They’re cheap, poor-fidelity, horrible propagation radios with handfuls of bugs (the one I bought years ago has a lot of trouble with frequency bleed).

But they’re also now less than $20 USD on Amazon.

  • Mark Cornick@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    FWIW, they’re still under $20 (or under $30 for a combo pack including what looks like a charger and some other stuff.) Although I’m not licensed (yet), I ordered one and will put it on the shelf for when I do get licensed, on the same principle that one’s first motorcycle shouldn’t be a Harley because you’re going to wreck it - I don’t want to spend big $ on a radio until I’m sure I’m going to stick with it as something I do.

  • dsrich01@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I saw this and am now lurking on the local repeaters while I study for a Tech license - couldn’t resist the deal for a “starter” radio, and it seems to work pretty well. I tried and gave up on the Code stuff back in the 70s, but since I am an electrical engineer, the only learning curve I have for the test now is the ham legalities and culture.

    Thanks for the pointer!

  • EamonnMR@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    At $20 should I just get this for passive listening during emergencies even if I know I’ll never get around to getting a license to broadcast?

    • c5n@mastodon.sdf.org
      2·
      1 year ago

      @emr @anthonyg If you have the mindset of being prepared for emergencies, or just WANT to listen in… absolutely.

      Perhaps you will find that this sparks your passion and motivates you to get licensed? Or maybe it’s just collects dust in a drawer. At $20… it’s a pretty safe gamble.

  • beowulf73@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Thanks, my father has mentioned wanted to get into amateur radio so I grabbed one of these and the number of the local group. And since they were so cheap, I grabbed one for me and might go for my license by the end of the summer.