ham Radio

[hamhanded]

Not really. So many people are getting out of amateur radio that quality used equipment can be had very cheap.

If you could show me where we can find this very cheap equipment, I'm all ears! Everything I've seen has been crazy expensive unless you manage to know a SK's family offloading in bulk.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

The Dayton Hamvention is back this year. The outdoor flea market usually has some good values.

 

[fuyume]

Not really. So many people are getting out of amateur radio that quality used equipment can be had very cheap.

Hmm…maybe I should see about upgrading my old Yaesu FT-100 to that sweet FT-897D.

 

[WmArnold1]

Very interested in getting my Ham here in the States.. Has anyone else looked into or taken the "ham radio prep" course.. Is it even worth the $99 or is it bs?

$15 Ham licenses are really cool if you're interested in FT8, (google it) flying First-Person-View drones like DJI's FPV, or getting down and dirty with antenna designs and solar flares. As others have said, there are three levels; Technician, General, and Extra. The Tech' test is no harder than ohm's law and gives you hand-held radios, lots of free repeaters to extend your range city-wide, FT8 on 10-meters, FPV drones, and global Morse-code DX'ing, if you're interested in that.

[putting on my asbestos skivvies] Imho, Twitter, Instagram, etc, have been like the asteroid that made Dinosaurs extinct to amateur rag-chewing. Some say FT8 is the holy grail now. You need a general-class license to DX voice and/or DX FT8

Generally, I recommend the GMRS license if you just want high-power walkie-talkie's for family members, off-road club members, etc. There is no test, and a $35 fee covers you and your family for 10 years.

Please be advised that Ham licenses are only for contacting other Ham licenses and it's illegal for Ham's to transmit on the GMRS/FRS frequencies at any power level unless they also hold a GMRS license, separately, and use FCC part 95 (read: GMRS) radios. Fyi, Ham radios are FCC part 97, and those can be twiddled a *lot* more than GMRS limited radios. Indeed; that's what ham's do!!

If you're still interested in Ham licensing at this point, I recommend reading KB6NU's excellent No-Nonsense Study Guides HERE. They're like Cliff's Notes; the Technician one is free, and the rest are reasonable. I self-studied those, practically blinded myself with free Flash-Cards from hamStudy, and passed both Tech & Gen on 2/24/17 for $15 (and my Brother did too; it's better with a buddy)

That said, I'll finally answer your question I haven't looked into the Ham Radio Prep course; it's probably not BS, but $99 seems steep when there's so much information on the Internet regarding the Technician and General class ham licenses. Please visit your local Amateur Radio club to meet the Ham'sters in your area, they're usually eager to show off their equipment and accomplishments. They frequently have older hand-me-down equipment reasonably priced too

73's ~ William

 

[pilo7448]

WmArnold1 very thorough sir, I appreciate all of your insight, I've been flying R/C for 35 years and a ham liscence was a great way to have your own frequency back in the day, I'm mostly interested on the handheld version (for now.. Lol). As far as the cost of the prep course that was my main question, "is the $99 worth it?". But with all I've gotten here I think I'll pass on the course and take other avenues.. Thank you for the links sir.

 

[WmArnold1]

WmArnold1 very thorough sir, I appreciate all of your insight, I've been flying R/C for 35 years and a ham liscence was a great way to have your own frequency back in the day, I'm mostly interested on the handheld version (for now.. Lol). As far as the cost of the prep course that was my main question, "is the $99 worth it?". But with all I've gotten here I think I'll pass on the course and take other avenues.. Thank you for the links sir.

That's what got me started too; I bought a Baofeng F8HP and studied for the Tech' license. I was surprised when I passed the General on the first try; I didn't need that for just the HT

*The* issue is who you want to talk to. As simple as it is, I couldn't convince hardly any Car club members to take the Tech test. So, our club uses GMRS ~ which is perfectly fine. The only thing I really miss, is having repeaters in virtually every city. Ymmv..

If you go for the Tech; explore hamStudy re: General and decide whether you want the extra support you get for $99 or not. Ultimately, the Extra license is super hard to get without an Elmer and/or an official course. Imho, a General ticket grants 98% of where an Extra's ticket can go tho

Have fun

 

[WmArnold1]

Hi guys anybody else dabble in the art of amateur radio ? I just got a cheap radio from amazon . I never thought people used these. I gonne get the GMRS license then work my way up. Radipos are kool. quite bit readio traffic in my large city. Anybody try out radios and getting a ham license ?

$15 Ham licenses are really cool if you're interested in FT8, (google it) flying First-Person-View drones like DJI's FPV, or getting down and dirty with antenna designs and solar flares. As others have said, there are three levels; Technician, General, and Extra. The Tech' test is no harder than Ohm's law and gives you hand-held radios, lots of free repeaters to extend your range city-wide, FT8 on 10-meters, FPV drones, and global Morse-code DX'ing, if you're interested in that.

[putting on my asbestos skivvies] Imho, Twitter, Instagram, etc, have been like the asteroid that made Dinosaurs extinct to amateur rag-chewing. Some say FT8 is the holy grail now. You need a general-class license to DX voice and/or DX FT8

Generally, I recommend the GMRS license if you just want high-power walkie-talkie's for family members, off-road club members, etc. There is no test, and a $35 fee covers you and your family for 10 years.

Please be advised that Ham licenses are only for contacting other Ham licenses and it's illegal for Ham's to transmit on the GMRS/FRS frequencies at any power level unless they also hold a GMRS license, separately, and use FCC part 95 (read: GMRS) radios. Fyi, Ham radios are FCC part 97, and those can be twiddled a *lot* more than GMRS limited radios. Indeed; that's what ham's do!!

If you're still interested in Ham licensing at this point, I recommend reading KB6NU's excellent No-Nonsense Study Guides HERE. They're like Cliff's Notes; the Technician one is free, and the rest are reasonable. I self-studied those, practically blinded myself with free Flash-Cards from hamStudy, and passed both Tech & Gen on 2/24/17 for $15 (and my Brother did too; it's better with a buddy)

Bottom line; GMRS and Ham are separate worlds; no testing .vs. a lot more freedom after a simple test or two. Decide which group you want to talk to before committing one way or the other.

As simple as it is, I couldn't convince many of my Car club members to take the Tech test. So, our club uses GMRS ~ which is perfectly fine. The only thing I really miss, is having repeaters in virtually every city. Ymmv..

Undecided? Consider visiting your local Amateur Radio club to meet the Ham'sters in your area, they're usually eager to show off their equipment and accomplishments. They frequently have older hand-me-down equipment reasonably priced too

73's ~ William

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Imho, Twitter, Instagram, etc, have been like the asteroid that made Dinosaurs extinct to amateur rag-chewing.

Yeah, that's a large part of it. However those services (and cellphones in general, as well as radio and tv) would not have been possible without the work of countless people with a passion for radio technology. Modern communications systems are built on the shoulders of hams and others who look for ways to 'poke a hole in the ether' and communicate with others across the miles. When you see someone using their modern pocket rocket to communicate via Twitter, Insta or SMS, you can take some pride in knowing that you are a part of the group that made it all possible.

73

 

[iapyx]

It's been a long time since I have been here. Still into flashlights, just didn't buy any new lights the past 7 years.
But I got an old hobby revived: ham radio.
In December 2018 I bought two walkietalkies for my kids and bought myself a portophone. License required, so decided in February 2019 to go for it. Two and a half months later I passed the N (Novice) exams. That was May 25 2019. Waited a few month and decided in October 2019 to go for the F (Full) licence. On March 6 2020 I passed those exams. And now I am totally into ham radio.

The equipment:

UHF/VHF tranceiver:
Kenwood TMD 710G (internal GPS, 50W)

HF-tranceivers:
ICOM IC 7300 (100 W)
(tr)uSDX 5W max (orange tranceiver)

Portable (UHF/VHF/HF) tranceiver:
ICOM IC 705 (5W on battery, 10W on feeder)

VHF/UHF Antennas:
X50 Diamond, fixed
Moonraker MRW 222 portable, telescopic

HF Antennas:
HyEndFed 3-bander (10, 20, 40 meter band)
Fritzel FB13 rotary dipole 3 bander for 10/15/20 meterband (7,5 meters wide)
G5RV Junior mobile antenna for holidays (inverted-V) with a Spiderbeam as a beam in the middle (see photo).

CallSign: PH2X
See my profile at QRZ.com

To keep it to flashlights: I used the LX2 to see the feed line through the chimney, whether it reached far enough to my shack.

 

[iapyx]

73, DE KL7FB. Only way to keep anyone from listening to radio comms is encryption. Motorola sells encryption boards for their radios.

73, DE KL7FB. Only way to keep anyone from listening to radio comms is encryption. Motorola sells encryption boards for their radios.

Ah, KL7FB, I see you are from Alaska. That part of the world is still on my list. Would love to have Alaska in my log
73 de PH2X

 

[TPA]

I have my General ham license, although I honestly haven't picked up the microphone in ages. I have a Yaesu FT-7800 and Kenwood TS-480. Of course a few Chinese HTs.

That still doesn't explain why the general public should be excluded from listening to those things in their own cars. Sounds like the law was written by someone with little understanding of how listening to the radio works.

A little bit of history from a local. IIRC, this law came into being in the 1980s due to the drug cartels. It was VERY common for the cartel drug operations to use police scanners. Often multiple scanners tuned to every law enforcement frequency. Nothing was encrypted back then, so this gave them a huge advantage and opportunity to evade the police.
At the time, there was a 95%+ chance that if you were pulled over with a scanner in the car, you weren't a radio hobbyist, so this law allowed them to detain people and dig deeper.

 

[snakebite]

You should hang out with your local clubs. Lots of help for newbies and sometimes surplus gear. I know not all clubs are like DARA but we are likely typical of clubs in a large city/region. We have the Thursday Night Group. And you never know what you will see. Sometimes its a presentation on the latest tech. Some nights anything goes. Many that show up to learn liken it to drinking from a firehose. And are back every week. once a month we get a triple play. A presentation,equipment building(repeater stuff), and a meeting of the local Defcon hackers.

 

[Monocrom]

....At the time, there was a 95%+ chance that if you were pulled over with a scanner in the car, you weren't a radio hobbyist, so this law allowed them to detain people and dig deeper.

Likely why a HAM license is required but is also very easy to get.
Let's the Government keep tabs on everyone who can broadcast in America with the registry of licensed users.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Likely why a HAM license is required but is also very easy to get.
Let's the Government keep tabs on everyone who can broadcast in America with the registry of licensed users.

Yes it's another data point for the government, but it's like any other license - it shows that you're trained and knowledgable with the tools you're using. You can accidentally cause some mayhem if you're playing around with a powerful transmitted if you don't know what you're doing.

 

[Monocrom]

Yes it's another data point for the government, but it's like any other license - it shows that you're trained and knowledgable with the tools you're using. You can accidentally cause some mayhem if you're playing around with a powerful transmitted if you don't know what you're doing.

If the test were harder, I'd agree with you. It's more about making sure folks understand the basics, and emphasizing the potential legal consequences if anyone decides to screw around.

 

[TPA]

I think the initial tests are sufficient. I passed both Tech & General on the same night despite only going for Tech. Granted, I do have a broadcast background. I probably should have gone for Extra, but I won't take on something in life unless I know I can absolutely ace it.

Licensing in this case makes sense. Knowledge is about the only thing stopping you from being a menace to others or possibly hurting yourself. RF burns hurt, even at lower wattages. If some fool decided to operate a spark-gap transmitter near an airport, it'd be chaos.

For now, the FCC has been pretty tame and reasonable when it comes to going after HAMs and unlicensed broadcasters. I do think that it should be handled through the judicial system rather than the administrative system in place now. The FCC shouldn't be both judge and jury.