Checking In

[kmoeg]

Just wanted to sign in and let everyone know, I’ve passed the Technician’s test last night and I’m anxiously awaiting listing on the FCC website. I’m newer than the newest noobie so I seeking a lot of advise. For one, I don’t own a radio, and don’t know where to start. I appreciate any advise you have to offer. Thanks everyone

Best regards,
Moe

[w5olm]

Congratulations on passing your test, and welcome to the forum.

Lee Manning
w5olm

[W9WLS]

Give US an idea, of what part of the country you live in, what you think you are interested in in ham radio, how far you think you want to go in the hobby, and in general , more information.
As far as manufactures go, MY preferences are, Yaesu, Icom, & Kenwood in that order, for either VHF/UHF or HF.
Just like cars & trucks, each maker has it's very good, good, and not so good products, and just because it is a big $$ rig doesn't mean it's the best, YOU have to decide which is best for you and your situation.
Be cautious of used equipment, especially on E-Bay.
Otherwise, Ask, someone here will have an opinion or experience with what ever there is out there, also check the reviews on "E-Ham . net and QST.
73 & Welcome to the Hobby and the Group !, John

[kmoeg]

Thanks W5OLM and W9WLS, I'm just south of Atlanta, GA and as a kid was interested in DXing. Radio got me interested again, and I have found there are way too many rabbit trails for me to explore to know what I want to do. I guess I need to start out small and just listen around the neighborhood for a while. But I still have that interest in DXing and now that I'm older maybe in CW (the lost art).

[Radio]

All....

Moe will be helping out here at ORR.net as an administrator. Web design and management is what he does for a living. Expect ORR.net to gain more features and fun stuff. This will be a slow and evolutionary task, don't expect to be jolted.

Welcome aboard Moe!

Let us know when you get that call sign!

By the way, how many were at the test session and how many passed?

[W9WLS]

OK Moe, Here we go:
First of all, CW IS NOT a lost art, a good clean recognizable fist on a straight key or real bug seems to be, if you can master cw and do it cleanly you have truly accomplished something.
As to DX-ing, you will most likely want to up-grade ASAP, but you can work some good long 2 & 6 ssb in and from that area.
Since you are just South of ATL, you have several good group's to listen to on 2 meters and 70 cm , do a google for the South Eastern Linked Repeater Net , If I remember right the hub is on 444.600 (KD4YDC's repeater) near Peachtree City.
There are also a couple of good group's in the Macon area with full time linked repeaters on 2 meters and 70 cm (Cherry Blossom Inter-tie).
As to Equipment, take a good look at the Yaesu FT857 and it's cousin the FT897 both radios cover HF, 6, 2, & 70 cm (they both put all the eggs in one basket which I don't really care for but are good rig's none the less) I use a 857 mobile with a Tarheal 2 for hf & 6 and a comet antenna for 2 mtrs and 70 cm with a scanner piggy-backed to listen to 2 & 70 when I'm on HF ( this works for me anyway) the draw back is that either of these radios will be in the $600.00 +/- range used.
Listening is a very good idea, listen to the Old timer's whether on 2 meters or HF (you can learn a lot by listening) .
I had best "put a sock in it" before I start rambling and put my whole foot in my mouth.
Bottom line is, if you have a question, ask , someone here will answer !
73, John

[wa8yxm]

Well, let me say this about your passing the test:
Congratulations!!

And welcome to our club.

[KF5BET]

Congrats on passing the tech Moe.

I am fairly new to ham radio myself. I got my tech and then a couple months later went ahead and got my general. Getting the general really opens up a lot more areas for you to explore.

As for radios, I second the caution about Ebay. I bought my first 2m mobile rig on Ebay and it worked OK for a little while and then problems arose. Save your cash and you can get a pretty good new rig for not much more money. I just purchased an Icom 2m rig this past week for the truck and paid 160 to my door. Shop around, but I would stick to the big retailers since they usually have the better prices.

Get involved in your local club if there is one. The guys (and gals) there should be more than happy to help you learn as much as you want. They might even be a good source for obtaining equipment. I'm sure someone will be more than willing to ELMER you. I know that is the case with my local club.

I also agree with the listening. Once you get your rig set up, listen a lot. You will be able to tell the good from the bad pretty quick.

The internet is also a good study tool. I have found a lot of information by just googling a subject. Beware and question everything though, not all is well with a lot of the infromation. Another reason to get involved in the club. They can demystify a lot of your questions.

Most of all have fun. I have really enjoyed learning about ham radio. I love to tinker with antennas, listen to hf and 2m. Currently I am looking into what it would take to try and contact the ISS and work satellites. PSK and computer modes also hold a pretty good interest for me. As you can see, there is more to do than we have time for.

Go out and try something. I think Ham radio is so much more than ragchewing with the some people every morning or evening and not trying new things. Of course that's my 2 cents (or quarters by the length of this) worth.

73,
Galen
KF5BET

[kmoeg]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the input. I'll post my call sign when I get it.

[WD8QBQ]

Welcome Moe and glad to hear you passed the tech test. I suggest you keep the momentum and continue to study and upgrade as soon as possible.
Are you a camper yet?

JIM

[KE5ZRT]

Howdy from Amarillo, TX, and welcome to ORR. I look forward to see how you might update the site. I might have a suggestion or two! But I'll wait until you get your feet wet.

[kmoeg]

I just had to post it, KK4AEM. Studying for the General now. I'm going to download and listen in on EchoLink for now until I can get a rig.

Thanks for the support and advise,
KK4AEM

[W9WLS]

Congratulations "Moe" , the new call has a good sound to it !
73, John

[Radio]

Moe,

Come over to the house this weekend. I have a 2m handy talkie and a stack of QST magazines. The HT you can borrow, and keep the magazines.

New calls should always be posted like this:

KK4AEM

[kmoeg]

Just updating on the latest news, I'm General class now. Pass last Saturday

[Andy N1ORK]

Congrats Moe! Hope to hear you on the HF bands soon. I guess it takes a while for QRZ.com to get updated. I first tried km0eg until I realized what the H*** I was doing.
73
Andy - n1ork

[Radio]

Originally Posted by kmoeg

Just updating on the latest news, I'm General class now. Pass last Saturday

A five smiley achievement!