Ham Radio

[Elbear1]

Thats what happened with 12v fan. It wasnt a little interference, it wiped it out completely.

 

[Rainbird]

I set up my minimalist radio station outside the rig on a card table. A Baofeng, a uniden scanner, A CB and a 2m Yaesu with a J-pole up in the air keeps me in the loop at the Imperial LTVA, also I like SWL and just AM DX-ing at night. out in the desert. No reason to be INSIDE the rig unless it’s too windy, then i do some other hobby for awhile. All my radio stuff is small and fits into a carrying case under the bed.

 

[speedhighway46]

I have been a ham for 35 years; it is my primary hobby. As stated earlier, Amateur Radio frequency allocations include the entire scope of “radio” frequencies.

On high frequency (HF) there are numerous daily scheduled nets (groups) specifically intended for RVs and folks traveling on the road. I have an HF radio in my Motorhome and daily participate in nets where I am communicating with stations 200-300 miles away.

My suggestion to anyone interested in the hobby of Amateur Radio to check out the website of the national association for ham radio operators, the American Radio Relay League. They have a great website that explains anything you might want to know. ARRL.org.

 

[JasonMcD]

Hello, i've been considering getting a Tech/General HAM Radio license and rather than starting a new thread, i thought i would bump this one. Cell phone reception is never a given, but i'm seeing that max range for a handheld device is 13 miles, perhaps more under the right conditions. I was wondering if its worth it, and if anyone has had experiences when it has come in handy?

 

[tx2sturgis]

If your handheld is a typical 2 meter or 440 radio, and if you are in range of a repeater, you can talk for dozens or hundreds of miles, using that repeater. But that is not always a given...if there is no repeater that you can hit from deep in a forest canopy for instance...then you might be out of luck. 

But yes, ham radio typically has pretty good range, and if you are willing to study and upgrade your license then you can use the HF (high frequency)  bands and with the right equipment, you can talk all over the USA or all over the world. 

A reasonably intelligent and motivated individual can study online for a week or two, and when they can pass the online test at least 80%, they can walk into a testing facility or hamfest and be reasonably sure of passing the test (70% passing grade) 

It's a good, interesting, useful, and lifelong hobby. 

Good luck and keep us posted, or feel free to ask questions here.

 

[Fitter]

F.Y.I.
Anyone should be able to use hamstudy.org to help with getting their Ham radio licence. You can take practice test and get information about testing. Most people can pass using this free online study help, or you can get the phone app for about $4.00
Most testing is now online, and the fee to take your test is normally $10-$15 .
Presently the FCC does not charge for the actual license, but they are planning to begin charging $35.00 sometime in the near future.

Best of luck, but it's actually not too hard .

I'm in no way associated with this site, but I did use it to recently pass my Technician Class  https://hamstudy.org

Kn6xxx  

 

[Katt]

I've been a licensed ham since I was 13. Also spent most of my career as a broadcast engineer and somewhat less so, as air talent.

I currently have three HF rigs on board but I rarely use them for ham stuff any longer. Nothing above 30 mHz at this point. I also have a part 15 AM transmitter and antenna stowed in the belly of this beast. I'm seriously thinking about starting up a nomad-centric radio station, which would broadcast on AM, possibly HF in one of the ISM bands, and on the internet.

Here's my 22/44 meter dipole, which I can tune for 20/40 or pretty much any other band with a QRP "tuner can" tuner made from some small caps and hand-wound inductors placed in an Altoids tin. I have a full electronics shop on the bus so I can fix or build pretty much anything. Not sure if I want to keep doing so, or if all this stuff is going to become a burden after a while. My eyesight is going to crap so I can only work on small stuff for an hour or two before my sight gets too blurry to do much and I have to take a break.

 

[GntlStone]

Not sure if I want to keep doing so, or if all this stuff is going to become a burden after a while. My eyesight is going to crap so I can only work on small stuff for an hour or two before my sight gets too blurry to do much and I have to take a break.

I saw some designs a while ago for diy lte/4g boosters made out of coax cable and coat hangers or sheetmetal and a thrift store router. It would be cool if you could teach nomads how to do that kind of thing. As an alternative to $400+ WeBoost systems. Teach others how and let them do the fine work.

 

[Katt]

I would love to help people with tech, especially teaching. I'm all for this. I don't consider myself to be an expert in anything, but I have always done whatever I've needed to do to get by and I've almost always been broke, so I am at least well-versed in how to hack stuff on a budget, haha.

 

[tx2sturgis]

 a QRP "tuner can" tuner made from some small caps and hand-wound inductors placed in an Altoids tin.

Life is too short for QRP!

 

[Katt]

Well, I do have a 100 watt Yaesu and a 40 watt vintage transmitter that'll be coming out of storage, so...