Henry,
Good post for new folks, it seems like a few times a year that someone asks about that. It would be a good post to have as a sticky topic. Maybe they could have a section set up like "Getting Started 1K BR" and a mirror for Short Range BR. I know some guys will say "do your own research" or "search threads." There's nothing wrong with that but it could save everyone time if there were a heading dedicated to posts on the subject. I bet some folks won't know where to look for equipment lists and searching threads can give you a ton of posts to read but ont much for the substance one seeks. I'm not saying that putting this together is going to be nearly as simple as a few mouse clicks but folks who post like you could copy and paste their own input when you post it here to that forum. Just and idea...