What Is A Handheld Transceiver?

A walkie talkie more known as a handheld transceiver or HT are widely used among the amateur radio community. Today's HT's operate multiple bands such as 2 meters and 70 cms all in one radio, Having a dual band monitor feature on your handheld can be quite helpful. This feature will allow you to monitor two different frequencies at once. And it comes to a HT portability, ease of use and versatility are the best benefits. They can be used at home, in a vehicle, or even in the field.

An antenna is an extremely important part of your radio transceiver and should be treated as such. Without it, your signal will suffer and it’s something you shouldn’t less money on. -Ham Radio Experts

What you’ll want to look for in a high-gain antenna is its actual gain, which reputable antenna manufacturers will list in the product details. Antenna gain is a measurement of the effect the antenna has on the signal and is expressed in positive decibels (dB), antenna loss is expressed in negative decibels. Many things can affect antenna performance in the near field region, which refers to objects near the antenna that can positively or negatively impact it. One of the most common things that can affect a handheld can actually be you. Considering most handhelds max out at 5 watts. The antenna’s gain is listed as “144Mhz 2.15dBi 430Mhz 3.0dBi” which means that in the VHF 2 Meter Band (144 Mhz – 148 Mhz) you’ll get a +2.15 dB gain, which is almost twice the gain of a stock antenna. In the UHF 70-Centimeter Band (430 Mhz – 450 Mhz) you’ll get a +3.0 dB gain, which is exactly twice the gain of a stock antenna.

My Handheld Transceiver

Most experienced hams do not recommend getting a handheld transciever for your first piece of equipment. I had to do homework on and off the internet to get a suitable HT for myself. So, I headed on over to Ham Radio Outlet in Anahiem, CA. I made small talk with a veteran HAM Operator named Bob. And he mentioned to me many HAMS get started with a Yaesu-FT60R and get a whip antenna along with it. Being on budget I managed to purchase the Yaesu-FT60R and waited a week or so on the antenna. With all the information on web it became really hard to choose what type of whip antenna was suitable for my Yaesu-FT60R, Than I came across the Diamond SRH77CA. It's a great whip antenna for my radio, I am able to get local coverage. And that is all I cared about. Eventually I experimented with building an antenna of my own.

• My Yaesu-FT60R
• My Diamond SRH77CA Whip Antenna
• And a FTDI Programming cable became my starting point

It was good practice being able to to read part of the radio manual and experiment with my radio. Programming frequencies wasn't difficult, But having that FTDI programming cable for the radio made it easier to work with CHRiP.

Having Fun on The Air As A Technician Class Operator

Man, When I fired up my radio the first transmission I wanted to make was introducing myself as a new HAM. And sure enough I got welcomed into the community, My first transmission was joining a net on frequency 146.385 PLUS offset with a PL of 146.2. The net was named The Red EYE Net with Anne N6BOP operating on the Keller Peak Repeater. It was a great experience and being the first time I made a transmission. I never got mic fright! Than, I joined other nets on other frequencies where I got to meet other HAMS alike

KK6VEV