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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Amateur radio: Not much going on, other than the motherfucking satellite
 
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Hamster
Jan 23, 2003
 My dad's a retired electronic engineer that used to do ham when I was a kid. He doesn't have a lot of money now, but I bet he'd be really interested in some of the new equipment that's out there now.

After reading this thread I was thinking of getting him something to play with that could be expanded over time if he wanted to.

He's not really a drive-around and ham guy, but more of a home station one, so I'm not sure handheld would be the way to go.

What would be a good middle-range system I could get for him? It'd be cool if it had a PC interface, and digital voice is something I'm sure he'd find interesting.
It doesn't have to be simplistic, as I'm sure he'd enjoy learning about all the advancements in technology he's been missing in the 20+ years he's been out of the scene.

Optimally it'd be sub-$1000 including accessories. He has a house, so he could even set up an external antenna.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

* # ¿ Apr 17, 2008 20:11
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# ¿ May 4, 2024 12:49
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Hamster
Jan 23, 2003

nmfree posted:

Depends if he wants to get on HF or on VHF/UHF; if it's just the former or both, you can't go wrong with an FT-100(D)- it's relatively compact, it can be mostly controlled from a computer, and you can get a nice setup for less than $500 on eBay. The only negatives are the limited CAT control (you can't, for instance, access or manage the built-in memories), the overheating problem ( :downs: hey lets not have the fans turn on when the rig is above 30MHz! :downs: ), and the finals frying relatively easily if the antenna is way out of resonance (especially on VHF/UHF). If, however, he wants to be only on VHF/UHF then there are other radios out there that are much better.

Thanks for the reply. I think he'd want to mess around with as much as possible, so HF/UHF/VHF would be great. However, he's in S. Florida and I'd be worried about the thing overheating and frying. I'd end up being the repair guy since he's a better engineer than a technician.

I see there are some mods out there for fan upgrades. Maybe I can get one sent to me first and then mod it and forward it to him.

I was looking at the Yaesu FT-857D and it looks like it might be a better choice as it's about $750 brand new and may not suffer from some of the 100's issues.

* # ¿ Apr 17, 2008 22:33
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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Amateur radio: Not much going on, other than the motherfucking satellite