Just Getting Started

[YVR2YYC]

Hello everyone, I just wanted to chime in and say hello. I have recently decided to get my ham license and this is something I had always wanted to do but just never got around to doing it. As I will be going back to school full time in the fall as a mature student and my major will be broadcast engineering, I figured now is as good a time as any. The program I am taking is more geared towards twenty-first century technologies involving heavy network and server work. Since my background is in I.T. and I have always had a deep passion for radio, it was the next logical choice for me.

Right now, the only radio license I possess is an Aeronautical radio license as that was a requirement for one of my last jobs.  I’m just here to learn and soak in knowledge. My primary purpose for becoming a ham is to learn RF well enough to be able to build my own antennas and experiment.

I’m at the stage where I’ll be looking for my first multiband rig. I currently own two scanners and two handheld VHF/UHF radios. I don’t have a huge budget so I will definitely be shopping around in the used market. Any recommendations are welcome keeping in mind that I don’t have a lot to spend these days.

My next step is joining my local club here. I have already spoken to someone over the phone indicating my interest and a desire to sit in on a couple of meetings. I’ve also decided to sign up here as this site seems to be the primary choice for hams online. About 90% of the time when I Google something, eham.net keeps coming up so I suppose I should be a part of this!

Anyways, I look forward to talking to some of you and thanks in advance for allowing me to be a part of this little community.

73s.

[AC4RD]

Welcome!  Building and experimenting with antennas is a world of fun!   And eham is a great resource.   Joining a local club will be helpful, too, if you like the club.  Good luck, and have fun!  --ken

[AD6KA]

Hello OM (name?) and welcome to ham radio.

YVR2YYC doesn't come up as a callsign on QRZ.com.
Is that your "Aeronautical radio license"?
Just curious, it's not important.

I don't have a huge budget so I will definitely
be shopping around in the used market.

Many new hams want to go used, but some Caveats need
to be remembered.  Don't buy ANYTHING from EBay
(at this point in your ham career anyway)
A lot of people get fleeced there, especially newcomers,
and even using Pay Pal. Yeah, you *might* get your money
back 6 months down the road, but is it worth the hassle?

I would join the local club and find am Elmer (Mentor).
There have to be local used rigs for sale, and he can
go with you and examine & test the rig "Hands On" and
knows all the right questions to ask the seller. This is
an invaluable help. I cannot stress it enough. And....some club
member might even loan you an HF radio that he is not currently
using or is trying to sell.

Antennas: Store built/store bought antennas are expensive.
Buy or borrow or  a copy of the ARRL Antenna Book, ANY edition.
There are dozens of wire antennas you can build for HF VERY cheaply.

There is SO MUCH to DO and new things to LEARN in this hobby
(if you want to!) That to me is why it is NEVER, EVER gets boring.
 
Acquiring new knowledge is like looking up and seeing an Inverted
pyramid stuck to the ceiling. If you want to cut down the pyramid,
(Learning) you have to take off one slice at a time. But as you
cut those slices off of the upside down pyraamid, when you
look up, you see that the next "slice" is geometrically larger
than the previous slice. That is:
We learn that the more we know....
the more we actually DON'T know!

That to me is exciting.
Welcome and thanks for posting.
73, Ken  AD6KA

[YVR2YYC]

Welcome!  Building and experimenting with antennas is a world of fun!   And eham is a great resource.   Joining a local club will be helpful, too, if you like the club.  Good luck, and have fun!  --ken

Thanks for the welcome!

Hello OM (name?) and welcome to ham radio.

YVR2YYC doesn't come up as a callsign on QRZ.com.
Is that your "Aeronautical radio license"?
Just curious, it's not important.

I don't have a huge budget so I will definitely
be shopping around in the used market.

Many new hams want to go used, but some Caveats need
to be remembered.  Don't buy ANYTHING from EBay
(at this point in your ham career anyway)
A lot of people get fleeced there, especially newcomers,
and even using Pay Pal. Yeah, you *might* get your money
back 6 months down the road, but is it worth the hassle?

I would join the local club and find am Elmer (Mentor).
There have to be local used rigs for sale, and he can
go with you and examine & test the rig "Hands On" and
knows all the right questions to ask the seller. This is
an invaluable help. I cannot stress it enough. And....some club
member might even loan you an HF radio that he is not currently
using or is trying to sell.

Antennas: Store built/store bought antennas are expensive.
Buy or borrow or  a copy of the ARRL Antenna Book, ANY edition.
There are dozens of wire antennas you can build for HF VERY cheaply.

There is SO MUCH to DO and new things to LEARN in this hobby
(if you want to!) That to me is why it is NEVER, EVER gets boring.
 
Acquiring new knowledge is like looking up and seeing an Inverted
pyramid stuck to the ceiling. If you want to cut down the pyramid,
(Learning) you have to take off one slice at a time. But as you
cut those slices off of the upside down pyraamid, when you
look up, you see that the next "slice" is geometrically larger
than the previous slice. That is:
We learn that the more we know....
the more we actually DON'T know!

That to me is exciting.
Welcome and thanks for posting.
73, Ken  AD6KA

Thanks Ken,

Thanks for the great tips!

As I am not yet a licensed ham, I do not have an official call. Therefore, I registered with a generic alias and YVR2YYC is just a name I chose to reflect my background in the commercial aviation industry.

The Aeronautical Certificate was a requirement for my previous job and I only mentioned it to indicate my proficiency (which is honestly not as advanced as amateur radio) and my limited radio background. That's all.

73

[G3RZP]

Suggest you join RAC. If nothing else, support for your national society means support for negotiation with Industry  Canada and for the International Amateur Radio Union in its work at the International Telecommuncations Union.

It is the IARU that keeps the internationally recognised ham bands.

And G4FSU and I are proud to be Technical Consultants to the IARU, representing the interests of radio amateurs throughout the world at Study Group 1 and its Working Parties.

Incidentally, before anyone comments, we don't get paid for doing this....