Ham Radio Outlet

Brian Cooke

9 years ago

I walked into HRO Oakland on a busy Saturday several days after passing my General exam. I was greeted with enthusiasm, sincere congratulations, and a warm welcome to Ham radio. Staff, especially Kevin Quinn, were incredibly knowledgeable and patient with my questions about antenna and ways to better utilize my handheld. They also offered suggestions for setting-up my first hamshack without any pressure to purchase anything and in a couple cases steered me toward the best value at lower price points. thank you!

Dale Palmer

5 years ago

Love this place. Its 1 hour away but my $2000 order of radios and antennas was within 1% of the Amazon price. Support our dealers or they will disappear like Radio Shack.

James Kosinski

13 years ago

Knowledgeable staff and reasonable prices. As a newly licensed ham I appreciate being able to have a conversation about my prospective purchases before buying them. No hard sell and lots of info sharing makes the difference.

N.K. M. (DA' Moosh)

9 years ago

Awesome place to go to for any of your ham radio, cb, marine, scanner, antenna needs. I needed a specific antenna for a project, and even though I had very little knowledge of what I wanted, needed or was doing, the helpful staff here walked me through my options, advised me on what I needed, asked what I wanted to spend and then worked to get me under budget. Thanks! Definitely coming back as soon as I need any radio gear in the future.

Dmitry Mizin

8 years ago

Great selection and knowledgeable stuff. Good access from freeway and plenty of parking. Wish for better hours. And if you look online for inventory - better call in before heading - sometimes inventory is not updated. But nevertheless - always a good experience shopping here.

Paul Mantegna

Edited 5 years ago

Edit: Jenny called me after I posted the original review, apologized for the issue and immediately shipped a replacement unit. Like the other reviews have said, it's been great customer service and I would definitely shop here again. Power supply was damaged before it left the shop. The larger outer box it shipped in showed zero damage, but the PS box inside was deformed, like it had been dropped off the shelf. Upon opening the inner box, the styrofoam protection was cracked and the power supply case was bent. The damage seems to be limited to a slightly bent case and it looks like it functions properly when I turn it on with no load. I would like to use it immediately so returning it isn't a great option but having a company ship a damaged box without checking the contents beforehand is disheartening. Hopefully there's no unseen damage that manifests once it has a load on it.

Stan

7 years ago

The person I spoke with was super kind, patient with all my questions and asked colleagues when I asked questions outside of his scope, showed radios in my price range and didn't try to upsell. I called back with more questions still super kind. When I have the opportunity to purchase a radio or gear I'll be here. I'm sure this location has been open for more than 30 years, when I was a kid I'd hold on to there catalogs to educate me (before the netz), 20 years later I picked another catalog😍, hopefully by 2020 I'll have a license and radio. Don't procrastinate like I've been doing.

Mark Yuan

9 years ago

A dangerous place for your wallet. Good selection, knowledgeable, friendly staff. I went in here to buy my first radio, a little handheld. Was given good advice on both the radio and a better antenna. After I got my General class license, returned for a great deal on a base station. Also got a good dual band mobile from them.

Cliff Sojourner

Edited 6 years ago

Hi folks, all my comments below were a long time ago with the previous crew. The mgr moved to Idaho, the store has new mgr and team. Wow! They are on top of it!! The store is fully stocked, I have no difficulty finding exactly the items I want. A pleasure to shop there. Thanks folks! I really appreciate local retail. Cliff *** previous 2 star review *** Sometimes they have what I want, most times it's a matter of finding something not quite good enough. The employees need better training. Unhelpful at finding stock items. Don't know much about ham radio. Literally took 45 minutes to ring up 5 items! And then took 15 minutes to issue $3 refund for something overcharged. Meanwhile several customers are standing around waiting to get rung up. First rule of retail, don't keep ready to pay customers waiting!!

John “BADASSMOTHAFUKKER” Rogers

7 years ago

😕i have a problem with HRO!!! Im a pretty new ham and would love to get more into it.... or in to it to begin with!!! But every single time i come over here im in my big truck and its closed!!!!i always go up and look in the windows and check it out knowing full well by the time the doors open i will be miles away from here and without any idea when im coming back!!! Never fails.... thats what i get for being here in a big truck.... at least its empty though maybe if i win the lottery i could fill up my truck.... 53’ of everything!!!! Im giving a 5 star review even though i havent been inside but am eager to check it out!!! 73’s