Getting Started
Now that I was licensed, I needed a radio. Being new, I didn't really know what aspect of amateur radio would interest me the most, so I was hesitant to run out and buy a radio. Fortunately my father has been in this hobby for a good number of years and happened to have a Yaesu FT-847 that he was willing to donate to the cause.
The FT-847 is a touch overwhelming when you first put eyes on it. It is a quad-band radio (HF/6m/2m/70cm) with dual VFOs. There are 4 antenna inputs on the back, but I didn't have any!
Sticking with the theme of not wanting to invest in too much permanent infrastructure before I decided what aspect of ham radio I was interested in, I went with some simple non-permanent antennas. For HF I ordered the HyEndFed Portable 4 Band Antenna Ultra Light Mini 100 Watt antenna. It is resonant on 10, 15, 20 & 40 meters, is lightweight and requires relatively little infrastructure to deploy. I threw a rope up in the backyard pine tree, hauled up the antenna and was in business!
Since the FT-847 has separate inputs for 2m & 70cm, I picked up two antennas from N9TAX. A dual band model for 2m & 70cm (I use this on the 70cm port) and the original N9TAX Slim Jim one for just 2m. Both can easily be hoisted in the air and connected quickly.
I haven't done anything for 6m yet...
The FT-847 is a touch overwhelming when you first put eyes on it. It is a quad-band radio (HF/6m/2m/70cm) with dual VFOs. There are 4 antenna inputs on the back, but I didn't have any!
Sticking with the theme of not wanting to invest in too much permanent infrastructure before I decided what aspect of ham radio I was interested in, I went with some simple non-permanent antennas. For HF I ordered the HyEndFed Portable 4 Band Antenna Ultra Light Mini 100 Watt antenna. It is resonant on 10, 15, 20 & 40 meters, is lightweight and requires relatively little infrastructure to deploy. I threw a rope up in the backyard pine tree, hauled up the antenna and was in business!
Since the FT-847 has separate inputs for 2m & 70cm, I picked up two antennas from N9TAX. A dual band model for 2m & 70cm (I use this on the 70cm port) and the original N9TAX Slim Jim one for just 2m. Both can easily be hoisted in the air and connected quickly.
I haven't done anything for 6m yet...
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