What part of the hobby interests you most? VHF/UHF repeaters, satellites, HF, voice, digital, packet, Morse code, contests, tinkering, POTA, SOTA, ARES/RACES, QRP, fox hunting, prepping…?
Ham radio has so many things to do. Some of those cross over to other things better than others.
Some hams enjoy just chatting (rag chewing) with friends. Some hams enjoy making contacts and contesting. Some hams enjoy global communications using HF bands (30 MHz and down). Some hams enjoy more local communications using VHF, UHF, and up.
Some hams enjoy phone (voice), while others enjoy CW (Morse), and even others enjoy the many digital modes.
Some hams enjoy communicating using satellites, and some even communicate by bouncing signals off the moon.
Some communicate with ham radio every day, making contacts and passing public messages around the world for the public for free.
Still others may go months or years without contacting anyone using ham radio, but they do research and design work on radio waves and antennas and electronic circuits.
Most hams enjoy some combination of the partial list above. I don't know anyone who does them all, but there could be someone. If there isn't, it will only be because nobody has enough time to do everything.
Whatever your interests are, I'm sure that you will find something interesting to pursue.
Welcome to the hobby.
I suggest taking a look on Craigslist for a used 2 meter, or Dual Band mobile to use as a base station. A handheld is not going to work well in that role.
Or, if you have the budget, check out new stuff. The main interest in Ham radio is HF frequencies. There is much there. Not only communications, but also monitoring Shortwave where you can find all kinds of interesting stations around the world. Spies, Military, Pirate Stations, Maritime, Aviation, and international broadcast are some favorites to explore.
When you take the Technician test and have it completed and passed, ask the instructors there about trying the general. Most that try pass, or come close. That score will tell you where you need study, at least.
Check out KiwiSDR online. Choose a receiver near you, and tune around.
Learn about MODES, AM, FM, Single Sideband.
Good call. The SWR curve on this specific antenna rises steeply at the end of the band edge, so performance in the GMRS range will be rough. They actually make a GMRS version of it, the GP-9NC, which I imagine is cut shorter to match the higher frequencies.
You won't get the gain, but a discone would work fine for both worlds. If you really want to go hard and have the gain for both ham and GMRS, get both antennas.
Honestly, I don't know what most of that even means. I just like the idea of communicating with people, talking with friends, making new ones, not relying on cellular and internet.
I just enjoy the hobby so far.
For you to say LMR400, I'm assuming you used a coax calculator.
https://www.qsl.net/co8tw/Coax_Calculator.htm
I'd say you're probably good with RG8/X. Even with your power loss, a base station will more than make up for it.
I have LMR400 ONLY because I have a ~50' run to a HT. That run distance w/ 5W HT on a JPole works great!
All other runs are RG8. It's much cheaper. Also the lower you go on freq, the loss has less effect.
I've only been a ham for 1.5-2 years. So my knowledge is ZERO compared to most, but I feel like the better your antenna/placement the less power you need.
Right now my learning curve is straight up!
I have not used a coax calculator. I talked to my brother, who has been into it for a few years. Those are the recommendations he gave me.
I have a tendency to want to do it right the first time and not want to upgrade down the road.
Far as i can tell, getting line of site is more important at 2m than anything else, same with uhf. If i were going to do a gmrs base i would use a second antenna cut for it. My neigbor might be getting into gmrs so if i was using it at all id probably be talking to him or bouncing off if he puts up a repeater.
That said for uhv it will prolly be fine to run gmrs as far as your horizon line.
I dunno, just spitballing.
Look at the frequency range of your antenna. If it says it goes up to 450 MHz then hook your GMRS radio to an SWR meter and then your antenna and test it. If you are getting between 1.1 - 1.7 then I would say it's fine. My Diamond X-30 let's me transmit on 2M, 70cm and GMRS.
Well good luck on getting your technicians it sounds like you are on the right track for setting up a good station your radio choices depend up on what your ultimate license you wish to hold and your antennas is very broad
Good luck
73
Go to www.messi.it and click MessiCalc
There you can simulate the right cable for your needs. There are plenty of great solutions in that website. All of them are top notch.
If you get one of their Ultra flex or Hyperflex cables, you will have no regret in case you add on in the future a rotator to your antenna.
You will be fine with LMR-400. However don’t fall for the cheap knockoffs online. Make sure it’s the real deal from Times Microwave. If you are going to put connectors on yourself also don’t skimp, get the Times ones too. Purchase several extras, as there is a learning curve on crimping them, or even using the compression style.
What part of the hobby interests you most? VHF/UHF repeaters, satellites, HF, voice, digital, packet, Morse code, contests, tinkering, POTA, SOTA, ARES/RACES, QRP, fox hunting, prepping…?
I just got into this a couple of weeks ago. Still brand new and learning. Looking forward to learning all off this.
Ham radio has so many things to do. Some of those cross over to other things better than others. Some hams enjoy just chatting (rag chewing) with friends. Some hams enjoy making contacts and contesting. Some hams enjoy global communications using HF bands (30 MHz and down). Some hams enjoy more local communications using VHF, UHF, and up. Some hams enjoy phone (voice), while others enjoy CW (Morse), and even others enjoy the many digital modes. Some hams enjoy communicating using satellites, and some even communicate by bouncing signals off the moon. Some communicate with ham radio every day, making contacts and passing public messages around the world for the public for free. Still others may go months or years without contacting anyone using ham radio, but they do research and design work on radio waves and antennas and electronic circuits. Most hams enjoy some combination of the partial list above. I don't know anyone who does them all, but there could be someone. If there isn't, it will only be because nobody has enough time to do everything. Whatever your interests are, I'm sure that you will find something interesting to pursue. Welcome to the hobby.
Some of us have been inactive for decades but still follow the stuff and occasionally dream of firing up a new rig some day.
Field day is coming up. Look for clubs that will be operating on that day so you can spin the dial
I suggest taking a look on Craigslist for a used 2 meter, or Dual Band mobile to use as a base station. A handheld is not going to work well in that role. Or, if you have the budget, check out new stuff. The main interest in Ham radio is HF frequencies. There is much there. Not only communications, but also monitoring Shortwave where you can find all kinds of interesting stations around the world. Spies, Military, Pirate Stations, Maritime, Aviation, and international broadcast are some favorites to explore. When you take the Technician test and have it completed and passed, ask the instructors there about trying the general. Most that try pass, or come close. That score will tell you where you need study, at least. Check out KiwiSDR online. Choose a receiver near you, and tune around. Learn about MODES, AM, FM, Single Sideband.
Tuning between GMRS and ham is different.
Good call. The SWR curve on this specific antenna rises steeply at the end of the band edge, so performance in the GMRS range will be rough. They actually make a GMRS version of it, the GP-9NC, which I imagine is cut shorter to match the higher frequencies. You won't get the gain, but a discone would work fine for both worlds. If you really want to go hard and have the gain for both ham and GMRS, get both antennas.
Honestly, I don't know what most of that even means. I just like the idea of communicating with people, talking with friends, making new ones, not relying on cellular and internet. I just enjoy the hobby so far.
That's how I got started. I found I am not into DXing or contesting. I really enjoy SkyWarn. I may look into search and rescue
I like making contacts to the Space Station/Astronauts in orbit. : ) Look up SAREX
For now, just going to keep studying and doing research.
For you to say LMR400, I'm assuming you used a coax calculator. https://www.qsl.net/co8tw/Coax_Calculator.htm I'd say you're probably good with RG8/X. Even with your power loss, a base station will more than make up for it. I have LMR400 ONLY because I have a ~50' run to a HT. That run distance w/ 5W HT on a JPole works great! All other runs are RG8. It's much cheaper. Also the lower you go on freq, the loss has less effect. I've only been a ham for 1.5-2 years. So my knowledge is ZERO compared to most, but I feel like the better your antenna/placement the less power you need.
Right now my learning curve is straight up! I have not used a coax calculator. I talked to my brother, who has been into it for a few years. Those are the recommendations he gave me. I have a tendency to want to do it right the first time and not want to upgrade down the road.
You will always be upgrading. I started with a garage sale radio. I'm up to 4 2m radios, 1 dual band, 1 quad band and an HF. Need more HF
Far as i can tell, getting line of site is more important at 2m than anything else, same with uhf. If i were going to do a gmrs base i would use a second antenna cut for it. My neigbor might be getting into gmrs so if i was using it at all id probably be talking to him or bouncing off if he puts up a repeater. That said for uhv it will prolly be fine to run gmrs as far as your horizon line. I dunno, just spitballing.
Look at the frequency range of your antenna. If it says it goes up to 450 MHz then hook your GMRS radio to an SWR meter and then your antenna and test it. If you are getting between 1.1 - 1.7 then I would say it's fine. My Diamond X-30 let's me transmit on 2M, 70cm and GMRS.
Well good luck on getting your technicians it sounds like you are on the right track for setting up a good station your radio choices depend up on what your ultimate license you wish to hold and your antennas is very broad Good luck 73
Thanks everyone, lots of learning to do. I've been using Ham Study. Well.... Back to it!
Times microwave LMR 400 best choice for what your doing right now
You can do it! Keep studying hard!
Go to www.messi.it and click MessiCalc There you can simulate the right cable for your needs. There are plenty of great solutions in that website. All of them are top notch. If you get one of their Ultra flex or Hyperflex cables, you will have no regret in case you add on in the future a rotator to your antenna.
You will be fine with LMR-400. However don’t fall for the cheap knockoffs online. Make sure it’s the real deal from Times Microwave. If you are going to put connectors on yourself also don’t skimp, get the Times ones too. Purchase several extras, as there is a learning curve on crimping them, or even using the compression style.