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HF rig?

ford074

Member
Apr 5, 2005
90
1
16
Iowa
I just passed my tech test and I'm going to take my general and CW test in the middle of March. I thought I'd start scouting out a HF rig to use as a base. Can anyone tell me what to look for in the $300.00 - $500.00 range? Also, who makes a good antenna tuner? I'm stuck running my A99 antenna untill summer when I plan on upgrading to a Yagi.

Thanks guys.






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If you can get your hands on a Yaesu FT-900, the internal tuner will tune from 10-20 meters no problem. That's what I use at my cabin with good results. You should be able to get one for right around $600 ( a little higher but worth it ). The tuner actually handles some pretty high mis-matches. I've tuned down a 5/1 swr!



73


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That yaseu is one sweet looking unit! I'll have to check around and see if I can find one used around here. I missed a Kenwood 840 for $250.00 last weekend. Oh well, something will pop up.

Thanks for the input.




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i have a yaesu ft-900/at with the box and operating manual this radio is mint asking $675 ++ shipping this is a fine price i have pics if need e-mail me at womensthreat@yahoo.com thank you


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Ford',

Congratulations on passing the test, and good luck

with the next one(s).

Start asking for catalogues, and looking through old

magazines at the various radios. There are a bunch

of them around, new, and used, that work just fine.

Don't 'tie your self down' to a particular make/model

till you've had a chance to look at what's available.

You may find something else that you just can't live

without.

There's nothing wrong with 'tube type' radios, but they

are a bit more difficult to use. If you don't mind the

'extra' bother of tuning a radio, there are some real

bargains out there. They may not have all the bells

and whistles the newer digital radios do, but that's not

as big a deal as you may think.

Anyway, look a whole lot before 'plunking' your money

down for your first HF radio...

- 'Doc

PS - Don't 'rule out' wire antennas! Fast, cheap, and they

work suprizingly well. 'Course, I'll swap you my wire antenna

for your beam! (then I'll make another wire antenna)LOL




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you can check out what people have to say about various rigs on www.eham.net. good luck . i just got the ft847 with the desk mike yesterday. ps when you decide also check out the ham vendors for used and demo equip. they are usually back to factory specs and offer somekind of a small warranty. if you buy of ebay and the likes i find that most of the time the going prices are close to vendor prices, so why take the risk. 73 and great job on the tech test


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Thanks for the input guys. I bought the morse code tapes from Gordon West and to my dismay, I am haveing a h*ll of a time learning CW. My ears are shot, I have had hearing aids for both ears since I was 28 years old. The cross over freq. for the highs and lows on my hearing aids is 1K, exactly the samr freq. as the tones for the tapes and the test. Combine this with the effective delay of the hearing aids themselves and by the time I "hear" one character, they are already 1-2 characters ahead.

I guess I will be stuck with the Tech. class liecense untill they get rid of CW. That really sucks! I can pass the written test, but not the CW.

Oh well. Thanks for the input on thr HF rigs, I was hopeing to find an old tube type unit. Gotta love that glow.




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I may be wrong, But it seems like I read an article somewhere about getting a "doctors release" because of your hearing and you could use that to bypass the code.Maybe I was dreaming at the time<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"> but still worth checking into<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/happy.gif ALT=":D">


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Hot Rod Lincoln -Dancing around the World ! ...... 948 Central Texas, PE948 - Hook948@hotmail.com</p>
 
Ford -

I wouldn't give up too quickly. It may be more difficult

for you than for most people, but it's certainly still

'do-able'. The solution is to change the 'tone' at which

you're listening to the CW. There's a fairly wide tone

range that will be 'hearable' and should 'by-pass' the

problem with the hearingaides. Or, if the problem isn't

solvable that way, there are a number of other ways of

copying code. Since the license revision, I think the

'code' waiver is a thing of the past, but I'm not sure. I

would certainly not give up on it though!

- 'Doc




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Thanks for the encouragement Doc. I haven't given up completely yet.

One way or another I will get my CW test done. I guess I was just whineing and feeling sorry for myself. Where there is a will there is a way, and I shall find it!




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I went with the MFJ morse code tutor. You can totally customize how it works, code speed, characters sent, and even the tone. The thing that I really liked is that it send everything randomly, so that you aren't just memorising the pattern. Also you can set it so that it only sends 2 or 3 character at a time if you want, or as many as you want.



Just my 1cent (Uncle Sam took the rest)

73




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If you cant hear at 5 WPM, maybe you could see at 5 WPM. Have you VE's set up a light bulb to the key. Or better yet have him squeeze your finger at 5 WPM. If you have a friends who will be your VE's, it shouldn't be a problem. Good luck...


TheMerc aka 427 North Idaho... Ch.8 AM/Ch.39 USB</p>
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I can't get the VE's to reply to my e-mail's seeking advice/help on this matter, so, I'm at a stand still.

Oh well, it's nothing to get nervous about, it will all work out, it all ways does.



Thanks again!


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