High cost of Rigs.

I am pretty new to the hobby but have a reasonable mobile rig as home base and have been looking around for something a bit more grown up if you get my drift.
I am amazed at the prices, most beyond my reach but hey ho it is life however, one of the things that really raises my eyebrows is how many rigs are advertised as "Bought it a few months ago but dont need it" only £1000. Where do these people find a grand laying around to spend on something they didnt really need ? Wow if I had that sort of cash just free to use I would make flippin sure I knew what I wanted. Love to hear others views on this and and see if I am just a tight ole miser 

Take care all. 73s

I am on quite a restricted budget also but I am lucky I kept my old CB's for when i had the time and inclination to get back into the hobby. 

I have been doing a fair bit of online window shopping and seeing nice sets for way more than my monthly income made me wonder how anyone can afford them let alone just grab one on a whim.

i guess we we were just not let in on the secret of how to earn so much.....

right im off to warm up by a photo of a fire and get ready for the day.

Hi Michael,

By a 'grown up' rig do you mean Amateur Radio gear? Only because a 'grand' sounds about right for something like an ICOM 7300 or similar.

Considering the facilities, frequency coverage, 100W output let alone the R&D behind such radios I think that's a veritable bargain even if it's out of reach of my own meagre pockets. For most Amateur Radio operators something like that is relatively cheap and if they didn't get on with it the resale value is good enough to not lose too much.

I suppose it depends on you point of view and for me buying such a radio with a 1.8 MHz to 54Mhz coverage if you were only going to use it for CB seems a bit overboard, but then again it might tempt anyone to gain their 'ticket' and use it more fully. (That statement will probably open a can of worms for those that bought such a radio for CB use only and I've seen it argued to death elsewhere.)

For some £1000 is toy money and for others it's a substantial layout, such is the way of the world.

I'm just lucky I was able to repair, restore, modify and build my own radio equipment or could never have afforded the hobby that I enjoy immensely. It's also part of the personal appeal for myself being more akin to those early radio pioneers that first filled the airwaves.

Horse for courses there Michael and if anything I'm a bit jealous of your Cobra 148 which is a very fine radio that attracts (to me) silly prices for junk second hand examples.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder......and so is the price.


Great posting, be interesting to read others views on it all.


All the best,
Victor

Hi Michael. Maybe others were as fortunate as me to be contacted by a cousin of a Nigerian Prince to help them gain access to a trust fund for them, rewarding with a handsome payment  

..joke of course. I've been pretty frugal so far with spends on radio. You've very lucky to have a 148GTL-DX to work with, a great classic.

i must agree people believe their radio are worth more than they are i spend a lot of time window shopping on ebay i was lucky i got a ft 840 for £250 a couple a weeks ago had some teething problems with it but got it sorted out with help from here and a couple of local breakers now it is a great radio.
 hope you find what you are looking for.
dave

Good morning. Just a quick reply to many interesting replies, I see your point there Victor and do agree with most, no I am not looking for CB only as I have the Cobra so no issue. No I am taking my exam shortly and want to just get better than my Retevis 95. On a limited pension it does seem that I am on a losing battle here and will just have to sit and await for something to pop up, with cost of living ect that will probably happen when I am on my way in the big black car. Never mind I am still hopeful and I will expand my equipment and knowledge to fully enjoy my hobby. Thanks by the way for the amazing amount I have learned just reading the info on this wonderful forum.
Michael.

hi Michael I have a radio for sale it is the same as the 6900 which I don't need anymore you can have it for the same as I paid for it £50 plus £10 postage it will save me putting it on eBay if you want it.
Dave

That sounds awesome Michael and I'm always up for anyone expanding their radio interests especially taking their 'ticket'.

I wish you the very best of luck with it. Amazing to get those extra frequencies!
 

I was lucky in being gifted my old Yaesu FT757gx but it took me the best part of a year on and off to restore the damn thing. (PITA faults and problems with spares!) Neal, SangueG, above has done admirably well with a little Xiegu G90 with his Amateur Radio adventures. Dave, teapot, made mention and got a veritable bargain with his FT840.

Don't forget there are also other cheaper/new options such as the Indian made uBITx as well as the German uSDX and some Hams do incredible work with them. I'm probably more influenced by radios with 'big knobs' and meters but then with failing eyesight and bear-paw hands I need them!

I have noticed nowadays especially in my local area that a lot of the older Hams frequent the VHF/UHF bands becoming quite commonplace after the lockdown. Always good for a chit-chat if you have common interests.
You'd be surprised when there's a tropospheric lift on and suddenly operators from much further afield drop in!
The equipment for such can be as cheap as chips, (Baofeng, Leixen etc.), and smaller antennas are much easier to erect.

If nothing else you have a great radio already being your Cobra 148 and as we ramp up that solar cycle the radio activity should be awesome. (I'm not just talking about the Sporadic 'E' into Europe either but proper worldwide 'Skip'!)


I'm sure you've got some good radio activity left in you yet Micheal - I'm experiencing my 'second childhood' with this radio malarkey and I've told the missus to forget the expensive black car and just stick me in the skip with my radio 'junk'.



All the very best to you,
Victor

Michael and anyone else looking for other sources of cheaper equipment other than the bay.. it could be worth your while checking in with local radio clubs as they often have old kit for sale, some from genuine SKs. The group I am with has a web page for theirs:
https://www.sdarc.net/forsale/

If you think there may not be any groups local to you, do a bit more searching, you might be surprised how groups there are. I could only find SDARC when I searched, so joined them, and they welcomed me in thankfully. But since being a member I have been invited whilst on air to join a club in Gloucester and another in Stroud which I had both never heard of before.

Hi Michael, at the risk of repeating what others have already said, believe it or not radios are actually cheaper than they've ever been. The introduction of Chinese imported kit has made the hobby more accessible than ever before. That being said I fully understand that even today these items are a lot of money.

The Xiegu G90 is a excellent SDR HF radio with 25 watts output and can be purchased new for around £400 pounds and cheap VHF sets both mobile and handhelds are at a price that leaves you wondering how they make any money at all.

I do hope you find something that suits your radio interests and would just like to add that many amateur radio societies and clubs have stations set up and available for members to use free of charge.

Wishing you best 73's Gary.

Further to Gary's and Neal's mention of a local Amateur Radio club the following may help :-


Dundalk Amateur Radio Society

https://ei7dar.com/


It may be worth popping them a visit if you can as they seem to have a lot of activities going on.


All the best,
Victor

rekibrepus wrote:

I am amazed at the prices, most beyond my reach but hey ho it is life however, one of the things that really raises my eyebrows is how many rigs are advertised as "Bought it a few months ago but dont need it" only £1000. Where do these people find a grand laying around to spend on something they didnt really need ? 

That's amateur radio gear and those buying it are mostly older and retired people who've money after decades of working, saving and not generally wasting their money in Maccy Ds or buying £1000 mobile phones. If they buy something for £1200 and sell it for £1000 its only cost them £200.

Radios are dirt cheap compared to what they used to be. Look at the adverts for a Kenwood TS850 when they were new almost 40 years ago and they were over £1000. That money today buys you a radio that's better performing with far more features than the Kenwood ever had.

just a quick updated Michael e took up my offer and i sent it out on Friday morning should get by the middle of next week
dave

I respect your opinion Northern Crusader, dont necessarily agree but thats what debate is.
Regards.

I have picked up a CRT SS-9900 and a Intel HR-5500, both 10 meter radios that have been expanded to cover 10/11/12 meters, both at sub £200.  I am not a licenced Amateur, so only listen in on the 10 meter band, and hopefully when I get the time, to start looking at getting the amateur licence.

Sounds like you've got a couple of nice rigs that you're happy with there James.  
May I also wish you the best with your radio interest pursuits and good luck for the Amateur Radio licence.


----------------------------------

Michael, I don't believe Conor (Northern Crusader) made any reference to 'all' older or retired people and did say 'mostly'. Not too dissimilar from your mention of "many of those selling" in your response. Always best not too look on forum postings as if they are personal when they most definitely aren't.


I'm disabled with no income whatsoever and yet have strived fairly successfully to get where I am now with Amateur Radio.

You wouldn't be the first to complain about the costs of the hobby and certainly won't be the last.

I used to have another expensive hobby which was golf, but as I can't walk nowadays there's no point lamenting about it even if I could afford it.

Enjoy yourself where you can Michael and don't ponder on things you may be unable to do anything about.


I wish you the best in your radio pursuits whatever they may be and you never know what might turn up around the corner.

Hi im new here with a uniden 100 that i have had for a few years  i have given it a dusting and will give it a try out , i also have a multimode 2 that i have had since about 1980 , i would like a home based rig and small aerial (dont want to upset the neighbours) the idea is that i wont be using the rig in the vehicle anymore and just using it at home any ideas thanks

skyrider wrote:

Hi im new here with a uniden 100 that i have had for a few years  i have given it a dusting and will give it a try out , i also have a multimode 2 that i have had since about 1980 , i would like a home based rig and small aerial (dont want to upset the neighbours) the idea is that i wont be using the rig in the vehicle anymore and just using it at home any ideas thanks

A 12' dipole out of two 6' DV27"s is pretty unobtrusive.

use a wire very easy to do. are going to be using the mm2 or buying a the radio.  Do you live in a flat or house?

regards
Dave

Hi Dave sorry about the late reply, yes i live in a bungalow how do you work the wire idea thanks

just been looking at some dipoles could be the way to go

A telescopic pole for the wire.
I have one and a T2lt i made up.
2 minutes to setup anywhere you want it.

sorry i forgot to ask you folks what is the range of a dipole , thanks