Doug Smith W9WI wrote:
wrote:
Ok, please don't flame me for spamming or anything, but I have been
quite interested in ham radio lately and even memorized morse code, can
any of you give me pointers on how much it takes to get a liscense, how
much money on a bare bones radio that still does alot, and how much fun
it is :-D. I hope that you can answer these questions and again, please
don't flame me for being a noob.

First of all, please understand that the ham radio bands are a lot
friendlier than the Internet newsgroups!

The licensing process depends on what country you're in. In the U.S.
there is no fee for the license itself but there is a modest examination
fee for the test you must pass to qualify for a license. "The ARRL VEC
Test Fee for 2006 is $14.00"; other examination coordinators might
charge a slightly different fee. See
http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/license-requirements.html for more
information in the U.S..

(if you're in another country, let us know which one & I think we can
come up with the name/location/URL of an appropriate local organization)

A decent new VHF radio will run you around $200; a decent new one for
shortwave will start around $700. Used gear is widely available and
less expensive - I would suggest $125 would get you a decent used VHF
set and $400 for used shortwave.

You will need some perihiperal gear - a power supply and antenna.
Probably around $50-100 for the power supply. (maybe a bit more for a
new supply for a shortwave rig) You can make your own antenna for a
few tens of dollars or less in Home Depot/Lowes/etc. parts. You'll
probably need to buy a bit of feedline, same ballpark.

You can, of course, spend a LOT more if you're so inclined!

As with any hobby, it's as much fun as you want to make itgrin!

--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

Ya, I'm in the US. That's a whole lot of money and it is doubtful that
I can get it very soon so what do you recommend I do in the meantime?
Should I get a liscense now or does it eventually expire? Should I try
to find parts on ebay or something? And one last thing, my uncle says
he knows someone with some extra ham radios, should I look into that?