Newbie Questions

vstrom1962

I am interested in getting started with hobby radio,
I have been on the IRTS website, but still have a few questions as to how best to get started.
Any help appreciated.

Do I need to take a course prior to the exam, or is it possible to self study using the CD materials?

Should I plan to take the exam next Summer, or is the September 2013 exam realistic to start preparing now?

What equipment would be best to get me started?
Is there a recommended shop where I could chat to people as to what the options are?

Does a beginner installation require complicated external mounted antenna, or a knowledge of electronics to install?

martinedwards

OK, assuming you are in the Republic and not Northern Ireland like me, then you have one exam and a single grade of licence, like I did here in the 80s.

this involved a fair old bit of theory.

now, if you are already an electronic engiineer, then yeah, you could probably do it in a month.

if you had to learn it all from scratch?

VERY unlikely.

it takes no electrical knowlwege to install an antenna, but by the time you've passed the exam you'll have more than enough electronic knowledge! I've fitted Sky dishes with no training other than reading the instructions.

as to equipment, you can't legally transmit without a licence (other than a few small licence free areas) but you can listen pretty much all you like.

for the work the world sort of stuff you'll need a big outdoor antenna for good results, but that can be a stretch of wire. in the last 24 hours I've contacted Namibia, Kazakhstan, Canada, USA, Brazil Argentina, etc etc on a length of wire strung over my back hedge, and using a tranceivecer that cost £200 used.

Most people who work radio for local use use 2m. Baofeng handhelds (walkie talkie style of thing) can be got for under £40 from a range of sellers.

vstrom1962

Thanks Martin.

Ill plan on doing the exam next Summer.
Try to get myself a receiver in the meantime.

martinedwards

a wee tip....

once you have your test you'll be wanting a transceiver, yes?

Buy it now and put the mic in a cupboard.

vstrom1962

Thanks,

Any tips as to what type of transceiver to go for, ...where to buy?

martinsvi

Do I need to take a course prior to the exam, or is it possible to self study using the CD materials?

no, but some good books, IMHO will help you a lot, this is a place where to get them - http://www.rsgbshop.org/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Training_19.html

and dont forget about self test software, I find this to be the best and it's free - http://freespace.virgin.net/murray.g3kzb/

Should I plan to take the exam next Summer, or is the September 2013 exam realistic to start preparing now?

probably yes, I consider myself quite good when it comes to physics but these books still took some few months to truly get through

What equipment would be best to get me started?

a good book, really! Get a scanner or one of those world band radios that does SSB. Do NOT buy any transceiver, it doesn't matter if you put the mic away, it is illegal to have one if you don't have the licence.

Is there a recommended shop where I could chat to people as to what the options are?

all shops are interested in selling you pretty much anything. If you're looking for advice on specific gear, you can ask here.

Does a beginner installation require complicated external mounted antenna, or a knowledge of electronics to install?

as martin said, when you will get your licence nothing will seem too complicated. for now, just for listening you can experiment with everything you want, you can plug anything you want in your scanner - it is only when transmitting when currents and voltages come in, that can damage the gear or cause an injury to yourself or others

martinedwards

For HF you can pick up an old valve rig for MUCH less than a new shiny all bells and whistles set.

I got my Yaesu FT101B for £100. 160m, 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m 11m & 10m SSB, CW & AM, with about 100w output.

I switched a couple of the crystals ... 15 - 17 & 11 - 12 and worked the world using a 1/2 sized G5RV & a long wire as antennae.

OK, the FT101B doesn't have a digital frequency readout, and you need to tune in the PA when you start to transmit, but the receiver side of this is very good, and I have worked New Zealand, Japan, & Brazil with it......

Ham Radio is one of the few hobbies where the budget users can be on a par, and beleive it or not, respected MORE than the big guns.

someone works Australia on 20m with 1KW into a 6 element beam 30m up a tower and you think so what.....

work Oz on 5w on a home made rig and a wire antenna, and you have something to shout about!!

I regularly chat to a guy in Scandinavia who has a basement full of old military surplus radios that cost pennies, and he has to pause for 5 seconds between transmit and receive to switch between sets, and he says the heat from all the valves means he needs to work in shorts all year round......

theres another German bloke who has really bad arthritis in his hands so he can't work a morse key, so he built a breath operated key using a pressure switch from a boiler

GENIOUS!

i LOVE that kind of stuff, and the radio world is full of folks like that!

jomoloney

vstrom1962 wrote: »

What equipment would be best to get me started?
Is there a recommended shop where I could chat to people as to what the options are?

?

I don't know your qth (location) but try and get along to at least 1 of the radio rallies during the year,

North Cork coming up in a week or two and Mayo sometime in Nov

Actually hang on here's the link

http://www.irts.ie/cgi/rallies.cgi

Also a friendly bunch at Mayo, I'm at others also ... but being a farmer the timing of Mayo suits my work load