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Why HAM or Getting started with HAM radio

17K views 52 replies 24 participants last post by  Outpost75 
#1 ·
I feel this is needed as there are the same posts being written time after time, and if this is up we have a reference to send the same new comm questions too. Guys if you have any constructve input, sections of the craft you have more knowlege in etc, jump in. Id really like to keep the BS out of this thread so its a good reference for new guys.

First, why HAM? Its just a bunch of old guys playing with radios, right?

WRONG. HAM is what ALL the emergency services in this country use as a backup during emergencies. Because the normal radio system most municipalities use is dependant on the grid to power the repeaters, they all go down at once when there is no grid power. So, the volunteer EMCOMM operators come in with thier equipment and before you know it, the fire and po po have comms again.

OK, I know the next question, what does that have to do with me?

Easy. If you were in the military and ever wanted to know the scoop about whats going on, there were 2 people you asked. The first was the CO's driver, who was hit and miss. The second and more reliable was the commo guy in the back of the CP, who knew more than god about everything. And in the civilian side that guy in the CP is a local ARES/RACES volunteer with his portable radios set up and operating. And if you are a local HAM with a call sign, you can switch on and dial in, to get real time information about everything going on in your area. First hand, right now, just by listening.

So what do I do? Is it hard? What about Morse code, Ive heard that is hard?

What you do? Another easy question to answer.

Buy these 3 books, and nothing else.
Ham Radio for Dummies
ARRL Tech Class Licence Manual
ARRL General Class Licence Manual

A lot from here on in this thread wont make much sense until you at least browse the books and learn what terms are and how they apply. So get the books, its a max $50 total for a pile of info YOU need. Google is great, but is too random for beginning information. It will confuse and frustrate you so take the advice if you are new and start here.

You will thank me.

Buy nothing else, you will have wasted your money. Get licenced, as you are going through the books you will learn a lot. And you will learn a lot about what you dont need or want but is good to know.

It isnt hard, Tech can be done in a day, and using the QRZ practice exams online, General isnt bad either. Its takes effort.

Morse?, no longer required for any licence in the US.
 
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#2 ·
What do I need to buy?

After you get your Tech licence, which is most basic, a good tri band or quad band HT is a start. I like Yeasu, the VX7 is my favorite. Get the extra battery pack so you can run AA batteries, a 12 volt power cord and mobile mag mount antena. A hand mic for this is handy as well. Get all from the same maker so it all fits. Make life easy for yourself.

General Class- you will need this licence to transmit with HF voice also called HF Phone. Get it, its not hard either.

http://w2ik.com/W2IK_ANTENNAS.html

Everything you need to know about antennas for survival use is right here. Its also fun to read. Keep this basic and easy, anything this guy builds is real world, Ive built them and they work. You can build all of these antennas, keep them hidden, and ready for thier call to arms when everything goes to crap. They arent really the best for long term use, they are meant to be deployable antennas, but will work for the long term if you build them solid.

A HUGE missconception is you need a 100 ft tower and a helicopter catcher antenna rig to make this all work. WRONG again. I use a roll of electric fence wire and talk to flagstaff az from my back yard, and Uraguay in south America. You have a chain link fence? With an antenna tuner, you now have an antenna. If its metal, chances are you can run a current through it and transmit. The roof gutters on my house are a great 20M band ant, and tune up nicely. Bet you already have gutters dont you? Like to tinker with things and do secret squirrel stuff? HAM is a great hobby for that. Disguise anttenas in flagpoles, trees, fences etc. Direction find your local PD and practice DF for real in the shtf scenario.

The best sources of info for our uses concerning HAM radio is the EMCOMM (Emergency Communications) web pages a buch of HAMs post. Use your head and think about what they are doing and how well its fits into what we want for comms plans. Since we will need information when emergencies arise, having the same capabilities to communicate and recieve in our own comms plan means we get all the raw intel, instead of what the powers that be want us to know.
 
#3 ·
Ham radio is a huge hobby, and there is so much to cover. But its not the end all.

Every comms plan should have layers. You need to be able to at least listen to all the most common radio freqs. These include the new semi truthfull frequency hopping radios everyone is so enamored with. Reality check here guys. They arent secure. Niether are FRS/GMRS/CB radios.

A good selection of gear for a total comms plan would include;
40 channel SSB CB radio

Digital trunking scanner- get the programming cables and freq guide for your area. The 900mhz band is where the freq hopping radios live. You can listen to them just fine if you lock your scanner to just the 900 band. The optimum would be 3 scanners, one on the 900 band, one on the local ES/Gov channels band and one running in an open scan mode.

A tri or Quad band HT with accesories for each team member- program these for local repeaters , might as well use them as long as they have power. Many have aux power capability i.e solar, battery, wind etc. They will work a long time.

A Marine band radio- these are popular for use other than intended, and good to monitor.

A Base radio, with multi band capabilities, including all HF bands and power supply, with back ups. Also an antena tuner, and diopoles cut for different bands.

Vehicle mounted radios compatable with base and HT will also be a good idea, but the HT will function as mobiles with the right power cords.

Antennas for everything. There are 2 kinds of radio owners. The first are the ones who buy amps and over power everything. They are easy to find too, btw:)

The second learn to build antennas. Concentrate on learning antenas and you will never have comm problems.

Being able to monitor what is happening around you is paramount to being prepared. If you dont know what is happening you might as well have blindfolds on, because an active listening station is just like having one of your own inside the bad guys camp.

A laptop or log book for whoever is monitoring the radios to note freqs, signal strength, names, places named etc. People will blab unthinkingly and you might as well suck it all in and use it against them if you need to. The radio operators logbook is a prime intell source for a group. Look at what some people post online to get an idea of the intell available to you.
 
#5 ·
Sorry buddy, not gonna cut it in this thread:) Get in here and help. I dont know it all, and Im sure you have something to add. You have a licence too

Pick a sub section and fire away. ALE/PACKET/ NVIS etc Get in here and help.
 
#22 ·
My hand held is in my EDC bag, it also fuctions as a scanner, it is programed with the emergency channels the local S&R teams use, police it and fire and police and news helicopters.

During the last blackout all the cell phones were down. some of my co-workers are hams to and also carry their handhelds. We were able to communicate and they were also able to call family and friends who are hams and get messages thru to people.


I now plan on getting a more powerful rig for my car and home.
 
#8 ·
Dagny, what I am suggesting is a layered comms plan. The HT first because it can be used with a Tech Licence. But the CB and scanners you should grab up as your finances allow.

I rarely use my HT, my base does everything my HT does, and has a better speaker so I can hear it. But, my first radio was an HT like I suggested.
 
#13 ·
THE most common thing on the boards is Why? Why do it legally? Who's gonna care?

This is not plug and play, it takes real world use to get good with it. Do you buy a gun, put a scope on it then hide it, expecting it to work and hit? No? Why not, its a gun right?

Same thing with radios. It takes practice and real world use to get proficient with it. Stay legal, and dont loose thousands of dollars in gear being dumb. You need the education the licence manuals give you anyway, just in what you learn is worth the time so stop fantasizing about SHTF scenarios and learn to use your equipment before your life depends on what it can do for you.

Lack of training and knowlege on the part of the Iraqi army is how we took Iraq with 2 divisions. Use it as a learning point for your own preps.
 
#16 ·
I laugh when I hear someone say, "Once SHTF happens, no one will tell me I cant use a ham radio."

LOL, All I can say is, you wont know HOW to use it anyway. LOL

Ham radio is not like a CB where you slap on an antenna, put it on a channel and start talking. I wish it were that easy.

And whats this about a bunch of old men!!!! ..........OK, im one of them. lol, But lots of my friends that are hams are in there 20's and 30's. Ham radio is making a big come back.
 
#17 ·
A lot of people argue on here about HAM radio and that it costs money to get your license and the gear. Then the other argument is that not everyone will have a license / gear. Everyone pushes for FRS/GMRS radios or even the MURS. Layered you can do all of this. For example my HAM HT has the MURS/CAP done so I can not only talk on HAM freqs. but also on the commercial freqs as well and that includes the MURS freqs. HAM radios are expensive.

As part of my gear I have HT's along with a mobile radio already programmed for the local repeaters around here. I have 2 Ringo Ranger antennas along with a homemade J-Pole and also another antenna that I made out of some old metal coat hangers (best antenna that is portable might I add).

HAM radio is great in the sense that it's based of experimentation. If you find parts you can make use of them somehow. With the wealth of knowledge out there not only on the net but just by talking to fellow HAM operators you would be surprised what you can do with so little. You don't have to buy the latest greatest toy to operate. You can build what you need.

The other thing about HAM is the HF freqs. The military still uses these for a reason. For example while stationed in Japan we setup an HF rig (military) and were talking to a group in North Carolina. HF has long distance comm which makes it nice. No phones or internet needed.. :)

Just my $0.02. I only have my Tech license and have been meaning to upgrade but just haven't done it yet. :( My goal is extra just to have it in case. :)

Dean
 
#19 · (Edited)
understanding NVIS is critical.....good thread

To our non-HAM friends...get your license because one of the most important aspects is understanding antennas...PLA said it all... you must TRAIN before you have to RELY on your commo...

I speak here of the NVIS system based on frequency selection , time of day, and antenna intallation ... this system is used on the 80/75 meter and 40 meter bands...this is REGIONAL communication.... reliable for at least 200 miles surrounding you.... that is what will be important ... you must have your general license and a HF rig, but this should be your ultimate goal - independent (no repeater towers) regional commo...in a crisis it is not important what your friend in Greece has to say, but what the guy 50 miles away is experiencing will be valuable to you... intercontinental commo is mainly a hobby, but regional will be life saving.. these two areas require different approaches...to do this you need to get your "General" license and PRACTISE....

P.S.... as said by PLA and Drago Sapian, I find it hilarious when people just think they can connect the power, slap on any antenna and push the mike... if that's what you are relying on, just buy a $10 AM pocket radio at Walmart... it will do you just as much good... maybe more
 
#23 ·
I guess the biggest reason I have radios and the knowlege to use them is this.....

I dont care who is a HAM, dont care what radio or othe gear somebody else has, unless its to better my knowlege about capabilities I need. Especially those I never knew I needed until recently like ALE.

What I care about is I can send messages, I can find my family, I can find my friends. I dont NEED TO RELY on anyone elses graces to to what I need to do to communicate. Thats what this all boils down to. Not relying on others to do what I should be able to do on my own.

If you are reading this, you are either a curious new person, or another HAM looking to see if Im screwing this up;) HAMS I welcome, but I welcome new people more if they see my point about being self reliant.
 
#24 ·
Great post, tx for clarify several thigs PLA.....I would alos ad to investigate your local AR club...I found one here in Charlotte and will be attending my first meeting this month.....I hear that the old guys, love to help the cherries... :D:

Since I am a former 72E as well, and current IT guy, i figure i should be able to get my Tech license too....Now, if i can just convince the wife i need another gadget.....

Can you delve into your "men in white vans" scenerio's...?

Once again, thank you, this is just what was needed.....:thumb:
 
#25 ·
In my area, there are a number of the white vans, they are actively pursuing transmissions of the nefarious kind. If you look where Im from Im sure a smart guy can figure what 1+1 adds up too. There are a pile of them running loose in the general populace across the country now, and they are doing a fantastic business in the last 2 years country wide. NVIS seems to give DF guys fits, a good thing to know of it becomes necessary later.

Im glad you have seen what this can do for you. You only have to take out what you feel you need, but its good to get an education about what there is out there you can strip intel from.

I would seriously advise going as far as the General license. A whole world of options opens with HF. And I know you only want local comms, research NVIS and see what you can do short to medium range with that. I doubt you will stop at Tech.

This can be a money pit. Biggest advice I can give as far as that goes. Spend your budget on radios( and tuners for HF) and build your own antennas. Will save you a pile of money and if it breaks or suddenly craps out , you built it, you can fix it. All about self reliance.
 
#27 ·
LMAO no but funny you should bring them up, all civilians in the crew Im talking about. Lots of help from the crew you mention, and the others flying predators too.

Very astute observation. NOW you understand why I say the things I do about being legal?

Something I forgot to mention, another thread was started about Japanese radios, and the likely shortage soon. NOW is the time to jump on them while the price is still reasonable. I know Im filling out my station.
 
#29 ·
Great thread. As a new HAM I'm soaking up all I can.

As for transmiting illegally, the government most likely wont hunt you down. Other HAMs will and turn you in, they will do it for the challenge and to protect the hobby. As more and more wireless forms on communication start up, radio bands are getting competative. Ham bands are always a sought after. Northern California recently lost 440 bands because Beale AFB didn't like how it interfered with their operation of the Preditor's

Yes, being a HAM is more then getting a rig, turning it on and yacking away. I know 2 Extra's who have never spoken on the air. They have an electronics background and too the practice tests
 
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