As of today I am now registered in the FCC database as a licensed Technician! I hope to make my first contact this afternoon. Most of the ham radio goes over the top of my head, but I’ve had a desire to learn Morse code. Instead of ‘normal’ people learning to play the piano or guitar, I want to learn Morse code haha. My wife and I have been playing with an app on our phones that helps us learn it. I still have a long way to go.

That being said, I need the equipment to transmit and receive. I already have two UV-5Rs that have the local repeaters programmed in on. I don’t necessarily want a home base station with a 60ft antenna (or at least not yet). I like the idea of building a radio “go-box” I can take with me in the truck, camping, or backpacking (I don’t know if that’s feasible). Portability is important to me and I’d like for it to run off a 12V power supply if possible.

Can anyone recommend a ‘basic’ radio that would support my goals. I feel fairly overwhelmed when it comes to acquiring the equipment for this. I'm not sure if the equipment needed will be $200 or $2000.

My apologies if this has been asked before, I didn’t see a thread on it and so much of the ham lingo is difficult to follow.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Congrats.

You can portable VHF/UHF just as you want to do. Might not get a lot of contacts necessarily. Some places are busier than others on VHF/UHF. Repeaters are usually busier than simplex.

If you're wanting to get into portable operation then I'd highly suggest just going ahead and getting your general and moving up to mostly unrestricted HF. There are parts of HF you can use now, but it is limited.

Congratulations!

It is a really fun hobby! I am only a couple of months into it and really enjoying it.

It's sounding like in addition to Morse, other modes might interest you down the line, as well as more privileges on more hands (General, perhaps?).  To that end, an hf rig of some type may be on your shopping list soon.

The uBitx is a all band "kit", which with their v6 build assembly is pretty much constrained to turning a screwdriver and soldering 2 wires.  It's a low power rig, ssb and morse only without any modifications.  But, $200 makes it decent for a lightweight, portable QRP rig.

For a 100 watt rig, the Alinco DX-SR8 is a 100 watt all mode hg rig and runs about $400 new.

Congrats and welcome aboard!

CONGRATULATIONS!

If the vast majority of the repeater activity in your area is on 2 meters, the Kenwood TM-281A is a good rugged basic radio that can be used mobile or fixed, with an appropriate 13.8 Volt power supply. A simple ground plane antenna mounted on the chimney or maybe even in the attic should give you somewhere around a 25+/- mile range depending on the terrain.
You can even make one: LINK

As for learning CW, you've come to the right place. There are plenty of online apps and websites to teach you CW. There are also several avid CW ArfCommers eager to help you along.

Congrats!

Congrats!

Be warned, Radio is as addictive as guns.

I am studying for my tech currently.  I am aiming for a mobile setup because my house sits so low in the downtown area of my city.

The go box route is a rabbit hole in its self. There could be a whole thread or several on them. bhttps://www.ar15.com/forums/Outdoors/The-EMCOMM-Box/22-648273/?page=1 Thank GOD for non-archiving threads.
However, depending on your motivation and budget it can be a lot of fun. Radios are only a fraction of the big picture when hitting the park/peak/field/ect.... You still should start thinking about antenna(s), and powering your portable shack.
If you plan on going on and getting your general or extra class then your going to want an HF radio. I dont recommend low wattage radios for someone just starting out. But low wattage radios are easier on batteries. A good all band all mode would be a great start. Such as an Icom IC-7300, or Yaesu Ft-991.
My go box has Icom stuff in it. IC-7000 for HF and VHF/UHF SSB, and an Icom IC-2730 for VHF/UHF FM.  I chose that set up because I also have a head set that can plug into either radio. It has a power supply in it if I have access to AC, or I can simply plug my 15Ah battery in the back (anderson connectors for everything) and run that way.
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That picture was a club doing a camp out weekend at a county park. My old Yaesu FT-817 (no letters) was doing 2 meter simplex duty. That was the way we did band allocations for the weekend. There was probably 5 or 6 different camps all over the park of radios going. If you wanted to work a particular band you would ask if anyone was on that band before tuning your radio to that band.

Congratulations!

Congrats, now get on that general study and get ready to spend more money than guns.  It’s a great hobby and skill to have.  An excellent community of people also.

Look at a Kenwood TM-V71a, dual band, 50W mobile radio. It covers 2m and 440 and also works as a cross band repeater (very handy feature). It's a solid radio, easy to use and comes with a detachable front panel.

I would advise against radios without a dedicated Squelch knob. I once bought a Kenwood TM-281 and found it nearly useless for mobile SIMPLEX comms.  Having no Squelch knob was a major problem because I always need to adjust it when trying to hear my buddies varying signal on simplex. Besides that, the squelch on the 281 only had 5 levels. The lowest level is still way too high, so I had to disable the squelch completely and listen to the noise between transmissions.  
Having a Squelch knob is probably no big deal if you plan to use nearby repeaters only, but maybe this will help you to learn on my mistakes.

Currently I use two TM-V71a rigs. One in the vehicle and the other at the house. I also bought a Yaesu FTM-400 and Icom 5100 digital radios. Both have been sitting in the boxes for several years. I just can't get excited with any digital modes for some reason. I've been thinking about installing the FTM-400 in my vehicle but just can't find a good place for the head unit. It's quite large and has to be exposed to the satellites for the GPS to work. There is no good place for it on my 4Runner's dash panel. The TM-V71a head unit is small but functional. I mounted it on the overhead, center console. It's out of the way but very functional.

Just my 2 cents worth. Take it for what it's worth.

Congrats on your license. My club has one of these in the club station (a big go box basically), it is really nice. I have an Icom ID4100A mounted in a similar fashion in my car but I have been considering replacing it with a TM-V71A. The Kenwood sounds really good...

The other radio in the club station is an Icom 7300, I kinda want one of those too...

Thanks for the recommendations and advice. Last night I sat by my pond and tried to reach a repeater with my UV5R. I was able to listen to a few conversations with sporadic reception. It was sort of embarrassing calling CQ and thinking deep down that these repeaters are likely too far away for me to hit. I didn't make a contact, but I'll try again when I can drive closer to a repeater.

Within about 48 hours, I went from thinking all I needed was my tech license for anything I would want to do, to realizing that I need to get my general license to do what I want.

I’m now studying for my General and I’ve started researching a portable HF radio primarily to learn CW, but with the possibility to speak on a mic over UHF/VHF as well.

I’m looking at the suggested radios. The uBitx v6, Alinco DX-SR8, Kenwood TM-281A, Yaesu FT-817, Kenwood TM-V71a, and more. It’s all very overwhelming. I’m also researching antennas. I have so much to learn. The last thing I want is a radio that is too complicated. I like the size, weight, and the simplicity of the Kenwood TM-281A, but I don’t know what capability it has to do CW. I wish it could do the dedicated CW frequencies, otherwise it looks perfect.

I’ve reached out to my local ham club and they’ve been helpful, but it quickly goes over the top of my head. I’m a mechanical engineer trying to live in an electrical engineered RF world. All joking aside, I enjoy learning, but it’s taking me a while to understand enough to ask the right questions.

Thanks again for everyone’s help.

During the peak of the last cycle, I worked Europe mobile on a 25 watt radio shack 10m rig and a cut down mag mount antenna.  Have fun!

Make this ground plane, put it on a 6-10' section of pvc, go back to your pool (807 firmly in hand) and be prepared for a pleasant surprise.
Those "rubber duckies" are only good for a few miles at best.

I used hamstudy.org because it is free. I just kept hitting the questions (actual questions used in the exams) in study mode and it kept track of how well I was doing. When you get a question wrong, you can click the corner of the question and it goes into detail about what is being asked and explains it. I found that taking in these small nuggets of info one at a time helped me to learn. I also read selected parts of the ARRL books for each license level. I would hit hamstudy.org before and after work every day and it really helped. Good luck!

Congrats!  You'll always be learning.  Fun stuff though!

Remember, with 2m/70cm, it's not about distance, it's about line of sight, and what terrain may or may not be blocking signal.  

You can pick up signals from repeaters onboard satellites with that UV5r.....they're usually around 250-300 miles from you when overhead!

A Nagoya 771 antenna is cheap, and will improve your rx/tx, although.the stock antennas on newer Baos aren't all that bad (the V85, that is).

Look at repeaterbook.com to see what's around you. Look at your map....taking into account not so much distance, but terrain.

When you're out and about, call out on the national calling freqs.  I've made some cool contacts that way.  Especially if you find yourself on a high spot.

Also bear in mind that some repeaters are clannish. They'll hear you but won't answer new people. There's a couple around here like that.  Thankfully most around here are VERY helpful.

Also don't call CQ on repeaters. There's no rule against it, just not SOP. You may come across a grump who goes sideways on your.  Saying your call and mobile or listening so on is normal for a repeater.

If you're interested in portable operations, check out POTA and SOTA. It is nothing but portable operations. Primarily HF, but people do use VHF/UHF. It's a lot of fun and good practice at using your gear versus it sitting there.

The general isn’t that much harder than the tech test.  I actually got a better score on general and choked a bit on tech overthinking and changing my original right answers to wrong ones (4x I changed the right answer to a wrong one).

I am taking my extra test this Saturday.  Hopefully I don’t choke.   I am passing practice tests in the eighties and have another week to go working on the math problems.  

Extra is a bit of a challenge if you are not a tech minded person but it is also doable with some effort even a luddite like myself.  

I started CW learning when I started my extra studies.  I promptly set the CW aside as it divided my efforts.  Assuming I pass I will pick it up.  I have an oscillator and key now too.   I put them away after testing them so I don’t distract myself from the extra exam studies.  

You can do the general, a lot of the general material is a rehash and expansion of the tech.  Pick up the book and just do it while it is fresh in your head.  If you delay you will likely have to relearn what you just did because you forgot it.   Tha is why I am doing the extra right now.

@Frank_B I'm going to try to make a ground pole antenna and try it with my UV5R. Thank you for the suggestion. I'm sure it will beat my Nagoya 771 antenna now.

@ManiacRat461 Thanks for the suggestions of SOTA. That's exactly what I'd like to do with a radio. I like the idea of a portable setup. I'll keep reading on their site to find some setups of what those folks are using. Not many mountains in Southern Indiana haha, I do love to hike with a heavy ruck though.

I think with my current understanding, I'm looking for a radio that will receive and transmit voice on the 2meter band and CW on the 40meter band (and possibly other CW bands). It looks like the Yaesu FT-818 might be a contender although it has low power and might be difficult to reach people. I'm also considering a MFJ-9040 or something along those lines. I really loose interest in getting a big heavy radio to keep in the reloading room, but that's just me.

I'm not to worried about passing the general test. Understanding how a radio works and knowing how to use the radio are two separate entities.

We don't have any mountains here either, well not close anyway. POTA is no mountain required, just state or National park.

QRP is a hobby unto itself. I'd get a 100w. You can always QRP with that. But you can't use 100W with a 5w radio. Not without an amp anyway.

My portable set up is a Yaesu 891. It's HF only. But I don't really mess with VHF/UHF outside of local rag chewing anyway. When doing POTA I stay on HF.

General gets you more privileges in more bands.  Quite a bit more over tech.

As far as I am concerned that is the biggest benefit of upgrading licenses.

Definitely go for a radio with at least 50 Watts output on HF. While QRP is a heck of a lot of fun, it's nice to be able to crank the power up when conditions (both natural and man-made) get rough.

FWIW, while a large percentage of my operating is 5 Watts or less, very seldom do I raise the power above 50 Watts.