HAM certification

Awesome stuff gents. I appreciate all the input. I think im definetly going to get the baofeng uv5r. I'll probably order It on Monday along with a ham technicians license book for around $50 shipped. Hard to beat for an entry into the world of HAM!
 
For what it's worth, I read the ARRL tech manual cover to cover over a few weeks. Yeah, some of it is bedtime material, but I learned a bit. I took the practice test at the end of each section and re-read the parts I missed.

If you'd like explanation on any of the topics, give me a holler. I'm no electrical engineer, but I'd be happy to explain what I can and the tech level is well within your grasp.

I've been thinking about getting a couple of those Chinese radios... One for each vehicle's get-home bag and one for the wife's purse (got her licensed a week before our first baby. Good to have comms, just in case!).
 
West's book - read once thoroughly for all the info, ham history, etc. Before the test session, skimmed the question and answer only in the book, took a few practice tests online passing them easily and finished the test in about 5 minutes.
 
I would like to get mine as well. I've been taking the practice exams through different apps I've downloaded to my phone. But for some hands on I'm having trouble finding someone in my area. But I'll keep practicing until then.

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I want to get mine as well, there is a local club that runs training and I think actually administers the test so I will be watching their site for classes.
 
I'm holding out for the HAM license to go the way of the CB license (for those that remember them, no test, just a fee).

Not sure that it was that exact radio that Scott (poriggity) posted, but we were using some of the cheap Chinese radios at King of the Hammer's, they worked every bit as good as the name brand units, at least for our needs.
 
bob91yj said:
I'm holding out for the HAM license to go the way of the CB license (for those that remember them, no test, just a fee).

Not sure that it was that exact radio that Scott (poriggity) posted, but we were using some of the cheap Chinese radios at King of the Hammer's, they worked every bit as good as the name brand units, at least for our needs.
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I don't think that will happen. The Ham bands have never gotten out of control like CB did. With the demand for bandwidth by industry, giving up any of the amateur bands would set a bad precedent. Between CB and GMRS there is plenty of bandwidth for those that aren't willing to test. There is also some danger with RF exposure when using higher wattages if installed or used incorrectly.


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brentbba said:
West's book - read once thoroughly for all the info, ham history, etc. Before the test session, skimmed the question and answer only in the book, took a few practice tests online passing them easily and finished the test in about 5 minutes.
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That was the same method I took, though I made sure I was getting 90-100% on the practice tests before scheduling.
 
poriggity said:
I've been reading up on other places about the Baofeng UV5R combo package found at the above amazon link, and everything I have read is very positive, and I think it would be a great "starter" radio, to get into HAM radio operation. There's a guy on another forum making 14 gauge steel mounts for these as well, so they can be mounted inside a vehicle.


Scott
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Got a link for the bracket?
 
Easiest mount for a hand held is the conventional CB microphone mount...button on the back of the radio, conventional microphone clip mount we've been using for years. Works great for me, easy to mount in limited space, cheap if you have multiple vehicles.
 
Many of the smaller handhelds these days aren't coming with the option to put a mic clip button on the back, they're coming with a full clip pre-installed, non-removable! The bracket in the link accommodates the built in clip for the Baofeng radio.
 
poriggity said:
Yes, those are the brackets I was speaking of. I wasn't sure about posting a link to an outside forum here, as some places don't like having links on their site that lead to "competitor" (not that we're competing for anything, since we're all in it for the same reasons).
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That is one of the great things about this site. It is not a bad thing to post from another site, it is about helping out everyone here and sharing information
 
BlkWgn said:
That is one of the great things about this site. It is not a bad thing to post from another site, it is about helping out everyone here and sharing information
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Agreed, I dig it! Love this place!

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