I have been talking on Fire and EMS radio for more than a decade. I have been wanting HAM for emergency comms, I took my test and passed tonight. So now I have much more to learn, and another expensive hobby. I have my FD handhelds  Kenwood TK 272  and will probably buy a few cheap UV-5R or similar and save money for a mobile. We have very good repeaters here for local clubs.

So finally I can say hello to fellow HAM's.

Congrats!  

Congrats!  

Hot diggity!


But you are supposed to blame someone.    Who is it going to be?

Don't stop studying... start now on General while your brain is still in gear.  It is not much
harder than Tech.  You can do this!

Congrats, zoe17!  

Good on ya!  I'm coming up on 25 years of being a ham, and mainly for emcomm as well.  As others have said, keep studying.  Plus, lotsa cool things to do on the low bands.

Congrats!  I second what Jupiter7200 suggests.  Keep studying for your General and Extra.  HF is where the most fun is at.  


Vulcan94

Very nice. Now go finish General. It's not much harder.

Good job. Now just two more.

Congrats

Congrats.

Let the contacts begin!

Congrats!

Now, just in case you missed them the first time, listen to these folks! It's only a few more hours of your time and you will really enjoy the rewards that HF has to offer!

^this^

and congrats

I will keep studying.  Thanks for the encouraging words. Going to get my radios re flashed with our area HAM frequencies.

Congratz!  And welcome to the party, pal!

Congratulations.  

Good job! Go get your General!

Congrats!

I wasn't planning on taking general but they offered it to me after passing tech and I passed. Now I'm studying for extra which I also took and missed by 2 stupid points.  

I found the general exam to be about half common sense questions and more detailed questions about the topics covered in tech. The other half was new material. There are more questions focused on the HF bands (since that what general unlocks) and more detailed electronics questions. Inductance, reactance, antenna types, identifying what a discrete component DOES in a circuit.

The ARRL books are a good reference but I don't think you'll need it for general. I paid $20 for the newest edition of extra book on Amazon with free prime shipping general is around same price. Just make sure you get the latest version. Highly recommend the tests on QRZ over eHam bc QRZ randomizes the answers like the actual test.

Congrats!

I had a Kenwood mobile like we used in our FD trucks in my Tahoe. I had local ham frequencies in it. My Tahoe met a untimely fiery death and insurance did not pay for radios, lights,etc. So I am thinking I could put moles power plug and mag mount on my current vehicle, and have power supply and antenna at home and carry radio inside to use as home and car radio. I am looking for a budget mobile now. If you guys have a extra radio and want to trade IM me please.

Thanks for all the replies and the search continues.

Congrats!   It's a fun hobby.  

Congrats.

Congratulations, welcome to the club

Ditto what Jupiter said. While you're in study mode, go ahead and get your General.

HF is entirely different from life on the repeaters, and is where most hams wind up anyway. Instead of being limited to a couple of dozen miles, the world is literally at your fingertips.

If emergency service is your interest, there is the Tennessee Phone Net and Hurricane Watch Net, plus many other national, regions, state, and local nets. While we're not usually affected by hurricanes, we can act as relay stations for those who are.

A friend gave me a old Icom 2000H. So I can make the power cable, but what kind of cable can I use to run up in the attic to mount a short antenna? RG-6 work? I need a mag mount to use in my Murano for temp. antenna. Funds are tight but I will be looking for a used more modern unit. I would in the end, well for now I am thinking of a base radio for home and a mobile in my ride and the wife's ride. For now I will get a Boafeng (sp) but not sure which model. I saw one a guy had that had the extended battery and he liked his, he had 4 of them.

Any advise for budget handhelds or just use my Kenwood TK-272 ? Any advise for mobile rig(s)? I do not mind used.

I have a BaoFeng UV-5RV2+. Bought that with extended battery, Nagoya 771, programming cable, and headset for around $70 from Amazon.

The BF-F8+ is the next gen 5R. Supposedly has some internal updates as well as more "finished" looking case.

IC 2000H looks like a decent enough 2M rig.  What sort of antenna are you thinking for the attic?   Ed Fong sells a kit on Ebay for a dualband J-pole or you can check out his article here Ed Fong article , Super easy to make.   The RG-6 may or may not work for you, lots of people use it because there is a lot of it all over that is practically free.   What do you have to lose?  

For a mobile antenna there are a lot of good NMO mag mounts around, I am partial to Larsen.  For the antenna for 2M only, the NMO-150 is a great 5/8 wave (about 47" tall IIRC) or for dual band the NMO 2-70 is good but not quite the 2M antenna that the single band is.    With a lot of use a mag mount WILL scratch up the paint.   Buy the best mobile antennas you can afford, that is the most important factor in your station performance, thus be it ever and always.

For a cheap 2M only mobile (or base) rig the Kenwood TM-281A (~$149) is at the bottom of the price barrel, nothing wrong with 'em unless you absolutely must have a manual squelch knob.   Yaesu FT-8800 (~$319) is a good and popular dualband mobile, nothing wrong with them.  I think those will be your two price leaders on the new market.   You can spend a lot more than what those rigs cost, but you can't spend much less.

For a HT the Baofengs are what they are, a super value really.   BUT STILL, I recommend the Yaesu FT-60 as a starter.   Even though it is a lot more money it is a rugged and time tested HT which is much easier to operate than any of the Chinese rigs (OK the FT-60 is made in China as is just about anything at the low end but Yaesu>Baofeng without question).   Either is a whole lot more versatile than the TK-272, you know what you have there.

Enjoy the hobby!   You don't have to get everything all at once, after the kids get their shoes treat yourself bit by bit and always remember, every ounce of pain is AR-Jedi's fault.