Foundation course

Hi am doing the foundation course again I got covid last time so I did not finish it so asking a quick question what was your first radio did you get after you done the test I am looking to carry on to do full license I have been looking around what peoples advice 99 percent say if you hoping to go full don't get 10wat radio I am on budget so nothing to mad what you guys suggest I was looking at yaesu ft450d but what you guys suggest Thx

Hi John,

Firstly may I wish you the very best with your Foundation studies and future exam.


The following is maybe a humorous(?) take on your first rig choice......

Plop a grand or so on the counter of your local Ham Emporium and get the best radio you could ever have. Credit options available. Stick a rubbish antenna on it, pursue 'better' antennas at your leisure. Fiddle with settings ad infinitum. Get another mic.

Buy what you can afford second hand, hope for the best if it's a cost-of-living shack clear out 'spare rig' not used since nineteen-clickty-click or from a recently deceased/silent key estate sale.....sold as seen, 'spears or repars', no returns accepted. Sell it on if it turns out to be junk to some other unwitting fool.

Buy a 'cheap Chinese' rig, be initially very happy with it then bemoan said radio because you can't be assed to connect it to a decent antenna or think a 'decent antenna' is the most purchased/trending sale item currently on offer. Blame poor antenna choice on the low power said Chinese rig puts out.

You could do what I did and gratefully accept a donated rig given in good faith to then find out it's a bag of junk. Luckily I've slowly refurbished/repaired/restored it to working order (and weirdly enjoyed the experience!) learning all the way and didn't offload it to some other 'sap'. Cost me nothing except price of spares and my time, experiencing the inside workings of a radio more than most Hams ever do.

Build your own? Stupid me, thought it was mid 19-clickety-click again....but some do build impressive rigs still today.


Humour aside (sarcasm?....truth?) just enjoy your first radio experience, work with it as best as you can and enjoy your future licence by being on air no matter how you choose to do that.

The first option is the 'easiest' and there's many flavour of the month rigs on offer....until a 'better' one comes out.

Honestly I wish you well with it all John, your experience may well differ and I hope whatever you choose it puts a smile on your face.  


All the best,
Victor

I also wish you good luck with your studies and exam.

Soo many options depending on what you you want to do with radio. Let me suggest though another option into the mix for you to mull over.. don't buy one yet. As soon as you pass (if it is during the coming summer months, which I am sure it will be) get on to 10m with your SS6900. I did that and had a ball. Conditions are on the up, and with that radio you can have contacts on multiple modes. It's great for SSB E skip contacts, FM repeaters in Europe and the US, occasional AM, CW if you can master it, and even digital with a bit of work. Once you've had a blast, then decide what you might want to do next.

Some full licence operators only do QRP with FT817s and 8s by the way. Not all strive for the full licence just for the power

I have a crt9900 aswell not a bad idea guys Thx

Good luck with your studies and taking your foundation exam. 
Good luck with your search for a radio too, there are plenty of options available depending on your budget.

The Foundation exam isn't too bad, if you aren't already on the Essex Ham course it is well worth doing it. Make sure to study licence conditions thoroughly as it contains 6 of the 26 marks I recently passed my Foundation and am looking to take my Intermediate, not for the extra power but for something to keep me occupied and the gray matter firing.

As for transceivers, I managed to buy a hardly used Icom 735 and a Chinese KN 990 SDR radio for good prices. If shopping on eBay, it is worth looking carefully at the usage scenario of the radio.

Good luck with the exam