This page lists basic information that new hams are probably wondering about. For information specific to our club, see this page.

Traditionally, the major radio brands have been Icom, Yeasu, and Kenwood. Recently, many Chinese radios have appeared on the market that can be much cheaper (both in cost and quality). As a result, many new hams get a Baofeng handheld as their first radio. Unfortunately, the issue with (only) using a handheld is that even though they might hear the local repeaters just fine, they often have difficulties talking to them because of their lower power.

In general, the antenna is the most important part of the system and the radio is the least important. So for those on a budget, the minimum setup should consist of an external antenna (mounted on the side of the house or on a balcony for example), and a cheap Chinese mobile radio like the QYT KT-8900.

Looking to buy some equipment, check out these pages:

• Retailers
• Our club's Inventory page.

Here are some good places to find out which frequencies to use:

• Simplex
• Repeaters
• Programming your radio with Chirp