Ham radio licensees listen up! (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Kofoed said:
Before you start tossing around terms like that, the ARRL indicates you are a no-code tech, just like me. :rolleyes: Operating on 10m and 40m is out of your classification.
Click to expand...

"New Novice, Technician Plus and Advanced licenses will not be issued after April 15, 2000, but existing Novice, Technician Plus and Advanced class licenses are unchanged. Amateurs can continue to renew as these licenses. Technician's who pass the 5 WPM code exam after that date have Technician Plus privileges though their license says Technician. They must retain the 5 WPM Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) as proof. It is valid indefinitely for operating authorization, but is valid only for 365 days for upgrade credit." --From ARRL.

As for my comment, I beleive that like other Hams who have successfully passed the code test, I have earned the right to be proud of it. I feel that CW is an exciting part of being a Ham, it is part of what distiguishes Ham operators from CB operators, and is something to be proud of. That was the atmosphere I grew up in, and believe. Others might think differently. Any way it is put, a ham is a ham, and we are all part of a group who enjoy those privelages we have earned.
 
Last edited:
ParadiseCruiser said:
That means AM/FM broadcast bands, CB, FRS, GMRS, MURS, aircraft, marine, weather, all emergency service bands, etc.
Click to expand...

Ron,

I started to ask these newbie questions via e-mail but I'll ask in public because others may have the same questions.

The primary use for the CB in my truck is for communication with club members during organized outings. If I go to a TLCA event like Cruise Moab then it would also be used there. The times that we use the CB we are generally out in the boonies and it is very unlikely that we would disturb others using the CB frequencies. We also select a frequency (not 19) to use on the road as we are going to and from the trailhead. When we are in our group we tend to chatter in a very informal manner. We also use the CB for giving drivers spotting directions or any general communication between two or more people in different vehicles.

My quetions:
* Is this acceptable "use" on any of the ham bands? If not, this would severely limit the utility and it would be unlikely that our club would embrace 2m for our purposes.
* Is your Yaesu radio capable of transmit & receive on the CB bands. If yes, is it legal? If TX on CB is not technically legal, is it OK (meaning nobody cares) as long as it is done in a remote area as described above?

The reason for these questions is that it is unlikely we could get 20+ members to convert to 2m at once (maybe never) but there are a few in my group that would like to have better communications capability when we venture into some of the very remote areas in NM (me for one!)

I'm curious on how the DV group does with their mixed CB and 2m experiment. I will follow up with those guys when they get back.

Thanks!
-B-
 
B -

>> * Is this acceptable "use" on any of the ham bands?

Yes. Very common on 2m. Much less so on the lower bands, though not for reasons of protocol so much as practicality. VHF is just better for this type of communication.

>> * Is your Yaesu radio capable of transmit & receive on the CB bands. If yes, is it legal?

Any broadband radio - such as this one - can receive just fine on CB, and the memories can be set to mimic the 40 CB channels. Transmitting on CB by a ham is not illegal, but the fine point of the regulations say that a ham radio is not of a type acceptable for use on the Citizen's Band service.

The work around that I use is...

1. Get a multiband antenna capable of 10m, and retune it for 11m.
2. Get a cheap CB, throw it under the seat, and multiplex it to the above antenna (feed two radios into the same coax).

Now you just grab whichever mic is appropriate and start yakking. No switches, no hassle. Once everyone switches to 2m, ditch the CB ;)

In our test today, Andy was hitting a repeater 90mi from his driveway with a simple mag mount on the truck, and chatting with me all the way up here in the foothills. Yes, the simplex test in DV will be interesting to follow.

Cheers, R -
 
One more data point. Wife sent me to Costco an hour ago. On the way I stumbled on the repeater from Sutter Buttes labled "Yuba City" in the directory. I was able to hit that repeater on 5 watts and chatted with a guy in Oroville. From my house to Sutter Buttes is probably 40 miles, to Oroville, probably 100 miles. So on what is basically CB power (4 watts) a truck mounted Ham radio can go 40 miles easy on low(5 watts) and 90 miles easy on low2(10 watts).

Ron tells me my antenna is "cheap and quick", like....nevermind, but it's working great. With a better mount and better mobile antenna, things will be that much better. I'm going to do the better mount and antenna as soon as we get back from DV. In the meantime, I'll post up the real world experience on Simplex for a trail run.

BTW-there is a whole lot of just "chat" on Ham, that would make a lot of the CB yak on a trail run seem like important business. I don't think trail informal trail talk would step on anyone's toes, especially if you check first to make sure the frequency is not being used. Ron will correct me if I'm wrong. The chat is civil, with no profanity tolerated. You also have to remember to turn off the music when you transmit, since broadcasting music is illegal (with a weird exception).

Beowulf-there will be a whole group of us on 2m at Cruise Moab. If you read the book, you could get your license by then and do the real test in the real world. I'm definitely impressed so far. Just one thing-get Ron to make specific reccomendations about "your rig".
 
Cruiserdrew said:
Beowulf-there will be a whole group of us on 2m at Cruise Moab. If you read the book, you could get your license by then and do the real test in the real world. I'm definitely impressed so far. Just one thing-get Ron to make specific reccomendations about "your rig".
Click to expand...

Andy,
I spoke with Ron this evening and I am getting pumped up on getting a license and eventually getting my rig. I would really like to hear your real-world experience with truck-to-truck communications as you guys get spread out in DV. There have been several times when we had rigs get spread out on club runs and lost contact using CB.

-B-
 
can someone tell me the differences as well as the pros and cons of CB and Ham/Amateur radio. I am interested in getting one or the other and getting licesned,
how much would a portable or car HAM cost?
and,
although im sure it varies by state what is the cost of a license?
 
Last edited:
You can get started for about $200-$250 for radio and antenna, but it's one of those things where you could also easily spend $5000.

The license is federal and costs $14 for 10 years. There is no regulation by the state. This is an FCC function.

CB is not really regulated, but is much lower powered and generally lower quality as well. If you are buying something for trail communications, CB works pretty well. Ham is the next step.
 
kb1nej - with a yaesu mounted in the 94' and a quad-band antenna on the USDS hood lip. Cell phone reception in the hills around where I live is non-existant...
 
I'm a total noob when it comes to Ham, However, I did pass my test....:beer:


KI6AXF Yaesu YT-2500 2M


Scott Parker
Livermore Calif.
 
KG6NLC 2M handheld only at the moment.
 
Ron:

Thanks for doing this.

VE3HMC, Basic and Morse Code (VHF and HF)

I have a Kenwood TH F6A 2M triband that I tend to run to a dual band antenna mounted on one of my thule cross bars. I run the cable between the sliding windows (yes the coax is very thin).

I also now have a GPS, so I would love to do APRS at some point.

Truck is also wired with Anderson Power Poles. SIX 12V plug-ins mounted in ONE of the OEM swith locations.

I would love to add an ICOM HF as well. One day when I save my pennies! Ron, a good friend of mine also has your radio - very nice and great size. He has his connected to a motorized antenna on the rear of his truck.

I theoretically have a Morse HF radio - I just need to build it. Small Wonder Labs RockMite 40M kit - ultra low power QRP rig!

PS to 'B' and others, a number of our members have or are converting to amateur status which is really helpful. For us, it's just handy to have a few rigs that have the capability to do 'multi-mode' communication. Still lots of chatter on CB or FRS or GMRS, but a few rigs can punch-up the power to hit 2M repeater system, communicate among different parts of the group running different parts of the trails, etc. Nice that someone can access the phone system via 2M when we are out of the mobile phone coverage area.


Although, here is one funny story of the problem of too much of the theory and not enough of the practice. A friend with a newly acquired 2M mobile was on a mid-week trip with one of his friends (in one rig - an Iltis if you can believe it!). Drove in an access road and a few days later tried to leave. Unfortunately, a large 6' culvert had washed out leaving a hole that was ~8' deep + water depth and about 15 - 20' across. No cell coverage. The problem was he didn't know any of the repeater freq not the 2M calling freq, so the radio was of no use! He managed to hike out after a day and flag down a truck to ask them to call for help!

Cheers, Hugh
 
Summary (So far...)

Thanks once again to all who have posted to this thread. The recent popularity and move toward amateur radio is more significant than I thought. Here are a few observations...

The total number of TLC hams that I know of is somewhere between 40~50. There are still a good number who have not posted to this thread because they have not found it yet, or for whatever reason choose not to post.

Among the total TLC folks that I know of...

78% are currently on MUD (approx)
96% are located in North America (U.S. & Canada)
62% have entry level licenses
27% were licensed within the last year
? are actively preparing for the license exam ;)

My congrats to all of the new licensed guys (and gals!) . Let's hear from the rest of you !!

Cheers, R -
 
Ham and 4 x 4 groups

Everyone in our group uses ham radio. Some of us use CB to listen to and talk with visitors as a courtesy. We talk among ourselves on simplex the non repeater frequencies. There we talk as we please, while obeying the FCC rules. No profanity and stating our call sign every ten minutes. Very casual and always reliable. Most law enforcement have the ability to listen to the more popular repeaters.

The newer VHF/UHF radios can be programmed using a PC and they have the ability to listen to all broadcast radio, FRS, GMRS , CB and public service frequencies.

My Yaesu VX7 is the size of a pack of cigarrettes and has all the features listed above and more built into it.

All the talk of how far one can talk is mis-leading. 2 meter FM does not depend on band conditions to the extent CB does. A good antenna will allow superior performance on any band.

I have a tower up 30 feet with a Hustler G7 antenna fed with 1/2 hardline. This is as good a base unit as you can have. My effective radiated power is near 1000 watts without an amp. I am able to hear people 100's of miles away while they are using very low power. I can hit repeaters 100's of miles away. But I am also able to talk very effectivley using my hand held.

I have been a ham for 25 years and will answer any questions.

Great forum.

73's

Jim
N6KML

ParadiseCruiser said:
Thanks once again to all who have posted to this thread. The recent popularity and move toward amateur radio is more significant than I thought. Here are a few observations...

The total number of TLC hams that I know of is somewhere between 40~50. There are still a good number who have not posted to this thread because they have not found it yet, or for whatever reason choose not to post.

Among the total TLC folks that I know of...

78% are currently on MUD (approx)
96% are located in North America (U.S. & Canada)
62% have entry level licenses
27% were licensed within the last year
? are actively preparing for the license exam ;)

My congrats to all of the new licensed guys (and gals!) . Let's hear from the rest of you !!

Cheers, R -
Click to expand...
 
This is great! Thanks for doing this, Ron.

Bob
N5UOU
General Class
Kenwood 732 2m/440 in the 80 w/ Comet dual band antenna.
Kenwood dual band handheld
 
KC0NRJ
Technician
No Radio

(I got my license so I could communicate with a satellite I worked on in college)
 
Maybe I missed it but...

What are the steps to become licensed? Who do you contact (probably the FCC but could not easily find info on their site)?

I have wanted to get setup in the event of natural disaster, another large scale valcanic eruption, the 9.0 quake we are "due" etc and for remote cruising.

Thanks for the thread
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
HAM CB or GMRS
Replies
0
Views
290
family80
F
swhme
Help me pick out HAM gear?
Replies
10
Views
1K
1MOA
1MOA
ChaseTruck
HAM license renewal
Replies
1
Views
899
Kofoed
Kofoed
S
WHY YOUR RACE RADIO SUCKS – PART 1
Replies
0
Views
779
SteeevO
S

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom