I passed my tech and general saturday, and am playing with a yaesu ft60 while i wait for my call sign.  I really want to

This has been sitting on CL for a month.

https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ele/6212125644.html

Is this a decent rig/starter rig?

Looking to get my feet wet and reach out on hf without breaking the bank on my first radio.

That is a great rig to have..   Great reviews..

EHAM REVIEW

Good price..  Make sure you take someone with u to check it out..   those sell 675-750 on qrz..

Would be a good rig to have on the bench..


Prosise

This one is fairly local, too.

https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/ele/6165449153.html

I met some good guys at a local "ham jam", i will see if one of them can go with me to check that out.  Thanks for the advice.

Those are a pretty decent radio supposedly.

One thing to consider is that they are physically pretty big.

I think the FT-450D is a great entry level HF radio. It was my first, and I haven't outgrown it yet after a couple of years of casual, intermittent use. It has a small footprint on the desk, but the display has way more information than a typical mobile or QRP radio. 100 watts, internal antenna tuner, DSP, and very compact. It has everything a new ham needs in a first HF radio and nothing you don't.

I added an RTL-SDR panadapter and now mine has the functionality of much more expensive radios (with the addition of a computer, of course).

Anyhow congrats on the license!

Consider that you can own a nearly top of the line radio for only twice as much as that Yaesu, an IC7300.

The 920 is tons more radio than the 718. If I wasn't such an SDR addict I'd go for that 920.

The 920 was on my early list for a used radio and I think that $600 for a local radio that you can see before buying is a good deal.
I will point out that at $600 you are real close to the factory repack prices of an IC-7200.  
One of the positive aspects of the ft-920 is it includes an autotuner saving you $100-150.

While the ic-7300 certainly seems like the deal of the century at ~$1400 I can see that being a financial jump.  
In addition to radio there is a power supply at one end and all the fiddly bits between the radio and the antenna.
Things like, depending on your personal situation,  wire & balun for the antenna, a way to get the antenna cable from inside the house to outside.
A grounding rod, surge suppressor, these things add up.

"these things add up"...   Man you hit the nail on the head..  
Going to need: A good Power supply
Coax (lmr400 if you can swing it)
Antenna ( you can build a dipole on the cheap, although I would recommend a multiband vertical so you can work many bands )
Parts for a good ground at the bench
Electrical tape (I use silicone tape over electrical tape for outdoor coax connectors)
Tuner if the radio doesn't have a tuner (not all tuners are created equal, prefer automatic tuners as life it too short to tune every spot on the bands)
Ballun:  You can make a ugly balloon which works pretty darn good.  Just need to know how many turns to use.  
                 Rf coming back into the shack is a lesson all hams learn very quickly.
Band chart: I keep this chart on the bench all the time for reference.. BAND CHART


Things that are really nice to have:
Elmer:  If you don't have an Elmer start looking, this is one of the most helpful things a new ham can have..

Antenna Analyzer, MFJ 259C  The analyzer is one of the most useful tools (In My opinion), I am always tinkering and checking the antenna.  If you are going to build an antenna it is helpful in trimming dipole lengths.  Might be a little pricy, I have a 10 yr old MFJ 259 which has worked well.   I like having SWR and R (ohms) to know how well the antenna is matched to the radio (50 ohms).  If you don't have one you can probably borrow one from a local ham.

Locating Amateur operators in your area.
FCC Geosearch   select address , zip, and say 5 miles..  This will give you a list of Licensed Hams in your area..  They may not be active so this is just a reference...

Good Luck and start learning.    Imo I would try and locate a radio which has an internal sound card so you can easily do digital modes..   But for now just get on the air and have fun..  Don't hesitate to ask more questions and shoot me a IM if you need to talk..


Prosise

Learn on the go:  FO Time /   Hamradio360 Podcast   look thru the podcast list and download a couple for when your on the go..  Really good podcast designed for you (New Ham).     Go back to the beginning and you will enjoy some of the early shows which I really enjoyed..

Both radios are good deals, but the Icom-718 lacks an internal antenna tuner.

Here's some good info on antennas, feedlines, and propagation: http://www.hamuniverse.com/n4jaantennabook.html
Basic Coax-Fed Dipole: www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/tis/info/pdf/9106023.pdf
Fan Dipole: http://www.hamuniverse.com/multidipole.html
Off-Center-Fed Dipole: http://www.buxcomm.com/windom.htm
Classic Ladderline-Fed Dipole: http://www.hamuniverse.com/hfdoublet.html

Things certainly do start to add up quickly.

I started about eight months ago with the 7300 , Astron SS-50M, and a portable antenna.  Had fun but soon realized the shortcomings of the portable vertical.

Upgraded to the Hy-Gain AV-680 mounted on our office building but used the same crappy RG-58 coax (the quarter inch thick stuff) and had more fun.  Then when the antenna started bringing in more of the world, I needed more tuner than the 3:1 the 7300 can supply so I got the MFJ-993B.  Great, now I can easily tune the entire 40 and 80 bands as well as all of 6 and I love the digital wattmeter for setting up JT modes.

Then I started looking into coax and realized that my crappy $15 coax from Rat Shack was turning half of my power into heat. HALF!  I bought 70' of RG-213U from DXE and ran it to the roof and it certainly makes a difference on both TX and RX.  Buddy here at the office used the Davis BuryFlex stuff and it has worked well for him.

Oh, them I had to dedicate a laptop to the digital modes.  No problem, I have several.  An old desktop will work also but be sure to use something with a bit of horsepower to do the JT FFT decodes in a reasonable amount of time.

Then there's the CW paddle I bought for learning code.  Didn't get an expensive one (Vibro Square Racer I think it is) but still more $$.

About the only thing I would do differently is get a quieter power supply.  The fan in the SS-50M is ridiculously loud and it's about to get a mod to slow it down.  I may even put a 120MM on the top of the PS blowing inward and remove the loud fan on the back altogether.  I don't stack anything on it anyway.

So far the AV-680 antenna has been great.  I had lots of euro contacts this weekend in the IARU HF contest and have gotten into several IOTA pile ups with it.  It's a PITA to assemble - lots of small parts, the destructions aren't that great, and I certainly needed some help.  I used lots of No-Alox and sanded the telescoping bits to improve conductivity.  Pruning it to tune took a couple hours of being careful.  I used the HR360 analyzer with a USB battery pack then took the radio onto the roof with a battery pack to double check it - and make some contacts!

Speaking of JT, I have made it more interesting by seeing how low I can go in power and still make contacts.  I recently made Australia on 15W on both 17 and 40 - and that was on the crappy coax.  Sometimes I will turn the RF power on the 7300 to zero which is about a half watt output and still make contacts coast to coast.  I mistakenly made a RTTY contact in Mexico from Tulsa while learning the RTTY software.  I thought zero was zero.  Nope.  He heard me plenty well.

My next purchase is a headset and foot pedal to make contesting easier.  I've been running search and pounce in contests and want to try running sometime.  Running sounds painful if I can't go hands free.  Oh my, more $$$.

Half of your power would require 3dB loss. RG-58 doesn't have 3dB loss per 70 feet even at 6 meters, you'd have to go up to 2 meters to see that much.

Loss in 70 feet of RG-58 is 1.2dB at 20 meters. RG-213 is 0.5dB. 0.7dB is undetectable by ear. Bury Flex would probably save you 0.1dB.

The standard calibration is 6dB per S unit on your HF radio meter, so changing your coax may have gained you 12% of an S unit.
I got an SS-25 years ago and had the same result . It sits on a shelf underneath the desk where I can't hardly hear the fan. I've thought about replacing the fan with one of those new tech quiet ones.

HF gear is a hard nut to crack; because there are SO many variables!

when I began, I wanted something small enough to put in a box-cheap enough to afford-stable enough to last-and easy enough to operate as a .  I chose the Kenwood TS50. Here it is!

I was pretty happy with that rig (still am) but thought a desktop rig would be 'better' so she and the kids bought me a Kenwood TS850s for my 40th.  It's nice and big and pretty (works well too) but it's still an HF rig that don't have all the bells and whistles that a more modern rig does.  Am I mad-no.

I've recently received a loaner Elecraft KX2 for show use.  It's amazingly small and compact, has ears that are unbelievable and cost more than both of my (1990s vintage) HF rigs combined plus some!

So, You have to determine what You want out of Your rig!  Portable? QRP (I'd skip that for now)? Desktop? Rugged? New? Used? Then determine what You are willing to spend to get Your desired result!

lotsa help, huh

Good info here, thanks.

I THINK I want a desk top rig to try to get my feet wet.   I really can't see needing a portable unit for several years, our daughter is in high school, and I barely had the free time to take the test.  I think a nice desk top model with modern bells answer whistles will do.   I'd rather spring for something with a built in antenna tuner than stack minor purchase on minor purchase, if that makes sense.

Right you are.  I was going from memory and my 3.1dB recollection is from the 6m.  I have fallen for 6m since it's lots of fun to beat the openings.  Kind of like a mini contest to get QSOs before the band changes.  I think it's lots of fun myself.

The more I think about it the more I want to just get it over with and chop a hole in the lid for a new bigger slower turning fan.  I may look into some quieter direct replacement fans and just change the one that's on there.  Depends on what I can find.  Doing some sort of variable speed would be good also - just have to glue a thermistor control to the heatsinks and calibrate the fan speeds somehow.  Maybe I could figure out how to have the radio spin up the PS fan on transmit - kind of like taking an amp off standby.  Oh the possibilities.

Some of those new design quiet fans intended for the computer market do make a substantial difference. I'd give one of those a try before the radical change.

Congratulations!!!

Congrats! It's a great hobby.

For a starter rig it's hard to beat a Yaesu FT-450. There is nothing in this price category that comes even close to the performance, ergonomics and features. FT-450 has a significantly better receiver, a much larger easy to read display, antenna tuner and many useful feature found in expensive rigs such as a roofing filter. FT-450 will "dance circles" around an Icom 718. It's a lot better.
A good antenna makes 95% of a successful ham station. Don't fall for multi-band "Buddi-miracle" or "tactical super military" antennas that claim too much to be true. Get the best antenna you can find and afford. It does not mean it has to be expensive. A properly done dipole is hard to beat. Try to get a resonant antenna. Some new hams get confused into thinking that as long as they can tune an antenna with a tuner, they are good to go. This is wrong! There is nothing wrong with using a tuner to trim an antenna to a perfect 1:1 SWR but the antenna should not have more than 3:1 SWR to begin with. Actually 2:1 or less is what you need to shoot for.
Also, as mentioned in the above posts, don't waste money on expensive LMR-400 coax. A relatively inexpensive RG-8X will work fine with a 100W HF radio, as long as you keep the length at 100 ft or less. A low loss coax is really not needed on HF bands.

If that yaesu checks out FO!  I'd pass on the icom at that price.

For the same price range you can get a brand new Alinco DXsr8t  1.8-30 mhz  from gigaparts for $469 , I know its an Alinco i was leary of them at first . I bought one for christmas to put in my truck it has a detachable face plate also. I am really impressed with this radio and have had nothing but good reports with it. Also the FT-450d is a great radio also i have 2 of them.

@CITADELGRAD87: did you buy the 920 yet?

Nope, im playing with my handheld and trying to decide which way to go. The 920 has been sitting a month.  I need to get an elmer to help ke look at it.

I was listening to my HT today and heard a guy making his first contacts.  He was talking to some guys pretty far away on a local repeater, and mentioned that he passed his test the same day I did.

So I logged on and....nothing.  For some reason I decided to use my Frn Number to run the search, and BAM.

I got a cool, easy to remember call sign.  

Anybody wants it, PM me.   I'm confined to ht at present.

Congrats, CITADELGRAD87!  

Did you know that you can sign up to REMOTEHAMS.COM and listen or even operate radios remotely. Follow the rules and make sure to ask for a permission to use other member's radios. This will at least let you listen to some activity on HF bands to get an idea what to expect once you get your own radio.

BTW, take a look at the new Yaesu FT-891 rigs. I had a chance to operate one and was very impressed with it's performance. It's a great little radio for the money.

Yes, but...did you buy that 920 yet?