The purpose of this thread is to share my experiences as a new ham over the last couple of years and hopefully answer the "What should I buy?" or "How do I get started?" threads that are almost a daily occurrence. I understand that there is no one size fits all and that we will never agree 100%, but there should be a one size gets most that we can almost agree upon. Should this become a sticky I will maintain and update it as long as I am welcome.

Inspired by Dave Casler's Reference Station

Where to buy:

The Big 3:

DX Engineering
Gigaparts
Ham Radio Outlet

Alternatives:

Main Trading Company
R&L Electronics
Associated Radio
The Antenna Farm

Radios -

#1 Yaesu FT-991A

The Yaesu FT-991A is the single best do it all, "shack in a box" rig available. It's all mode HF through UHF and is plug and play for digital modes. It's a bit dated, but still the most capable single radio currently available without the weird form factor of the IC-7100. Plus it has a built in antenna tuner. This radio will do everything you want to do with the exception possibly of DMR, D-Star and cross band repeat. It's a little large for portable, but can be used portable or in the shack. It is the first new HF capable radio that I purchased and I think it would be a great starting point for new techs and generals. When and if you graduate from the FT-991A in your shack it becomes an ideal portable or go box radio.

IMHO, the FT-991A is the ideal technician/starter radio as it gives you all modes on VHF and UHF as well as 6 and 10 meters. It will immediately allow a new tech to fully use his license privileges including and up to SSB DX on 10m.

How to set up FT-991A for digital modes

#2 Icom IC-7300 plus IC-2730A

The Icom IC-7300 has been the gold standard starter radio since it was released over 5 years ago now. It has a great touchscreen, is easy to setup and use and there's more YouTube videos on set up and use than probably any other radio. Ergonomics and use are probably a little better than the 991A and the touchscreen is much better. I think the receiver and DSP in the 991A are pretty equivalent, but the IC-7300 stops at 6m, so you will need a separate VHF/UHF radio. The IC-2730A has cross band repeat capability, but you lose modes other than FM compared to the 991A.

#3 Yaesu FT-710 AESS plus FTM-200DR

The Yaesu FT-710 is currently the newest HF transceiver to be released and is a top performer on the Sherwood List. It is priced competitively with the IC-7300 and is certainly worth a look. The Yaesu FTM-200DR is an appropriate mate to the FT-710 and should be a good starter dual band transceiver. If cross band repeat is required go with the Icom IC-2730A or Yaesu FTM-300DR.

Portable/Mobile HF Option:

Yaesu FT-891

The Yaesu FT-891 is very popular here for portable and mobile use. The main drawback is that it doesn't have an antenna tuner, so you will need to use resonant antennas or add an external tuner. IMO though, if you're going to add a tuner to the 891 and add the cost, size and weight you might be better off just going with the FT-991A. I've used mine extensively for Parks on the Air. It is the most compact 100 watt HF transceiver on the market and it is available at an affordable price. You can pair it with the Wolf River Coil system without an external tuner.

Noticeably absent from the list is Kenwood. While the TS-590SG is a fantastic radio, it is now considerably more expensive than the 3 listed and lacks a modern display. I expect it will be discontinued and hopefully replaced soon. The TM-V71A is also a wonderful dual band radio, but I believe it is soon to be discontinued if it's not already.

Some factors for consideration here are:

-Not QRP, 100w minimum for HF. QRP is an unnecessary challenge for a new licensee.
-Built-in antenna tuner. A separate box with the associated cost and cables are not a good value.
-Current production and off the shelf availability. There are tons of older, discontinued radios that could work, but we're looking for a good experience, not a repair session
-Digital mode capable without additional parts. WSJT-X, FT-8, WSPR etc. are too prolific to ignore.

Antennas:

You'll need 2 antennas. At least. You'll need one for VHF/UHF and one for HF at a minimum.

Dual-Band VHF/UHF Antenna:

Comet GP-3

There are literally hundreds of antennas. Most work fine. There's no good reason to not start with the Comet GP-3. I mean, it's been to Everest... There are good alternatives to this antenna from Tram, Diamond and others. It barely matters, but to keep it simple the Comet GP-3 should work for 90%+ of those new to the hobby.


HF Antennas:

Ahh HF antennas... This is there the fighting starts. The analysis paralysis, the angst, the technical jargon and talk of compromise and accusations of less than ideal performance to put it kindly. There are a thousand antennas. They all work to some degree. These are a few that I've had good experiences with and perform well enough for me to rebuy or recommend. These are simple to install and use and relatively inexpensive. I'm not going to get into towers and beams and yagis and all of that. These are mostly going to be wire antennas that any newb can buy for $100-$300, put up by themselves in a day and get on the air. That's the goal.  Pick one that fits your yard, budget and as many of your band requirements as possible. They all work. The most important/used bands are 20, 40 and 80 meter. With the solar cycle coming into swing, 10m has been very active and a lot of fun lately. 12, 17, 30, and 60m are all great bands, but there's not a lot of activity on them. Same with 6m, it's so rarely open that I wouldn't focus on it. It's very challenging to get all bands covered from 6-160 meters on a single antenna, so you have to decide what's important to you. If you're like me, that's somewhat dictated by what fits your space.

#1. MyAntennas EFHW-7510-LP

Some postulate that end fends antennas don't work, need a counterpoise, are too much of a compromise etc. That has not been my experience. I've tried a number of end feds and they all work and are the easiest to get up. I chose the 7510 because I'm on the voice side of 80m more than the digital/CW side. If you're the opposite, get the 8010. If you mostly do 100w digital, I'd recommend the higher power 2k version. 10m-80m This antenna requires 130' of yard. I've had good luck deploying it as an inverted L and inverted V. Sloper deployment works fine too. Zero tuning/trimming required.

#2 DX Commander Classic Plus 80

This antenna is a little bit more complex to install and requires some lawn space, but is one of the better DX performers on the upper bands, plus good local/NVIS performance at least on 80m. Get this one if you have some 20’x20’ of yard to spare. This antenna won't last a decade permanently deployed, but it will get you through the first year or two until you learn and decide on something more permanent like a Hustler 6BTV or something. When you replace/upgrade it, it can be used for its main design purpose, which is portable. 2m-80m

#3 MFJ MFJ-1836 Cobweb

I'm not a fan of MFJ, but this is a great antenna for someone with no yard, like me. You could install it on a TV antenna tripod on top of your roof or a modest pole system. It's almost as good as a fan dipole, but more omnidirectional. It takes a day to build and tune, but it's a critical antenna at my station. 6m-20m

#4 Alpha Delta DX-CC

This is an excellent compact fan dipole. It get's you 10m-80m minus the WARC bands. It will be a little complicated to tune and like most antennas, the higher you can get it, the better. It will need 3 support points, so is a little more complicated to install, but worth it if you can get the feed point up to 30' plus. Use pully's to install so you can lower it for trimming/tuning. 82' long.

#5 Buck Master OCF Dipole

This is another antenna that is "not supposed to work", but does. More complicated than the EFHW because it needs 3 support points instead of 2, but otherwise is easy to install and like the EFHW, it doesn't require an antenna analyzer because no trimming/tuning is needed. Put it up and get on the air. 6m-80m

#6 Chameleon SkyLoop 2.0

This is a great option if you have the space and 4 support points. It’s really fantastic if you can get it up 30-40+ feet and has an excellent signal to noise ratio. Requires a square support system roughly 70'x70'. No trimming/tuning required. 6m-80m

Limited Space Options:

#1 Chameleon EMCOMM II V2

This is another end fed like the 7510, but much shorter, only 60'. It doesn't work as well as the longer end fed, but if you have a small lot this will get you 6m-160m in an inefficient fashion. No trimming/tuning

#2 G5RV Jr.

These are shortened G5RV's that are only 52' long and only need to be 20' high at the feed point as the ladder line is only 19' long. These are available from a few manufacturers and work reasonably well on 10m-40m. No trimming/tuning

#3 BuckMaster OCF Dipole 4 Band

This is a better performer than the EMCOMM II if you have 68' of length and can get some height, but is only 10m-40m. Build quality is great and no trimming/tuning.

Portable options:

Many of the antennas above could be used for portable use as well, but here are a few antennas that I, and many here, have used extensively for portable and POTA.

#1 Wolf River Coils Silver Bullet 1000

This coil plus their 102" whip and a spike or tripod will get you 10m-80m in a hurry. Works better with radials. This could also be used at the home shack, but needs a manual tune with each band change.

#2 Chameleon EMCOMM III PORTABLE

This is my favorite portable wire antenna. It just works. 6m-160m

#3 Chameleon LEFS 8010

This is also a great end fed antenna. Very similar in performance to the MyAntennas EF.

#4 Ed Fong DBJ-2

This is a great performing VHF/UHF roll up J-Pole and IMO a necessary piece of kit if you want to do portable 2m/70cm.

Power and distribution:

You're going to need a power supply. Virtually any 12v, 25-30A, commercially available power supply would work. These are probably the 3 better/more common options and you can't go wrong with any of them:

1. Astron SS-30AP

2. Samlex SEC-1235P

3. PowerWerx SS-30DV

I will add that having meters on the front panel is a nice upgrade option. All of these models have a meter option for more money. Front panel Anderson Power Poles are also very handy.

On that note. Anderson Power Poles are the standard. Power Pole all the things.

PowerPole Kit

And yes, you need the crimper.

PowerPole Crimper

Go ahead and get yourself some fused distribution as well. Trust me...

West Mountain Radio RigRunner 4005

If you are interested in EMCOMM and battery back up, I use the Astron BB-30M.

Coax:

The RF signal piece is pretty simple. You'll want RG8X for your HF antenna at a minimum and LMR400 for your VHF/UHF antenna. Try to keep your HF coax length at less than 100' and your VHF/UHF length to less than 50' if possible.

I like cables made by Alpha and MPD digital. They are available on eBay and Amazon. I have used various inexpensive, Chinese cables and they are "OK", my main complaint is the quality of the connectors. The Steren brand that is made in China and available on Amazon is like the bottom tier. I've bought a number of them for testing, temporary runs and portable use. When they break I just salvage what I can and chuck the rest.

Source for Alpha

Source for MPD Digital

Times Microwave brand cable with Amphenol connectors are the gold standard.

Other good sources for quality premade cables are:

DX Engineering Cable Assemblies
ABR Industries

RF Parts:

RFConnection

I like this coax loss calculator. It's easy to use and has most of the major coax types.

Coax Loss Calculator

Tools, Parts and Accessories:

Tools:

Too be honest, you don't need to spend a fortune on tools for this hobby. I'm assuming that you already have some screw drivers, a drill, some wrenches and a multimeter. A good PowerPole tool makes life easy. I've managed 2 years to not crimp a coax or use a soldering iron, both of which I have extensive experience with and own.

The one piece of test equipment that I use all the time and for me is indispensable is a RigExpert. It makes setting up, tuning and building antennas so much easier. If you purchase one of the "no tune" antennas above you don't need one to get started, but if you're looking to build your own dipole or the cobweb or DXCommander I think the juice is worth the squeeze. I have the AA-35 Zoom, AA-230 Zoom and the Stick 230 for portable use. I like the RigExperts so much that my Comet and MFJ antenna analyzers never leave the toolbox. Nor do my NanoVNA's.

place holder

Learning and Information:

How to get amateur radio icon on your ARFCOM profile:

Just IM a picture of your license to medicmandan and he'll add the icon. Once he approves the icon, delete the image from your host.

There's a vast amount of information available on YouTube. Here are some of the popular channels that have taught me a lot:

The Tech Prepper
HamRadioCrashCourse
Dave Casler
Ham Radio 2.0
Outdoors on the Air
K8MRD Radio Stuff
Off-Grid Ham Radio OH8STN
HamRadioDX
HamRadioConcepts
DXCommander
Temporarily Offline Ham Radio
KM4ACK
RadioPrepper
KK6USY Ham Radio Adventures
The Smokin Ape
Survival Comms
KS6DAY
Red Summit RF
Ham Radio for Non-Techies
Ham Radio A2Z
Thomas K4SWL
HAM RADIO DUDE
K6ARK Portable Radio
Modern Ham

Useful websites:

Ham Study is a great resource for studying for your license exams.
Q Codes
WebSDR
MUF Map
WSPRnet Map
PSK Reporter
QSO Map
DX Maps
Antenna Length Chart
POTA App
Logbook of the World
eHam
Radio Reference
Winlink
QRZ
Calling Frequencies
Random Wire Antenna Lengths
DX Watch
HAMRS
ADIF Master
WSJT-X
JTAlert
GridTracker
Online Antenna Calculators
VOACAP
Amateur Radio Publication Archive
Amateur Radio Online Library
HF Propagation Map
ARRL Band Plan
Icom Band Plan NA
NTIA United States Frequency Allocation
DX Propagation
APRS Live Map
Azimuthal Map
Wire Antenna Cut Calculator
MaxGain - Connectors, fiberglass poles and supplies.

This thread is open for comments, input and suggestions.

Thank you for this. As a recent newcomer to Ham I need all the info I can get.

A walk through/explanation of logging software would be cool.

I didnt know what to sign up for...... what the most efficient way to move logs from QRZ to LoTW was....... opinions on what is needed to purchase memberships for.

Maybe also a note to buy a cheap 24hr clock set to Zulu time, so you dont log your own time and then have to fix three pages of logs. Lolz

HAMRS & ADIFmaster are what I use for phone contacts.

https://hamrs.app/

https://www.dxshell.com/adif-master.html

When running digital modes, I use Wsjtx. Complimented with JTAlert and Gridtracker. Gridtracker is setup to automatically log contacts to: Clublog, QRZ, HRDLOG, Cloudlg, eQSL, and LOTW.

WSJTX: https://sourceforge.net/projects/wsjt/

JTAlert: https://hamapps.com/

GridTracker: https://gridtracker.org/

I run all three at the same time.

I use Rite in the Rain hardware.

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Logging software is big time preference based. It almost all works fairly well. I use N3FJP/AC Log since it's what I used first. I've also messed with HAMRS but had issues with it and it isn't the greatest for an ongoing "shack log".

75% of my HF time is portable, so it is always on paper and then into the computer and I dont want to have electronic logging in the field. That is smart phone free time, even POTA i just hunt on the dial and not on the website.

However you want to do it works. I did paper for a while. Then POTA got big and going past 50, then 100 and then 200 contacts wasn't uncommon. I got tired of logging twice. So I moved to electronic logging in the field. I could, of course, limit my contact numbers. But it's fun. Plus I've always got a laptop with me for doing FT8 and so on. Wasn't a big deal to add AC Log and use it for field logging

Thanks for this, I will incorporate this. Keep 'em coming!

Maximum Useable Frequency Map: https://prop.kc2g.com/

Lots of handy calculators for antenna projects:  https://www.66pacific.com/calculators/default.aspx

APRS VHF Propagation map: http://aprs.mennolink.org/#

Already have the MUF map listed. I’ll add the others. Thanks for the good info

Added, thank you!

VOACAP to go along with some of the other maps/propagation tools?

VOACAP

Good one, thanks!

I didn’t see the light until I discovered the Packtenna end fed wire antenna for portable operations.  Once I started using Packtenna antennas, I discovered the true performance of resonant antennas versus all of the compromises.  100 watts into a perfectly resonant antenna is amazing.  For that matter, 10 or even 5 watts PEP will surprise you.  Me and another guy worked each other using only 1 watt of power and we were 1000 miles apart.

I have an Icom 7300 and a nice old Henry 2K amp that hardly ever gets used.  My go-to rig is my Icom 705 and an Elecraft KXP100 most of the time.  Of course using a single Packtenna wire…

My little station

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Links added and tools section started.

Links and updates added.

Quick and dirty coax loss chart:

https://www.qsradio.com/coax-and-connector-info.html

That is indeed a handy quick reference chart. Added to the coax post. Thanks!

Great write up thoughts on skipping the power supply & going straight to lifepo4 plus ac wall charger? just seems way more versatile.

For me, that would get old quick. A suitable battery to power the shack would be too large for back pack portable. If a guy just had a FT-991A and maybe a Bienno 20aH it'd probably work. Double check that the battery management system allows for load and charging simultaniously.

Good thread, subscribed.

I got my tech license but haven't really done anything with it yet other than buy a cheap Baofeng.

Going to take the general exam on 3/18 and will be looking to get into this hobby a bit deeper ($$$ I know ).

Download CHIRP and program your radio with your local repeaters and most simplex channels easily.  CHIRP already has all the repeater frequencies loaded with full spec (+/-, tone etc.).  You can search Politically (state, county) or Proximity (miles from your location, nice to have if you live near a stateline).

CHIRP

GOOD LUCK!!!

I was thinking a $300 100ah lifepo4 amazon special defiantly not back pack portable though

For what that costs you could purchase one of the recommended 30A power supplies, an Astron BB-30M and an inexpensive RV/Marine battery. That’s the route I took.

Just to throw another antenna out there, the Yaesu ATAS-120A pairs well with the 991A that you recommended.

Be sure to mention that you can make an inverted-V dipole antenna for a couple of bucks (excluding coax) that will easily work the world. Simply solder a piece of wire to the coax's center pin and another wire to the coax's shield and go.

I ought to be the poster child for one.

As someone with a year under their belt and feel like I've learned a lot, but I realize I have so much more to learn.
I think this thread is a great resource and will be helpful for many.  
I plan to read it a few times to try and soak everything in.

Thanks for your time and effort!!!

I make a motion that this gets made a Sticky.  Anyone second it???

Logging is something I am really going to need help with..
I know its simple to you all that have been doing it, but I feel a bit overwhelmed...

I want to have it on my home PC/Desktop where I'll be 95% of the time, but also on my laptop so if I do field day, pota, my cabin or any remote work, I can log there as well.

I think I signed up for 2 of the 3 log servers already, need to do the 3rd, got it written down at home.
As someone else mentioned I need some type of timing client on both those computers...

I'm guessing for digital I'll mostly do FT8... Not sure.
Logging software itself would probably be N3FJP, I guess with WSJT-X for the FT8 part, but I might not know what I'm talking about here...

That antenna is intriguing. I don't think it is efficient enough for use in Alaska, but maybe I'll try one. I don't have any experience with one and I've tried to stick to things I've touched for recommendations.

When I'm at home I just log directly into QRZ.com. For POTA I log on paper and then type into QRZ when I get home, download the file, convert in ADIF Master and upload to the POTA site. I try do do a quarterly transfer from QRZ to LOTW.

I think dipoles are the ideal first antenna project. I'm also a big fan of fan dipoles as I think multiband antennas are very convenient. Tough to beat the Alpha Delta DX-CC listed in the antenna section for price/performance. If it were a guys only antenna and he could get the feed point up to about 30' in an inverted V configuration he'd have a very useful antenna for DX on 20m and up and NVIS on 40 and 80, with decent medium range preformace on 40.

My dipole is as simple as one can be, and only cost me a spool of 12-gauge wire. Start with a 10M dipole, then cut and tune extension wires to make it a 12M dipole. Then add wire for 15, 17, 20, 30, and 40M. Simply add or subtract wires to get the resonant band you want. NO TUNER NEEDED. Pull it to the top of a tall mast or tree where you can rotate it broadside to your target station. In about two minutes, I can have mine set for any band between 10M and 40M, turned, and the legs staked down. I'd put it up against any wire antenna out there.

A home brew 10M dipole would be a great way for a tech to start on HF for sure.

I made a 10, 12, 15, 17, and 20m linked dipole for portable use. It works with a fishing pole, it is 24awg, and should handle 100w just fine.

Updates and ads, still working on organization and pics will come. Thinking about posting SWR plots of installed antennas as well if you think that would be useful.

If you want some screen shots of SWR plots of 1/4 wave vertical array, and a 49:1 EFHW w/123.5', and 10m rigid dipole wire let me know. I took down my fan dipole this morning, so I do not have that available anymore.

https://aprs.fi/

Locate any station transmitting APRS packets on a map.  Find digipeaters, iGates, mobile stations, and even balloons.  

That's awesome! I'll add the link

Great thread. I'm just getting back into HAM. The last few years I've been back at school, so not a lot of time. Just working with a HT right now.
I seem to remember guys not liking CHIRP for "nice" radios because it could brick them? Is that a thing anymore?

My 3 Yaesu VHF/UHF radios I ponied up for the RT systems cables and hardware. My 4 chinese ones I used Chirp.

This is the thread I need! Thanks!

Tagged, I'm taking my test for general on the 18th.