Cell Phone and Ham Radio - lowest $$

[offroad]

Okay folks lets put this in a dollar and cents discussion:<br /><br />1)&nbsp; A low cost cellphone can be only $30 but you need to find a cheap one that uses the VERIZON system, as that seems to have the most coverage.&nbsp; There are third party cellphone companies that share verizon.&nbsp; Have a friend who is paying less than $30 per month for their cellphone.&nbsp; Not sure if it is a smart phone droid, which would allow you to use the data connection as a wifi hotspot, via the phone.&nbsp; Still this is dirt cheap by hundreds of dollars than what others pay per month.<br /><br />2)&nbsp; Have just been looking at, and investigating ham radio again.&nbsp; Have been out of the hobby for a couple years.&nbsp; Now looking at something called QRP which is low power ham radio.&nbsp; Do not need lots of power to communicate almost anywhere.&nbsp; With ham radio you can only send and receive messages via email (there are gateways and a learning curve), and transmitters interfaced to a PC device.&nbsp; Am trying to find something called a low cost PSK31 transciever.&nbsp; Have seen a few for less than $100, but nothing available yet in my search.&nbsp; The power requirements are really low. <br /><br />3)&nbsp; Also you can use two meter repeaters, if you have a ham license.&nbsp; These radio towers all over the country are free to use, and usually open to use.&nbsp; And many of these towers have a local phone call telephone patch (aka auto patch).&nbsp; You can communicate with others in the local community, as long as you are not ordering or doing any business.&nbsp; Business is forbidden on amateur radio.&nbsp; Have seen two meter radios go from $100 to $200.&nbsp; But you only pay that once.&nbsp; Effectively a free cellphone that has coverage in many remote areas. <br /><br />Will report back some time on my progress with enhance communications tech.&nbsp; Or just read the other posts in this forum.&nbsp; many are doing great work with testing and reducing costs on the tech.<br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;

 

[magentawave]

Is it difficult to contact cellphones with a Ham radio?

 

[Pikachu711]

<p>magentawave, there are "repeaters" (amateur radio transmitters) that are "linked" to telephone lines. But these repeaters are&nbsp;not common. These are called "autopatch" functions on repeaters. The vast majority of amateur radio repeaters don't have this feature.<br /><br />I've been involved in amateur (ham) radio for around 15 years.</p>

 

[offroad]

good comment Pikachu!! &nbsp;Yes those repeaters are not common. &nbsp;There are also digital repeaters called DIGIPETERS that are just as uncommon, but allow you to communicate with a computer and a radio. &nbsp;<br /><br />All a local distance of 10 to 20 miles depending on radio power.<br /><br />Many repeaters are on a national link system, that allows them to talk to other areas of the country, if the link is activated. &nbsp;Thus allowing state to state to state communications.<br /><br />Finally if you get your license you can communicate with HF (aka High Frequency) which will get you 1000 of miles if the reception gods bless you that night. &nbsp;

 

[arizonatruck]

I am on a pretty steep learning curve at the moment getting my license. I have the electrical basics due to working as a diesel technician, but all the rules are getting in the way, getting better though.

I find using straight radios the better way, but limited by power, antenna and range, usually. Without a license is severely limited due to regulations. Basically murs is the least regulated, but distance is limited.

I would like to start some sort of mesh system. Although a license is usually required for it. I am doing some learning about that as well.

The baofeng radios seem to be a good inexpensive radio. They range between $30 and $35. I got the programming cable with a cd and the mic/speaker that you clip on your clothing in addition to the earbud that came with it. Thant ran about $50. I have an amazon account and I feature all that stuff. Maybe the site can do that as well.

 

[Unchained]

The cheapest Verizon cell phone can be had at WalMart for $15 and it comes with $10 in airtime & 2 months access. It's just a little flip phone with few bells and whistles, but it gets the job done if you are on a budget. Because I rarely use my cell for calls (I text much more often), I pay about $10 a month with the pay as you go plan that I'm on.