Salutations, I'm powder. I'm looking to get into ham radios. I found this community from a tiktok about it and found the concept pretty cool!
I would like some advice on how to get started, and a good radio to buy that's both cheap and long range enough to be fun to play around with <:
I live in a small town in canada so long range is a must 😁
Thanks!
Whether you are able to communicate is dependent on:
[1] Propagation Conditions, [2] the Antenna, [3] the Radio
If propagation is not there, numbers 2 and 3 won't make any difference.
If you have great propagation, you can work the world on a bedspring antenna and a couple of watts. But generally speaking, you will need conditions allowing your signal to travel some distance. You will need the biggest antenna that you can place up in the air. You will need a radio with a decent receiver and enough transmit power (generally in the 100 watt class) to reach out to others. With items 1, 2, and 3 plus your ham radio license, you should be talking to the world. Low power is fun for enthusiasts but newbs do not need frustration at the beginning. Get busy studying for your license now.