Posted on 04/08/2024 7:08:51 PM PDT by kawhill
Before you can get on the air, you need to be licensed and know the rules to operate legally. US licenses are good for 10 years before renewal and anyone may hold one except a representative of a foreign government. In the US there are three license classes—Technician, General and Extra.
wonder if team obama’s licenses are current.
If you're trying to sell it, most forums related to Ham radio have an "equipment exchange" where you can check prices and list it for sale. Also, shops that sell radios, antennas and related accessories often will take used gear in and sell it on consignment. ICOM is quality equipment; somebody will want it. CL is being slowly killed off by stuff like Facebook Marketplace (there are amateur radio groups on FB as well).
It could be useful for more than just rag-chewing. EMCOMMS, for example.
I used HamTestOnline.com to study. It worked well for me. Passed the Tech and General in 2021 and the Extra exam in 2023. Have contacted 100 countries via phone with 100 watts and a wire antenna from Michigan. Great retirement hobby, but can be expensive if you want a “big” station.
KN4OLR......... I left my radios at home, went to college and never advanced beyond novice
Today, almost everybody has a transceiver at hand that is literally connected to the whole world.
bkmk
“GMRS is both fun and very useful.“
I might characterize GMRS as “fun and necessary”.
Because many of the GMRS license-holders have not studied FCC rules, nor standard ham radio “decorum”, I find GMRS to be less useful for activities such as EMCOMMS (Emergency Communications) where communication protocols exist to allow effective, timely, and focused communication.
GMRS is necessary, however, because it allows nearly everyone to have access to some type of radio communications regardless of whether the power grid or cell-service is available. You might have to put up with a lot of interrupting f-bombs and d**k-jokes, though, while trying to learn the safest route out of your city, lol.
I look at Amateur Radio as another ‘capability’ in emergencies. So look at it as what you want to get out of it to decide what a ‘starter’ kit or complete setup looks like.
If you want regional or nation wide or international comms, you need to be looking at HF. If you want local, you can do a lot with VHF/UHF. There are different bands within HF. Each band, HF, UHF, VHF pretty much needs its own antenna. Sometimes you can use one antenna to do more than one band if the harmonics match correctly. Like many other things, trying to find one radio to do everything will not yield as good a system as having multiple radios designed for specific bands/uses.
Recommend you do a lot of research on antennas before you commit to buying equipment. HF antenna can be low profile or very high profile (so much so that your neighbors may complain). You can do mobile HF, but I am only home based for HF. UHF/VHF lend themselves to mobile better, especially if you know the local repeaters.
It should be it’s still useful.
For Later
I look at GMRS as the first step. I have a Ham In A Day class next month. Technician at least but I’ll go for General the same day.
L
My dad was a ham, and as a child I remember spending time with him in his ham shack and getting to talk on the air.
I married a ham. Then my 10 year old son became a ham. (Still don’t know how he managed to pass the test!) So I figured I’d better join them and got my license. I then managed to get my father’s old call sign. Full circle.
Back in the early 70s I ran a 50KW CW AM/DSB/SC system spec’ at 12AX7 (one voice, one fax and two RTTY banks with 22 chs each) from Lajes Field to the Andrews AFB and Croughton UK, Our antenna farm was 640 acres and had every kind of HF antenna you could name. Ran from 5.65 up to 24412 MHz depending on the time of day.
Join a ham club, they love to help others in the hobby.
The BaoFeng UV-82 High Power kit is great handheld, on Amazon for $34.19. It has two 2800mAh Batteries, Hand Speaker Mic and Programming Cable, plus a longer whip antenna. A real deal!
I tested my UV-82 High Power watts with a digital SWR meter. using its longer antenna:
Watts on High = 5.90, Med = 5.03, Low = 2.61 at 145.000 MHz
Watts on High = 6.90, Med = 5.45, Low = 2.15 at 430.000 MHz
I added an inexpensive Mobile Antenna that sits on a cookie sheet (serves as an excellent ground plane). This setup serves as my base station.
SWR with Mobile Antenna: Watts High = 1.02, Med = 1.03, Low = 1.03 at 145.000 MHz
SWR with Mobile Antenna: Watts High = 1.10, Med = 1.80, Low = 1.76 at 430.000 MHz
If you have been wanting to get into Ham Radio - this is the kit to buy. (I am not compensated not have any connection to BaoFeng)
Ping
My husband and I take our tests in June!!
Best of luck, Lurker! You can do it!
I passed my Tech and General at the same sitting.
IIRC, I missed two on the Tech exam and one on the General.
Here’s a suggestion that I read and used: when you get your one sheet of paper before you start the exam, write the Ohm’s Law, PIE (power), and RMS formulas in a corner of the page. Also, don’t forget that C÷wavelength=freq, an C÷freq=wavelength. C=300,000km per second, the speed of light.
It kept me from panicking when those type of questions came up, lol!
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