Speak free Posted December 15, 2020 Report Share Posted December 15, 2020 Good evening gentleman, my question is , is a rci 2950 a good start to begin in the radio hobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packnrat Posted December 15, 2020 Report Share Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) might find any make radio, in 2m and 440 to be of better usage. new portable about the same price point. Edited December 15, 2020 by packnrat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalkie Posted December 15, 2020 Report Share Posted December 15, 2020 In my opinion, no this is not a good choice to get into the hobby. This transceiver is for 10-12 meter bands and will require a General license to get the full functionality out of it. Your first level of license will be technician which allows you to operate in a very limited way on the 10m band, but allows nearly full operation in the 6m - 23cm bands with operations in the 2m and 70cm bands being the most common. So my suggestion would be getting a Baofeng F8HP which is dual band 2m/70cm for around $75 if you want to transmit once you have a license. If all you want to do is listen and you are getting the RCI-2950 for free or cheap (that pic looks like an older one) then go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXiceman Posted December 15, 2020 Report Share Posted December 15, 2020 If you are just getting into ham radio, go ahead and take the upgrade to the General class. The Technician class keeps you off the HF bands. As for the radio above, DON'T. Get a decent VHF/UHF radio for the most use to start with. Look at the ARRL website for the band plan to see where the different classes of license can operate. Ken Quote Amateur radio operator, 2023 Cougar 22MLS, 2022 F150 Lariat 4x4 Off Road, Sport trim <br />Travel with 1 miniature schnauzer, 1 standard schnauzer and one African Gray parrot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k4rs Posted December 15, 2020 Report Share Posted December 15, 2020 I agree with the comments above. Limiting yourself to just the 10 meter band, you will find very little activity. We are currently near the bottom of the solar cycle (but moving in the right direction) and conditions on 10 meters is generally poor. Once we near the top of the cycle in a few years, the 10 meter band will come alive with lots of activity. 73 es Safe Travels (or not)... Quote Roger, K4RS and Toni, K1TS Amateur Radio Operators - Motorcycle Riders (Harley Davidson Tri-Glide Ultra) Fulltime from 2003-2016 - Now longtime RVers On the road, living the dream... Ford F-250 Super Duty 7.3 liter diesel and Forest River XLR Toyhauler. Position report via amateur radio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franco-bolli Posted January 29, 2022 Report Share Posted January 29, 2022 If you find a radio for sale (after you get your license) you can check out user experiences with radios on www.eham.com before you but it. You will also find antenna reviews as well, which you'll need if you buy a mobile unit. Be ware when you read them, some of the posts are quite old although may still be realavant. HAM Antenna's dont' wear out from use, but can wear out from abuse, like tree limbs and driving into your garage.... Quote +++++++++++_____________________________________+++++++++++ 2021 Ram 3500 2017 Arctic Fox 25W(to be traded??) HAM guy (Ke7FIX), photography, woodworking (mostly sawdust), Electronics Technician, USAF DAV Going where everyone has gone before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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