Author Michael Daly is a former Captain in the United States Marine Corp. He currently works at the Department of Veterans Affairs as a Senior Enterprise Architect in Infrastructure Operations and previously was a Project Manager at the Defense Information Systems Agency at Fort Meade MD. He has been involved in military and civilian communications technologies for over 40 years and holds a GMRS radio license (WRDQ914), a HAM Radio Amateur Extra class license (KC2SBR), is an accredited Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) Volunteer Examiner, an accredited ARRL Volunteer Emergency Communications Field Examiner, and currently is a volunteer radio operator with the Ocean County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (OCARES), the Ocean County Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), the ARRL Southern New Jersey Mutual Assistance Team (SNJMAT), and is a NOAA trained National Weather Service Severe Storm Spotter.
My first personal recommendation for the new HAM: get a Handi Talk (HT) DUAL BAND (UHF/VHF) portable to start. This is a radio that you can easily carry around, and it covers all the voice frequencies you’re allowed to transmit on as a Technician class HAM, in one radio. Most HTs are roughly the size of a pack of cigarettes and come with at least one rechargeable battery, so they’re easy to carry and convenient to use.
There are a number of manufacturers out there, and they all are worthy of your consideration. Prices can be very affordable (less than $30), but some of the higher-end portables can be upwards of $600. Most Dual-Band HTs also receive the NOAA Weather channels, so you can easily get the latest NOAA weather reports and Emergency Alerts.
My second recommendation: do not spend a fortune on features you may never use for your first radio. Try to find that midpoint balance between affordability and capability, within your own budget. Some features to consider are button layout, display, battery life, ease of programming, and internal features such as memory banks that can store your information on specific frequencies, stations, or repeaters to contact. The presence of such memory banks means that you do not have to manually enter that information every time, just once and save it.
My third recommendation: plan to grow into the radio you buy, but do not buy a bunch of high-end features you likely won’t use (at least initially). On the other hand, if the radio is too bare-bones you’ll quickly outgrow it.
My fourth recommendation: replace that factory antenna on the HT with a better after-market one. The factory antennas are called “Rubber Ducks”. They are short, flexible, and somewhat stubby. They do work, but for a few dollars more a better after market antenna will dramatically improve performance, range, and reception. For most HAMs, this is the first upgrade option, and most HAMs will agree it’s a requirement rather than an option. There are different connector styles so you need to be aware of which one your radio uses (although there are adapters for everything).
Consider buying new from a reputable dealer, this gives you a manufacturer’s warranty, and access to subject-matter experts if you have questions or run into a problem. That seller also has a vested interest to ensure you enjoy your purchase and learn how to use it properly.
With the current supply chain problems in 2022 there are spot shortages of chip components. You may find radios are out of stock temporarily. In addition, consumer demand is up due to recent concerns of social media’s filtering and censoring of information. A lot of people have recently taken an interest in HAM radio because of their concerns of being monitored online.
Be patient if the radio you want is delayed in shipping. Rather than say “buy radio “X””, we’ve looked at a few criteria for you to consider in supporting your HAM radio preparedness. Set your personal budget, consider how you think you’ll be using the radio and how frequently. Look for a balance between affordable price and useful features for your first radio, while allowing yourself a little room to learn and grow into the radio and its features.
The bottom line is that you do not have to spend a fortune to get started. Silver Tigers, can you suggest additional criteria you see as being useful?
“73!” from me, KC2SBR-Mike
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As you shop you’ll start to discover what you personally like and do not like. It might even be as mundane as you prefer the font one manufacturer uses in their documentation compared to others.
But ANY name brand radio is going to work for you.
I would caution be careful if you start shopping eBay, you can find what appears to be affordable deals. In some cases you are buying a used radio, and its unfortunate not everyone is honest. This gets to be more critical if you start shopping for radios with an HF capability, some digital functions can really wear out a radio (the internal amplifier). SO you really need to understand what your looking at before you plunk a few hundred dollars down. But as the old saying goes with anything used, “Buyer Beware”
The main brand names are Yaesu, ICOMM, Alinco, Kenwood, Bridgecom. I personally have a few Yaesu radios (Ive gotten used to how they are built and programmed and they share some common threads) , but I think most folks would generally agree Kenwoods are the top of the radio food chain quality wise
I also have a few BaoFeng HTs, these are knock off Chinese radios. They work, but I use them for very specific things and I have found them not as capable nor as easy to program (unless you can read Chinglish). But at $19 each, well they found a place in my go bags.