[SixClub] Newly Licensed Operators & Sticker Shock

[Howard Bingham]

Before I passed the test, I had hung out at the local ham shop & also 
studied the AES & HRO catalogs in detail (Having side by side charts 
with specifications & suggested prices can be helpful in selecting 
new equipment, visiting swap meet educated me to the wide price 
ranges & I ended up buying a Yaesu FT 727R HT dual band for less than 
$ 100. with a plethora of accessories the original owner had acquired 
over the years..

That made it much easier to buy the Kenwood TM-G707A Dual band 
2m/70cm mobile radio shortly after getting my ticket, a Ranger 
RCI-5054dx-100 followed last year about this time, both bought from 
Income Tax refunds..

Additionally I have collected a bunch of odds & ends from other hams 
over the past couple of years to experiment with & gain experience 
that I wish had begun many years ago (Prior to retirement.)..

DON'T forget Elmering & gaining experience from fellow hams at local 
ham club meetings..!

Howard Bingham
KE5APJ

Member BVARC <http://www.bvarc.com> & ECHO <http://www.w5eco.org>

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At 11:34 PM 5/29/2006, Steven Coles wrote:
>Roger,
>
>As the selective reading arises primarily from the large specialized 
>groups being easiest for new hams to find, experienced hams wanting 
>to better "Elmer" new hams can easily improve the situation in at 
>least a few easy ways:  Ask how much the new ham is budgeting for a 
>station.  Before price escalation gets out of hand, suggest a 
>mentoring forum such as
>
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/new_ham2005/
>
>(There could easily be a more active one I don't know about.)  Help 
>answer questions on the mentoring forums.  Make a serious effort to 
>understand the new ham's interests.  Gently remind established hams 
>not to scare off newcomers.
>
>Miscommunications kept me completely off the air for some 
>months.  From my early days I assumed many hams getting a new rigs 
>sit down with the schematic, estimate the DC biases and waveforms, 
>pop the top, check their estimates against meter and scope, and take 
>notes.  I wouldn't think of owning a rig I couldn't "psych" the 
>schematic of.  Psyching the schematics is my passion.  Preferably I 
>build the thing from a schematic so I know where every component 
>is.  No one in the "Elmering" group I first joined could understand 
>what I was asking for in the way of rig suggestions.  To me they 
>seemed to be suggesting soaped up CB transceivers.  Hopefully, I'm 
>clearer now that I know my thing has become uncommon.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Steven, KD7YTE
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