Question From A New Ham Prepper

I'm answering a great question from a brand Ham and Prepper on first steps and first radios to consider. Should you buy a mobile? an HF radio? Stick to hand helds? Pros and cons of the Baofeng. Truly some questions and answers from ham radio basics.

[@dougdaniels]

1911, thumbs up and subscribe to that!

[@K6UDA]

Thanks.

[@LTVoyager]

My little XDs .45 is, unfortunately, far more reliable than my Colt Series 80. So, if the SHTF, the 1911 will stay home and the XDs will be by my side.

[@allenpoindexter1825]

@@LTVoyager BTW, Love my XDs.

[@LTVoyager]

Allen Poindexter Likewise. I love my 1911 also and with hardball it is very reliable. Unfortunately, it won’t reliably feed bullets such as my favorite Hornady Critical Defense. It tends to jam on the last bullet in the mag, and I have factory Colt steel mags. I had a gunsmith work it over, polished the feed ramp, etc., and while somewhat better it will still jam at least once out of every five mag series. Just not good enough when hour life is in the balance. My little XDs is a little harder to handle and has the typical crapper striker trigger, but I have probably fired 1,000 rounds through it now with not one single jam since day one. I completed the MAG 40 course with it and it performed flawlessly. More than I can say for several other students that got to learn how to clear failures to feed. Only the Glocks matched the Springfield for reliability.

[@mikehagan4320]

I have a Kimber warrior Jammomatic. That's why I carry a Beretta 92 compact L.

[@tonyd6884]

Great video. For new hams we can’t stress enough the importance of finding a club or local hams for acquiring equipment and most of all knowledge.

[@flyboybobio3431]

Great video Bob. Perfect intro for the new Ham. Wish I had your advice when I got licensed back in 1991. Would have saved me a ton of money. Keep up the good work brother.

[@allenpoindexter1825]

K6UDA, another great video. And you are so right about others asking the same questions. I'm a new ham and got into it for ecomms, but finding so many different applications. Thank you and your fellow KZbin Hams out there like Oshnasi and others.

[@davidg5308]

Def agree with the local club option! Not only will it likely be good, but they "should" be willing to help you to understand how it works (hopefully not just OT yackers). I have purchased a few good radios this way.

[@bradbrakhane5789]

Great stuff as always!

[@N9IWJ]

Greg I would recommend on any tone 878 handheld, with an open spot 2 hotspot, this way you would be able to do all the local analog and digital worldwide talking through the hotspot on DMR, that's a very good starting point About 225.00 for anytone, and about 150.00 for openspot2 then I would try to go to a few hamfest later and look for a good HF rig. I got a few guys to get ham license in the last couple months This is what I recommend for them to start Find a local ham to help you start out

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Good stuff, nicely produced.

[@K6UDA]

Thank you Sir.

[@earlbrown525]

As a ham for 57 years, WB6JAF, I find your videos entertaining and informative. Keep up the good work. Sounds like we are on the same page on many levels. 73

[@ATeamVallejo]

I love the gun comparison ❤lol

[@jamescstanley5018]

Good info Bob All my gear is used, except for my DX Commander and my Handi. OK my gear is old, Yaesu 1500M, Kenwood TS140S, MFJ tuner plus co ax, the total spend about £250 (UK pounds), except for the the DXC. Add in test kit, meters, irons etc, I reckon my whole station cost me about £500, spread over 18 months, and all from local hams and silent key sales. Best advice is to join a good club and ask for help, I did, and i reckon, not only did I save a boat load of cash, but got all the help and advice I needed. Had I not joined the club, I doubt i would have ever got my ticket, and would not have my station at all. Keep up the good work, you and the other You Tube bunch are a great help and resource, thank you for all your hard work, it is much appreciated by everyone. Jim M7BXT

[@jakep5121]

Baefengs are hard to program??? I find them easier then my FT...991, 891, 2980, FT2-DR, . . . The Icom 5100 was pretty easy... :) To be honest though... I'm just not a fan of the repeaters so I barely do the programming. Forgot to mention.. Great Video! keep em coming.

[@larry7463]

I really enjoy your videos. I would take exception in one respect here though, and that is if I were to have a radio to use when the s***t really hits the fan, I'd want the best I could afford. And something the average guy could program on the fly - like Icom, Yaesu or Kenwood, etc. And with an extra magazine, er I mean an extra fully charged battery!

[@782matt2]

Hi............ You can't go wrong with the Icom ic 718 for a cheap HF radio. .......... 73s

[@n8nkqrp595]

Remember Future Preppers - you do not need to buy an antenna. Make your own. Then you'll understand it, it's limitations, it's strengths, and how to keep it on the air. I'd like to add one thing Bob - if you need a PC to program your field emergency radio, it will fail you. DO NOT think you'll have a PC with you when it's needed. 'BOOFUNG' junk is fine to learn on. Then get a quality piece of gear and learn it. Personally, I think you'd have to be insane to depend on, or use, a piece of comms gear from China. Same goes with your HF rig, which is THE most important one. Bob, most preppers in the making have never considered HF at all. Thank you for this great vid. 73 OM

[@carln6ckv8]

Great video Bob - the suggestion to get with a local ham club is spot on. It will help with the selection of ?UHF/VHF equipment, especially with the digital modes. Chose a digital mode that is being used by the club that your enjoy. Good catching you on Fusion.

[@K6UDA]

Thanks Carl.

[@Screamingtut]

Bob, I got a great starter radio for that new Ham HF Radio TS-430S. I'm the 2nd owner had since 2000. made in 1982-83

[@K6UDA]

A lot of people don't think about an older rig to cut teeth on. If it works good it can be a great starter radio. My only bitch is some of the hams selling old gear are asking high dollar amounts that make new gear much more attractive.

[@Jake2670]

@@K6UDA till it quits n can't fix it, RohS is not ur friend either, just had another modern pos die yesterday, for no reason - whisker i bet. my HF gear is a 706IIG - TS-440 n a TS520, still need to get a even older more basic HF, have same setup n 2m n 11m - Ch3 guys - amrron.com/ . Keep up the good work, enjoy the channel

[@AmishSpecialForces]

Try the TS-830S, even better with tube finals

[@AmishSpecialForces]

@Jake2670, can't beat old tube gear, as long as you have a way to power it. A lot of people overlook that. Battery power, an inverter, and a solar charger are going to add to the price, but totally worth it imho.

[@oscaropont]

Right on comparison with the Springfield!

[@davidevans6432]

Dont forget "shack in a box" radios.. e.g. Icom 7100, Yaesu Ft897, ft9800. 12v means they can be used mobile, and base. Solar charging of batteries means independant from mains. 73 de G0EVA.

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

What about building a Tree-Tuner by W5JGV that will allow you to match any tree to your transceiver, The Long Barreled Desert Eagle .50 will scare the hell out of the person who has it in for you unless you want to go with a 12 Gauge and Deer slugs.

[@robinthurston3382]

I'm not a prepper but I'm prepared. I'm a ham. You can buy an icom, yaesu or Kenwood vhf uhf radio New for $200-$300 that's not bad. $400-$600 for a bare bones hf radio. Power output is trivial. Your performance is based on low loss feedline and antenna. If you can hear, chances are you can be heard with little power. Also, hams read the manual and fine print. In particular, specifications. If you're the kinda guy or gal that assembles a bbq grill without following the Instructions, don't bother with ham radio. We tend to be intrigued by design of a product and how it operates.

[@HAMRADIODUDE]

Great video, Bob!

[@K6UDA]

Thanks!

[@llowitz1]

Tty9800 four band mobile around 200 dollars

[@lisaslay-z8342]

Ham radios and those who can repair an use them are going to be really handy! It's something i need to learn. Thanks for the video💗

[@Fireguy-]

We all seem to forget about the five MURS channels. Perfectly legal for Baofeng or maybe a re-purposed public safety radio. Another informative video Bob. :)

[@K6UDA]

I completely forgot about MURS.

[@kd2rdhlarry571]

Programming-- use it or lose it. I programmed 4 uhf/vhf radios and wrote my DMR codeplug in the fall. I don’t think I could add a repeater to them now in less than a half hour let alone without help from a manual or tutorial

[@bernarrcoletta7419]

Congratulations Greg! I was thinking along the same line last night. Thanks Bob for the SearchTempest website

[@K6UDA]

I knew someone else out there had to thinking the same thing. Thanks.

[@mr_e_mc2]

that comment at approx 7:00 , about someone selling a HAM that is two decades old and all banged up, at retail price to brand new equipment that is way better, is all to common, and A lot of used items not just HAM are something the seller does not actually want to part with so they put them up for sell those items at a way inflated price to try an ward off potential buyers. I usually find that if you do a quick search and find a reasonably priced matching item and say hey I can get that same item from this other place for $110,000 less than you are asking for, just will take a longer time to acquire, I will offer the appropriate $50 price for the item. and once hit with the reality check, they will either deny the offer as they actually never intend to sell or they will see reason and go for it.

[@allenvestal4474]

Also a prepper on a budget. If the SHTF best I can hope for is to be able reach someone with better equipment with what I have. Serious arthritis in both hands. Have the Sig P238 with tritium sights.

[@BoB4jjjjs]

Good advice.

[@MaryBrownForFreedom]

Not a Baofeng fan at all but I have 12 of them in the gun safe(emp proof) just in case. I live in a tiny town and they will get passed out to cover the town for security and emergencies. I have a spare FT-991 in there too. So I can act as command and control and use anything from 5 to 1000 watts if my amplifier is working... One mode way to many over look. 2m SSB! If you need to pass a message 100-200 miles it is the go to mode. Directional antennas make it harder to listen in unless the station in in the beam path. Sure 80m during the day can work... if you don't mind everyone listening in. At night? No reliable HF band for short distance comms. 2m SSB works around the clock and even under the worst band conditions 100 miles is easy(with QSB). That is for a single yagi(12 elements, 20' long). I have Four 12 element yagis stacked on 2m. My working range is 350++ miles... with a very tight 15 degree beamwidth!

[@AmishSpecialForces]

You can do short distance HF comms on 40m and 80m using NVIS. Do it all the time. Very hard to trace as well. And at night. 80m only works well at night...

[@davidmauldin6615]

@Jason Bowman A microwave oven that you are not using plugged into a ground or a ground strap affixed to it make a great Faraday cage. FYI

[@davidmauldin6615]

@Jason Bowman I will consider what you said in my planning. Thanks

[@billcrowell5096]

Good video for beginners. Do you know of any HF nets for 'preppers?' I've not seen any listed. If not, we should start one. 73 DE N4HPG

[@guitarpro2006]

Great video Bob, as a relatively new ham myself, this video provided tons of good info. Keep up the great videos! 73, KI5IIZ

[@ik04]

When I need to quickly add a repeater into a radio to get on the air quickly, I grab a Baofeng and I know I'll be able to get it programmed in less than two or three minutes max. They are by far easier to program from the front panel than any of my expensive radios from the big guys. I am always frustrated to hear that people think they are difficult to program. They just are not.

[@RichardHopkinsLobosSolos]

Lol, @ Baofeng being the .25 ACP of the radio world. It's a very apt description.

[@temporarilyoffline]

You're only gonna feel $35 bad... ain't that the truth brother!

[@Prepologyblog]

I field a few questions from time to time in a forum I am in and for entry level prepper HT's we used to recommend the uv-5r because of the price but we now recommend digital so that you can take advantage of the encryption option, only in a SHTF situation though.

[@digitaldreamer5481]

Greg, first thing since you’re a new ham, add an email address to your QRZ page, very important. I noticed that you hold a general license, so it looks like you’re moving a little to fast and might miss some great knowledge in Amateur radio. I wanted to say more to you via email but I’ll leave you with this important piece of advice-Don’t buy someone else’s problems, buy all your equipment new. Its that simple really. Welcome to the hobby! 73’ de WH6DWF

[@JonathanAdami]

"I'm not a milenial so my feelings wont be hurt" yeah until I disagree with you on anything important right? lol Great video thanks for making it!

[@paulbyrne3328]

Great answer to a great question. K5CIP

[@jsm9001]

Bob, I think you mean shtf not shft 😊

[@K6UDA]

Hiway Vapin oops. My Dyslexia again

[@jsm9001]

K6UDA Happens to all of us. Love your videos. Maybe catch you on the air sometime. 73 N3IG

[@bruehlt]

No matter what the cranks on QRZ say, ham radio gear is expensive! Bring that up on the Zed and you get told your an idiot and things haven't increased in price when you account for dollars 40 years ago. Sheesh. Welcome to the hobby! I got news for you - shit may have been expensive then, and it is still expensive now! I've acquired a lot of stuff over time, and bought a lot of used things. Ebay can be good, swap.qth.com is another good site. Even the swap section of QRZ.com is also a good place as well to swap to check once in a while.

[@Al_Dente1]

Bob, it is Baofeng pronounced Bow (like cow) Fung. There is no Bo and no fang. That said,, thx for another good vid.

[@K6UDA]

In the north we call it bo fang. Thanks.

[@Al_Dente1]

@@K6UDA Have you ever heard of Chairman Mo? It needlessly detracts from another of your otherwise informative and interesting vids. Oh well, time for a cooktil. 😁