WRUQ357 Posted August 26 Report Share Posted August 26 So, I've been thinking about joining the dark side and get the Ham Technician license. I've also been thinking about having a cb radio when we travel. I joined a cb forum trying to get some ideas. I thought I would go AM/FM and it would fulfill my needs. But I've also been googling ssb and whether I should consider that too. I was thinking about getting a Radioddity qt60 and actually had one in my cart. I've seen and read some stuff on a new qt80, and thought, let's see if there's one on Amazon. Well, when I searched on Friday, Amazon said there was only one left in they're system. So buy once cry once, right? So now I have a Radioddity qt80 coming with a Tram 3500 magnetic mount coming. Now I'll just have to see if it will fit where I want it to in my truck. SteveShannon, Socalgmrs, WRUU653 and 2 others 3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayoverthere Posted August 26 Report Share Posted August 26 Good times. I have an old 40ch radio shack set up on my workbench in the garage, and continually debate picking up a better one for the truck. WRUQ357, warthog74 and WRUU653 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted August 26 Report Share Posted August 26 Dont buy a cheap radio. The president lincoln ii plus is a very good radio. And get a Stryker A10 antenna. You will need to go to your local cb radio shop. Or check out http://www.rrcom.com/ and call them or https://www.bellscb.com/ I always deal with R&R communication in the state of Delaware. I use both gmrs and cb in my car.. I hope this well help you out. CentralFloridaGMRS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog74 Posted August 26 Report Share Posted August 26 The QT80 is just Radioddity’s rebrand of the AnyTone 6666 Pro. Not a cheap radio at all. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. I have the AnyTone AT5555+N and the Radioddity QT40 (rebranded AnyTone Ares II), along with both the smaller AM/FM versions (AT500M II and CB500). Great radios for the money. I would have bought direct from Radioddity.com though instead of Amazon as they offer a warranty and support. Amazon retailers don't. WRUU653, RayDiddio and Socalgmrs 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socalgmrs Posted August 26 Report Share Posted August 26 24 minutes ago, warthog74 said: The QT80 is just Radioddity’s rebrand of the AnyTone 6666 Pro. Not a cheap radio at all. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. I have the AnyTone AT5555+N and the Radioddity QT40 (rebranded AnyTone Ares II), along with both the smaller AM/FM versions (AT500M II and CB500). Great radios for the money. I would have bought direct from Radioddity.com though instead of Amazon as they offer a warranty and support. Amazon retailers don't. While I love cheap radios and I use them each and every day and throughout the year for daily and emergency use, I hate to tell you radioditty and anytone are indeed “cheap radios”. While the price may be more than some other radios, the end quality and price as compared to “good quality” “non cheap” radios is indeed “cheap”. They are on par with most other “cheap” radios as well as the ccr’s. Again nothing wrong with cheap radios but to day anytone radoditty are not “cheap” radios is laughable at best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayoverthere Posted August 26 Report Share Posted August 26 5 minutes ago, WRXP381 said: While I love cheap radios and I use them each and every day and throughout the year for daily and emergency use, I hate to tell you radioditty and anytone are indeed “cheap radios”. While the price may be more than some other radios, the end quality and price as compared to “good quality” “non cheap” radios is indeed “cheap”. They are on par with most other “cheap” radios as well as the ccr’s. Again nothing wrong with cheap radios but to day anytone radoditty are not “cheap” radios is laughable at best. At least for some of the radioddity stuff on amazon, radioddity appears to be the seller as well, even if it may be shipped from Amazon. If you want your radio quicker, Amazon will be hands down faster than ordering from radioddity. That's my one gripe, actually...last order said "us stock, free 5-7 day shipping", in reality, it shipped from China, and didn't even leave their facility for 5 days. Total time to receive was 18 days. WRUU653 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog74 Posted August 26 Report Share Posted August 26 37 minutes ago, WRXP381 said: Again nothing wrong with cheap radios but to day anytone radoditty are not “cheap” radios is laughable at best. Well, i know people still using the original 6666 that came out a decade ago. In todays throw away world, i say 10 years out of a CCR is pretty damn good. Also 90% of the President radios now come from China. Only a few “flagship” models still come from Vietnam. At any rate the QT80 is a great rig. Just talk some SSB DX and you’d be amazed how many are using AnyTone/Radioddity products because they are spot on frequency with great audio for a respectable price. WRUU653, WRUQ357 and RayDiddio 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog74 Posted August 26 Report Share Posted August 26 20 minutes ago, wayoverthere said: That's my one gripe, actually...last order said "us stock, free 5-7 day shipping", in reality, it shipped from China, and didn't even leave their facility for 5 days. Total time to receive was 18 days. Odd. I got my CB500 in 6 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayoverthere Posted August 26 Report Share Posted August 26 46 minutes ago, warthog74 said: Odd. I got my CB500 in 6 days. That's much more reasonable, I'd have minded less without the '5-7 day shipping part (ordered the g106 package with the de17 interface). It was similarly long for my other order as well (gd73 dmr handheld). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRQI663 Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 On 8/25/2024 at 10:32 PM, WRUQ357 said: So, I've been thinking about joining the dark side and get the Ham Technician license. The only "dark side" of amateur radio is operating with NO license. Don't bash something you know nothing about. BoxCar, RayDiddio, TrikeRadio and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OffRoaderX Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 4 hours ago, WRQI663 said: Don't bash something you know nothing about. You're not the boss of him. RayDiddio and JoCoBrian 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoCoBrian Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 If you want to get a technician license, spent 20-30 minutes a day studying the flash cards and doing sample exams on https://hamstudy.org in two weeks, if you have any retention at all, you'll be hitting the exam in the high 80's low 90's and should sign up for the exam and pass it. Ham Study also offers online exams if you don't want to go to a ham club for the exam. I have two 12 yr old grand kids that did just that, and passed on the first try. It's not hard. There is virtually zero electronic theory on the Technician exam, it's mostly FCC rules and regs and operating practice. It's 35 questions and you can miss 9. WRUQ357, Lscott and RayDiddio 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayDiddio Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 44 minutes ago, JoCoBrian said: If you want to get a technician license, spent 20-30 minutes a day studying the flash cards and doing sample exams on https://hamstudy.org in two weeks, if you have any retention at all, you'll be hitting the exam in the high 80's low 90's and should sign up for the exam and pass it. Ham Study also offers online exams if you don't want to go to a ham club for the exam. I have two 12 yr old grand kids that did just that, and passed on the first try. It's not hard. There is virtually zero electronic theory on the Technician exam, it's mostly FCC rules and regs and operating practice. It's 35 questions and you can miss 9. Yes. That is the way. But to be honest... if I did it over again, I would study for both the tech and the general and take both on the same day. Took the general exam 2 weeks ago (thanks Ham Study!) and got a better score on that than I did on the tech exam. wayoverthere and Lscott 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXB215 Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 46 minutes ago, RayDiddio said: I would study for both the tech and the general and take both on the same day. That is what I did but sadly I still don't have an HF rig to really make use of the additional privileges. RayDiddio 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayDiddio Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 Just now, WRXB215 said: That is what I did but sadly I still don't have an HF rig to really make use of the additional privileges. I am still looking at what I want for an HF radio. Lots of interesting choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoCoBrian Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 6 hours ago, RayDiddio said: Yes. That is the way. But to be honest... if I did it over again, I would study for both the tech and the general and take both on the same day. Took the general exam 2 weeks ago (thanks Ham Study!) and got a better score on that than I did on the tech exam. Oh heck yeah. The Technician is a nothing burger...give the studying another two weeks and you can pass both. Nice job and congrats. SteveShannon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYZ926 Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 6 hours ago, RayDiddio said: I am still looking at what I want for an HF radio. Lots of interesting choices. Are you wanting something for a base station, mobile or portable (parks on the air)? Yeast has the FTDX10 and FT-710. Icom has the IC-7300 and IC-7100. They all make good base stations and some people use all of them for POTA/portable setups. Though the FTDX10, FT-710, and IC-7300 are a bit big for portable work in my opinion. The IC-7100 does HF, VHF, and UHF. It is also smaller so works well as a mobile or portable setup. There is also the Yaesu FT-891 which is great for mobile/portable use. The down side to the FT-891 and IC-7100 is neither has an internal antenna tuner. You would have to use a resonant antenna for each band or an external tuner with both radios. Then there is QRP - low power operations. Most of the time they are 10 watts or less. There is also the Xiegu G90 HF radio that is 20 watts. The low power radios are good for portable work since thy won't drain a battery as quick as a 100 watt radio. Now if you want to get into digital modes like FT8, then the FTDX10, FT-710, IC-7300, and IC-7100 work right out of the box. The technician license only allows you privileges on a portion of the 10m band while a general license allows one to use all of the HF bands. I suggest studying for both at the same time and then take both tests at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayDiddio Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 35 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said: Are you wanting something for a base station, mobile or portable (parks on the air)? Yeast has the FTDX10 and FT-710. Icom has the IC-7300 and IC-7100. They all make good base stations and some people use all of them for POTA/portable setups. Though the FTDX10, FT-710, and IC-7300 are a bit big for portable work in my opinion. The IC-7100 does HF, VHF, and UHF. It is also smaller so works well as a mobile or portable setup. There is also the Yaesu FT-891 which is great for mobile/portable use. The down side to the FT-891 and IC-7100 is neither has an internal antenna tuner. You would have to use a resonant antenna for each band or an external tuner with both radios. Then there is QRP - low power operations. Most of the time they are 10 watts or less. There is also the Xiegu G90 HF radio that is 20 watts. The low power radios are good for portable work since thy won't drain a battery as quick as a 100 watt radio. Now if you want to get into digital modes like FT8, then the FTDX10, FT-710, IC-7300, and IC-7100 work right out of the box. The technician license only allows you privileges on a portion of the 10m band while a general license allows one to use all of the HF bands. I suggest studying for both at the same time and then take both tests at the same time. Looking to setup a base station for this and I am actually looking at the Yaesu FT-991A and the Icom IC-7300 currently and just need to make a choice. I like to take my time with purchases I want to keep for awhile and I am not looking so much for extreme portability or anything. I do love the waterfall on the IC-7300 compared to the Yaesu, however. I was recently reading into the FT-710 as it looks like a nice rig. The bulk of my time is spent on 2m and 70cm mostly on repeaters. I am also about to purchase an openspot4 for my DMR needs. Since getting the general I want to explore more. I really just need to make up my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxCar Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 23 minutes ago, RayDiddio said: Looking to setup a base station for this and I am actually looking at the Yaesu FT-991A and the Icom IC-7300 currently and just need to make a choice. I like to take my time with purchases I want to keep for awhile and I am not looking so much for extreme portability or anything. I do love the waterfall on the IC-7300 compared to the Yaesu, however. I was recently reading into the FT-710 as it looks like a nice rig. The bulk of my time is spent on 2m and 70cm mostly on repeaters. I am also about to purchase an openspot4 for my DMR needs. Since getting the general I want to explore more. I really just need to make up my mind. I will state there is a world of difference between Yaesu and Icom in their programming setups. I'm primarily Icom with a couple Yaesu units so I can compare a little. My Icom 5100 is easy to program from the front panel while the Yaesu makes me dig through several menu layers to accomplish the same thing. My recommendation is try both radio brands either at a store if possible or from hams in your area. Talk to them and get their likes and dislikes about each. I think your playing with both radios will lead you to the decision which is better in your case. WRYZ926 and RayDiddio 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYZ926 Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 I just replaced my Yaesu FTDX10 with an Icom IC-7300. I personally prefer the IC-7300. RayDiddio 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoCoBrian Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 6 hours ago, WRYZ926 said: The technician license only allows you privileges on a portion of the 10m band while a general license allows one to use all of the HF bands. I suggest studying for both at the same time and then take both tests at the same time. Technicians have access to 15m, 40m, and 80m as well...just CW. CW know-how gets you more bands to try. WRXB215, SteveShannon and AdmiralCochrane 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYZ926 Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 6 hours ago, JoCoBrian said: Technicians have access to 15m, 40m, and 80m as well...just CW. CW know-how gets you more bands to try. I always forget about that since there is no code requirement to pass the tests and I don't use CW at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoCoBrian Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 6 hours ago, WRYZ926 said: I always forget about that since there is no code requirement to pass the tests and I don't use CW at all. As they used to say in TV commercials...."Try it, you'll like it." Not everyone enjoys it, not everyone can do it, not everyone even wants to do it. But it's fun. SteveShannon, WRXB215 and WRYZ926 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYZ926 Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 I want to learn CW but I also want to start studying for my Extra test too. And I have radio projects in the shack going on too. Decisions decisions. WRXB215 and SteveShannon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXB215 Posted September 2 Report Share Posted September 2 5 hours ago, WRYZ926 said: I want to learn CW but I also want to start studying for my Extra test too. Same here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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