Posted on 01/09/2021 3:36:38 AM PST by john316
Looking for recommendations for means to listen to HAM radio. Just like on FR I just want to lurk. Also thought it may not be a bad idea to have small receiver setup as most internet com s will be comprised soon.
Sony makes a nice battery powered rig with built-in long wire. Sailors use this sort. Portable, reliable.
https://www.ebay.com/i/392906087434
Not saying this particular model. Look at “similar” offereings for an idea of type, price range.
I have a Yaesu FRG-7. Works great but is old school, not digital, barely portable but will run on battery power.
Starting to wish I had joined the HAM club at JSC back in the day when they started playing with packitized radio.
Do you know what an SDR aka Software Defined Radio is ??
In this case it’s basically a Ham Radio that can be access via the Internet.
I use this site.
The guy who runs the page maintains a listing of SDR receivers all over the world that you access and listen to nearly all commercial frequency bands.
Once you go on the page look for the link about the SDRs on a Map, drill down to the area you want to use and select an SDR to access and then control panel will allow you to switch been frequency bands...
It helps if you have basic ham radio knowledge but over time you can listen to all the commercial Ham Bands, Shortwave broadcasts, etc...
There is no charge to use the site...
Get on there and play around it’s a great way to learn about Ham Radio...
amazon.com/Eton-Executive-Aircraft-Shortwave-Leather/dp/B000NOSCN0
Something like this would work for you. There are a lot of cheaper radios, but you will need single side band capability to listen to the hams.
I think he is looking forward to when the internet does not work anymore. Also, if you go to one of these web based receivers and start listening to “questionable” content, they are going to know it was you unless you use a VPN or Tor. And even that might not help.
http://www.arrl.org/
Just wanting to know what it means when the chair is against the wall and what to do next
Just wanting to know what it means when the chair is against the wall and what to do next
My first one was a Hallicrafters SX-101. There were enough tubes in it to heat your house in the winter.
It means the Dice are on the table, The Dice are on the table....
Looks like I picked a bad day to watch “Seven Days in May”. Does FR have a plan for ECOMCON.
Today it is so easy. When I first got my ham license, it usually meant forming a sheet metal box, cutting tube socket holes on the top, and then spending hours soldering tuning hand wound coils. Today you click a button on a website for $59.95 and the next day walla... a unit shows up in box.
I assume you don’t want to blow a lot of money.
For AM radio, most all of “low-bands” ham radio — from 1.8 to 30 MHz — and all of shortwave radio, and Icom IC-718 is one good choice. Under $500 street price. Easy to use, good manual, excellent performance.
Don’t sell AM radio short as an intel source. At night, I get NYC, Chicago, Cincinatti, WASHDC, Detroit, and many others here in rural North Carolina. Not much by day, but when the sun goes down quite long ranges are reliable.
Many governments have dropped shortwave, but there’s plenty still on — and as the internet becomes more and more “reulated,” shortwave may enjoy a resurgence.
For VHF, a 2-meter walkie is indispensable. Baofeng makes a cheap one, the “UV-5” that gets a lot of what matters for dirt cheap. It’s decent, but not great. Local hams talking on 2-meter repeaters will give you an excellent idead of “what’s going on.”
Baofeng can be had on Amazon.
For the Icom or similar — ESPECIALLY if you get a used one — get it from a reputable dealer. DON’T buy one off eBay. The chance of getting screwed is too high.
There are lots of excellent radios around, but these are good get-started choices.
BY ALL MEANS buy the “Ham Radio For Dummies” book from Amazon written by Ward Silver. It’s a excellent briefing on the whole field. There are lots of crappy or high-falutin’, or over-hyper-tech books as well, but the god old black and yellow by Ward is the best for newbies.
Believe 5% of what they tell you. Do your own provenance and research.
73
IMO there no real reason for FR to have its own emergency comms in lab when others already exist
Here’s a link that explains emergency frequencies for all types of radios
https://offgridsurvival.com/shtf-emergency-communications/
Google ham radio emergency frequencies or something similar and a ton of information is available HTH
We have an Icom 746 Pro.
you might want to spend some time reading here: and look to the right margin a bit down for a list of ham bloggers. Wealth of info.As one blogger leads you to another and another. Eventually you’ll find one near you :)
https://www.kb6nu.com/ham-gear/
Arrl is a good website to explore, also. They have posted a list of used models to consider, keeping in mind your first rig probably won’t be your last, so don’t go hogwild spending (bottom of page 5 onto page 6). They even have a little comparison spreadsheet you can print out:
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/tis/info/pdf/9808057.pdf
There’s a ham operator with with a crap ton of Trump signs in his yard, that assists FEMA and DHS when needed.
Right next door to him is our lone Biden/Harris sign clan.
I keep hoping...
:D
A couple of things I forg0o.
1) Portables won’t do the job.
2) A good antenna is mandatory.
These can be VERY cheap and nearly invisible.
String a random ware to a tree fifty feet away
from the window, and you’ll get a ton of stuff.
3) Most hams drastically over-engineer, and blowhard
about it. Simple stuff works fine.
4) Steer clear of extremely complex radios. They’ll
drive you crazy, and are NOT for beginners.
5) Steer clear of very old radios. No vacuum tube
models.
6) Get a radio that will run off a 12-volts car battery.
The more fully “digital” ones suck MUCH more energy.
7) You don’t need a license to listen to Anything.
8) Many Cop-Shops are going crypto. You can’t receive
them. Many are still “open.” It’s a complex subject.
73
Look up www.rigpix.com
A wealth of short material on almost everything.
73
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