I got my Technician ticket back in January of 2022. You can use HTs (Handy Talkies) on VHF and UHF frequencies, and the range is within a few square miles or hundreds of square miles on repeater networks. The technician license opens up the world of tactical comms to you.
Because I care about readiness and the practical aspects of my preps, tools and skills will always be oriented in this direction. Here are my top 3 things you should consider as a new Ham.
Standardize on a Radio
My radio hobby is about as expensive as my firearms hobby. By the time you get antennas, batteries, chargers, mics, and other miscellaneous things, if you haven’t standardized on a single radio family, you will be buying a lot of single-device accessories and duplicate items.
My first HT was a Baofeng UV-5R. Then I bought an Anytone 878. Then I purchased a Wouxan KG-UV8H. You can see the progression of my problem. I need spare batteries for each HT – thankfully, the Chinese radios share a standard antenna connection (SMA-Female). But I needed different mics. Different programming cables and software. It was becoming unmanageable.
I standardized on the Wouxan KG-UV8H and its GMRS companion, the KG-935G. I have three radios and one spare battery to rotate. For the charging cradles, I went with this USB buck converter. It’s a decent middle-of-the-road HT that feels solid and rugged.
I also have two Baofeng UV-S9+ that are my beater/throw-away HTs. What I like about these radios is that they can be charged directly via USB. They can also be programmed out-of-band, like to use GMRS Frequencies, in case the need arises.
I will say don’t get caught up in the digital modes right now. I had a friend convenience me to get a DMR radio early on, and no one uses DMR in my area. Wait and see what your community is using, and then you can explore the digital world.
I’m not going to say don’t buy a Baofeng. Whatever you buy, make sure the radios use common batteries, mics, and accessories.
Standardize your Antenna Connection
The antenna is the primary piece of “furniture” that you are going to be changing a lot. You might need a 19″ antenna to reach out a decent distance or a small 8″ when you don’t want to be poked in the eye/nose/mouth.
If you go the route that most starting hams in readiness circles go, you will probably get a Chinese radio. Almost all of these Chinese radios have standardized on the SMA-Female antenna connector. In one way, you have “standardized.” However, this does not account for additional antennas you will need; like having a mag mount available or a roll-up J-pole.
Additionally, the SMA connector is not really meant to be connected and disconnected over and over again. I’m not saying the connector won’t make it to useful end-of-life of your $25 radio, but…. Plus, it’s threaded, so screwing the antenna off and back on takes many turns.
My recommendation is to standardize on BNC (Bayonet Nut Connector). It’s made for quick connect and disconnect. It’s a widely used standard so you should have no problems finding antennas and accessories. You can find SMA to BNC adapters all over the place. Since I’m going to be recommending Signal Sticks, you might just want to pick some adapters over there.
There are three essential BNC antennas you should have:
Standardize on USB HT Charging.
I’ve been building Solar Chargers and Battery Banks. I have a solar generator, but I wanted something to run my radios and accessories. Maybe to charge an HT or phone.
It’s very inefficient to convert DC to AC back to DC to charge your device. So all of my battery boxes have Andersen Power Pole connections (12v) and USB connections (5v). My ideal is that all battery-powered devices that require charging can do so over USB – hopefully directly. My Baofengs and My Icoms can be charged over USB. This is a game changer when you are suffering from a power outage. You don’t have to run your generator to charge a bunch of phones and radios. Just build a battery box that has USB ports.
I use the buck converter mentioned above for devices that cannot be charged with USB, like my Wouxan radios. A buck converter transforms the USB voltage to the required voltage for your device.
You can see my USB charging brick behind the radios.
Wrapping Up
When it comes to your comms plan and your readiness plan, I hope you found this article helpful. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the cool factor of gadgets, but we need to spread out our budget to ensure we are getting all of our essential items in order.
Just like firearms, it’s good to standardize on a platform to maximize your stockpile magazines, ammo, and accessories. I think this applies equally as well to your HTs
