Oh...btw...one of the examiners DID look like this:
Posted on 02/04/2012 12:36:51 PM PST by DCBryan1
20 or so people in there, half of them under 30 going for their technician. I was one of 2 in there to upgrade to general, and one showed up for the highest class, amateur extra.
Anyways, I ask this kid (22-25yo) "Why are you getting into ham radio"? He matter-of-factly said, "For the upcoming zombie apocalypse". I laughed and half the room turned around, glad to proclaim the same, hell even bragging about it! A couple more admitted that they were embarrased to say that but essentially that is why they were there.
I found out with a little more prodding that some of them have family members either already taken the exam(s) or studying for it in solely in case the balloon goes up.
Anyways, your days of old guys in wearing dirty hats, thick glasses, and coveralls with pocket protectors and the newest Texas Instrument calculator or slide scale are LONG gone in ham radio. Lots of young, professional, worried, high and tight clean haircut young adults and family units getting into it as a last ditch effort to communicate with family. Hell...2 girls in there! Wife and daughter!
Anyways, just an acute observation for you guys, especially the Preppers.
Oh...btw...one of the examiners DID look like this:
Ping to the Prepper King!
after death Mormon converts ???
Welcome aboard.
Zombie Apocolypse
Entitlement Zombies will rise up when the money finally runs out. (or the currency value anyway)
LOL!
Prepper (((ping)))!
Which one of you are going to get your license?
I'm hanging on to my Advanced class, because it's grandfathered, and I never really wanted to work that tiny slice of bands reserved for extras.
I've spent many years enjoying the hobby. Remember to keep the code speed up. Sometimes, CW is the only thing that can get through.
/johnny
I’m not surprised at all. More and more people are having their eyes opened and once they get over their shock and disbelief the more intelligent AND willing are starting to do something to protect their loved ones and themselves.
For a few that I have talked to very recently the turning point was the Georgia Obama/NBC decision for others it was MFGlobal and how that has been handled.
I just hope that it’s not to late.
I have some nice Icom receivers(R7100, R1, R20) and have always wanted to get my Ham License...no need for morse code anymore, right?
2nd Kart ping and BTTT.
CORRECT!.....but CW (morse code) is a good skill to learn, kinda like primitive fire making....;)
Anyways, I got my General after 11 hours of study over 5-6 days from Ham Radio License Exam Online.
I scored 95 percent today when I upgraded from technician to general, so I actually OVERSTUDIED by 20 percent! With the ease and simplicity of the online study format, I'm going to go ahead and pay for the Amateur Extra and take that in a couple of weeks, even though, as of yesterday I had no desire.
Were you at FrostFest too? I went there to get back into the hobby. Felt lost with all the equipment.
http://www.dxwatch.com/qrz/lookup.php?c=W6OPO
Looks like you were definitely in the minority there........let me guess, they were all your grandkids.........LOL!
Congratulations but I am taking the advice of another FReeper to not be on any FCC license list if TSHTF (2M).
73’s I got my No Code Tech License in 8th Grade radio club... license was issued on 2/4/92, so today is 20 years.
I never have upgraded, just never found the time/desire to sit down and study it.
Congrats DCBryan1!
As for me, I am interested. This is really something I should do. There are resources in my area; it is a matter of making time to meet.
Prepper’s Ping
I’ve read about Homeland Security and the FBI monitoring the Internet for discussions of zombies, since you can discuss survivalism, military tactics and evasion tactics under that guise.
I can also see how ham radio gets a thumbs up post-Apocalypse (of any type).
* Not easily monitored by the government like your cell phone conversations via monitoring software or internet activities.
* Works even after an EMP attack if you put it in properly shielded storage.
* It’s an existing network of emergency communications volunteers today, so joining with hams gives you a communication and support network immediately.
* I know lots of hams who were preppers for nuclear war, so you can find modern day preppers of the older generation, just gaining new ones for new threats today.
ham radio makes sense as part of an infrastructure for survivalists after the fall, that is for sure.
I’m looking into it.
good idea
get one and keep it in a faraday cage or something and break it out after the fall, so the government doesn’t have you on a list.
They are having an exam session right here in my town next Saturday....my one Sat. day off, woohoo.
I am going! Thanks for the info!
Think you’ll need a license after the collapse?
I understand what you are saying about the Faraday cage. Right now my Wouxun is on the desk and connected to the tri-band antenna outside to listen to the repeaters. I’m not much of a talker anway; haven’t talked on the phone for ten years other than “Please pick up some milk. OK, I will”. This summer I will take the Wouxun HT on offroad motorbike trips in the remote mountains; would be willing to pay an FCC fine if I needed help badly enough!
No but you won't know how to use them if you wait until post shtf to learn how. Ham, though not overly difficult, isn't plug-n-play.
So I to want to get into HAM to be the RTO for our prepper group. There is lots of advice on the internet, little of which I trust. Since you seem to know what you are doing, perhaps you can provide a path for someone getting started? I only have a layman’s / home repair level of understanding of electricity.
Thanks
So, yeah, if you're gonna talk to your pals and the SHTF, you could get by without a license but until that point you'll probably want to talk to folks - which means a license. If you were using the ham bands without a license before the SHTF somebody would probably report you as an unlicensed station and with the FCC amateur auxillary, DX'ers, and the bored Intel ELINT weenies sitting on their Trojan Spirits believe it or not, the FCC does investigate that stuff and you might find yourself the recipient of fines and gear confiscation. I'd get the license if you are on the fence about it.
....but that's just my $0.02 ;)
FReegards!
Well, I don't think I need to fill out ATF Form 4s, and pay a $200.00 tax for an M16 rifle that cops and soldiers get for free, BUT I DO IT ANYWAYS even though it is unconstitutional.
I understand your reluctance, however ham radio enthusiasts generally won't play well with somebody they think is unlicensed. Should you be in a life threatening/shtf situation it's conceivable that folks won't respond or think they are getting "spoofed".
The benefits outweigh the detriments IMHO, and I'm a former MI soldier so I know that by being legally licensed, you'll pick up the lingo, have the equipment, know how it works, and know how to communicate and what to say, etc. Not only that, you'll have a network of "ham" friends ready to be your cavalry in a storm, etc.
So, yeah, if you're gonna talk to your pals and the SHTF, you could get by without a license but until that point you'll probably want to talk to folks - which means a license.
If you were using the ham bands without a license before the SHTF somebody would probably report you as an unlicensed station and with the FCC amateur auxillary, DX'ers, and the bored Intel ELINT weenies sitting on their Trojan Spirits believe it or not, the FCC does investigate that stuff and you might find yourself the recipient of fines and gear confiscation. I'd get the license if you are on the fence about it.
....but that's just my $0.02 ;)
FReegards!
Did I not just say:
1) I DON’T TALK ANYWAY
2) I WOULD BE WILLING TO PAY A FINE IF I USED THE HT IN EMERGENCY CIRCUMSTANCES
BTW, if a HAM (like the operator of a repeater or the clubs here that monitor them) refused to respond to a call for help, licensed or not, they could be sued bigtime.
As though I don’t know “how it works” after 40+ years of reading about this stuff and using it in DX mode with sophisticated antennas, etc.
Yes, I guess the FCC could confiscate my $108 Chinese handheld after I made an emergency call about a broken back. Big loss.
jeesh
LOL! I'm no ham expert! I have no background in electronics! I am a history major, not an electronics person! Thanks though, I'm fattered! I just studied for the exam, and am only 6 months into ham radio. Trust me, if I can get licensed, even a Demoncrat can!
Anyways, If I were to start at ZERO: I would start HERE and buy the tech and general at the same time, spend 10 days studying for it (studying = 1-2 hrs/day) and take the test(s). Buy an entry level 2m radio for a hundred bucks (less if used), and get on your local repeaters.
I joined Central Arkansas Radio Emergency Network and learn something new every single day. I'm embarrased to say, but I just learned last week what "picking someone up on SIMPLEX" means. Basically, you make contact walkie talkie to walkie talkie and not through a repeater!
Just pass the Tech License 14 Jan 2012 and will sit in April for the General exam. Just retired on 31 Jan so life is good. This is KK4GEJ out.
Congratulations!
their is a list of clubs on their site look and find one close start going to meetings lot of helpful people there
once you get your license check out any two meter nets good place to start talking
First of all, radio was all about wireless information transfer from its early days.
Secondly, using RTTY, PSK31, Olivia and other digital modes you can send information from one computer to another in large quantities, high reliability and with very little training.
Thirdly, when zombies start attacking you will not need to send megabytes of data around. You will need simple and reliable means of communication. Given that most ham radios are designed to work from a car battery (13.8V) (except HTs, which only charge from that power) you are all set.
Digital modes will be very handy in larger communities of survivors. Hams will set up a national communication network which will be doing largely news and announcements - something that you won't get from anywhere else. You can run Internet over packet radio as well, especially on V/UHF, but voice or RTTY transmissions are really all that is needed.
Getting a license today allows people to buy radios and to learn how to use them. It's not a rocket science, but training helps in operating them correctly when there is no time for experiments.
It is already legal to use any communication means at your disposal when human life is in danger. This means if you have a transmitter you can transmit at any frequency calling for help. Transmitting on the sheriff's repeater's input frequency makes a lot of sense because their network covers the whole county. Most commercial HTs are blocked from transmitting out of band (or else they can't be sold.)
-PJ
There’s an upcoming zombie apocalypse? I wasn’t told.
Thanks for the input.
None of the suspected zombies were told.
thanks for sharing! Dear hubby has been talking about taking the test, and coming up with excuses for not doing so. I just shoved this under his nose, and he laughed and said “OK OK! Find me a location and test date!” I think I’ll go and do it after he does (we’d do it together, but that would require a babysitter, and our usual go to sitter is unavailable for the foreseeable future).
Thanks again!
PS I am eternally grateful to ham radio folks, they helped to locate my father in law in the days after Katrina (he lives in the suburbs of New Orleans, and at that time, we were stationed in Germany).
Just looked...there is a test near us next weekend. He has no excuse! :)
KC9QZA
One downside is that your address is published to the world.
However, when the shtf I won’t be transmitting from there ;-)
I'll tell you point blank the entire reason I got my license is for the "upcoming zombie apocalypse" (code speak for: REVOLUTION.)
Someone's gotta tell the rest of the world that not everyone here loves "dear leader" and then the TRUTH that the lamestream media won't tell to the rest of the world. I have 113 confirmed countries, as far away as New Zealand, Australia, China and Sri Lanka. I've also worked almost all of Europe, including most of the former Soviet Union (with cards to prove it.)
On the other hand, it's very interesting to hear what's going on in the rest of the world UNFILTERED from the media.
My Station
Kenwood TS-2000 (Kenwood 940SAT backup rig)
Alpha 9500 Amplifier (Ameritron AL-80B backup)
Palstar AT2K Antenna Tuner (handles full legal limit)
Mosley 10/15/20 Tribander Directional Beam (Covers 12/17)on 48' Rohn HDBX Heavy Duty Tower
Alpha-Delta DX-LB Plus Dipole (Covers 6-160)
Cushcraft 13B2 2M Beam
Comet XA-300 2M/440 Vertical
A Ham IV Rotor with a properly installed thrust bearing turns the entire antenna system.
My tower's in 5.5 cubic yards of concrete, has survived 85+ MPH winds and is rated for 3x the windload I have installed on it now. It's also survived a nearby tornado (came within 1/2 mile of the house) and several ice storms.
Call me a kook if you want, but the minute that assh*le Obama got elected, I started studying and planning. I knew exactly why I did what I did. I'll tell you this too: Many of the OT's feel the exact same way. Many who "left" the hobby got back in when Obama got elected.
Good point and makes sense.
The Wouxun actually can be unlocked to transmit on the old PSB frequencies, which some of our Sheriff's Departments do still use, but I haven't done that (still contemplating that one). The same unlock procedure gives you the GMRS frequencies, which might be nice to have. I'll have to look and see if the band end points can be adjusted more precisely.
How'd you do?
more precisely = more selectively
I've been told by an OO that knowingly working someone without a license can be grounds for losing one's privlidges. (I assume that would be for repeated and known offenses, not just one.)
Yes it does. Additionally, if you have an Icom V8000 2M FM Rig, unsoldering ONE diode opens up full transmit capabilities 136 - 174, which includes GMRS.
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