use. Plus I am somewhat ‘rough’ with my stuff so I’d rather break a $50 radio dropping it than a $250 one haha. My ‘carry unit’ is an old Wouxun KG-UV2D from when they were good; their current stuff is junk. The Baofengs are a bargain and will do you well. I’d start there then get on the local repeaters letting it be known that I’m looking for a good cheap mobile rig, power supply, and antenna with a bit of help for doing the installation. In most places you’ll be pleasantly surprised how many people there are that will come out and set it up for you; it seems to just be a part of Ham Radio to help each other. And many of us have older but good rigs we will sell at good prices- I let a kid have an old Radio Shack mobile after a friend put in a power switch for his part of the deal and that rig is still in use by him 5 years later. Similar has happened around here numerous times with many other Hams. Just remember the ‘pecuniary interest’ rule when on the air- you can talk of prices but you can’t agree to the final buying or selling over the airwaves- you do that on the phone or in person and then you’re legal.
73
When I passed both my Tech and General, I was loaned an older GE MPD 2 meter handheld. It is already programmed with the local repeaters. I have been using it to listen a couple time a day and listen to the local HAM nets. I can not transmit yet until I get my callsign. The transceiver is old enough that it is made of metal and the power switch is on the battery pack and not the radio. LOL