The Budget $1,000 Ham Radio Shack
The Budget $1,000 Ham Radio Shack
Lets talk about putting together a ham radio shack for under $1,000. There is more to consider than you might think! We’ll cover VHF/UHF & HF radios
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What radio should I buy? https://goo.gl/LupLWz
Get an SDR? https://goo.gl/2tWPBS
How to program repeaters into your radio https://goo.gl/opr3P7
Find a club: http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club
Go Digital: https://goo.gl/H6yg2B
WebSDR Reverse Beaconing http://websdr.org/
Setup FT8 https://goo.gl/RMBRrW
Setup JS8Call https://goo.gl/E3hJmg
Setup PSK31 https://goo.gl/PULVQG
Using PSKReporter www.PSKReporter.info
Emergency preparedness: https://goo.gl/EKvnvZ
Satellites for ham radio: https://goo.gl/mtW9ab
What Mobile radio should I get? https://goo.gl/cPznGU
How to use APRS https://goo.gl/brWMTH
HamJam (Radio event): https://goo.gl/oJ5pmf
Consider contests: http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar
Yagi plans: https://goo.gl/j1hyNB
FM Sats: https://goo.gl/YPMXAD
ISS APRS: https://goo.gl/ecJZAm
RF Direction Finding http://www.homingin.com/
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Thanks!
way better format
Thanks! From [to be assigned soon…] 🙂 Really appreciate all these (old!) videos. So helpful getting started as someone who just passed both the tech and gen exam simply by cramming… it’s a big mind blowing how much there is to learn now that I’ve passed the test before hitting "BUY!!" on items.
I came here from the Modern Rogue since I’m an Austinite and I enjoy their content. Been wanting to get a whole ENTIRE shack just for fun! I really want to get into this and talk to other people. Ive gotten a nice little radio and a power supply but I want a shack whenever I do get my license so I can use everything I have lol.
Very helpful thank you! 😎🙏
I use a affordable manual tuner (MFJ-971) – this matches almost anything.
Really like live feeds but at times need these focused feeds. Just got both technician and general today. Now just waiting for fcc post so have time to plan and this video perfect. Thnx
You waste to much time on nothing
I have a 50 dollar ham shack.. in my room and a Kenwood.. beat that
Extremely helpful for a new guy!!!
I did much better than him dentron mt 3000 tuner $150, dentron MLA 2500 amp $500 , IC 751 $200, 560 ft loop homemade ladder line $150 and to top it off an IC 7300 for tower work. Ki4ytv
You do realize that $1k to us new guys is intimidating as H.E. double hockey sticks…almost scared me off
I like this "cut out of a stream" format. I also appreciate that your answers were suited to different areas of interest. I also love that your "starter" suggestions didn’t include the 7300. Granted it, alone, is more than $1000, but it grinds my gears when folks suggest it for beginners. I started on an FT450D (still my main rig), and love it. And it’s much cheaper.
This was great – thank you!
HRO is great. They guys there are friendly, helpful and informative. You also get to try out the stuff they have in the store before buying.
Another great video.
A little bit expensive? This is ridiculous listening to all the extraneous comments while trying to hear information relating to the title. If you are going to talk about a budget ham shack, talk to all the other people before or after. That’s enough, I’m up to seven and a half minutes and can’t take any more!
I think the kenwood d710ga is a better radio for a aprs shack. it digipeats on its own without having to hook it up to a computer or anything.
It’s pretty easy to spend a lot more than $1000 dollars, maybe under 2000 to get a decent shack. But it requires a lot of study, because if we think about buy everything for the shack instead build it, it will be insanely expensive
Yeah this is NOT a cheap hobby
u can go cheaper if u get some second hand bits
I know this is an old video but I happened upon a deal kind of like the yard sale thing, I had bought a camp stove from a guy probably a year or so ago. Never met him he just had the stove outside. for me…actually he may have given it to me. Anyway I saw a yard sale type post and recognized his house. I was driving by a few days later and decided to swing in and check on him…Sadly he had passed away. He was quite the collector of stuff and his daughter was trying to get rid of it all. So she said I could go into the house and look. Quickly I found and old Heath HF radio and power supply. Not having an HF radio I picked it up and a few other things and kept looking around…the place was packed with stuff. Radio (CB and HAM) and TV and a bunch of other stuff. Anyway I told her I would take the stuff I had and we made a deal for a couple hundred dollars. She asked me if I had seen another one in the garage…I hadn’t. Long story short I ended up with tote after tote filled with radio gear. I have maybe 10 2 meter radios. A bunch of power supplies, antennas of all sorts. Two more HF radios (Ic-707s) A GAP Titan antenna a couple other antennas and a ton of parts and pieces. She saved everything radio related for me. She said she would have had to toss it if not.
While the HF radios are old they all seem to work. The worst looking one (and IC-707) I have actually made my first contacts on 40 meters with. I still want a IC-7300 but for now I am learning a ton setting up a shack finally. Once I go through some of these radios (specifically all the CB and 2 meter stuff) I will probably be able to make back most of my money I would guess. Not sure what I will do with all those radios otherwise…. maybe a HRCC FB giveaway for a newbie or something…hmmm
As always thanks for the great videos…been around since early on when the FB and discord was new and before… been busy though so I have been doing much with the radios…but now I have new stuff to play with…lol
It really does feel like the hobby is for rich old guys.. but I like it..
Loved the video. I got lucky with some in my shack. I had a coworkers family member sell me some when her father passed. A Icom 2 meter that I sold for $100, a ic271a, a ic765, and a kdk 2 meter. For all of those four radios for $700
Excellent thank you
I have a simple shack. For analog VHF/UHF Btech 25X2 for $114 and my DMR setup is DVMEGA (Gigaparts) $239 with a MD 380 $89 for analog radio I use a Diamond X50A $95 Total of $537. Add about another $100 for Coax. $637 with Coax.
Just got my General ticket. Now time to try and figure out how to get on HF on a VHF budget. 😉 I ran our VHF net several times on a TYT TH-UV88 with speaker mic many times. Only recently got a Yaesu FT-2900R mobile (bought on QRZ) and put it on a very inexpensive, but fully usable 30 Watt peak/25 Watt continuous PS. I run that into a Tram discone multi-band antenna. I think my HF goal for now is a Xiegu G90 and maye a dipole or even a longwire. I just want to reach out of Texas for now. I don’t need to hit Europe, China, or Brazil. Nice, but not necessary.
The wife selling your radio gear for what you paid for them is like the gun guys who say the same thing. LOL.
What’s a signal stick ?
I’ve finally settled on a version of the HF $1,000 shack; interested in voice only, not contesting, being portable on my property and I like to listen:
Astron 35a power supply (already have)
Alinco SR8T $480
Super Antenna MP1 DX80 $299
LMR 400, 100 ft $90
NanoVNA Analyzer $55
Comet CTC window jumper $55
Add in some tax and P/H and I’m at $1,000. Once I get experience then I can upgrade. Mark
what about the Icom 7300????
What is a good bench power supply for a Icom 7000 with a Buddipole Mini? Trying to get to my first setup past the Baofeng and bought a Icom 7000 at a Hamfest 4 years ago for a steal. Never got around to setting it up and getting back into the hobby and can use some help!
One fcc commissioner who was a ham, a Mr. Hollingsworth commented that if he died people would get a bargain as she believed what he told her. That no matter what the equipment cost is was $200.
Thanks to LegitBoss on telegram…his real and legit no scam at all 💯💯💯💯
I so interesting in Hams radio. I from NYC where to get tested or license
At the very start of the upload, no idea what the kit is yet, but I hope it’s an IC7300 and an EFHW 🙂
I have a 70cm keychain radio. Unfortunately I have no idea where it is at the moment. I fear it may have fell out of my pocket.
First thing you need is a well built "shack" ample power ran to it, perhaps some security on it, OK there’s $5000.00, now lets get to the equipment
I like digital and fm/ssb on hf and vhf. Here in sweden you could buy a g90 (5600sek), a handie-talkie (~1000sek) and a portable antenna (hf-p1, almost like mp-1 1500sek) for about 8100 sek total. Its about 980dollars with todays value (8,27sek/1us$) maybe you can squizze in the ce-19 for about 400sek (49$). All prices are local here in sweden and can be buyed att Limmared webshop.
Getting ready to take my technician test on the 17th of this month. Tha ks for your channel.
I’m studying for the test now but my test site is closed till after may
Wires-X just works! HRI-200 only required for dedicated operation.
I don’t understand why a recorder is used/needed for working satellites? Can someone please explain? Thx!
TYT TH 9800 – $200.00
Comet UHV-4 Antenna – $120.00
Total $320.00
What else do I need?
Edit: Oh yeah, Power Supply: Nissan Titan – $48,000.00
New Total = $ 48,320.00….dammit!
Also – what REALLY got me into HAM is… the hardware! I’m not sure why, but my lord… I love me some new hardware. Doesn’t matter what it is. If it’s electronic, has buttons and dials… I am SOLD!!! lol
Stop recommending the Hakko soldering irons. I realize this is an old stream, but the TS100 or TS80 are far better, cheaper, and portable (since the can run off a battery pack or USB-C, respectively).
Just passed my technician exam last Saturday. Thanks for all the helpful vids!
I’m at 3minutes and you haven’t said anything yet. It’s 2020 and our Zoom patience is really thin and to the point, so what I might have endured to get to what you have to say is totally lost with your intro of quips…sorry. Welcome to 2021 soon. Since I am Am Extra , maybe I’m being too hard on you since beginners are more apt to listen to to storytelling mode model of teaching 🙁
I started out with an ICOM IC-7200, a Baofeng UV5R, a (cheap) power supply and an MFJ autotuner. I built my own random wire antenna. All totaled, a about 1500 bucks. Did you mention you have to buy things like coax, connectors, maybe a soldering iron and some other small tools? There are also costs (mileage will vary) for building and supporting the antenna. Also, you may have to placate neighbors whose electronics are affected by RFI, or your radio may be affected by their RFI. That costs some money to alleviate, too. After a short time, the costs do begin to mount up.
Still, compared to other hobbies like boating, hunting, tennis or even golf, the cost of entry into amateur radio is tolerable, especially for the XYL. On that last note, the XYL is also a determining factor on he kind and cost of your antenna(s).
I love this format. Please release more videos like this.
At 27:25 you’re talking about methods to record the audio from the radios. Why not use a pocket recorder with either USB out or Memory card to record that audio? You feed using a 3.5mm (typically stereo) headphones jack right into the recorder, you can usually set the sound quality, it makes it easy to navigate between recordings as each file is assigned a file number and full date/time stamp, and can be organized by about 5 folders.
The second option is to record using your laptop, desktop, tower PC. These offer way more storage and superior filing and audio capabilities. You already have a computer so why spend more money on a dedicated one? Use Audacity or other powerful free audio mixing and editing software for your recorded conversations.
I’m a newbie to this topic. I’m going through your reviews to learn about this topic. But I was wondering how a fractal antenna can be deployed for base, mobile, handy-talky, walky talky transceivers? Are the walky talky transceivers more like the backpack variety of WW2 and Vietnam era models? Or does such a model exist?
how does the Alinco DX- SR8T match up in the HF world? I’ve been thinking about picking one up.