May 30, 1999
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May 30, 1999 |
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WB8NXA - No Xpensive Apparatus Special interest magazines always portray the most elaborate, and expensive, examples of their hobby on the front covers, and in their feature articles. In amateur radio this includes massive "cloudbumper" towers, acre-wide antenna arrays, and wall-to-wall spreads of transmitters, receivers, amplifiers, and black boxes! I realize that one purpose for this hobby, and one reason governments allow it to exist, is to advance technology. However, sometimes these pictures and discriptions of expensive equipment probably scare good people away from the hobby. I have known CBers who had more invested in their antenna than I had in my entire station, but they still claimed they couldn't afford ham radio. I have done several things that many people think are "hobbies of the rich." Ham radio is one of them, private aviation is another. (See Cost of Flying) My radio interest actually cost me almost nothing over a period of time. I did this simply by buying used equipment, then reselling it for as much or slightly more, than I paid for it. Early in my hamming career, I bought a used Eico 720 CW transmitter. This was over 25 years ago, but as I recall, I sold it for about $5 more than I paid for it. I also bought a VF-1 varible frequency ocillator, including its power supply for $15. Later I sold the VFO alone for about that price. This equipment would be very out-dated now - probably worth a fortune as collector's items. The used equipment available today far surpasses anything that was available, at any price, in the 1970s. My first really nice transceiver was a Hallicrafters FPM-300 I bought in 1976 for $300. I never resold this one - and still own it, even though it doesn't work at the present time. I got many years of good service from that investment. Once we bought two Swan 270-B transceivers for $100 each. Our oldest two sons still own these. When Kent (KB8BDB) was in the Air Force in England, we could talk to him on a 100-dollar radio, and a homemade wire antenna. (dipole) I once traded flight instruction for two 2-meter mobile rigs. The boys traded one off, but the other, a Kenwood, is still being used by our son, Nathan. (KB8BDA) As our lot in life improved (See, this hobby didn't put us into poverty after all.) we did buy some new 2-meter hand held transceivers. The ones we got for Charlotte and Thomas (KB8OZR and KB8OZQ) last year were from Radio Shack, were $150 each, and we are very pleased with their performance. Get into Ham Radio. - You can afford it! 73 de WB8NXA David H. Hersman
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