buy ham radio
What’s a good shortwave Ham radio to buy?
Anyone can tell me what is a good Shortwave Ham radio for a beginner to purchase that has packet capability?
Also, does Ham radio still require big antenna’s in your backyard? If yes, which one do I get? And what else do I need for a basic ham radio set up? Thanks!
Study for your test. Get your ham radio license first.
After you study and learn, these questions will be answered. That is why we require a test to get a license… yes you need a license.
Huge antennas are not required in all cases. Several bands only need a small antenna to be effective.
|
|
1934 Official Short Wave Radio Manual Book – Reprinted By Lindsay Pub. Inc. 1987 $24.99 |
|
|
Vintage Metal Hallicrafters Model S-40 all Tube Shortwave Ham Radio $60.00 |
|
|
Hallicrafters S-120 AM / SW Short Wave Radio Reciever Works Nice Condition $89.00 |
|
|
SONY ICF-SW1S SYNTHESIZED RECEIVER SYSTEM WORLDWIDE SHORTWAVE RADIO $136.50 |
|
|
Beautiful SONY ICF-2010 AM/Shortwave/FM Radio **BEST EVER MADE** $163.74 |
|
|
24″ Radio Shack longwire portable Reel antenna for shortwave and FM radio $0.99 |
|
|
Panasonic RF-4900 Shortwave Receiver Ham Radio Super Clean & Working $202.51 |
|
|
Grundig Traveller II * 7 Band Transistor AM FM Shortwave Portable Radio $29.99 |
|
|
Radio Antenna Kaito KA33 AM Shortwave Antenna Active Loop Antenna $39.87 |
|
|
MG-6 Marker Generator crystal calibrator 1MHz 100 kHz shortwave radio #2 $12.95 |
|
|
MG-6 Marker Generator crystal calibrator 1MHz 100 kHz shortwave radio #5 $12.95 |
|
|
Johnson Fleetwood 528 Shortwave, Two-Way, Ham Radio $0.99 |
|
|
Allied AX-190 Communications Receiver Shortwave Radio Very impressive and rare $91.00 |
|
|
Globe Electronics 65-320 Globeceiver Tube Shortwave Receiver Radio $51.00 |
|
|
Vintage GE General Electric EF-150 Project Shortwave Radio Receiver $27.75 |
|
|
Radio Shack DX-392 All-Band Shortwave Receiver $19.95 |
|
|
GE 7-2990a shortwave radio, original box and User guide, Super condition!!! $299.99 |
|
|
SHORTWAVE 3.5 AND 7.0 MHZ HAM DX REGEN RADIO RECEIVER $59.95 |
|
|
Panasonic RF- 4800 shortwave radio reciver $160.00 |
|
|
Shortwave Radio Sangean ATS-505 $29.99 |
|
|
JRC NVA-88 External Speaker 4 JST 135 NRD 525 535 Ham Shortwave Amateur Radio $53.99 |
|
|
HALLICRAFTERS S-108 HAM RADIO RECEIVER SHORTWAVE SW BROADCAST 80-10 METER AM CW $36.00 |
|
|
29′ Random longwire portable clip antenna for shortwave and FM radio $7.00 |
|
|
Sangean ATS606A Worldband Shortwave Radio Receiver $64.99 |
|
|
SONY PORTABLE SHORTWAVE RADIO ICF-7600D ICF-7600 $9.99 |
|
|
VINTAGE HALLICRAFTERS TUBE RECEIVER S-120 4 HAM RADIO SHORTWAVE HF TRANCEIVER $69.00 |
|
|
Eton E1 Short Wave Radio $300.00 |
|
|
Vintage Knight Star Roamer 2 solid state shortwave radio $16.49 |
|
|
Grundig G3 Glove Traveler Short Wave Radio $62.99 |
|
|
RADIO SHACK DX-160 SHORT WAVE RADIO RECEIVER & SPEAKER DX160 0.15 – 30 MHZ $26.00 |
|
|
Vintage Drake SW-4A Short Wave Tube Receiver Ham Radio Restored Works Great!!!! $153.54 |
|
|
Radio Shack Realistic DX-160 Shortwave Ham Receiver + SP-150 Speaker $97.99 |
|
|
New Kaito AN-03L T1 Shortwave SW Radio Antenna $13.99 |
|
|
Coby Shortwave Portable Radio – 12 Band World Receiver $9.99 |
|
|
JRC NRD 515 Ham Shortwave Radio Receiver Japan Radio Drake $390.00 |
The Best All Around Radio Transmission Cable
Prior to investing in a cable and antenna system there are some facts you need to consider. Chinese manufacturers are becoming well known for substituting off brand and substandard copper alloys and poor quality jacket material in an attempt to keep profit margins up. The difference in cost in making a jacket that lasts 20 vs.5 – 10 years is substantial! Real LMR-400 Times Microwave coaxial cable is better made with lower loss than other coax just passing itself off using the trade name illegally. Large companies who own factories overseas have an interest in maitaining quality control, but coax that is of a poor quality and does not meet name brand quality standards is often dumped online under fake brand names. There are other companies still making quality cable in the US other than Times Microwave, but LMR-400 sets the standard. But by all means, do your Homework!
All cable is not created equal. Genuine LMR-400 coaxial cable is designed and constructed differently than those cheap Chinese imitations made with poor construction techniques allowing power and signal loss. What happens to the power lost? Its dissipated as heat inside the cable. Inferior coax with cheap materiels will begin to display excess heat; this is not good. Times Microwave technology uses a center conductor bonded with pure copper for the lowest transmission loss. Constant foam dielectric insulation surounds the center conductor to seperate it from the second transmission channel on the outside of the table. The outer channel of LMR-400 is the shield comprised of metal tape and and braided copper tinned for easy soldering.
To achieve maximum transmission to antennas with lowest signal loss LMR-400 coax provides the best option. How cable is used determines which is your best choice. A solid all around perfermer gives you more options. LMR coax cables provide much lower loss and greater RF shielding than old style RG series cables. Ultra low loss Times Microwave LMR240 and LMR400 is MUCH more flexible than traditional hard line cable with it’s corrigated jacket but offer transmission loss profiles that are nearly the same. Times Microwave, the maker of LMR cables, is a technology leader in coaxial cable design and development and it’s cables set the standard for quality. A good cable assembly takes into consideration Ham, CB or WiFi system requirements and is selected to meet specific transmission requirements. Cheap cable and antennas not properly designed or tuned for a specific use are sold online and in many stores. By considering the specific application you will use your LMR cable assembly and antennas for you can assemble a transmission system that is far superior to any you can buy in a big box store for twice the price.
About the Author
As SageMaiden, Kim has been running her custom coax business on eBay and Amazon for many years selling Times Microwave LMR400 US Made coax cable assemblies. With thousands of cables sold and top-rated status on eBay she is setting up her first ecommerce site at http://USACoax.com as the title says, only US made coax with no Commie Cable sold! Prior to wasting money on coax that won’t provide the best service for you check out another of her articles on Avoid Cheap Commie Cable | LMR-400 Coax
|
|
1934 Official Short Wave Radio Manual Book – Reprinted By Lindsay Pub. Inc. 1987 $24.99 |
|
|
Vintage Metal Hallicrafters Model S-40 all Tube Shortwave Ham Radio $60.00 |
|
|
Hallicrafters S-120 AM / SW Short Wave Radio Reciever Works Nice Condition $89.00 |
|
|
SONY ICF-SW1S SYNTHESIZED RECEIVER SYSTEM WORLDWIDE SHORTWAVE RADIO $136.50 |
|
|
Beautiful SONY ICF-2010 AM/Shortwave/FM Radio **BEST EVER MADE** $163.74 |
|
|
24″ Radio Shack longwire portable Reel antenna for shortwave and FM radio $0.99 |
|
|
Panasonic RF-4900 Shortwave Receiver Ham Radio Super Clean & Working $202.51 |
|
|
Grundig Traveller II * 7 Band Transistor AM FM Shortwave Portable Radio $29.99 |
|
|
Radio Antenna Kaito KA33 AM Shortwave Antenna Active Loop Antenna $39.87 |
|
|
MG-6 Marker Generator crystal calibrator 1MHz 100 kHz shortwave radio #2 $12.95 |
|
|
MG-6 Marker Generator crystal calibrator 1MHz 100 kHz shortwave radio #5 $12.95 |
|
|
Johnson Fleetwood 528 Shortwave, Two-Way, Ham Radio $0.99 |
|
|
Allied AX-190 Communications Receiver Shortwave Radio Very impressive and rare $91.00 |
|
|
Globe Electronics 65-320 Globeceiver Tube Shortwave Receiver Radio $51.00 |
|
|
Vintage GE General Electric EF-150 Project Shortwave Radio Receiver $27.75 |
|
|
Radio Shack DX-392 All-Band Shortwave Receiver $19.95 |
|
|
GE 7-2990a shortwave radio, original box and User guide, Super condition!!! $299.99 |
|
|
SHORTWAVE 3.5 AND 7.0 MHZ HAM DX REGEN RADIO RECEIVER $59.95 |
|
|
Panasonic RF- 4800 shortwave radio reciver $160.00 |
|
|
Shortwave Radio Sangean ATS-505 $29.99 |
|
|
JRC NVA-88 External Speaker 4 JST 135 NRD 525 535 Ham Shortwave Amateur Radio $53.99 |
|
|
HALLICRAFTERS S-108 HAM RADIO RECEIVER SHORTWAVE SW BROADCAST 80-10 METER AM CW $36.00 |
|
|
29′ Random longwire portable clip antenna for shortwave and FM radio $7.00 |
|
|
Sangean ATS606A Worldband Shortwave Radio Receiver $64.99 |
|
|
SONY PORTABLE SHORTWAVE RADIO ICF-7600D ICF-7600 $9.99 |
|
|
VINTAGE HALLICRAFTERS TUBE RECEIVER S-120 4 HAM RADIO SHORTWAVE HF TRANCEIVER $69.00 |
|
|
Eton E1 Short Wave Radio $300.00 |
|
|
Vintage Knight Star Roamer 2 solid state shortwave radio $16.49 |
|
|
Grundig G3 Glove Traveler Short Wave Radio $62.99 |
|
|
RADIO SHACK DX-160 SHORT WAVE RADIO RECEIVER & SPEAKER DX160 0.15 – 30 MHZ $26.00 |
|
|
Vintage Drake SW-4A Short Wave Tube Receiver Ham Radio Restored Works Great!!!! $153.54 |
|
|
Radio Shack Realistic DX-160 Shortwave Ham Receiver + SP-150 Speaker $97.99 |
|
|
New Kaito AN-03L T1 Shortwave SW Radio Antenna $13.99 |
|
|
Coby Shortwave Portable Radio – 12 Band World Receiver $9.99 |
|
|
JRC NRD 515 Ham Shortwave Radio Receiver Japan Radio Drake $390.00 |
