That's right, after having had a Tech license for 5 years, I finally got around to taking the test for the General.  I missed one question.  It's weird in that I don't really use my handy talkies that much, except maybe to listen in on the local police on a Friday or Saturday during a football game.  But I've read the fun is going international via HF, so I studied up and did it.  

I have two radios, a Yaseau 897D and an ICOM 7200 still in the box.  That's it though, I still need tuners, antenna, cable, etc.  And I need to figure out where to put the antenna.  A windstorm came thru the other night and I'm now a few trees less in my yard, and I have a power line to deal with.  Feel free to make suggestions.  I've never messed with HF radios at all.  Just studied for the test, so I'm a complete novice.

Congrats!  

Congratulations! Now you can play where all the fun stuff happens.

LDG makes a line of tuners that are rig specific. A lot of people on here use and like them. Or you could get a manual tuner. These days the price is about the same at the 100 Watt level.

As for antennas, they're easy to make. Here are some typical ones:
Classic Ladder Line Dipole: http://www.hamuniverse.com/hfdoublet.html
Off-Center Fed Dipole (Windom): http://www.buxcomm.com/windom.htm
Fan Dipole: http://www.hamuniverse.com/multidipole.html
Propagation, Feedlines, and Antennas: http://www.hamuniverse.com/n4jaantennabook.html
End Fed Antenna{ earchi.org/92011endfedfiles/Endfed6_40.pdf

Source for wire, feedlines, insulators, and hardware:
The Wireman: https://www.thewireman.com/
MFJ: www.mfjenterprises.com
Ham Radio Outlet: www.hamradio.com

Good, now get off the damn computer and talk to a stranger.

Congrats, Stan_TheGunNut!  

Congrats!

It may be another "Just passed my General thread", but at least it's not a dupe....

Congrats!

Stop with the crazy talk!   You mean I have to get off the computer AND talk to someone?  What's the world coming to?

Thanks all for the congrats and suggestions.

Power supplies.... I like the Samlex supplies.  For a 100w HF rig you need 22-25 amps.

For the Yaesu 897 LDG makes a dedicated tuner that bolts neatly to the side of the radio, making a neat,
compact package.  It is a better tuner than the similar one made by Yaesu.

For the Icom IC-7200, again LDG.  IT-100 or other LDG models.  I have used IT-100's with IC-7200's and
IC-718's with good success.  Never a problem.

Congrats.  Bands have been a little noisy but don't worry.  Try to setup a 40m antenna because lately 20m is shutting down at sunset.  Have fun and don't hesitate to ask questions.  Antenna is the most important item you can have.  Dont skimp on the antenna garden...

Can anyone suggest a reasonably priced good quality power supply?  I was looking at some of the Ham Radio Outlet options.

I was specifically looking at the Astron RS-35M which has 11-15V adjustable DC linear power supply.  25Amp continuous and 35 Amps ICS with meters.

I prefer the Samlex 1235M.

http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-008965

But the one you are eyeballing is a linear and doubtless a better supply.

A google pic of your lot might help with antenna ideas BUT since you HAVE the radios I recommend you at least put a temporary wire up and do some listening until you sort out what antenna to use.

You do not need a tuner to receive on a random length of wire, and it need not be anything special.  Just don't leave it hooked up to the radio when not in use

You should also spend some time reading up on the grounding requirements for home stations so you don't unknowingly introduce any unnecessary risks.

Oh and grats!

Congrats!

You'll love HF.  You may want to look at building your own antenna.

My son is a tech, so I built a 10M dipole for him and put it in the attic.  I recently added 20M wires on to it to make it a dual bander.  We're working on putting up a mast outside as funds allow to put up a good HF antenna.

I also built a 40M/20M/10M fan dipole to work a special events station and 40M.  Using parts from my junk box, my total cost was $0.00!!

On HF, I'm using an MFJ antenna tuner and a Astron RS-35 power supply I bought 20 years ago for my VHF radios.