Any advise on building a Ham Radio/Walkie Talkie?

[Greninji88]

Hi! I don't know a lot about Ham Radios and that sort, but why not ask.

So my goal is to make a Walkie Talkie that will transmit/receive in my suburb.
My aim to make it on my own, soldering each component to a PCB, but if that's not possible a link to some components or base of the radio would be helpful.
If I were to make a Ham Radio, could I make it on my own (with the right components of course) as a proper Ham Radio is upwards of $300 AUD.

Also, before anyone says this, yes, I know I need a licence.

Thanks everyone! Just want a fun project for the rest of my school holidays. (Sorry if I'm being confusing)

 

[DrPickles]

First off, you have to pick the bands you want to use. 2M/70CM is common for HTs. Find a transceiver for those frequencies, probably use an Arduino or similar to control everything, bang it to an amplifier and you're most of the way there. RF tuning can be black magic though, so expect a lot of problems until you get your transmitter stage proper - watch for harmonics, they can kill your hardware (and license if it's bad enough).

 

[Greninji88]

First off, you have to pick the bands you want to use. 2M/70CM is common for HTs. Find a transceiver for those frequencies, probably use an Arduino or similar to control everything, bang it to an amplifier and you're most of the way there. RF tuning can be black magic though, so expect a lot of problems until you get your transmitter stage proper - watch for harmonics, they can kill your hardware (and license if it's bad enough).

Thanks, do you know any links for beginners to learn this?

 

[DrPickles]

Getting your license will give you a lot of technical knowledge. From that you can search around for what you need. It's really basic electronics now, basically snapping bits together. The code is the tricky part.

 

[Greninji88]

Getting your license will give you a lot of technical knowledge. From that you can search around for what you need. It's really basic electronics now, basically snapping bits together. The code is the tricky part.

Cool, thanks! If the licence gives you all the info for beginners then I'll look into it. Just one more quick question, do you have to write the code, or is it pre-programmed into the ICs?

 

[DrPickles]

You might be able to find some projects that work the way you want, but likely if you're building from scratch you're writing your code. Now I'm a hardware guy so coding is a bit over me, but don't be afraid of it - it's something valuable to learn.

 

[LoggerMan]

Is there a big HAM radio scene in Australia?

 

[Greninji88]

You might be able to find some projects that work the way you want, but likely if you're building from scratch you're writing your code. Now I'm a hardware guy so coding is a bit over me, but don't be afraid of it - it's something valuable to learn.

Thank you! Would https://hamradioprep.com be a good pace to start?

Is there a big HAM radio scene in Australia?

Not really, but there are a few places nearby that sell radio goods, and I presume, teach them too