Amateur Radio Today vs the Past

 Hello world,

This is the first post of a new blog. This blog talks about amateur radio and everything that goes with that. It is a huge and vast hobby and many people are interested in becoming a ham radio operator. 

I would like to talk about how ham radio has changed. I got my first license back in 1987. It seemed different back then. It seemed like back in those days the hobby was really doing well and people were genuinely interested in learning as much as they could. I remember my dad and I had just passed our novice license exam and before taking the test, we agreed that if we passed our novice, we would both try for the technician license that same day. We did that, and we both passed.

Once we had our tech licenses, we decided to buy a couple handhelds so we could get on 2 meters. Back in 1987, there were two options for obtaining a radio. Buy new or buy used. We bought used that day and I remember very clearly that I got a Santec ST-20T and my dad got a Tempo 2 meter radio. They were used and old but they worked. The reason for this post today though is to talk about the prices now vs then.

The used radios we bought were in the 250 dollar range. To me that is expensive for used equipment but new was even worse.

We live in a different time now. Gone are the days of having limited options. Gone are the days when using the excuse, "I can't afford that" used to be normal. New and old hams alike can now find options that are cheaper, better and worth every penny.

The baofeng radio was the first in a line of inexpensive radios that have given the ham radio community a boost. The radios may not be perfect but they get new hams on the air for a very nice price point. A new radio called TIDradio H3 is another one that is taking the ham community by storm. These radios are in the 40 dollar range and they give you the power and options that were once only found on 300 dollar radios. 

Times are changing and it seems they are changing for the better! 

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