Here is info on a very small and cheap radio called the Tuna Tin 2. It
operates on 1/2 watt and one fellow has worked ALL states on 40 meters
with that 1/2 watt of power. That's on CW. I was on the W.Va. line
and worked a fellow in Norfolk, Va. He was running .75 watt and was on
SSB / voice! Not sure the mileage but it was probably over 200 miles
all the way across the state of VA.

http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/0003037.pdf

and here's how to build it:

http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/7605014.pdf

Some overlap of the two pages. It'll be fun to read about if you never
wish to build it.

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Jennie wrote:

What is a cheap way to get started in Ham Radio. Studying for my license.