What to buy… what to buy. Yeah, there’s no shortage of equipment options, and as a new Amateur Radio Operator, how on Earth do you know what to get?
Research, local radio clubs, and more research.
Here’s what I run at my QTH. This is not what I’d recommend for a new ham radio enthusiast. This is a pricy setup, but I had been saving for years for this. I went overboard, and I know it. Anyway, here’s what I have.
Icom IC-7610 HF Transceiver
ACOM 600S
Palstar AT2K Antenna Tuner
Astron RS-35M
Shure SM7B Microphone
Northcomm Technologies Custom SM7B Microphone Boom
Behringer XR-18 Mixer
Sony MDR7506 Studio Headphones
JBL Pro Control 2P Speakers
MyAntennas.com EFHW-8010 Multiband Antenna
If you add in the streaming gear it includes:
Logitech C922 Webcam
OBS Studio
Again, this is not a starter kit by any means. This is just where my research took me. Are they the best options? Probably not, especially for a “new ham”, mainly because of the price.
Now lets talk about software. Even as the new guy on the block, it’s probably safe for me to say it’s pretty hard to operate today without some computer assistance. Logbooks, rig control, and digital modes to name a few reasons. Software choices, unlike hardware, is highly subjective and much more subject to personal preference than specs.
So, again I need to write all this up, but I’m back to the Mac for all things Ham Radio. I just couldn’t take the weight of Ham Radio Deluxe anymore. Granted, it’s the most complete and tightly coupled suite of applications for Ham Radio use (Rig Control, Digital and Logbook all in one). However, it’s so heavy, and honestly most of it is unnecessary. I also don’t like JT-Alert, when compared to JT-Bridge. Bridge is just so much better for visualizing your needs in WSJT-X. So, here’s what I use at the moment.
iMac Retina
MacLoggerDX
WSJT-X
JT-Bridge
Netlogger
Windows 10 Home (Virtual Machine) on my iMac
Ham Radio Deluxe
WSJT-X
JT-Alert
Netlogger
N1MM+ Contest Logger
Ok, so I know “some of you” will say “but Eric, you have a nice iMac, why the Windows VM and software?”. Well, there’s a story about that, and I’m going to write about it. I started on the Mac using MacLoggerDX. It’s a fantastic piece of software, but remember above when I said software was much more about personal preference? Yeah, there’s a story to tell there.
Ok, that’s my QTH, at the moment. Right now I run completely barefoot and probably will for a while. Next purchases will likely be a VHF/UHF transceiver and antenna. We will see, I’m sure I’ll write about the struggle that is real for a new ham figuring this all out.
