I'll start with Congrats!! My call is KC8BEW

The thing I look for is how easy is it to program and/or operate with no instructions. What I do is go to a store or a friend?s house that may have the radio(s) I am looking at. Then I actually try it out. No manual or instructions beforehand. If I find it fairly easy to use without reading the manual then I will look into what more it can do (bells & whistles). For HT?s, I try setting it up to work on a repeater or be able to change the offset or tones. If I can?t do that I pass on it. For mobiles or desk units I look for the ease of going through the menus, location of the dials, etc.

I figure that if I cannot program an HT (Handi Talkie) without the manual then it will not do me any good in the field. I don?t have the room or weight to carry a manual for this simple, IMO, task. With a desk or mobile unit you can have that manual available. My elmer was given a radio that he threw in a drawer because he couldn?t change the freq. without the manual.

My 1st radio was a Radio Shack HTX-202. It is a brick! I dropped it on its head, which broke the antenna, and only replaced the antenna to make it work again (normal BNC connector). I can take it off the desk and have no problem taking it to the field. I am able to use it in total darkness. I use it for APRS now.

My EDC is an Alinco 596T dual band. Vehicle has a Kenwood 241A. Packet is a Yaesu 1500 mobile.


That is where ham radio comes in. The radio and antenna theory you have to learn will help in that situation.

My pockets are empty now. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />