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J-LO! Sup buddy! You get a general license then? Was the test easy? Seems like it should be...
Sup my man, test was easy, got me wondering if its a yearly update or if it was a one time thing now LOL. ill have to go check
Cool, share some hardware knowledge so i csn get something that isnt trashI have a Tech+ license, well, it expired two years ago, but was into it for a number of years before cell phones became the trend (ha!).
Anyone with a radio or scanner capable of listening on those frequencies can hear you. All the bands are public and unencrypted.People still use HAM radios?
Let me guess, the Government cant listen to you transmitting?
No, it works when modern infrastructure goes down. Its the analog to the digital world.People still use HAM radios?
Let me guess, the Government cant listen to you transmitting?
Pretty much. Only limitation is power and distance. If land repeaters go down you'll be relying on line-of-sight communications, which is still going to be further than what you can use without a license.No, it works when modern infrastructure goes down. Its the analog to the digtial world.
Pretty much. Only limitation is power and distance. If land repeaters go down you'll be relying on line-of-sight communications, which is still going to be further than what you can use without a license.
You could buy yourself a cheap CB and big pair of walking shoes though. It's just a $250,000 fine if you get caught doing it. CB is limited to 5w, which might get you to the end of your block these days. IIRC 2m/440 your max PET is 1500w, and it's legal.
Good info. So Decent brand duplex 2m/440.Oh, for starting equipment, your most popular bands are going to be 2m and 440KHz (a.k.a 70cm). You can get handhelds, mobile rigs, and base stations that will do that for a relatively inexpensive starting cost. 2m (meter) will have much further range since it is a longer wavelength. I was also licensed for 6m and 10m (voice). Only reason I didn't use them was a tri-band units (2m, 6m, 440) was expensive, and didn't want to have to run both a dual band 2m/440 and a 6m rig, which took up space and added antennas.
Somewhere I have a few handhelds, four mobile units (two are 2m/440, two are 10m that also do 11m (CB Radio)), a few linears, and some antennas. The base station antennas are in storage at my mom's. At one point I could key up with 50w on 2m and key up the repeaters in Macomb (from Wheaton). That was a nice 13 element beam antenna.
Yaesu, Alinco, Kenwood, Icom.. all good brands. Check out AES, it's in Wisconsin and is a gold mine for HAM equipment. Okay, wait. AES went out of business in 2016, guess I've been out longer than I though. Their assets were bought by Ham Radio Outlet:
Ham Radio Outlet
World's Largest Supplier of Amateur Radio, Ham Radio, and Communication Equipment. Sales, Supplies, and Service.www.hamradio.com
My dad has a lot of similar equipment to mine. One of the nice features on the dual band models (2m/440) is that you can set them up for duplex communications. Meaning one person talks on 2m and listens on 440, the other person does the opposite, talks on 440, listens on 2m. So while you're talking, if the other person needs to interrupt, they can key up and you'll hear them. That's unlike CB radio or FRS/GMRS where they are simplex. You have to wait for them to un-key the mic before they hear you.
I have an Icom and Kenwood mobile unit (both are 2/440 duplex), a Kenwood and Alinco hand helds. The 10/11m are made by President (now Uniden). Also, some of the mobile units can be configured as a repeater, but will need to use more than one band. So you could leave your rig on in your car/truck, take a handheld with you and go hiking. Then if you don't have the range on the handheld, you trigger the mobile in the car and use it as a repeater. Technically you could then have the mobile unit key a tower repeater. Waiting for all the confirmation tones to come through is fun when you do that. I have a few times. Was hiking near Macomb and couldn't key the Macomb repeater with the handheld. So left my mobile rig set to receive on 440 from my handheld and transmit on 2m to catch the Macomb repeater. Then went out walking. Used my car as a mini-repeater since it could do 5w (low), 25w (med), or 50w (high), any of which would drive a 250w linear.
Something to keep in mind with HAM radio, when transmitting you ALWAYS use the least amount of power that you can. The intent is to communicate, not broadcast. So if you can talk on 5w, you talk on 5w, not 50w so everyone in NWI can hear you.
The good thing with the new license brackets is that for beginners, like the Tech license you don't need to learn Morse Code. Before you had Novice, Tech, Tech+, and Advanced. The lower the qualification the less bands you could transmit on. Advanced opened up everything, but required Morse, since on the VLF bands (40m, 80m, 160m) you can only use Morse, no voice. You can broadcast around the world on 160m using about 5w of power with a horizontal antenna.
Here is "the" reference site for HAM stuff, the ARRL
ARRL - Home
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.www.arrl.org
I have a handheld police scanner in my garage that has to be 20yrs old. Used to use it in my past life while doing dumb shit, so we knew when they were coming lol. Think its worth anything?
The higher the gain the better. Most handheld units come with a basic rubber antenna for durability. They're usually BNC connectors, so can easily be swapped.Good info. So Decent brand duplex 2m/440.
Now drop some antenna knowledge on me for what to look for.
I have a Tech+ license, well, it expired two years ago, but was into it for a number of years before cell phones became the trend (ha!).
I’m outside of grace, already checked.renew itnow, you have a grace period.
I honestly dont know and looking for clarification lolYou said short wave do you mean hf or incorrectly mean vhf/uhf? just wanted to be sure where we need to go with this.