Complete and utter Newbie!

[PACO]

Greetings everyone. Paco here. Ok, first off I'd like to say that radio operation has interested me for a long time and now here I am pushing that interest to the next level.  Here's what you're dealing with:

1) I know absolutely NOTHING about radios except the most BASIC understanding of operation and science behind the craft.

2) I know even less when it comes to the rhetoric and jargon in the radio world.  the only thing I do know is that HAM (whatever they are) operators use "handles" instead of names kinda like CAS using aliases (this little bit of info. for those who would understand ;-) )

3)While I'm intelligent, I'm a hair mentally lazy so I do not wish to learn this skill beyond having a strong working proficiency in it and the ability to do basic troubleshooting and/or repairs. In other words, I probably won't become a fanatic-just another skill in the tool box.

4) I love the outdoors.  I have no interest in a purely static form of transmission and receiving and I would enjoy a home device that's small enough to be picked up with two hands and fairly quickly be moved around as well as hand held receivers for mobile use.

5) Usage would be for recreational communication/ listening and crisis ussage such as a natural disaster or otherwise.

6) I live in New York City. (this might affect transmission and receiving?-just a guess)

7)I don't have much money

8)For those of you that find this info. pertinent and/or useful, I'm 27yrs. old.

OK, that's the skinny.  I appreciate any help in getting me started.  I'm guessing having puruesed this sight that therer are several types of radio systems and frequencies.  I'll say this: CB isn't cutting it for me except when I caravan in cars.  Thanks again for all the advice.

-Paco

[OBSERVER11]

Greeting Paco...

Answers by the numbers;

1) I know absolutely NOTHING about radios except the most BASIC understanding of operation and science behind the craft.
> thats OK, too many new hams today have no idea how or why radio works.. Check out the ARRL, they have a nice video tape that explains a lot. www.arrl.org

2) I know even less when it comes to the rhetoric and jargon in the radio world. the only thing I do know is that HAM (whatever they are) operators use "handles" instead of names kinda like CAS using aliases (this little bit of info. for those who would understand ;-) )
> Hams use a FCC issued call sign, the persons "handle" is their name. Hams had handles long before CBers.

3)While I'm intelligent, I'm a hair mentally lazy so I do not wish to learn this skill beyond having a strong working proficiency in it and the ability to do basic troubleshooting and/or repairs. In other words, I probably won't become a fanatic-just another skill in the tool box.
>no need to be Mensa material, just look at some of the users here heehee.

4) I love the outdoors. I have no interest in a purely static form of transmission and receiving and I would enjoy a home device that's small enough to be picked up with two hands and fairly quickly be moved around as well as hand held receivers for mobile use.
> there are many groups dedicated to outdoor use of radio. One being HF Pack www.hfpack.com and another being Adventure Radio

5) Usage would be for recreational communication/ listening and crisis ussage such as a natural disaster or otherwise.
> Thats what it says in the FCC rules.

6) I live in New York City. (this might affect transmission and receiving?-just a guess)
> sorry to hear that. You might find others stuck in NYC... www.limarc.org

7)I don't have much money
>welcome to the club. None of use have enough money.

8)For those of you that find this info. pertinent and/or useful, I'm 27yrs. old.
> old dog, new trick eh?

[FRANKM12]

Paco,

Maxwell's Equations are pretty strange even to experts.  It's amazing that radio works at all.  It wasn't until the Superheterodyne receiver that the total implications of radio were realized.  Otherwise we'd still be using some form of spark gap device.  Who knows, we may even go back to spark gap for some esoteric application in the future?

Radio is the prime example of how arcane Science can be.  None of us understands everything.  This is why interaction with each other is important.  I haven't been able to solder correctly for years due to illness and it makes me sick, but, one of these days I'm going to try to do it again, this time going much slower than before.

Good luck.  You may find, Paco, that Radio will "spark" ou interest more than other things.

73
frank
KG4VLQ
 

[N6AJR]

Welcome, and don't be afraid to look around here, on google and such.  There is an Elmers Section here on eham with thousands of questions and answers, there is also a site called QRZ.com , similar to this site.

They both have the tech exam on them.  Yes, all the questions and all the answers, and you can find them in books too.  They found that if you can memorize enough to pas the test, you actually learn stuff..

 I reccommend starting at qrz as it is question answer, and when you get to 80 %, then use the test here ( same questions) but 35 questions then the answers at the end.  Get a book, look around for a local club.  

There is lots to do, fm repeaters, qrp ( low power stuff) amplifiers ( yes they are legal up to 1500 watts with a license )( some restrictions apply), amatuer tv, CW ( morse code), psk 31, rtty, helschriber, uhf and vhf weak signal work, uhf and vhf sideband, satalites, moon bounce, elf work, ultra high freq stuff, hf all modes, listing nets, dx nets, and the thrill of talking to folks all over the country and the world.

 There is so much more, depending on what you find interesting.  I love it, and hope you find it  fun.

 73  tom N6AJR