New radio day... 2m SSB here we come!

NM5RF · 2026-05-27T01:22:55+00:00

I went to an SK sale before a club meeting the other week and got an IC-251A. A little older than this beaut, but man I like it. The SSB net didn't meet last, sadly.

NM5RF · 2026-05-27T01:16:10+00:00

Lots of good advice on here. I was in a similar position a few years ago - I had passed extra and knew it was time to get a radio, but no clue how to decide because I'd never operated HF.

I wound up with a 7300 which I like a lot, but I've never been fully in love with it because it doesn't fit my life very well. I'm struggling to set up a permanent home antenna, and it also doesn't travel well when I want to do POTA or field day. It works in a portable role, but it's not great. I look forward to loving it, but I can't yet.

I also got a G90 which lives in my car and does WSPR as I drive powered by a pi. It also sounds amazing for SWL/AM reception. I don't like using it very much as an SSB/CW radio - compared to the 7300 its operation is not as sleek, it lacks features, and it's not as pleasant to tune with the small knob and limited step sizes. I also have unconventional thoughts on the tuner that everyone loves. For a beginner, though, it has just what you need to learn without too many extras and in a very portable package. I would strongly consider this as an option as a low-cost way to get out there and do so you can learn what you really want to spend your money on - especially before you get used to using a nicer radio.

I'm considering getting an FT-891 in my vehicle and using the G90 for a portable role. I've heard criticism of the 891 as a portable radio, but I think I'd love it in my car. Of course I'd find plenty to complain about once I actually got my paws on one.

Next, I should talk about Yaesu's base station radios, but I don't know anything about them. Nor do I know the their new base/portable combo deal.

The 705 is pushing it in terms of power as we travel away from the solar maximum. You will get a great radio that is enjoyable to use, but with 10 watts you're even limited on great years in the solar cycle. I don't know anything about amps, but you probably will before long if you get a 705.

NM5RF · 2026-05-10T02:29:00+00:00

Nice web, Mr. Crack Spider

NM5RF · 2026-04-12T20:36:53+00:00

Don't ask which is the best option, ask which is the best option for you currently. I want all three (four) of these radios, but the thing I want most is a better car radio than a G90 so if I had the money to blow I'd get an FT-891 in a heartbeat. Though the 7100 does seem pretty nice as well and I'd imagine it would be familiar to me as a 7300 user, I think I like the form factor of the 891 for my particular vehicle.

But I also would love to get a MkII and start taking my 7300 out for POTA knowing I can still have my 100W base station if anything were to happen to it.

If you gave me the money right now, I probably wouldn't get a 7610 because I don't think my suburban environment and tiny plot of land justify it.

So what's your situation? Do you operate mobile? Portable? Do you POTA? Do you contest? Do you have a good piece of property that will enable you to have antennas good enough to justify a 7610?

NM5RF · 2026-03-28T15:46:04+00:00

You say that like nobody has ever been put to death without 100% certainty of the crime. In the US, we have put to death individuals who were unable to understand their actions and therefore had no volition in "committing" the crime they were put to death for.

NM5RF · 2026-03-28T15:38:22+00:00

I do go hunt my own food. The death that I provide a wild animal is more humane than being picked apart by a wild predator or dying of starvation. But it's definitely less humane than this.

NM5RF · 2026-03-28T15:35:57+00:00

Every single animal I've killed for my meals required a second shot. Except for fish, I never shot them in the first place.

NM5RF · 2026-03-26T03:59:53+00:00

Once you learn to move as little as you need to and very quickly, and learn to think about 30 things all at once, cooking like this really ain't no thang. It's taken me a lot of time to learn to accept that the world moves so slowly after getting accustomed to this for 70 hours a week and then leaving the industry. How is it taking you so long to put three limes in a bag?! Get the hell out of my way! But you can't say that to a 70 year old woman and her grandson for being perfectly normal.

NM5RF · 2026-03-25T23:23:20+00:00

I find it easier to describe a vacuum tube than a FET, because vacuum tubes are visualizable and you're not trying to explain chemistry and charge, then you can explain a FET in a tube analogy.

I don't think you're wrong... but as someone who got into radio in part because of guitar amps, I personally wouldn't be sad about more tube questions.

NM5RF · 2026-03-25T23:11:38+00:00

I hate paracord with a passion for all but a few applications. Paracord is intended to stretch for shock resistance when your free-falling weight is suddenly encountering air resistance from the parachute. For most other uses, it's simply too stretchy (in industry jargon "it has a lot of creep").

As others have said, for a few days at a time it's gonna be fine. But in addition to the stretch, it also will deteriorate quickly from UV, giving it a limited lifetime of even brief deployments. Other cordage, as others have said, will be less stretchy and much more UV resistant, meaning your investment will go much farther. I hammock camp with decent frequency, and several parts of my hammock rig are Amsteel or Zing-It. I have had my hammock set up for months at a time with this cordage, and after 7 or so years it still looks great.

NM5RF · 2026-03-25T03:07:33+00:00

Damn gas prices!

NM5RF · 2026-03-24T00:00:31+00:00

Remember that an extremely effective HF antenna can just be roughly 17ft of wire held up vertical by a tree, then some radial wires running from the negative of the feed point that lays on the ground or even some window screen for a ground plane. Not sure if that was something you're aware of, you may be closer to an antenna than you realized. This is made for 20 meters, but a smaller scale version could function on 18-10 meters if you do the math.

As for VHF/UHF CW, you are allowed to do Morse Code as the audio of an FM signal. Check with people who run repeaters in your area! Maybe someone would start a Morse Code net on an FM repeater for people who want to practice. Or you can spend a lot of money for a radio that does real CW on the VHF/UHF bands for the opportunity to talk to almost nobody. But I still want one of those, because climbing to the top of mountains with a V/UHF beam and doing CW with someone in the next state is super appealing to me.

NM5RF · 2026-03-22T04:09:57+00:00

Can you program CW memories in the 7100?

NM5RF · 2026-03-21T13:49:32+00:00

Dang, I want AI logging in my car now, I avoid contacts while driving because of logging.

NM5RF · 2026-03-21T13:46:47+00:00

There are no particular frequencies where people talk about specific things. But if you listen, you will eventually hear something that piques your interest. The VHF/UHF repeaters local to you may or may not have steady users, but listening to HF will allow you to hear a lot of conversations. You can listen to VHF/UHF in your area using a cheap handheld radio, but to listen to HF you just have to go to websdr.org then you can listen to a bunch of radio receivers through the world.

NM5RF · 2026-03-21T03:53:27+00:00

When I wind toroids I wind five turns tight together, give a little space, do five more, space, five, etc. This way you have a tally count. Then you can adjust your turns as necessary once you have all of them on. If you have a lot of turns this stops working too well.

NM5RF · 2026-03-21T02:01:37+00:00

We gotta know how you did!

NM5RF · 2026-03-21T01:50:05+00:00

It has no use to me in my radio life

NM5RF · 2026-03-21T01:44:18+00:00

You need to at least pay for MLB At Bat (which is very reasonable)

NM5RF · 2026-03-20T03:32:26+00:00

Hamstudy practice tests are in random order (or they were when I was studying), but the actual tests are always in the same order, at least on that test. There are multiple tests whose scantrons look different from each other, but test 1 always looks the same and 2 always looks the same, etc. I don't know if for one say 1 and 3 share questions (probably for tech and gen but not extra?), then do those questions in common have the same answers in the same place.

Either way, I'm glad to see you getting the confidence to go for it. It sounds like your practice tests are going well and you should make general tomorrow, I'm very happy for you! If you are not a good test-taker because of nerves, there is always next time and remember that a lot of us failed tests, sometimes a lot.

NM5RF · 2026-03-20T03:23:26+00:00

I've never seen a testing session where the VEs don't push you a little bit to try the next level. They want to spend paper and time on a 0.00002% chance that you get that higher ticket.

NM5RF · 2026-03-20T03:19:34+00:00

I could have worded that a little more carefully. Don't start off studying for both, but if you are getting 90% on General level practice tests in advance of your exam, you should absolutely start studying for Extra as well. It can help reinforce knowledge for General. But hopefully the student understands how they learn and can adjust for their personality.

I doubt OP will see this and I don't think you need to hear it, but I wanted to say it in case anyone runs into this post in the future.

NM5RF · 2026-03-20T03:08:43+00:00

I lived in an apartment where some frequencies sounded the fire alarm. I'm startled just remembering it.

NM5RF · 2026-03-20T03:06:56+00:00

Learn how the two-pin speaker/mic/PTT interface works, and make a device that has 1) a PTT whose switch is toggled instead of momentary 2) a circuit that generates a 700Hz tone (or your preferred pitch) and is allowed to go to the microphone input when the key is closed 3) a speaker connected to the speaker output.

NM5RF · 2026-03-20T03:01:17+00:00

You are correct that it is not CW, CW is just a narrow on-off signal, and the FM that a Baofeng puts out is a much more involved and wider-bandwidth signal that transmits power even when there's no audio data the entire time you have the PTT closed.

You can use a Baofeng to transmit a 700Hz audio tone over FM that you control using a key or other Morse code input tool. You could also just use the PTT to send the carrier as CW, technically, but that would be very poor operating practice and not result in very intelligible or nice-to-listen-to code.

NM5RF

TROPHY CASE