[Linux-ham] Advice for a new ham

[Neil L. Little]

Hey Daniel,

One thought.
 Try to start off with a mobile radio if you can swing it.
A great many new hams start off with HTs but quickly move on to one of 
the "mobile" type radios.
New hams are also known for their crepe-pay (ok I tried to make the word 
"crappy" sound like a french desert) signals.
VHF being "line-of-sight", unless the repeater is a wide coverage, 
rather having some elevation to it, your signal and
your experience might not be what you are looking for.

Another thought.
Dont try to go at it alone. Being a communications hobby find your self 
a club to call home.
There are several excellent clubs in the area and each have their own 
distinct personality.
A couple of examples would be, RARS, the Raleigh Amateur Radio Society. 
They are a more structured club.
On the other end of the spectrum would be JARS, the Johnston Amateur 
Radio Society. This group is a bit more free-wheeling.
The main thing about both are that they are strong clubs and are good at 
ELMERing. ELMERing is the act of taking new hams
under "their" wings and showing those new hams the ropes of how to 
operate, learn the radio arts and move to a more advance license.

And remember: Enjoy Ham Radio!

73,
Neil, WA4AZL
JARS Forever!! 147.270 mhz +600
http://www.jars.net

Mike Coles wrote:
> Any idea what bands and modes interest you? Where do you intend to operate?
>
> For a blanket 'I prefer' statement:
> logging software: jLog
> HT : Kenwood
> Desktop : Icom
>
> 2008/4/7 Daniel Bartholomew <plumcreek at gmail.com>:
>   
>> Hey everyone. I just received my Technician license in the mail last week,
>> so I'm _very_ new to amateur radio. In fact, I don't even have a radio yet.
>> I'm hoping to get one soon, maybe at RARSfest this Saturday and I had a few
>> questions:
>>
>>  What would be a good first HT radio? I would like something Linux friendly,
>> and not too hard to learn to program and use. I would also like it to be
>> capable enough that I won't want to replace it in a year.
>>
>>  Also, what logging or other Linux software would you recommend? I've seen
>> xlog, but I would like to know what more experienced Linux Hams use and
>> would recommend.
>>
>>  Any other advice or equipment recommendations you may have for a new Ham
>> with (currently) no equipment is welcome. After all, since I'm starting from
>> scratch, I might as well start on the right foot. :-)
>>
>>
>>  Thanks in advance.
>>
>>  --
>>  Daniel Bartholomew - KJ4DAJ
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>  Linux-ham mailing list
>>  Linux-ham at trilug.org
>>  http://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-ham
>>
>>
>>     
>
>
>
>   
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.trilug.org/pipermail/linux-ham/attachments/20080407/09203c76/attachment.htm