M0PWX
Hi Nick
it all depends on the bands and activities you are interested in
VHF is simple a standard whitestick antenna mounted as high as possible on the house (or washing line pole), or a simple “J Pole” made from ladder line hung out the window etc
HF is harder due to the size of the antenna required, a 40m / 7mhz antenna need 20m / 60 foot of wire, but people forget it don’t have to be in a straight line, also it don’t have to be high up, i have a fan dipole covering 40m-6m pinned to my fence panelsi have a stretch of 12 fence panels and the antenna uses 10 of them
the other option is as simple as running a wire laid in the guttering (assuming its not metal)
digital modes like FT8/4, JS8Call go much further than voice, i was doing POTA (park on the air) with a Xiegu X6100 rig and a mag mount on the car running 5 watts and had QSO’s with US and EU this afternoon on 10m
HF rigs like the Xiegu G90 (£400) and Xiegu X6100 (£600) make HF more affordable and the X6100 with a single USB cable for Data mode easy (audio and CAT control) if not you are looking generally over £1000-£1200 for a HF rig
there is the other option of a internet connected hotspot or Echo Link to access hams around the world using a internet based digital comms system (no antenna required
