So an early mistake I made in 2001 when I got my ticket was dashing down to Ham Radio Outlet for an FT-817. HRO's a fine vendor who has had good pricing and has treated me well, and the FT-817 is a fine radio, but not ideal for learning. Some of the FT-817 fans may bristle a bit a this, but here are my observations/opinions.
1. Cost - for a first radio, something more affordable is appropriate, as it provides a lower barrier to entry. The FT-817 was something on the order of $650. Features galore, but at a price.
2. Complexity - an all-bands/all-modes radio that has had its panel reduced for mobile portability somewhat by necessity buries most of the functions down in submenus that aren't going to be intuitive for a new ham. When learning basic concepts, cleaner/simpler is better.
3. Power - QRP (reduced power) HF operations is a neat trick - ham radio equivalent of hypermiling, seeing how far you can reach with low power levels. A worthwhile goal, but trying to make your first HF contacts will be a lot easier if you've got a larger power budget, and you can always turn output power down later if you want more challenge, or shift to featherweight dedicated rigs meant for backpacking/hilltopping, etc. Save those for Your Second Radio. Try to keep 5w though - a tiny HT that is pocketable but only puts out 200mw into a stubby "rubber duck" antenna will just lead to frustration unless one of your neighbors is the repeater operator.
4. Weight - while the FT-817 was one of the lighter general-purpose all-band rigs, a shoulder-slung brick is a lot less convenient than a belt-clipped HT. When first learning, practice/exposure is key, so making that as convenient and easy as possible will make that less painful, progress faster.
Since most hams will end up with (at least one) handheld, starting there for sheer accessibility as inexpensive easy access to local repeaters and to dip a toe in with the simplest interface possible makes sense. Other radios are likely to follow later, depending on where interests go (radios are flocking animals), but a basic dual band handheld is a solid place to start.
Recommended handhelds for 2m and 440MHz -
Yaesu FT-60 - This is a dual-band handheld that is commonly used by some emergency communications groups, by virtue of being 5W output, relatively durable/robust, supported, and can take AAs in a pinch. Save a rubber band to hold the plug in if you decide to use it with an external microphone. Menu structure may or may not do it for you; try one out. This is what I bought my SO when she got her Technician license, on the advice of someone I respect in the field. Later bought one of my own. ~$150
Kenwood TH-F6A - This is a triband handheld that adds 1.2GHz (use varies across the country), also does 5W, also has fans in the emcomm community, costs a bit more, menus may make more sense to some folks. $300
Baofeng - probably the least expensive option that generally meets FCC signal purity requirements, the only strong attraction for me is price. And still is only recommended if someone is so on the fence wrt finances or the hobby that they can't/won't drop $100 on a better radio; my understanding is that the interface is sufficiently user-hostile that the vast majority of owners only program/tune it via a cable to their computer with optional software. $50 (or less)
For A Second Radio, options open up...a lot. There's mobile dualband rigs with better antennas and more power, there are HF rigs (some mobile), there's satellite, QRP backpacking, etc. But these all come after the First.
1. Cost - for a first radio, something more affordable is appropriate, as it provides a lower barrier to entry. The FT-817 was something on the order of $650. Features galore, but at a price.
2. Complexity - an all-bands/all-modes radio that has had its panel reduced for mobile portability somewhat by necessity buries most of the functions down in submenus that aren't going to be intuitive for a new ham. When learning basic concepts, cleaner/simpler is better.
3. Power - QRP (reduced power) HF operations is a neat trick - ham radio equivalent of hypermiling, seeing how far you can reach with low power levels. A worthwhile goal, but trying to make your first HF contacts will be a lot easier if you've got a larger power budget, and you can always turn output power down later if you want more challenge, or shift to featherweight dedicated rigs meant for backpacking/hilltopping, etc. Save those for Your Second Radio. Try to keep 5w though - a tiny HT that is pocketable but only puts out 200mw into a stubby "rubber duck" antenna will just lead to frustration unless one of your neighbors is the repeater operator.
4. Weight - while the FT-817 was one of the lighter general-purpose all-band rigs, a shoulder-slung brick is a lot less convenient than a belt-clipped HT. When first learning, practice/exposure is key, so making that as convenient and easy as possible will make that less painful, progress faster.
Since most hams will end up with (at least one) handheld, starting there for sheer accessibility as inexpensive easy access to local repeaters and to dip a toe in with the simplest interface possible makes sense. Other radios are likely to follow later, depending on where interests go (radios are flocking animals), but a basic dual band handheld is a solid place to start.
Recommended handhelds for 2m and 440MHz -
Yaesu FT-60 - This is a dual-band handheld that is commonly used by some emergency communications groups, by virtue of being 5W output, relatively durable/robust, supported, and can take AAs in a pinch. Save a rubber band to hold the plug in if you decide to use it with an external microphone. Menu structure may or may not do it for you; try one out. This is what I bought my SO when she got her Technician license, on the advice of someone I respect in the field. Later bought one of my own. ~$150
Kenwood TH-F6A - This is a triband handheld that adds 1.2GHz (use varies across the country), also does 5W, also has fans in the emcomm community, costs a bit more, menus may make more sense to some folks. $300
Baofeng - probably the least expensive option that generally meets FCC signal purity requirements, the only strong attraction for me is price. And still is only recommended if someone is so on the fence wrt finances or the hobby that they can't/won't drop $100 on a better radio; my understanding is that the interface is sufficiently user-hostile that the vast majority of owners only program/tune it via a cable to their computer with optional software. $50 (or less)
For A Second Radio, options open up...a lot. There's mobile dualband rigs with better antennas and more power, there are HF rigs (some mobile), there's satellite, QRP backpacking, etc. But these all come after the First.
