Get on the Air

Now that you have your ham license, it's time to choose a radio.  The type of radio and the amount of money you plan to spend depends on what you want to do.  You can spend:

  • Less than $100 for mobile or a home based ham station on the 2 meter - 70 centimeter bands (VHF/UHF);
  • Less than $1,000 for a moderately equiped ham station on 160-6 meter bands (HF);
  • $10,000 or more for a deluxe ham station with top of the line radios, towering antennas and equipment you never dreamed you would "need," or
  • Nothing and visit the W9DUA Station Open Hours on Mondays from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM or make an appointment. The W9DUA station is staffed with a friendly ham operator or two who will offer technical advice and give you an opportunity try ham radio and take it for a test drive.

You can start gradually and build a ham shack that will serve your needs for years to come.  To get you started on building a ham shack, decide how far you might want to go:

We hope the information presented here will ignite your interest and give you some ideas about building your ham shack.  There is a lot of information in the local ham community as well as the internet to get you started. 

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