I need the assistance of an “Elmer”. (The term “Elmer” in this context meaning someone who provides personal guidance and assistance to would-be hams.)
I’m trying to level up my HAM radio with limited money and even more limited time.
I got tired of my Baeofeng Handhelds. They punch above their weight class but handhelds kinda’ annoy me and programming the Baeofeng was like hiking in a swamp after dark. (Either I should work on my analogies or y’all should try midnight swamp hiking.)
I want a mobile radio with 2M capacity that’s easy to program. The problem is I got wind of DMR and suddenly think I can’t live with out it. I don’t know if that’s true or I’m just buying hype. I haven’t tried DMR. I’m within range (I think) of a DMR repeater.
I also would like to use Winlink sometime in the future. (I’ve no idea if any of these radios is better or worse for Winlink.) I do have a Windows computer I can use for programming and running Winlink.
The mobile will live on my desk 90% of the time and go camping occasionally. Not mounted in a truck but lugged around in an ammo can.
At home I plan to power it with a 10 amp regulated power supply (running on 120V AC). I got the power supply at a garage sale decades ago. I assume it works. If it’s shot, I’ll get something else.
Eventually I’ll pick up a Jackery (which I can’t afford right now) to power it while camping.
I found two radios that might fit the bill.
The first is a Radiooddity DB25-D Dual Band DMR Mobile Radio. It costs around $240. It’s a weird little critter. About half the size of a regular mobile. Max power is 20W (which ought to hit repeaters from my house but maybe not while camping). I like the funky form factor. Reviews are um… mixed. Some say it’s awesome. Some say it’s a hot mess. (There’s a near duplicate radio called the Retevis RT73 Dual Band DMR Mobile Radio.)
The other contender is the TYT MD-9600 GPS Dual Band DMR Mobile Transceiver. Slightly more expensive at $285 (I was trying to stay under $250 and ideally closer to $200.) The advantage is that it has 50W power and it’s not a weirdly shaped half radio. The reviews for this one too are um… mixed. If there’s a clear winner I’m too dumb to identify it.
I’m a victim of analysis paralysis. Right now I favor the Radiooddity because it sounds like my favorite David Bowie song. Illogical? Absolutely!
So there you go, a chance to save me from David Bowie based decision-making.
Thanks for any help, public or private.
A.C.
There’s one more option. I could dispense with my bullshit fascination with DMR and just get a plain old dual band or single band. This would either save me like $100 on an “off brand” or a $20 bucks on a “high end brand”.
Here’s a “low end” (?) TYT TH-9000D. It is 2M only, dispenses with the DMR ability, looks like it’s mostly plastic… but it’s dirt cheap at $145 and transmits at 60W. I have no idea how hard it would be to program this radio. Anyone care to opine?
Here’s a “high end” (?) Yaesu FT-2980 for $226 (still cheaper than my DMR ideas). It’s not a dual band (2M only) but it broadcasts at a mighty 80W. (80 Watt seems like overkill!) I’ve never heard anyone bitch that a Yaesu is junk?
I assume a name brand rig is a would be easier to operate/program. Is that true?
Honorable mention: I should also mention that I looked at the TWAYRDIO Dual Band VHF UHF Back Pack Mobile Transceiver. At $229 for a non-DRM dual band mobile from a no name brand, it’s pricey. However, this strange beast has a built in battery!
It’s cheesy as hell (camouflage?!?) but it has an integrated battery, which I liked. The reviews for this were very negative. About 20% liked it and 80% said it’s crap, which is what I guessed from the “tacticool paintjob”. It’s off my list but deserves mention because of the battery.
Last note, I’ve included links to Amazon because that’s where I (like many people) shop. If you buy anything by following my links I get a little gift certificate from Amazon (it costs you nothing). In case you think I’m a greedy running dog of capitalism… well ok I like capitalism but Amazon links scarcely count. I got less than $7.50 in Amazon kickbacks last month, so I’m not exactly getting rich off them and that’s not why I include them.
Not even close to an elmer…just starting out myself so I’m of no help – just want to join in.
Also upgrading my baofeng. I am awaiting delivery of this:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832814933390.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.7e0314b5Iy7qV1&algo_pvid=11d337f4-958f-4be3-8cdd-220f7dfd501e&algo_exp_id=11d337f4-958f-4be3-8cdd-220f7dfd501e-23&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2266959579914%22%7D&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21USD%2174.42%2166.98%21%21%21%21%21%402101d8f416648210525431458e376e%2166959579914%21sea&curPageLogUid=BfuZxAB7ntz0
From what I can tell, it’s the radio only version of that TwayRdio combo unit you posted.
Dual band, 25w. No idea what working with it will be like. Fingers crossed.
My location is terrible, so I’m having to put most of my effort into raising a good antenna up high and good low loss cable.
That’s awesome. It costs less than $70. If it was any cheaper they’d be paying YOU. Good luck.
Holy crap, that’s a great find. I’ve been wanting a unit to put in my truck but hadn’t quite reached the “benefit outweighs the expense” level yet. At $70 I think that threshold has been met. Thanks for that.
I’ve not used DMR and have no input on the radios you mentioned, but I’m wondering how you are programming your Baeofeng.
Mine is a BF-F8HP and I use Chirp to program it [chirp.danplanet.com]. I use a Windows computer, but they have versions for Mac and Linux as well (free and open source). I found it very easy to use, so something worth thinking about if your radio supports it.
73
KE8RRO
I programmed my Baeofeng using Chirp on Linux. It worked but wasn’t idiot proof or anything.
Also the sentence “I programmed my Baeofeng using Chirp on Linux” would never have been uttered in a normal world only a few years ago.
I’ve got a cheat card I keep in my wallet for programming my uv5r… steps are pretty easy to remember once you get the logic behind the menu system.
For programming a repeater:
Radio in frequency mode
Upper display active
Menu 7 Menu 0 Menu Exit – for TDR off
Menu 28 Menu [memory #] Menu Exit – for Clearing memory #
Enter repeater Output frequency
Menu 13 Menu [enter/select Tx tone] Menu Exit
Menu 11 Menu [enter/select Rx tone] Menu Exit
Menu 27 Menu [memory #] Menu Exit
Enter repeater Input frequency
Menu 27 Menu [memory #] Menu Exit
Enter channel (memory) mode
Note that it is always Menu [number] Menu Exit as the pattern…
Then 7 (not always necessary), 28, 13, 11, 27, 27.
Note that 27 and 28 are memory number save and clear respectively; 11 and 13 are Rx and Tx tone set respectively and Tx is done first right after entering Output frequency. Doing two saves at the end: Input frequency and memory number.
Programming simplex follows the same pattern.
I’d be happy to send you the image I used to make my wallet card. Also, if you haven’t already found it, look up the Chinese radio project for a much better user manual for the Baofeng HTs.
Heck, send the image and I’ll put it on a post. (Assuming it’s not a copyright issue.) Seems like everyone out there has a Baeofeng and I’m not the only guy that gets lost with the menus.
I too, am a ham. The Yaesu would be the highest quality of those rigs and is certainly not junk! It could be programed without software or you could get RT Systems YPS 2980 programing software for $65 on Amazon (or online ham store). I use RT Systems software for several of my radios. While 80 watts may not be needed normally, its nice to have in some situations as long ass you have the power supply that will handle it.
I have TYT MD380 HT’s that do DMR. DMR must be programed by software and you will need to find someone in your area that uses DMR and that can help you program a “codeplug” (the frequencies and other details required for DMR). It can be a pain in the ass. I don’t know anything about those two Chinese made radios, but you should check the reviews on E-Ham. If they don’t get good reviews there (at least 4 stars) I would pass on them.
I have several Yaesu base, mobile and HT radios and they work great. Feel free to email me if you wish to discuss this in greater detail. And I can tell you about my experience with DMR.
73, Brad
I think I’m slowly talking myself out of DMR. Words like “codeplug” sound too much like work. The good news is once I consider a dual band or monoband (VHF a.k.a. 2meter) without DMR things seem simpler.
Also what’s this with buying programming software? I assumed manufacturers gave it away “free” or I’d just use CHIRP. That’s a new thing to pmeder.
Sometimes they do give you free software, sometimes it doesn’t work real well, and sometimes it does. RT System is top drawer software and I think its worth it. For DMR, I use Tytera’s free software, which is pretty good. As I said, programming DMR codeplugs is a whole different level of programing. Not impossible, just more complicated.
Here’s another twist. If you have any Yaesu System Fusion (C4FM digital) repeaters within range that are connected to the internet as nodes, those are really easy to use for statewide, nationwide and worldwide comms and I prefer C4FM to either DMR or Icom’s DSTAR digital.
If you have UHF (70cm) repeaters near you, a dual bander would be a good choice. If only 2m repeaters, you can save money. Keep us posted on how it goes and have fun researching all this!
I haven’t the slightest idea about C4FM or DSTAR but i guess I’ll find out. I think 70cm may be a moot point. It’s been a while since I messed around with my HAM handheld and I don’t recall I never used 70cm.
I’ve officially decided to punt on DMR for now. It might be awesome but it’s not urgent. I can always upgrade later if I want.
CHIRP was ok but I can see buying something else if it’s more user friendly. (Part of my issue may have been running it in Linux.)
DMR and easy to program are antonyms.
Of the choices you have posted I’d go with the Yaesu first, TYT radios second, and everything else a distant third. The TYT can be programmed with Chirp, just like your Baofeng. That being said I current have two TYT radios with blown finals that have been given to me.
I’d go for a Yaesu dual band if you can scrounge the funds. The FTM-6000R is currently $260 at Ham Radio Outlet. It is a dual band 50w radio. The FTM-200DR is $400 but it does APRS and digital modes. I’m still trying to talk myself into a FTM-300DR, but it is $460.
A lot of Hams are upgrading their mobile radios to digital, so you may be able to get a good deal on a used dual bander.
Your first sentence just convinced me to run screaming from DRM… at leas for now. 🙂
I looked up FTM-6000R and that’s a pretty sexy radio. It’s at the top of my budget (a little over) but I really like it. It’s on the shortlist now.
Watching this post with interest !
Cheers,
KA
You need to get Chirp for programming the Baofeng & the interface cable. You definitely do NOT want to program by hand with the radio keyboard. Chirp also lets you change several settings that cannot be changed from the keyboard. Chirp is free and is available for Windows or Linux.
I am not familiar with any of the radios you are asking about, so I can’t help you there. I’m using commercial radios that I was able to get for free for VHF & UHF so the only cost was the interface/programming cable since they are not field programmable due to FCC regulations.
I’ve used chirp. It’s ok. Programming a Baeofeng handheld without one would be pure hell.
Chirp is not perfect, but it beats the heck out of the program from Baofeng. And yes, programming from the keyboard was hell before I got the interface cable.
Well, been a Ham since 1978 and worked for two companies that built commercial and then Ham radios. Am completely out of touch with modern stuff, this DMR that you speak of is a mystery that I have to read up on. Son gave me one of those software defined ham radio receivers, still in a box above my computer. It is a receiver only though.
That said, let me dig into a bin of radios and see if there is anything left there that might fill the void. I sold off most of my stuff and ham stock (used to sell the stuff at Dayton). I think all the Bao Feng handhelds are gone. Standby, will update when I get a look out in the barn.
You have my complete attention.
Oh, as to all these modern multiple button press for 10 different functions are a PITA. Give me a simple dial and simple digital display with minimum buttons and I am happy. Yeah, the big names such as Yaesu or ICOM you can’t go wrong but they are pricey. TYT from China is not bad and trying to match the Japanese.
RE: Programming – have you looked at Chirp
https://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home
It doesn’t do all of your options but it works well with the ones listed. Much better than trying to use the nested menus and front panel buttons. If you do not have a programming cable, check with a local ham – they might have one.
I don’t really have any HAM local contacts, I’d just buy a cable.
I use CHIRP to program my Baofeng UV-5R from a Windows laptop. It’s dead simple.
I prefer the Kenwood TM-V71A, but it’s an older product and easy to program.
Here’s a link to reviews of mobile ham rigs.
https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-category?id=38
I hesitate to say much because all I know about these radios and DMR is that they exist, so just some general ideas.
First, if you need to know if you have a DMR or other digital voice repeater in your area, the ARRL repeater directory will tell you. You don’t need to buy a book, you can do web searches like “nearest DMR repeater” or D-STAR or WIRES or whatever. DRM is probably going to be the Grand Unified Theory, um, Method, but last time I looked (a year or more ago, so too long ago) the landscape was fractured into D-STAR and WIRES.
While all I really know about those radio brands is that they exist, I tend to trust the well-established brands, like the Yaesu you show vs. the TYT. That said, I’m fairly sure I saw that Yaesu had put their name on a radio that looked just like a TYT radio. I have an Icom dual band (IC-208, discontinued) and a Yaesu HT, the VX-6R.
It’s not that the Yaesu is going to necessarily be easier to program just that they’re more likely to be supported by the other suppliers than the “off-brands.” Places like RT Systems that sell programming software and cables for lots of different radios. Also the people that put out little books/cheat sheets for using the radio. One side effect of putting tons of features into teeny tiny radios is making the menu structure a mile deep and damned near impossible to memorize, beyond the four or five things you do all the time.
Feel free to go to direct email if you’d rather.
I’m still in analysis paralysis. I did check and there’s a DMR repeater within range but I decided to hold off on DRM. I think DRM is going to be awesome someday in the future but I don’t need to be an early adopter.
Right now I’m spinning my wheels looking at an expensive-ish new YAESU FTM 6000r or a much cheaper “still in box” Anytone 588. They’re totally different approaches and I can’t quite even decide between them.
Have you ever looked at a Chinese menu when you’re hungry and totally vapor locked at all the options? I’m there. 🙂
Sorry, AC, not my field. Divemedic has a post up today that may be of interest, otherwise SiG may be able to answer some questions.
With a good antenna you won’t need all that much power. At 80W you’ll be able to fry chipmunks. Seeing as how I’m spending your money, I’d go for Yaesu over the lesser brands. You did want to step up from Baofeng and suchlike? Have you considered Alinco? I have a nice Alinco DJ-X11 which is receive only, but it is a nice piece of kit.
This page has a couple of DMR dual band HT’s:
https://www.dxengineering.com/search?SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=DMR
If you want to play with DMR, buy a hotspot or make yourself one.
For useful detail on what a hotspot is: https://amateurradionotes.com/hotspots.htm
TL;DR: it is a small, cheap radio device that connects to the internet. Then you radio -> hotspot, hotspot -> the internets -> other hotspots -> other DMR users.
It is “radio cheating” because internet, but it lets you play with DMR radio without buying new radios. If the experience is worth it, then you can invest in a higher end DMR radio.
Finally note – a DMR repeater is usually internet connected as well as RF; so in essence your expensive DMR radio is using the DMR repeater as a hotspot…
Here is one option – $58 and you need a Raspberry Pi to make it go…
https://www.amazon.com/Hotspot-Aluminium-Support-Raspberry-Pi-Zero/dp/B07Z8YP5VJ/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=dmr+hotspot&qid=1664917767&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI1LjYyIiwicXNhIjoiNC42MCIsInFzcCI6IjMuOTcifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-5&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc
If you want to spend $165 and do no assembly (no need for a Raspberry Pi) try https://www.amazon.com/Bewinner-Assembled-MMDVM-Hotspot-Communications/dp/B07P7PD49D/ref=sr_1_20?keywords=dmr+hotspot&qid=1664917767&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI1LjYyIiwicXNhIjoiNC42MCIsInFzcCI6IjMuOTcifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-20&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0
I don’t have a “rig” myself, so much as a pile of parts and wires. (Just got my technicians license two years ago. Haven’t done a lot with it yet.)
I’ve been using an RTL SDR dongle (some kind of usb receiver) coupled to an amplifier that I soldered a 9v battery to. I managed to pick up some local HAM’s in the area.
I’ve been attempting to use a HackRFone as a transmitter, another amplifier, and an antenna – so far no luck making contact. All of this uses a computer software program to manage the radios, so not what you want.
I recently had to replace my aged Icom and went with an Alinco 2m mobile DR-135.
The form factor is nice, has plenty of power, and using CHIRP had it programmed in about 20 minutes.
I tried one of the Xhinese boxes, it was nice but solidly died after about 4 months.
Good Luck!
Stick to the big 3: Yaesu, icom, kenwood. It’s money well spent. Better quality. Better support and service when needed.
We have Kenwood mobile and Icom HF. The Chinese radios we tried turned into repair projects not easily completed.
A good antenna is way more important than more power. Making a good 2m portable antenna for boat or motorcycle is cheap and easy.
A few comments, a lot has already been well covered.
Chirp is very handy, free, covers a lot of radios and does all the basics pretty well. If a radio is covered by chirp I rarely look at the other software. The proprietary chinese radio software is usually flaky, and often weird to use. Chirp has the same interface more or less for any radio it can program. You can also create frequency tables and import them from one radio type to another easily. Good enough is the enemy of better.
The chinese radios seem to be a crap shoot for long term reliability. I have yaesu, kenwoods, icoms over a decade old still going strong. That said, I just picked up a fonghoo (qyt8900r?) from amazon that is supposed to be tri band, with 220 to try some of the repeaters in the area. It seems to make power on that band ok, I’m in the middle of writing a file in chirp to put in it. It was cheap and I’m not too invested in being able to operate on 220. Plus it supposedly does 2 and 70cm. I have other radios that cover those bands and are reliable, so this was just a cheap experiment.
One other thing is that the small mobiles, while they have a cute form factor, seem to have a problem getting rid of heat. Even some of the Yaesu’s that tried that form factor seemed to be fragile and the moved back to the more normal DIN sized form.
D-Star, Fusion, DMR, all leave me kind of cold. The good thing is if you have an internet connection on a radio, you have access to a lot of other people to talk to all over the world. Your cellphone can do that too. 🙂 But if you’ve ever listened on a local, dead, repeater that begins to be a good option. For grid down comms, forget it. Simplex on digital modes might give you some communications security against casual listeners with a baofeng, but not against anyone who knows what they are doing.
My experience with DSTAR sort of leaves me cold. I don’t like the crappy codec they use, it sounds terrible to my ear compared to good analog FM. Fusion uses a better codec but there’s not much of it locally. DMR seems to be a variant on P25 and I’ve never messed with it. While I love SDR radios on the HF bands, I like my VHF gear straightforward. DMR from what I can tell isn’t. Even DSTAR is a pain, we have a couple of guys in the club who program most of the other member’s radios. And most really don’t use it much. DSTAR seems to be fading in popularity, DMR growing, fusion I’m not sure. Allstar seems interesting and I’ve played a little but my elmer on that went SK so not as much lately. It’s analog FM so good quality and basically uses servers based on a telephone codec and scheme called asterisk adapted for ham radio. Good codec quality and seemed fairly simple. Nodes made with raspberry pi’s.
Another digital thing is APRS. Beacon’s out a position based on GPS. Check out APRS.fi to see what kind of data that can provide. I’ve used it on boating trips to let the family keep tabs on where I was. There ways to message out via it as well. A few radios, mostly kenwoods, have it built in (D700, D710, D72, D74)
For boating and motorcycling a simple wire J-pole antenna up ten feet on a cheap fishpole makes a world of difference. You can buy them or make them. A home a simple 3-4 element beam made from PVC and THHN wire can multiply your power by 10db (x10) and they can be made portable. Or get one of the arrow satellite beams which have a 2 meter and 440 antenna on the same boom for working Low Earth Orbit FM satellites with dual band HT’s. Break down to an easy to pack package
Another whole world is the DC-daylight radios that cover MF, HF, VHF and UHF. Things like a yaesu 991a, FT857 or 897 (go with the 857 and a modern lithium LiFe04 battery), ICOM IC706MKiiG, etc. Cover 1.8 mhz (receives down to bottom of broadcast band or lower) to 440 mhz, all analog modes. The current cream of the crop, at the 10 watt level, is probably the ICO705. Does DSTAR too. About 4 times your budget but a sweet radio. In a grid down situation, if you can power it, the mix of HF and VHF/UHF would be important but now we’re in serious mission creep. 🙂
Check out the used market. swap.qth.com, qrz.com swapfest, local hamfests, even craigslist. Best to have a local elmer to help sort what’s available but it’s not hard to find a decent main vendor radio for $100 or less.
45-50 watts is the sweet spot for power. You can usually drop it to 5 and 20 on low and medium to save power. More than 50 watts usually doesn’t improve things a lot, it’s only about 1 db increase and 3db is about the minimum that one really notices. But it takes more than 10 amps usually, making it harder to power. And FM is full duty cycle, not like PEP in sideband. And you don’t really want to be real close to an antenna doing 50 watts. Especially on 440. If you’re near the antenna, use the lowest power you can. Or get a car roof or something between you and the antenna.
Analysis paralysis is a thing. It’s why many of us have a room(s) full of radios.
73 de wb2ems
Don’t get hung up on programming. My handhelds have ONE repeater programmed because that’s the one I use. I’m in Houston, and there are lots of repeaters, but only one or two that are really in use most of the time and have anyone to talk to.
I can make the case for programming the FRS/GPRS, weather service, and possibly a couple of other ‘listen only’ frequencies, but any more than 10-20 and you need your own cheat sheet or mini guide book.
If you want to listen to everything you might possibly hear, get a scanner. In fact, get one and listen to your local ham bands and see if there is even anyone on the air, then see if you want to join that conversation… If you want some backup comms for your backwoods adventures, program the national calling frequencies, and add any listed repeater for the area you are visiting before you go. Otherwise, if you put the whole repeater directory in your radio, you’ll have a heck of a time remembering what to access anyway.
Just my opinion of course, but I’ve watched too many people get paralyzed into inaction by trying to decide on how to organize their radio memories, what freqs to program, what software to mess around with, etc.
My baofangs are cheap, but the battery lasts a long time, and they are loud. My Yaesu FT-60 never seems loud enough to hear in the car, and the battery is either dead, or soon runs out. For mobile, I’ve got an FT 8900 quad band that sits on my desk as my VHF/UHF rig. I got it cheap. I meant to install it in one of the trucks, but it’s been easier to just grab the handie talkie. I do have mag mount antennas on the trucks for the handhelds when I want more range, but I almost never use anything but the rubber duck antenna.
From your stories and posts, I can’t see you chattering away with the local rag chew net when you’re at the unimproved campsite… I find myself sitting by the fire spinning the dial on my shortwave far more often than hitting ‘scan up’ on my ham radio to see if anyone local is on the air.
Keep your goal firmly in mind, and the choices should resolve themselves. If you want to be able to call for help, TX power and a good antenna are top of the list. Calling freq, local repeater, home repeater, and you are programmed. If you want to be able to chat with locals (or someone somewhere thru an internet linking technology-accessed locally) then see where the locals are chatting, program that, and you’re good to go. Unless you LIKE messing with your radio’s programming, there isn’t much need to do it more than once or twice… and there is zero reason to let it stop you from USING the radio.
Good luck, and I’ll be interested to see what you choose, and why.
nick
“From your stories and posts, I can’t see you chattering away with the local rag chew net when you’re at the unimproved campsite…” You know that’s a good point and probably why I don’t go far with HAM. It may be a limiting factor. Very wise observation.
I never felt like talking over the airwaves so I don’t improve my skills. It’s probably why I never used my Baeofengs much. I can hit a few repeaters and thats about all I did. (They do pull in the weather channels very well!) It also explains why I got a SpotX for remote camping safety and a shortwave for remote camping entertainment and have been happy with that for several years. I did try to program my Baeofeng for many places I would be but I never really tested it out on “unknown” repeaters. BTW I am slowly learning that ARPS with a gps enabled radio is probably the nearest HAM analog to my SpotX… I’ve never used ARPS but I see the point of it.
I have a few ideas what I’ll do with HAM this time around but I’ll wait to see if it actually works before I post about it.
I am ready to bite the bullet and start the journey to becoming a ham, like my father the late W2LTJ. I would appreciate any response with a suggestion where to start to take the test and get the license. I will check back here from time to time to have a look . . . . .
I’ll write a quick post about my HAM progress after I make more progress.
In the meantime, your first job is passing the FCC test so you get your “Technician” HAM license. It’s not hard. Google for the HAM club nearest to your location. Most HAM clubs have regularly scheduled “how to pass the HAM test” classes. They desperately want new people to join their hobby. Decades ago (when I was starting out) the average age of a HAM was older than dirt and I can’t imagine Gen Z is showing up in their pierced glory to alter that age distribution. They’ll roll out the red carpet for you, a potential new HAM!
Sign up, show up to classes with a fresh cup of coffee and a pencil and notebook, just sit through the class (usually it’s a series of several classes… in my case it was one class a week that was probably an hour long for a handful of weeks) and you’ll be fine. There’s usually a book you can buy, it is probably worth it. The HAM club may want a donation; pay it. They’re earning it by instructing your ass. 🙂 You can study online without the class but if you were that motivated you would have taken the test long ago. (I would never have done it online either.)
Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. HAMs like to talk about all the cool shit they know but not all of it is on the test. Also Morse code (called CW) hasn’t been required in a generation. There’s a few basic ideas like the relationship between watts and amps… it will be explained in detail using words a fifth grader can understand; it’s very simple. The hard part for me was memorizing which bands (frequencies) you could use for what things. The divisions are more or less arbitrary FCC rules so you can’t “reason out” the answer, you must memorize that.
The test is not too hard. I took the test a long time ago but it’s probably about the same now. The government (FCC) has weird ideas about tests (there are some FAA tests similarly structured). There’s a “question pool” of X questions. You will get a random selection of these questions. There will never be a test question that wasn’t part of the pool. Every question in the pool and its answer is publicly known. Of course they’re all multiple choice. Back when I took the test I found an online site that had pool tests. I’d take a randomly assorted set of questions online and the website would auto score. The week before the real test I did the online practice version over and over until I sailed through the practice 90% of the time. That made the real test seem pretty easy. If you went through a club’s class they’ll almost certainly setup the test for you and the other students. Show up on time, pay the fee, take the test, pass it. Easy peasy.
If you can walk and chew gum at the same time you will pass the test; provided you attend the classes and do some practice tests. Many people spend years and years trying to avoid the “misery” of a half dozen classes when it’s just a few hours and not that hard. If you start today and the classes are scheduled advantageously, you could easily be a certified HAM Technician by Thanksgiving.
Good luck! Keep me up to date with your progress. I know some HAMs read this blog and they’re all rooting for you.
I have aTYT 7800 that serves me well and was nicely priced. I also have a Yaesu FTM 400 that I much prefer, albeit with a steeper price. Next up is a 991A that is on my list.
Stay away from the chinese junk, buy from a reputable amateur radio store, not Amazon. Spend a few minutes on the phone with an HRO store and let them make a few suggestions for you. The antenna system and coax is as important as the radio, don’t get hung up on watts.