Operating instructions

14 Choosing a Ham Radio

learn how to install your own connectors—both to have the skill and to save money! The

ARRL’s online Technical Information Service www.arrl.org/tis/ and the ARRL Antenna

Book and ARRL Handbook contain methods of installing connectors on coaxial cable.

Accessories & Special Features

Along with the items included with your radio, other common accessories can be a great

help in the convenient and effective use of your radio. The most important accessory for a

mobile radio is the antenna—we covered that previously. For a handheld radio, antennas

and batteries make the most difference.

• Battery chargers—Recharging a battery with a wall wart supply can take hours for one

of the larger packs. This is often unacceptably long and is a good argument for having a

spare battery pack. Charging time can be reduced dramatically by using a quick charger or

smart charger. Your radio’s manufacturer will probably offer one as an accessory. A desk

or “drop-in” charger holds the radio conveniently upright while charging, too.

• Detachable front panels—Some radios can operate with their front panel detached

from the body of the radio and mounted in a convenient location with the radio out of sight

below a desk or seat. An accessory control cable is required to connect them. Some radios

require the microphone to be connected to the radio and not the control panel, so check

carefully before planning where to mount the radio!

• Smart microphones—Handheld microphones or hand mikes for mobile and base radios

are available with enough keys and buttons to act as miniature front panels of their own.

There may be several variations of microphones available for your radio.

• Headsets—Base station radios come with a hand mike, but third-party desk micro-

phones and headphone-boom microphone combinations called boomsets may be more

convenient and provide somewhat higher quality transmitted audio. Headphones can help

you hear other stations more clearly, particularly in noisy environments such as a busy

emergency-operations center or an outdoor event. (Driving with a headset or headphones

on is illegal in many areas—check your local regulations.)

• To tune your antenna, an SWR bridge or RF power meter is a “nice-to-have”, measur-

ing the amount of power ﬂowing to and from the antenna. By watching the meter when you

transmit, you can tell when an antenna is not tuned properly, whether the wrong antenna

has been attached, or whether some part of the antenna system is broken. Be sure the

bridge or meter is designed for the frequency you’ll be using—VHF/UHF or HF.

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With so many memory channels and radio conﬁguration settings to manage, having

some software to assist you is very useful. Programming and conﬁguration software is

available from the radio manufacturer and from independent authors. Along with the

software, you’ll need a programming cable to connect the radio to the computer. Cloning is

another way of conﬁguring your radio by transferring the memory contents from an identi-

cal radio. If your radio supports cloning, a special cable is usually required. Your club or

emcomm team may have cables and software for common radios, including ﬁles that will

program your radio with the common channels used by members.