First, congratulations JohnyMac on passing your Technicians exam, hopefully you're enjoying your privileges. I've read Shadow's suggestions, and I'd like to respectfully make some other suggestions. For the most part, radios produced by Kenwood, Yaesu, and Icom are great. The Kenwood model suggested by Shadow is fine, but there are models by other manufacturers that have similar specifications. I've used all the radios that I mention below.
For an entry level radio, there's the Icom IC-718, which covers most of the HF band, and has digital signal processing. It's still in production, and if you look around a bit you should be able to find one used in the $400-500 region. I've owned and used them, and they're a great, simple to use rig.
Another Icom, the IC-706 series, was supposedly the most popular radio ever produced in amateur radio history. Depending upon the versions the radio covers HF and VHF, and later versions also covered the UHF bands too in a very compact package. Essentially, to have an IC-706 is like having a ham shack in a small box. The early models can be found for under $500. The nice thing about the IC-706s is they can cover so much radio spectrum and they're small. The bad thing about them is if they go bad, then you've lost all your radio coverage at once. I run one in one of my vehicles, and it's hmmm at least 20 years old, they have a transmit power of 100 watts on HF, and much less on VHF and UHF. The IC-706 series also have a general radio receiver. There's nothing like rolling down I-95 at night and listening to the BBC. Oh, I forgot to mention, it'll also receive CB frequencies.
A Yaesu FT-817 is another radio that covers HF, VHF and UHF. They're somewhat of a cult radio, because they're highly sought after by amateurs who like to transmit with low power, or QRP as it's known. They only transmit with 5 watts, and they can use internal AA batteries or external power sources, like solar panels, or a cigarette light type plug. I have one put away in a faraday cage, inside a pelican case, so it's ready for instant use at remote locations. It also is a general coverage radio receiver.
One other HF radio of note is the Icom IC-7200 which was advertised as a radio for emergency communications. The case and front faceplate are supposedly water resistant, and the radio has been ruggedized. It's an HF plus six meters 100 watt radio. I've set up one in an old ammo box for a my go-kit radio. Icom recently stopped production of the 7200, and they're still in high demand because of their emergency communication capability. The 7200 was the first amateur radio which could directly be linked to a computer for digital communications, prior to that digital communications required the use of specialized interfaces. The going rate for the IC-7200 is in the range of $700-$850. It is also a general coverage radio receiver.
There are a number of older radios that can get you on the ham bands, but they won't have general coverage of radio frequencies outside the amateur radio bands. A couple of Kenwoods can be purchased quite reasonably, both the TS-120S and the TS-130s are simple to operate, and they put out a 100 watts on the HF bands. You should be able to find a TS-120s for under $200, and a TS-130s for under $300. The TS-130 covers some additional bands, so I guess it's more in demand.
The Atlas radios the 180 and 210 both are okay starter radios. They're very simple to use, and can usually be purchased inexpensively, as in under $200. I have a couple of the 210's and I consider them to be radios that I'd give to folks in a SHTF situation to put in their vehicles or as a base radio... essentially disposable radios.
The Yaesu FT-7 is a nice little low powered radio. Easy to use, really basic. Going price is around $300.
All of these radios will require a 12 volt DC power source. You should be able to find a decent power supply in the $100 range.
I guess the important question is where do you find decent radios. I'd suggest going to a hamfest, which is an electronics flea market. They're held throughout the U.S., and summer is the best time to go. The ARRL website is probably your best source for dates and locations of hamfests, as they have a hamfest calendar. Go early, like real early. If you find a decent radio, have the vendor demonstrate that it works.
Other sources are classified ads at
www.eham.com,
www.qrz.com and
www.qth.com. The last resort would be ePay. I've made some good purchases on eBay, but I've been stung too. Most of the sellers will not accept returns on Ebay, and if you try to get reimbursed via paypal, it becomes complicated.
I didn't mean to make such a long post, but I figured that it wouldn't hurt to have some alternatives.
