[VHFcontesting] COST OF 432 AND HIGHER

[Buck Calabro]

Lee wrote:

>...the cost of just get one band above 
>432 is too much.  What 350 for one that 
>you have to put together and higher 
>for an assemble one.

>This is the reasons that the many of us 
>are not on these bands.  

You are very right; to buy a complete rig is expensive.  If you can find one of the local Big Gun contest stations in your area, you'll probably find that he has parts laying around or can find parts that you and I can't.  There are plenty of designs for boards in the ARRL UHF/Microwave experimenter's handbook and Downeast sells bare boards too.  The trade-off is your time. 

I was fortunate enough to meet someone who's a master scrounger, and for the price of building a second transverter he let me build one for myself.  (He loaned the other unit out to another rover!)  I didn't keep track of the money I put into it, but it's probably around $50.  Being my very first transverter, it took me like 18 months to get it on the air, but I did it (with a lot of helpful mentoring!)  I am a digital guy and this RF stuff is wonderful magic to me, so if I can do it, anybody can!

Either way, it is not easy to get on the higher bands.  I chose to spend time; others chose to spend money.  I must say that I have the bug though, and have been scouring eBay and eHam.net for already-built transverters!  :-)

73 de Buck KC2HIZ