dear du hams

[AllaN01Bear]

what would be a good first hf and or 6 m rig for a beginner? thanks

[vanamonde]

1. Well, of course the answer is "it depends"

My first HF rig was the Yaesu FT-817, a 5 watt all-band radio. My QTH at the time was not suitable for a higher powered desktop unit because of antenna limitations. My main ham activities became QRP and SOTA. Off-grid kinds of things.

In retrospect I don't think QRP is a good choice for a new ham. It can be very frustrating as DXing requires a lot of finesse that I didn't (and still don't) have. A 50 watt desktop unit with a good antenna would provide a lot more enjoyment and excitement, IMHO. Dealing with the tiny display and crowded front panel is a pain.

Many say that the most important element of your shack is not even in the shack, typically. It's better to have a good antenna, well situated with a xcvr of moderate power than trying to overcome a poor antenna setup with a boatload of power from an expensive transmitter. And it doesn't matter how big your amp is if you can't receive well.

Sorry I can't help with a specific radio suggestion. Maybe others will chime in soon.

73
KG7LBY

[cloudbase]

2. It's hard to go wrong with anything from the big three.

After that, it just depends on what features you want. Waterfall display? Built in keyer? Something else?

I'm really liking my Kenwood TS-590SG. It does everything well without having to pull up menus to make changes.

Also, lots of good used gear out there at decent prices. Hamfest season is coming up, and there's an active market over on QRZ.com.

See you at Dayton.

[AllaN01Bear]

3. wont be able to do dayton only in dreams , but being a ham nut and a model train nut, id go stir crazy r.

i am mainly looking for a rig that can do ssb within the tecnition class licence for the band that is above the cb freqs and or 6 m all radio phone privileges for tech. if to do morse , id need a computer for tx and another for rx. my morse skilz is nill.