- Looking for holiday gift ideas for your favorite ham?
I'll give you a shopping list, so keep watching for more.
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Hi I'm Michael, KB9VBR, your host for Ham Radio Q&A.
I'm on a mission to inspire
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As the Christmas holidays draw near,
I like to scour the web for gift ideas
for ham radio operators.
Sometimes it can be quite difficult to find the perfect gift
for the amateur, especially if you're not sure
what they're interested in.
So this year I have a fine selection of gift ideas,
starting as low as $15 and going up from there.
Links for all these items will be found in the video
description below, so please use that
as your jumping off point for your holiday shopping
this season because I'm sure you'll find something
that will appeal to them.
First, let's dig into the list.
First off,
I'm going to plug my website at www.jpole-antenna.com.
On it you're gonna find a full array of VHF and UHF antennas
for the radio amateur.
A J-Pole makes a great stocking stuffer.
What else could you need?
Also, you might wanna check out these calendars
produced by my local amateur radio club.
In it you're gonna find 12 months of vintage QSL cards
from the 1950's and '60's and dates for all the popular
ARRL and CQ magazine contests.
Even if you aren't a contester,
you'll be able to know at a glance
what contests is completely filling up the airwaves.
Anderson Powerpoles, they're those little genderless
connectors that are extremely popular with hams.
Colored red and black,
they are a good, reliable connector for your DC power needs.
This 60 piece set, that I found on Amazon,
contains 15 each of the black and red housings,
and an assortment of 15, 30, and 45 amp connectors.
This is a great stocking stuffer as even if your ham buddy
has an assortment of power poles, they can always use more,
trust me, and at only $15, its a great deal.
You'll find these also on Amazon.
I've always carried a Swiss Army Knife in my pocket.
After almost 30 years,
I lost my favorite every day carry item
and needed to replace it.
So, with that, enter the Swiss Army Spartan.
I know a lot of people like to carry bigger lock blades
and buck style knives, but really,
this thin little knife has just the right number of features
and tools for every day use including
a 2.5 inch stainless steel blade,
bottle opener, two different sizes of flat screwdrivers.
And, at only about $22 on Amazon,
it's the perfect stocking stuffer.
In today's current environment,
it is becoming more and more difficult
to carry a pocket knife.
So if you travel or need to pass through security
checkpoints then a tactical key is a great item to add
to your every day carry.
The Closs 8 in 1 multi tool is my choice.
It's a titanium tool that looks just like a key,
and unlike other tactical keys its really no bigger
than your house keys.
So it will fit perfectly on your key ring.
And, it's also a TSA compiant so you're gonna pass
through those security checkpoints with ease.
No more opening packages with your car keys.
The CLOSS 8 in 1 multi tool.
You'll find it on Amazon for about $22.
I think that the ARRL's book on Grounding and Bonding
for the Radio Amateur is the hottest publication
from the league this year.
When we had our state ARES/RACES conference
a couple months back,
this book was the hottest door prize item.
And no wonder, it's chock full of information
on your making your station better and safer
by the proper use of electrical and RF grounds.
No matter the experience level of your ham radio friend
or significant other,
this book will certainly be appreciated.
You'll find it on Amazon or the ARRL website for about $23.
There's been a lot of conversation these past few months
about Baofeng radios potentially being illegal to operate
on the amateur radio bands.
I'm not going to get into that discussion right now,
but I am frequently asked if there is an alternative
to the cheap chinese radios.
And there is with the Yaesu FT-4XR.
This little handheld radio hits all the right notes,
it's dual band operation, compact size, long battery life,
and puts out a full 5 watts on VHF.
Plus it transmits clean,
so you're not gonna be concerned about spurious emissions.
You'll find it for about $99
at your favorite ham radio purveyor.
So what's the hottest digital mode right now?
Well, other than FT8 which is screaming up and down
the HF bands, it's DMR.
Digital Mobile Radio has been growing at a fast pace,
and well it should with the easy access to inexpensive
DMR handheld radios and the proliferation of DMR repeaters.
I've reviewed a few DMR radios this past year
and my favorite continues to be
the Ailunce HD1 handheld radio.
This model is purpose built for the amateur radio operator.
It has 3000 channels and 100,000 contacts,
and offers up to 10 watts of transmit power on VHF.
Plus, it's keypad programmable and customizable.
I really like the fact that the battery lasts
up to 3 days in standby mode.
So, if you have a ham that's looking for something new,
give them this radio
and open them up to the exciting world of DMR.
The radio is about $189 on Amazon.
Portable operation is becoming quite popular.
Activating entities like state parks and national parks
and running special events in the field
are all the rage right now.
For that you're gonna need a good portable antenna.
One of my favorites
is the Wolf River Coils Silver Bullet 1000.
The Silver Bullet 1000 is a rugged coil
that will tune a whip antenna from the 10 through 80 meters.
It's compact and sets up fast,
and it's perfect for your portable kit.
It's also rugged enough
that you could use it as a mobile HF antenna.
You'll find the Silver Bullet 1000
on the Wolf River Coils website for about $60.
In tuning your coil, you may want an antenna analyzer.
The analyzer is an essential tool for anyone interested
in building antennas or seeking to get the most performance
out their current antenna installation.
Rig Experts AA-55 Zoom is a super popular compact analyzer.
Unlike other models, this one has a graphical screen
and will measure SWR, or standing wave ration,
return loss, cable loss, residents,
and other parameters of cable and antenna systems
in the range of 60 kilohertz to 55 megahertz.
It also just runs on only 2 AA batteries.
You'll find the AA-55 Zoom on Amazon
or at your favorite online ham radio store.
It sells for about $340.
Okay, finishing up the list,
I'm going to add a VHF/UHF dual band mobile radio.
In fact, the hottest dual band mobile of the year
is the Yaesu FTM-400 XDR.
And why not?
With $170 worth of instant coupons available directly
from Yaesu, this top of the line rig has dropped down
to as low $394 online.
That's a great deal.
Not only do you get Yaesu's System Fusion in this rig,
but also the FTM-400 has built in APRS support
that almost rivals the kenwood TM-D710.
It's also got a full color TFT LCD screen
and is a pleasure to interact with.
I've put this radio in my car,
and am really happy with its operation.
So I'm going to recommend it as this year's
top of the line gift.
The only downside is that with the current special offer
goint on out there,
the supply is really starting to tighten up.
So shop early and get this gift from your favorite
ham radio store.
There you have it,
my favorite ham radio holiday gift ideas for this year.
For more gift ideas,
be sure to check out last year's list.
I'll throw a link up on the screen here for you to click.
Is there a particular gift you'd like to see under the tree?
Please leave it in the comments below.
I'm sure Santa's gonna be reading those comments.
And finally, be sure to check out my website
at www.jpole-antenna.com.
I've got a full line of VHF and UHF antennas for sale
for the radio amateur, and also those great calendars
from my local amateur radio club.
For more articles and information,
you'll find them on the website and if you enjoyed
this video, give me that big thumbs,
I really appreciate that.
And don't forget to hit that subscribe button.
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I'm Michael, KB9VBR, have a great day,
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and 73.