Ham radio for beginners?

[Kyle]

Alright so after the KOH trip i noticed that CB radios and the "35 mile" (my ass) walkie talkies don't really cut it for long distance communications or reliable communications for that matter. So I'm thinking a ham radio would be a better bet seeing that people talk around the world on those things. I know some of you guys on here run ham radios, what would you recommend thats easy to use for a beginner that knows very little when it comes to this kinda stuff. I'll mainly be using it for car to car communications over long distances, i know when we were at hammers it would have been great to be able to use a ham radio instead of the walkie talkies or CB since you don't have a bunch of *******s crowding the channels. Also i realize you need a license to use ham radios so i will be taking the technician test soon. I'm hoping 06H3 (Chris) tags along and takes it to so i have someone else that is licensed to talk to

 

[abearden]

How far are you looking to communicate? 2m(144Mhz) and 70cm(440Mhz) are the two most common technician class bands. While you can legally pump more power than CBs and FMRS radios, it's still not much more than line-of-sight which is less than 7 miles unless you're on a hill (that's how they measure the theoretical distance for the walkies, BTW, hill-to-hill). With that said, my mobile 50W radio easily hit the Catalina repeater from most of coastal SoCal (it's on a hill).

You can lookup nearby classes through ARRL. I learn best through books, so I grabbed this: http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual-3rd-Edition/ There are sites online that have sample tests that randomly select from the question pool. You can test on those to your heart's content, but the tech license isn't all that bad.

And yeah, people talk around the world with HAM radios, but not many technician class operators do. Most that want serious range get their General or Extra. The band access you get with those licenses carries much further.

 

[Kyle]

How far are you looking to communicate? 2m(144Mhz) and 70cm(440Mhz) are the two most common technician class bands. While you can legally pump more power than CBs and FMRS radios, it's still not much more than line-of-sight which is less than 7 miles unless you're on a hill (that's how they measure the theoretical distance for the walkies, BTW, hill-to-hill). With that said, my mobile 50W radio easily hit the Catalina repeater from most of coastal SoCal (it's on a hill).

You can lookup nearby classes through ARRL. I learn best through books, so I grabbed this: http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual-3rd-Edition/ There are sites online that have sample tests that randomly select from the question pool. You can test on those to your heart's content, but the tech license isn't all that bad.

And yeah, people talk around the world with HAM radios, but not many technician class operators do. Most that want serious range get their General or Extra. The band access you get with those licenses carries much further.

Well i'm thinking at least 15 miles as far as communication goes from car to car? is that something thats realistic? When using the walkies or the cb radios ive noticed maybe going a few blocks away and the signal is weak and barely understandable. I bought the book i'm going to start studying, the next test is administered in are valley in march so theres time to study.

 

[abearden]

15 miles is doable, but like I said, it depends on environment and band. A few blocks through iron-framed skyscrapers will eat any signal. A few blocks through stick buildings is nothing for a 5W handheld on 144Mhz with a decent antenna, despite eating most walkie signals. Can't give you an answer that applies in every instance. I can say HAM is a huge upgrade from walkies and CB with many more options.

If you start messing with the HF, you can do cool stuff like bouncing stuff off the atmosphere straight up and cover a lot of ground. LagunaH1 talks worldwide with his setup.

 

[3Hummers]

I started using a HAM radio when I started wheeling with the Psychos. That is all they use. The range is considerably better than a CB in comparable circumstances. I used the Yaesu 8800 and then got a Yaesu FT 60 as a handheld. Now about all I use is the handheld but I don't try to talk to the Martians like Mikkel does.

 

[Cyouincourt007]

Interesting read and something I'll be looking into as well. Anything to consider in reference to emergencies or disasters when regular coms are down? I think I've heard ham is very useful in such scenarios which is all the more reason to have it if that's the case.

 

[3Hummers]

HAM radios can be very useful in times of emergency. You need to be clued in to the local repeater stations and many areas have HAM radio groups that get together and practice preparing or emergency communications. Mikkel is a member of at least one such group.

 

[scoreh3]

I used The Ham Whisper.com website to study . Like the others above ,one of the reasons I got my ham lic was to have a back up to a back up form of communication in case of disaster ( like that will ever happen in SoCal ) . Good luck


KK6LYI

 

[abearden]

Absolutely, HAM radios work great in emergency situations. Especially if you pre-plan and have battery or generator backup. If you really get interested, learn Morse code and you can talk worldwide on a 9V battery.

When SoCal had the massive power outage a few years back, our EmComm group prepped in case of deployment. Even just within Laguna Niguel, we got a quick layout of the power outage areas without having to deal with traffic.

Worst case scenario, even if you're not part of one of the EmComm groups you can scan the band and listen to what's going on. As HAMs we're not allowed to encrypt transmissions so while we can keep you from transmitting on our repeaters we can't keep you from listening, so it's a great way to pickup some information about what's going on.

 

[Kyle]

Emergency communications is another reason I've been looking into ham radios more. They seem like such versatile tools! Im looking into emergency groups in are area and maybe joining up with them! I did buy a handheld radio off amazon after reading some reviews on it (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HX03AMA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AM1AKWRN957PC) and so far i think its cool little radio i can hear people talking pretty far away. Also after hearing those people i had some questions arise, i thought rules were in place about ham radios as far as being polite and not using foul language and talking about drugs etc? could be wrong.

 

[scoreh3]

Baofeng has a new tripower ( 1/4/8 watt)handheld out for I think about 60.00 online . I have a baofeng UV-82 and its a nice little starter radio . As time goes on I will mount a unit in my H3 and get a better handheld .

 

[abearden]

There's nothing specifically banning you from being impolite, but you're supposed to follow good operating practice and the FCC prohibits obscenity on air. There are a few well-known cesspool repeaters around the SoCal area. It's possible you stumbled onto one of them. Did the courtesy tone at the end of transmissions sound like a water drop? I think 147.435 Mhz. Most HAMs are embarrassed about that one, but it does stand as a blow off valve where the morons can play and keep them from trolling other repeaters.

 

[Renagade132]

Any pointers on taking the Ham radio exam? How much harder is the General level 2 examine, compared to the Technicians level 1?

 

[3Hummers]

I only took the Technician test. I am sure Mikkel can fill you in.

 

[DJinCO]

The General exam is not harder than the Technician, it is just different information. The general exam has focus on frequencies, bands, and antennas. A few more questions about regulations but not a lot. The study guides and the free practice exams on line are very useful.

Now the Extra exam. That is a lot more difficult to those of us who have no experience with electronics. Just more stuff to learn if you are not familiar (like me!)

 

[Kyle]

Wow I tried taking the technician practice test and got a 63%[emoji23][emoji23] looks like I have some reading to do


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[rsc]

Not to much reading, you would have passed H.S. in Oklahoma with that score.

 

[Renagade132]

I am reading the study license manual, and it's got a lot of technical, frequency, wavelength, phase modulation, info etc... I hope the test is nowhere as difficult as all this detailed information they are talking about in this book!

 

[abearden]

Yeah, it's all on there. Thankfully, the Q/A is in the back so you can go with rote memorization. The important parts are operation, rules, and bands.

 

[Kyle]

Yeah, it's all on there. Thankfully, the Q/A is in the back so you can go with rote memorization. The important parts are operation, rules, and bands.

Knowing about the bands and stuff that's what will kill me. The rest is basic electrical stuff!


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[RadioMike]

Hello .. I have been in Ham Radio since the early 90's. I hold and Extra Ticket and am a VE Coordinator. Don't let the band guides and privalages worry you. Just know where you can and can't operate for the class of Ticket you are trying for. Tech. will get you on everyting from Two meters and higher in frequency. Also upper sideband from 28.300 to 28.500 on Ten meters. Just don't operate right at the edge of 28.3 or 28.5. You can legaly run a few hundred watts on Ten SSB. The more you operate the more you will naturally learn about the different modes of operation and where you can operate and what bands are best for the time of day and for rag chew and DX.
Take the test and enjoy the hobby. My H3 has a HF rig, two VHF and two UHF radios crammed into the tight space avaliable.

 

[Clarke]

Mike, any pictures of your setup in the H3?

My H3 has a HF rig, two VHF and two UHF radios crammed into the tight space avaliable.

 

[Renagade132]

Yes Mike, please post some pics of the radios you have mounted on your rig!

 

[RadioMike]

My main radio is a dual band Kenwood set up of a TK-890 for UHF and a TK-790 for VHF. Both are controlled by a single control head mounted in the lower Din Hole where the original AM-FM Rdio was. The TK series of Radios are built like a tank and are narrow and wide ban capable. These cover my Public Service needs such as Fire, EMS and Police monitoring. This also covers my two meter, 440 and GMRS needs. These can be found on Ebay and are very easy to program. In the upper Din I have a Pioneer Radio with the Navigation option. This makes very good use of the avaliable space. When I eventually sell the H3, all can be removed and the original radio reinstalled without any tale tell marks.

I'll do another post with my HF set up.

 

[RadioMike]

Here are some pictures of my HF set up. It is a Kenwood TS-B2000 with the RC-2000 remote head. The radio is mounted in the back and the Head is mounted on the dash with double sided tape and also slid under the Daystar dash organizer. There is a hole in the dash where a plug is removed to install the Day Star unit. The wire for the remote passes through this hole with no alterations. Again a very ergonomic mount with no alterations to the H3. This Radio covers HF from 10 - 160 meters, 6 meters, VHF and UHF. My antenna for HF is the Little Tar Heel II "screw driver antenna. It will cover the 6 - 40 meters very well. The antenna is connected to the radio and will automatically tune to the lowest SWR when the frequency is selected. As you can see, the antenna is mounted to the spare tire mount with no holes in the body. Works great.