ham or cb radio

NinerBikes wrote:
Passed my Amateur test today. 2-14-15 Simple used Yaesu FT-60R used with good Diamond brand antenna in the package. Waiting for my call numbers from FCC

Congrats. VE6ROK and VE6ANG

Passed my Amateur test today. 2-14-15 Simple used Yaesu FT-60R used with good Diamond brand antenna in the package. Waiting for my call numbers from FCC

Hiking Hunter,
Thank you for politely and courteously answering the fellow potentially interested in Amateur Radio. I was just about to respond when I saw your great response. I have been a Ham since 1964 and I have never and will never discourage anyone from pursuing the Amateur Radio hobby in any form or for any legal reason. I have been through the entire gauntlet of interests in Ham Radio over the years. Currently, I am a volunteer examiner for FCC Licensing as well as active on HF, VHF and UHF amateur bands, and emergency communications and MARS Military Affiliate Radio Service. Folks that bash HAM Radio are ill informed of the value of having alternative communications capabilities. There are even plenty of Cell Phone Apps pertaining to Amateur Radio. Possibly the best ones being Amateur Radio Repeater listings for any city or geographic area in the U.S. The many faucets of Amateur Radio are as narrow or as scientifically broad as the individuals interests. The Licensing requirements are simple now and Ham radio can be very fun and is a superior method for communications between RV'ers in caravan or across the country. I can go on and on about the hobby....I'll just say if you are interested Surf the Internet for a HAM Club in your area.
GARY
W7FSI

tbltony wrote:
getting ready to spend this year travailing in US. Is CB radio a worthwhile investment ,also what brand best ,user with easy hook up

Ask your self what the use is.
Is it for emergency communication? Sat phone or emergency personal locator beacon
is it to chit chat with others? CB or HAM
is it for easy communication between you and other in your convoy? GMRS 5 watt handheld, cheap and easy for everyone to use. don't worry about the license, no one does and soon the FCC will remove the BS just like they did for CB back in the day.

thank you all for the information.I have been a ham (KB6AWS )since my ocean sailing time.I think I will keep the ham rig in the RV.Tony Barra KB6AWS

















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aws

The only time I have found a CB useful is on logging roads during the summer months when there is a channel to monitor to know when a truck with a load is heading in your direction.

Truckers use them to keep tabs on law enforcement officers running speed traps as they are prohibited from using a radar detector.

Best to have Verizon cell service as they have the widest geographic coverage in the USA of any of the carriers.

All these posts on ham radio are accurate, depending on your point of view about the hobby. I have been licensed since I was a kid, boy scouts got me started. Active on/off, but for long periods... career and kids were more important. I enjoy HF, mostly dxing as I dont like to rag-chew. Most of my radio time is when I am off-road with jeep friends with ham radios. We usually have both ham and cb turned on, to hear comments from the group who have not invested in ham radio.

Yes, FRS would work. I have tried it, but I do not like handheld, walky-talky type radios when driving. Audio quality of FRS is excellent at close range, better than CB.

As for the license, my son passed his ham license at age 10. Anyone who makes the effort can pass.

The big difference between Ham radios, cb, and FRS is the cost of the radio.

I wish everyone in the jeep club would get rid of CB, as listening to the idiots on the cb channels is annoying when trying to pick out what is being said in the group.

NinerBikes wrote:
Can anyone make some suggestions for a newbie and where to go to learn more about HAM radio operations, hand held models, and licensing procedures? Always been mildly curious about it, but the emergency usage communications is what interests me perhaps the most, after becoming more familiar with it. without an EE, I can imagine there is a lot to learn... Key to me is to not become overwhelmed by the technology, while still learning.

DAS26miles just got his last year, he lives close to you and spent allot of time talking to me and a few others about the newer exams, etc. He's had allot of fun playing around in the valley. There are several classes in the area also.

As far as emergency comms, this is the way to go. There are several organizations in the area, specifically RACES that exist just for that purpose. There are a couple of very large linked UHF repeater systems that are normally closed, but open up for RACES drills and obviously local emergencies (of which we really only have one...). I own one of the primary repeaters up on Oat. behind you that is linked to this system, as well as a Packet repeater at the house that was the only comms out of Santa Clarita RACES at the Sheriffs station for almost a day after Northridge. Lots of fun, but can get really important in an instant.

We use the baofeng uv5r for car to car communication in the deserts while off roading or can use it as a marine radio when im on the water.Simple and easy to use.For other camping trips i stick to FRS radios ill let the kids take one and ill keep one near us so they can call if needed.Normally they dont bother but i can call them back if i had to.

Like said earlier they can be found on amazon for 25bucks and up.

My uncle who is a licensed ham picked one up recently and said they have alot of features on them compared to the older days of handhelds.

NinerBikes - Here is a link to the American Radio Relay League, the official national organization for amateur radio. You don't have to be a member to be a ham, but there is lots of good information at the site.

There is usually a ham club in most major cities. They can be helpful in showing you the ropes - and most provide classes on becoming a ham. Try Googling "ham radio" and the name of a town close by.

Want to include two hobbies - RVing and Ham radio? There are many forums for the two. Here are a couple:RVradionetwork and FMCA Radio Chapter

Here's some good info from the first one on becoming a ham: Becoming a Ham

Like I mentioned in previous posts, there are many different aspects of Ham Radio. You mentioned emergency communications - that is certainly one very important service of ham radio. If that interests you, you would love "field day" which is a practice exercise to hone the skills of communications in an emergency. It is usually held on a weekend and involves all types of communications. Hams from all over the country go "off the grid" and have a competition to handle traffic (messages). Hams also provide communication services to other organizations such a marathon races, cross country bike races, etc.

When it comes to real emergencies, sometimes ham radio is the only service available - not so much for tornadoes, floods and other localized disasters, but for more wide spread ones like hurricanes where cell phone towers and other repeaters are down. I've been into hurricane affected areas three times, providing communication for the Red Cross and to local towns on the Gulf Coast for several days after a hurricane. That is usually done through a request to a ham club or chapter.

Even if the emergency communications is just for you, check it out. Amateur radio is a fascinating hobby.