Question on 10 meter HAM purchase

[vkrules]

Around 28.480 is good for VK and ZL
28.480 to 28.500 Seems to be the preferred frequencies for Europe.( and a bit higher but that would be outside your licence).
And from this side of the pond I seem to work more US stations from about 28.375 to 28.480. Can someone post some local preferred frequencies

Nice FT-757 for sale in the classifieds , cheap..

 

[Ironman1956]

They are selling a lot of sets that are just AM and FM which are useless as you will need side-band

Passed my tech license Jan 18th, Monday. I challenged the General and only got 17 out of the 35 correct. I have a 2 meter Yaesu 2900R hooked up and have been monitoring but of course no transmitting until I have my ticket posted. Thankyou and hopefully I can find a multiband radio at a ham fest.

 

[w9cll]

Congrats on passing the test!

 

[fourstringburn]

Congrats on passing your Tech class!

I say don't mess around and go for broke. Put your name on the reserve list for the new limited edition of the new ICOM 7850! HI HI! (LOL)

Nice rig huh? When it is finally approved for sale by the FCC, my guess it will only be a $12,000 radio.

All kidding aside, as others have mentioned a Tech license is limited on the HF bands, only 200 kHz of SSB phone is all you get on 10 meters. If you think you would like to operate more on the HF bands, as long as you are still in study mode, get your General class, you won't regret it!

If a tech license is all you desire for now, I think the RCI 2950DX or the 2970DX models are real nice radios for what they are and unlike a lot of glorified CB's, they work well and are very stable on SSB whereas a lot of those other ones tend to drift like a sailboat on the ocean.

These models are reasonably priced around $250.00 or so for the 2950 or the 200 watt 2970 version for about $ 120.00 more, this will cover your tech license power wise.

If you really want a nicer radio with better and more features, I would agree with others that you can't beat either the Icom 718 or the Yaesu 450 for a nice and affordable entry level rig. Me personally between the two, I would go with the the Yaesu.

I believe if you went with a nice modern HF rig like these, it would inspire you to go ahead and get your General class so you can fully enjoy your new rig on the HF bands!

Good luck!

 

[DuckSoupe]

I will look into it. I probably will go for both licenses. It will take some time; but being retired I got the time. What radio would you recommend?

 

[w9cll]

ICOM 718, good starter rig that will do everything you need and wont break the bank.

 

[Beetle]

RTTY is teletype, and "data" is digital. Don't forget that you have CW privileges as a technician. All you need to know is Morse code.

 

[918Oklahoma]

I was in your shoes and i went with a 10-12m radio, the optima mk3. While it is a great radio and performs exceptionally well, i wish i would have just spent the extra cash and gone with an all mode HF transceiver like others are suggesting. Im already thinking about upgrading at some point this year, to a general class license and an all mode radio.

If you know this hobby is for you, dont beat around the bush, spend your max, and buy something you can grow into. You'll spend less money in the long run, and you'll have more resources to put into your antenna system.

 

[W4KVW]

10 METERS has been AWESOME the last couple of months.I don't know why anyone would say it's on the decline? Europe & Africa many mornings in the last week alone including Ireland,England,Portugal,Spain,& Italy with others scattered in there.That is a GREAT DX Day on most any band & just FYI I think the General Test is Easier than the Technician Test.It was for me.I ACED the General after missing 3 Questions on the Tech test.Go figure!

God bless & Good DX de,
Clayton
W4KVW

 

[doctor]

Yes 10 meters is alive and well , I sit on 28.400 and make constant contacts. I leave the radio on daily on that frequency.

If the techs have priveleges on some portion of cw, and you do not know cw, download multipsk<free>, and use cw, it copies great even if the signals are in the noise with no problems.

If your bankroll is low, look on qth dot com, I saw a few ICOM for sale for $385 to $400 the other day, just pay with paypal and breeze along.

DOCTOR/795

 

[vkrules]

Yes 10 has been open and will be for a while.But the cycle has peaked and is on it's way down fast. Sunspot no this Month are down to 59, this time last year 74 and next year 46 is predicted ( and that is not the yearly minimum ). Having had my licence for more than 3 cycles( over 35 years) I can tell you You will want the lower bands very shortly spend the extra for a hf set.

 

[Ham Man]

Congrad's on passing your tech, now go after your general and don't stop until you get to extra.
I think most everyone here has covered most everything except that I would suggest that if you were going to get a 100w HF rig that you need to get a 35a power supply.
Most rigs requires at least 12a when operating SSB and most amateur grade power supplies are only about a 50% duty cycle, so you have to double it's output to keep it from failing. With an Astron 35m, you will have enough power to run both your little Yaesu mobile and a 100w HF rig.

I figure if you spent $300 so far, you still have $300 to spend, unless income tax time has increased your booty.

The new Kenwood TS 590S were selling for about $1400 last month when the newest model 590S/G came out. Maybe you could pick one of those up, they are a very fine transceiver..

Since HF is not channelized, any frequency is a good frequency on 10m to call CQ, and most activity takes place around 28.400 MHz. USB - the call frequency..
Your cb radio antenna would work great with the Kenwood and it's autotuner..

 

[Ironman1956]

Congrad's on passing your tech, now go after your general and don't stop until you get to extra.
I think most everyone here has covered most everything except that I would suggest that if you were going to get a 100w HF rig that you need to get a 35a power supply.
Most rigs requires at least 12a when operating SSB and most amateur grade power supplies are only about a 50% duty cycle, so you have to double it's output to keep it from failing. With an Astron 35m, you will have enough power to run both your little Yaesu mobile and a 100w HF rig.

I figure if you spent $300 so far, you still have $300 to spend, unless income tax time has increased your booty.

The new Kenwood TS 590S were selling for about $1400 last month when the newest model 590S/G came out. Maybe you could pick one of those up, they are a very fine transceiver..

Since HF is not channelized, any frequency is a good frequency on 10m to call CQ, and most activity takes place around 28.400 MHz. USB - the call frequency..
Your cb radio antenna would work great with the Kenwood and it's autotuner..

 

[Ironman1956]

Thankyou so much everyone for all the good info. I would like to purchase a 10 meter but went with the 2 meter FM Yaseau and an 1/4 wave groundplane to start with. It is working great with the elevation my home sits on and have been getting involved with the local ham operators here in my community. I know the skip is already falling off and is supposed to this year. My Uniden Bearcat in which I monitor 38 lsb is not near as active as it was 4 or 5 months ago. Not sure how low the propagation will go but enjoy the long distance contacts and am still focused on a 10 meter or multi band. Will study again this fall. I did get half of the General questions correct when I challenged it.

 

[Ham Man]

Thankyou so much everyone for all the good info. I would like to purchase a 10 meter but went with the 2 meter FM Yaseau and an 1/4 wave groundplane to start with. It is working great with the elevation my home sits on and have been getting involved with the local ham operators here in my community. I know the skip is already falling off and is supposed to this year. My Uniden Bearcat in which I monitor 38 lsb is not near as active as it was 4 or 5 months ago. Not sure how low the propagation will go but enjoy the long distance contacts and am still focused on a 10 meter or multi band. Will study again this fall. I did get half of the General questions correct when I challenged it.

Because 10 meters is not channelized and because the band is one of the larger of all of the amateur radio HF bands, you don't always hear a lot of conversations except when there is a contest, but because 65% of all of the amateurs in the USA only has a Technician class license, and because it is open most every day to somewhere, 10 is actually one of the best if you want to be a HF operator with just a technician class license.

2m FM, the repeater does all the work and the only people you talk to are the ones within earshot of the repeater. There are some linked repeater systems out there that are designed to make it appear as if you are a big time operator using VOIP, but when you get beyond the part of just talking, you will realize that those people aren't real hams. I don't know of anyone that doesn't already know how to talk on a cell phone or use some type of internet, so I don't know what significance it has to talk VOIP or locally on a repeater.

At least with 10 meters, the people you talk to are all your antenna to their antenna and your radio and antenna does all of the work. It is real hard to get any kind of exposure to amateur radio when all you have is a 2m radio...

Might I suggest that you drop the CB radio lingo and learn more ham jargon, and not seventy three's. Skip doesn't mean anything to a ham.. Atmospherics are a condition where propagation exists in one or more directions, and with 10 meters it is dependant upon the weather both terrestrial and solar and the time of day.. NO you are not going to hear much if anything if there is a radio black out or flares..