Studying: I used hamtestonline.com and also used apps on my smartphone. They have some good test apps that make it very easy to study anytime you have a few seconds during they day. After the fact, there are lots of good apps for ham use.
Radios: Why limit to one form of communication (Ham vs. CB)? I originally got into it for emergency comms use. I would definitely get a dual band mobile and when you get a hand held, get a dual band as well. I travel a lot. The 440 MHZ band certainly isn't used as much, but it is worth it. The main skywarn group out of Altus uses a 440 repeater for their comms and that's where most of the bad weather and tornadoes originate in my part of the state. Since I travel a lot, I also have a CB. It's not really for talking as much as it is for listening to the truckers. They do talk a lot amongst themselves and pass along local happenings on the roads.
There are radios that can cover multiple bands for your vehicle, but they are very expensive. Then there is the legality side. You can get a Ranger 2950 can operate on 10 and 12 meters, both ham bands, but can be modified to operate on 11 meters, the cb bands, but it is illegal to do so. The 10 and 12 m bands aren't used that much anyways, so it's probably best to just get a cheap cb to monitor the truckers.
www.qrz.com lots of info there
www.eham.net another forum with lots of reviews of every type of ham equipment made
study the radios, watch the forum classifieds and search ebay as well. I have purchased 2 radios from ebay, and my HF base radio off of craigslist. Just be smart about it. I only purchased from hams who gave their call sign so I could look them up on qrz.com
Radios: Why limit to one form of communication (Ham vs. CB)? I originally got into it for emergency comms use. I would definitely get a dual band mobile and when you get a hand held, get a dual band as well. I travel a lot. The 440 MHZ band certainly isn't used as much, but it is worth it. The main skywarn group out of Altus uses a 440 repeater for their comms and that's where most of the bad weather and tornadoes originate in my part of the state. Since I travel a lot, I also have a CB. It's not really for talking as much as it is for listening to the truckers. They do talk a lot amongst themselves and pass along local happenings on the roads.
There are radios that can cover multiple bands for your vehicle, but they are very expensive. Then there is the legality side. You can get a Ranger 2950 can operate on 10 and 12 meters, both ham bands, but can be modified to operate on 11 meters, the cb bands, but it is illegal to do so. The 10 and 12 m bands aren't used that much anyways, so it's probably best to just get a cheap cb to monitor the truckers.
www.qrz.com lots of info there
www.eham.net another forum with lots of reviews of every type of ham equipment made
study the radios, watch the forum classifieds and search ebay as well. I have purchased 2 radios from ebay, and my HF base radio off of craigslist. Just be smart about it. I only purchased from hams who gave their call sign so I could look them up on qrz.com
