Never fail, a new ham, trying to get on HF will be given the following suggestions:
* Buy a G5RV, it will work everywhere
* Buy a dipole from Vendor X
* Don't buy used anything
* Don't go on VHF
The G5RV thing is ridiculous. It's a 20 meter antenna that "works" ok, on some other bands. But it's said, without fail, at least once, that it will work everywhere. Does anyone wonder why people easily get frustrated in AR, and then leave, never to come back? :roll:
Buying a dipole... EVERY ham should have a soldering iron, and a vendor of SO-239's within a few miles from them. Even Rat Shack. And EVERY ham should know enough soldering to solder some wires onto a UHF connector... Even if you melt the insulation a bit on the SO-239, it will still work, and most wont even notice it... Building a dipole is not rocket science, and they tend to be pretty forgiving at HF. It's a PERFECT new ham project. Soldering you can't screw up... Learning a little bit about why antennas work (Like how more or less, every antenna system is a "dipole" of sorts).
Don't buy anything used. I don't think I have anything brand new. Sure, buyer beware and all of that, but jeeze... People act like you MUST HAVE a TS-2000 or equivalent rig for your first go on HF. People, it's hard to screw up a tuner. It's ok to buy it used. If something is borked, fix it. Back to the "ham soldering skills" part. Not everything is hard to solder, and most things are pretty easy, even if you've never done it before.
And the killer: Don't bother with 2 meters. It's boring. It's cliquish. It's a waste. Nobody is every on. Blah blah. But, the same people telling new hams to stay away from VHF are the same ones complaining that 2 meters and up is dead...
Egads... People wonder why new hams are often a confused lot (Myself included)...