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)

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)

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)