suggestions for a starter handheld

[SteveShannon]

On 1/29/2026 at 8:28 PM, beerftw said:

I am already using hamstudy .org as a type this, and the ham study prep guide I believe was hamstudy.org paperback book. the site seems good for understanding test questions but I learn better through a paperback book. Also when I need to study or concentrate, the rattling from subwoofers drives me crazy where I live and will drive my car or motorcycle to remote spots at the lake with little or no internet just to get silence, hence wanting a paperback.

I preferred HamStudy simply because of the great depth of information that is available to follow up on missed or even interesting questions, but I completely understand wanting to escape to a quiet place to study.  For less than the price of a paperback study booklet, a stand-alone app HamStudy can be purchased for your phone or tablet, which allows you to take it with you and make use of its interactive nature even when off the grid.

Edited February 1 by SteveShannon
To differentiate between the free HamStudy and standalone version.

[TNFrank]

I use HamStudy.org for free on the broswer on my phone for free. 

[beerftw]

It seems outside of top dollar handhelds, and the uv-5r locked version, I will have no choice but to program a radio to lock out transmits on frequencies I do not want. I found retevis has a handheld that transmits on 70cm, 2 meter, 6 meter and 10 meter, though I doubt 6 and 10 meters would be very effective anyways on an ht, and 10 meters would be mostly offlimits for a technician license anyways.

 

  Plenty of dual band versions doing 2 meter, 125cm and 70 cm though. I just need to figure out the best one to fit my needs without too much money as I arleady know most of the real action with ham radio is in mobile and base stations with big antennas not handhelds.

[beerftw]

19 hours ago, 808Beachbum said:

Since you ARE concerned with proper compliance (refreshing!), be sure you closely review the "Band Plan" for the ham bands you ultimately get licensed for. This chart covers all the ham bands, so you'll need to scroll down some for the details covering "technician" licenses. And, just FYI, here's another nice chart that shows the allocation of ALL US freqs, if you are curious.

I plan to get paper versions of those charts and plans, because truthfully that is a lot to remember. I simply had been researching allocated frequencies to know what is legal, and have already heard of too many buying these radios that can transmit out of them get in trouble because they got their license but did no research past the license and thought if the radio has those frequencies they must be legal to transmit on them.

[beerftw]

4 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

Just get a 95e radio. It will not transmit outside of the GMRS frequencies. If you want inexpensive get a uv5g from Baofeng. If you want quality get a kg805 from Wouxun or one of the midlands. If you want top quality get a Garmin Rhino. They’ll all transmit just as far. 

This thread is about ham not gmrs, I already got 3 fcc legal gmrs radios, and will probably buy numerous frs radios when they are on stupid sale to hand out when needed, but ham is what this thread is about.

[SteveShannon]

19 minutes ago, beerftw said:

This thread is about ham not gmrs, I already got 3 fcc legal gmrs radios, and will probably buy numerous frs radios when they are on stupid sale to hand out when needed, but ham is what this thread is about.

That’s what I get for posting while half asleep. I’ll delete my post. 
But in that case if you want to have a radio that enforces the band limits simply buy a Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood, Wouxun, and don’t unlock it. They’re all programmed to adhere to the band limits. Stay away from the cheap Baofeng, tid radios, etc. 

[gortex2]

The ICOM V86 is like $125. The Yaseu FT65 is about the same price. If you think these are high dollar radios not sure why your investing in HAM radio. Spending a few dollars more on a quality radio will make your experience much more enjoayable. 

[WRYZ926]

20 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

That’s what I get for posting while half asleep

That's like when I have too much blood in the caffeine system and make posts. 

1 hour ago, gortex2 said:

The ICOM V86 is like $125. The Yaseu FT65 is about the same price.

The Icom V86 is a mono band 2m only radio. Even though I am not a fan of Yaesu, I would recommend the FT65 over the Icom V86 or Icom IC-T10. In fact, I can't recommend the IC-T10 at all, it isn't any better than the UV/GT 5R radios.

The Explorer QRZ-1/TYT UV88 radios are pretty decent. And Wouxun HT's are good to go too. One that surprised me is the Quansheng UV-K5 (8)/UV-K6. My uncle sent me one to play with and they are pretty decent radios right out of the box.

The Baofeng GT-5R is locked to the amateur bands only. The UV-5R from places like B-Tech and Radioddity are also locked to amateur bands. 

[SteveShannon]

21 hours ago, beerftw said:

I plan to get paper versions of those charts and plans, because truthfully that is a lot to remember. I simply had been researching allocated frequencies to know what is legal, and have already heard of too many buying these radios that can transmit out of them get in trouble because they got their license but did no research past the license and thought if the radio has those frequencies they must be legal to transmit on them.

The PDFs of the band plans are here for printing: https://www.arrl.org/graphical-frequency-allocations

I laminated mine and leave it on my desk.  First I ordered one of the “laminated 11 x 17” versions from ARRL and was not satisfied.  It might be plastic coated, but it arrived folded and it’s not nearly as durable as the ones I roll through my hot laminating machine.

[Lscott]

These are not completely up to date but should be good enough.

ARRL Band Plan.pdf US Amature Band Plan 2020.pdf

[beerftw]

So I have my tech test scheduled for this saturday, I have been practicing and am getting to the point I am scoring 80+ on nearly every practice test. Still have tonight and four more nights to practice, I feel good about my odds so long as something does not prevent me from taking the test like oversleeping my alarm and missing it.

[Lscott]

11 hours ago, beerftw said:

So I have my tech test scheduled for this saturday, I have been practicing and am getting to the point I am scoring 80+ on nearly every practice test. Still have tonight and four more nights to practice, I feel good about my odds so long as something does not prevent me from taking the test like oversleeping my alarm and missing it.

Wish you good luck on the exam. It's not as hard as you might think. 

Once you pass the test, and get your Ham license, I'll bet your next move will be looking for radios that work on both Ham and GMRS. For that use case your option is looking at some good quality used commercial radios. Some of the older models have Part 95 certification, these seem to always be the 450 to 490/512/520 MHz range versions, and some can be pushed to run below 450MHz into the repeater section of the 70cm Ham band. There are some really nice used Part 90 certified radios that will cover the full Ham 70cm band and GMRS, typically those are the 400 to 470 MHz range models. So far the FCC hasn't bothered anyone using such radios, many on this forum have them, and there is a provision in the GMRS rules which seems to allow it. 

If you're interested just ask here and I'm sure those of us with such radios would be very happy to make recommendations.

[WSKY396]

If I could piggyback on this topic and ask some advice.  I am trying to figure out what kind of radio I should get to use all technician license privileges? 
I got my GMRS license about a month ago and several UV5G plus radios for family. That led me to getting the UV5R and leaning the basic controls and how to theoretically use VHF/UHF. 
I am scheduled to take the technician exam in a couple weeks and wondering what set up I should get to fill in the gaps for when I get my license?

[WRYS709]

29 minutes ago, WSKY396 said:

If I could piggyback on this topic and ask some advice.  I am trying to figure out what kind of radio I should get to use all technician license privileges? 
I got my GMRS license about a month ago and several UV5G plus radios for family. That led me to getting the UV5R and leaning the basic controls and how to theoretically use VHF/UHF. 
I am scheduled to take the technician exam in a couple weeks and wondering what set up I should get to fill in the gaps for when I get my license?

The Radioddity DB20-G a/k/a Anytone AT-779UV: 20 watts, mini-mobile, 500 channels, cigarette lighter plug, now supported by Chirp. 

It comes as a Part 95 certified GMRS radio, but with different code plugs, it easily opens to Ham 2 meters 440 MHz FM. 

$85 - $109

i don’t want to follow this thread so quote me if you want my attention to any questions. 

[808Beachbum]

On 2/1/2026 at 6:04 AM, beerftw said:

I plan to get paper versions of those charts and plans, because truthfully that is a lot to remember. I simply had been researching allocated frequencies to know what is legal, and have already heard of too many buying these radios that can transmit out of them get in trouble because they got their license but did no research past the license and thought if the radio has those frequencies they must be legal to transmit on them.

You might look up niftyaccessories dot com, they have nice field guides for many radios as well as a ham band plan.

[SteveShannon]

29 minutes ago, WSKY396 said:

If I could piggyback on this topic and ask some advice.  I am trying to figure out what kind of radio I should get to use all technician license privileges? 
I got my GMRS license about a month ago and several UV5G plus radios for family. That led me to getting the UV5R and leaning the basic controls and how to theoretically use VHF/UHF. 
I am scheduled to take the technician exam in a couple weeks and wondering what set up I should get to fill in the gaps for when I get my license?

If you truly want one radio that will transmit on the greatest number of technician available bands and in all of the technician modes, either the IC7100, the FT991A, the IC705, or the FT1X cover the most bases.  None of them are inexpensive, but all of them will do SSB, FM, AM, CW, RTTY, and the various digital modes like FT8, etc. They all support CAT control and all can be used as mobile radios. The IC705 and the FT1X Field are QRP rigs, but the FT1X Optima package includes an amplifier that makes 100 watts on the HF bands. These four radios also do SSB on the VHF and UHF bands, which is pretty uncommon, but nice.

 

[WSKY396]

13 minutes ago, WRYS709 said:

The Radioddity DB20-G a/k/a Anytone AT-779UV: 20 watts, mini-mobile, 500 channels, cigarette lighter plug, now supported by Chirp. 

It comes as a Part 95 certified GMRS radio, but with different code plugs, it easily opens to Ham 2 meters 440 MHz FM. 

$85 - $109

i don’t want to follow this thread so quote me if you want my attention to any questions. 

Thanks for the suggestion. I’m trying to figure it out.

[SteveShannon]

1 minute ago, WSKY396 said:

Thanks for the suggestion. I’m trying to figure it out.

I have two of the db20g radios. They’re nice for a GMRS radio that can be opened up to work on 2 meters and 70 cm but they’re FM only and they won’t do anything on the lower end of the vhf scale like 6 meters. That’s not the kiss of death as long as you understand the limitations. If all you want to do is talk on VHF and UHF FM, it’s a nice little radio.

[WSKY396]

3 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

If you truly want one radio that will transmit on the greatest number of technician available bands and in all of the technician modes, either the IC7100, the FT991A, the IC705, or the FT1X cover the most bases.  None of them are inexpensive, but all of them will do SSB, FM, AM, CW, RTTY, and the various digital modes like FT8, etc. They all support CAT control and all can be used as mobile radios. The IC705 and the FT1X Field are QRP rigs, but the FT1X Optima package includes an amplifier that makes 100 watts on the HF bands. These four radios also do SSB on the VHF and UHF bands, which is pretty uncommon, but nice.

 

Thank you for the reply. I guess at this point I’m really looking for how to do phone on everything from  6m, 10m, 1.25m, 33cm and 23cm. I feel pretty confident about use case for 2m and 70cm but really don’t know much about the rest. Should I be looking at two different set ups? I’m primarily interested in using mobile outdoors.

 

 

 

[beerftw]

52 minutes ago, WSKY396 said:

If I could piggyback on this topic and ask some advice.  I am trying to figure out what kind of radio I should get to use all technician license privileges? 
I got my GMRS license about a month ago and several UV5G plus radios for family. That led me to getting the UV5R and leaning the basic controls and how to theoretically use VHF/UHF. 
I am scheduled to take the technician exam in a couple weeks and wondering what set up I should get to fill in the gaps for when I get my license?

Depending on what you want you will need 2 types of radios, a uv-5r will give you 2 meter and 70 cm, 2 meter being the common band for new ham users, and also considered more common for simplex. 70cm is also used and can also be used to talk to the iss.

  The other radio type common will be 10m, which short of some older devices you will be stuck with a base station for that, as tech license is limited to cw, data, and can only talk on the upper sideband which requires am transievers which most handhelds will not cover.

 

  There are other bands out there but these are the most populated and where you want to start, for vhf and uhf nearly every ht or handheld will cover them, and hf or 10 meter you need a base station.

[WSKY396]

2 minutes ago, beerftw said:

Depending on what you want you will need 2 types of radios, a uv-5r will give you 2 meter and 70 cm, 2 meter being the common band for new ham users, and also considered more common for simplex. 70cm is also used and can also be used to talk to the iss.

  The other radio type common will be 10m, which short of some older devices you will be stuck with a base station for that, as tech license is limited to cw, data, and can only talk on the upper sideband which requires am transievers which most handhelds will not cover.

 

  There are other bands out there but these are the most populated and where you want to start, for vhf and uhf nearly every ht or handheld will cover them, and hf or 10 meter you need a base station.

This is what I suspected. Thank you for the confirmation.

[WSKY396]

29 minutes ago, beerftw said:

Depending on what you want you will need 2 types of radios, a uv-5r will give you 2 meter and 70 cm, 2 meter being the common band for new ham users, and also considered more common for simplex. 70cm is also used and can also be used to talk to the iss.

  The other radio type common will be 10m, which short of some older devices you will be stuck with a base station for that, as tech license is limited to cw, data, and can only talk on the upper sideband which requires am transievers which most handhelds will not cover.

 

  There are other bands out there but these are the most populated and where you want to start, for vhf and uhf nearly every ht or handheld will cover them, and hf or 10 meter you need a base station.

Thanks again guys, I appreciate the knowledge. What would be an adequate mobile base station? I’m in a townhouse with some limitations. I have looked a little bit into stealth HOA stuff but not sure that I can make any of that work with what I have.
 

[SteveShannon]

1 hour ago, WSKY396 said:

Thank you for the reply. I guess at this point I’m really looking for how to do phone on everything from  6m, 10m, 1.25m, 33cm and 23cm. I feel pretty confident about use case for 2m and 70cm but really don’t know much about the rest. Should I be looking at two different set ups? I’m primarily interested in using mobile outdoors.

 

 

 

Transceivers that do all of the bands you have listed are very rare (non-existent perhaps).  You’re more apt to need to buy three different radios.  The IC9700 will do 2m, 70 cm, and 33 cm.  The IC7300 will add 160-6 meters, but neither of those do 1.25m or 25 cm.  You could listen to all of them with an SDR though, fairly inexpensively and then determine whether you want to invest in radios that do those specialized bands.

[WSKY396]

8 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

Transceivers that do all of the bands you have listed are very rare (non-existent perhaps).  You’re more apt to need to buy three different radios.  The IC9700 will do 2m, 70 cm, and 33 cm.  The IC7300 will add 160-6 meters, but neither of those do 1.25m or 25 cm.  You could listen to all of them with an SDR though, fairly inexpensively and then determine whether you want to invest in radios that do those specialized bands.

Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it. 
I’m trying to stave off internet research burnout before I even get my license!

[WRYZ926]

You are almost better off to have a separate mono band radio for the 1.25m band as most tri band and quad band radios will have very low output power on the 1.25m band. Most 50 watt multi band radios will do 50 watts on 2m, 40 - 50 watts on 70cm and 5-10 watts on 1.25m.

I would concentrate on a good HF radio for the HF and 6m bands and another radio for 2m and 70cm. I would take @SteveShannon suggestion of using a SDR to listen to the 23cm and 33cm bands. The 23cm and 33cm bands are hardly used.

I would not bother with 1.25m unless there is actually traffic on that band in your area. The 1.25m band is popular in some areas of the country and not used at all in other areas. Again you are better off with a separate mono band radio for this.

You could go with an all in one radio AKA shack in the box. But they will only give you the HF bands, 6m, 2m, and 70cm bands. I personally don't care for shack in the box radios as you have all your eggs in one basket.

Then there is the deep dive of antennas to go through. You can get multi band antennas that cover HF and 6m then a separate antenna for 2m/70cm. While multi band antennas work, a dedicated antenna for each HF/6m band is better.