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  • Hams on the Cheap

    From Mortar M.@1:124/5016 to Daryl Stout on Wednesday, December 03, 2025 12:14:52
    Re: Re: The PCL Net
    By: jimmy anderson to Daryl Stout on Tue Dec 02 2025 11:15:44

    Hams are frugal cheapskates, after all.

    Guess it depends on your perspective. Considering the cheapest desktop HF rig I've seen is ~$500 US, and that's bare-bones, you're not exactly starting out in the bargain basement. Wnat an SDR desktop like the IC-7300, then your looking at a grand! Then there's the antennae, possibly a tower and/or amp, and it goes from there.

    Great hobby, but not a cheap one. It's no wonder most the hams I've listened to were had professional careers before they retired.
    --- SBBSecho 3.31-Linux
    * Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (1:124/5016)
  • From Jimmy Anderson@1:396/45 to Mortar M. on Wednesday, December 03, 2025 22:17:00
    Mortar M. wrote to Daryl Stout <=-

    Hams are frugal cheapskates, after all.

    Guess it depends on your perspective. Considering the
    cheapest desktop HF rig I've seen is ~$500 US, and that's
    bare-bones, you're not exactly starting out in the bargain
    basement. Wnat an SDR desktop like the IC-7300, then your
    looking at a grand! Then there's the antennae, possibly a
    tower and/or amp, and it goes from there.

    Great hobby, but not a cheap one. It's no wonder most the
    hams I've listened to were had professional careers before
    they retired.

    Makes 2m/440 much cheaper - but more limited of course...



    ... I'm not afraid of flying, I'm afraid of crashing.
    ___ MultiMail/Mac v0.52

    --- Maximus/2 3.01
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS-Huntsville,AL-bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)
  • From Mortar M.@1:124/5016 to Jimmy Anderson on Thursday, December 04, 2025 09:27:17
    Re: Re: Hams on the Cheap
    By: Jimmy Anderson to Mortar M. on Wed Dec 03 2025 22:17:00

    Makes 2m/440 much cheaper - but more limited of course...

    Sure on both counts. I had an Alinco HT I bought back in the '80s and paid around $200, I think. Course, 2m was a lot more active back then in my area. Today, all I ever hear is the repeater IDs.
    --- SBBSecho 3.31-Linux
    * Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (1:124/5016)
  • From Daryl Stout@1:19/33 to Mortar M. on Thursday, December 04, 2025 23:08:01
    Great hobby, but not a cheap one. It's no wonder most the hams
    I've listened to were had professional careers before they
    retired.

    There's a meme that notes "if you want your kids to stay away from
    bad things (i.e. drugs), get them into ham radio. They'll never have
    any money for anything else." <G>

    Yet, ANY hobby can "nickel and dime you to death".

    73,

    Daryl, N5VLZ

    ... I'm not drunk -- my keyboard is illiterate.
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    --- SBBSecho 3.32-Win32
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (1:19/33)
  • From Mortar M.@1:124/5016 to Daryl Stout on Saturday, December 13, 2025 09:40:16
    Re: Re: Hams on the Cheap
    By: Daryl Stout to Mortar M. on Thu Dec 04 2025 23:08:01

    Yet, ANY hobby can "nickel and dime you to death".

    Nickel and dimes I can handle. 50s and 100s are another story.
    --- SBBSecho 3.31-Linux
    * Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (1:124/5016)