For some reason, some people seem’s to be confused about amateur radio and they tend to think that all you have to do to become an amateur is pass a test and buy a walkie talkie and get on the air.
In reality, talking is a very small part of what we do as amateurs, and FM repeaters are but one of a vast array of choices we have as amateurs to operate.
For some reason there is not a single post on this forum about HF transceivers or even a decent mobile transceiver.
I will take some time out of my life to explain some things to some of the forum members to show you some of what amateur radio has to offer.
First off is that amateur radio was never designed to be used like the telephone. The intended use was to promote the science of radio and to learn how to become a good operator. If all you have is a walkie talkie, you cannot learn much if anything about antenna’s or feed lines or even how to deploy in an emergency.
In an emergency most everything must be done in simplex mode only, due to the fact that you have to expect that the repeaters are not going to be there. Most NBEMS nets are conducted on 80 Meters - which requires you to have at least a GENERAL CLASS LICENSE, AND A HF RADIO!
80 meters allows everyone to hear everyone, even with nothing more then a simple long wire antenna 20’ above the ground.
Unless the state was as flat as a pancake like Kansas - you aren’t going to talk from one end of the state to the other with a 2 meter transceiver.
Older HF radios tends to be hybrids - uses both solid state technology and a tube for the transmitter that must be plate and tuned. These are very inexpensive radios to purchase but they are not practical for emergency work.
Modern day radios incorporates not only all solid state technology, but also ports on the back of the transceiver that allows you to connect your transceiver to a computer to work digital modes and still be able to use the microphone. At the top of the list is the Kenwood TS 590S…
The Kenwood TS 590S is rated in the top 10 of all transceivers made today.
Being on the same list as transceivers costing 5 to 8 times as much is very impressive… To find more information on HF transceivers, we use a site called Sherwood Engineering - http://www.sherweng.com/table.html
Sherwood manufacturers filters that most transceivers use to allow the user to block out some noise and interference… Good notch filters can almost double the cost of a new transceiver such as a 706 MK IIG…
This is why it is so important for a knowledgeable consumer to know these things before they make their first purchase. The Kenwood TS 590 uses both upconversion and downconversion and DSP - it needs no filters.