Need Ham Radio help please

[mnhntr]

I am wanting to get a radio and license but I want to be able to achieve certain things. Can a handheld radio be used for the link to a laptop for FT8 or JS8CALL?
I want to be mobile
I want to be able to use FT8 or JS8CALL
I want to stay away from Chinese radios
Thank you for any help

 

[Alpine 338]

Yes, it can be done. You'll have to have a modem set up off an audio port. I'm sure there are HTs out there now with data ports, and some with BT.

Good for you for wanting to stay away from the Chinese Crap.

My Yeasu HT is still made in Japan. However, the charging cradle is made in China. I can't speak for other traditionally made in Japan HT radios like Icom and Kenwood. I guess it's buyer beware, as they don't like to advertise the Made in China as more and more people are trying to stay away from that crap.

 

[Josh1978]

Thinking about purchasing my first HAM radio. I would like to purchase a used one if possible but not sure where to even start looking. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[Downtown]

My suggestion is to look for a local ham club. I found mine, a bunch of old guys who meet in a church basement once a month. They were kind of a weird bunch, but quite welcoming. Gave me lots of tips on licensing, told me about all the local repeaters and offered to set me up with extra equipment. I think they were just really glad to see someone interested in their hobby. I was by far the youngest man in the room.

 

[afv338]

i just went through the same thing as i am just starting out. i was in luck as i have a relative that has been into it for 50 yrs and has all the licenses you can get. with trying times the first thing i bought was a eton receiver and it does take batteries. i just recently bought a icon 7300, power supply, coax, and a dipole antenna. i thought about used but electronics are about last on my list to buy used if i knew the person that had it and could see it work i would go for it. when i started looking i was on ebay almost every add i looked at used said no return as people buy change parts and send them back. i have about 1500 in the whole deal from ham outlet my relative helped me order so i know i more than likely bought the right stuff and he is going to help me set it up thats a whole other can of worms. i can see this being anther hobby that has a bottomless pit. what do you guys think about my choices.

 

[Alpine 338]

You made a good choice with the 7300. Now you have some incentive to get your license and get on the air.

 

[afv338]

started studying looking forward to going live

 

[docohm]

I am wanting to get a radio and license but I want to be able to achieve certain things. Can a handheld radio be used for the link to a laptop for FT8 or JS8CALL?
I want to be mobile
I want to be able to use FT8 or JS8CALL
I want to stay away from Chinese radios
Thank you for any help

You want to use FT8 or the other on an HT? You realize that FT8 is used on HF freqs while the HT is only 2 meters and 70 cm? Well, you can get an HT that will receive on HF but they are not very sensitive there. You will still need a large wire antenna to receive on HF to really hear much.
I prefer the Kenwood line of radios, they are MUCH easier to program and use than any other brand. Find a use Kenwood TH-F6A for around $200. It covers 2, 220, 440 bands on Xmit and all everything from DC to light (almost) on receive.
Look at https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?forums/ham-radio-gear-for-sale.7/
and https://swap.qth.com/
To find use ham gear....

 

[docohm]

Thinking about purchasing my first HAM radio. I would like to purchase a used one if possible but not sure where to even start looking. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Look at https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?forums/ham-radio-gear-for-sale.7/
and https://swap.qth.com/
To find use ham gear....