HAM Radio

[pbwalker]

On an impulse, and based on the reviews, I picked up a little handheld HAM radio.

BaoFeng UV-5R 136-174/400-480 MHz Dual-Band DTMF CTCSS DCS FM Ham Two Way Radio

I'll be honest, I have no idea what I can do with this thing. I found NOAA (naturally, given my extreme weather nerd tendencies) but beyond that, I have no idea. I plan on taking the Technician License class / test when I get the time. But in the meantime...

What can I listen to? I will not be doing any transmitting. I thought VOA would be somewhere, but I can't find that. I would just like to listen to some stuff to get an idea for protocol, lingo, information, etc.

I had one comment from a friend that just said "Get on a good repeater and the skies the limit". I have no idea what that means. How do I "get on a repeater"?

So, what are the good "channels"? haha

[chasfm11]

PM Sent

[apostate]

Pig Pen this here's...

I mean, this looks like a good primer. http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/Courses/CStudio ... peater.ppt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

73

[JALLEN]

It's too bad you started with that radio. It is cheap, and very difficult to use. It's not a bad radio, just not user friendly, especially to a newb.

There are two bands of frequencies, 136-174 and 400-480 MHz. Both are essentially line of sight, so unless you get up high, or the transmitter is up high that you are listening to, the range is going to be relatively short. You should look up the repeater pairs in your area. Here is a list of Texas repeaters in the 144-148 Mhz band (called 2 meters) as well as the 450 Mhz band. Find one in your area, tune that frequency and see if you hear anything. You may not because you only hear what others are transmitting, and that is just conversation, and not all the time. Some are dormant for days.

The best thing is to befriend a ham who is into this stuff to show you the ropes, and there are a great many. You'll need to know this stuff anyway.

[jmra]

JALLEN, what radio would you recommend for a newb?

[77346]

On an impulse, and based on the reviews, I picked up a little handheld HAM radio.

BaoFeng UV-5R 136-174/400-480 MHz Dual-Band DTMF CTCSS DCS FM Ham Two Way Radio

I'll be honest, I have no idea what I can do with this thing.

...

So, what are the good "channels"? haha

I think would have been better to take the Technician class/exam first, then get the radio. What you have is a dual-band 2 Meter / 70 cm radio. I would encourage you look for a local ham club and meet some hams if you don't know many... with a 2M/70cm you're pretty much limited to line of sight communications, so if you don't know anybody nearby to communicate with, it's going to be really boring! Getting with the local ham club will get you access to repeater(s) and people to talk to.

Here's a site that may have some "channels" to listen to with police, EMS, and other agencies... pick your county for local frequencies.
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?ctid=2623

NOTE: Do not transmit on the ham bands without getting your license first! Also, the non-ham frequencies are probably tx-blocked, but do not ever transmit on a non-ham band!!!

jmra,
For a newbee, I recommend a base/mobile and a portable (handheld) dual-band 2m/70cm. I'm a Yaesu fan... my base, mobiles and portables stations are all Yaesu... never had a problem with them and they've been used and abused... I like the FT-7900R (mobile) and FT-60R (portable). Kenwood and Icom are also excellent brands and Alinco is good too and more affordable than the big 3 (Yaesu, Kenwood, Icom).

Not much point on getting an all band/hf bands rig until you upgrade to General or Extra... with that you can get into dxing (longer distances, across the country, continent or world depending on conditions, solar cycles, etc.)

[Charles L. Cotton]

That dual band HT is really handy when you have a dual band base rig (usually a mobile rig with a power supply) that is capable of cross band repeating. When you aren't using the base rig, you can set it up as a dual band repeater, then use your HT to communicate to your base rig that will have much greater range. You would be using your base rig as a repeater to give your HT much greater coverage and access to repeaters far out of your HT's range. I know, it's clear as mud now, but you'll soon see how it works.

Chas.

[CainA]

77346 is correct that that radio will transmit out of band, so watch your frequencies.

73

[magicglock]

Handhelds and the 2m or .70cm bands can be a lot of fun and get you world wide access. Nobody here has mentioned IRLP. A growing number of local repeaters are able to link your radio to repeaters all over the US and world. IRLP ....internet radio linking project. In fact, there is an app for your phone now that will allow you to talk on IRLP repeaters using VOiP. Basically turns your phone into a ham radio. The app is called echolink and you have to send a copy of your license before getting access.

[CodeJockey]

I have that radio. It's a great radio IF you buy the USB programming cable, and download the software to program it from your computer. That really is the only way this is a usable device in my opinion. Once you get it setup, it's easy-ish to use, but the programming without the cable is darned near impossible.

[Beiruty]

You all remind me of the days when we did not have mobile phones in the Lebanese war, from 1984-94. We used all kind of 2m/70cm. Icom/Kenoowd where top dog brands and Alinco was the new comer to field. In the war, who had a license to TX, NONE! and every other car had a protable car based transceiver and every other militia man had and an Icom HT in his hand. Now, they prefer encrypted and secure models.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Handhelds and the 2m or .70cm bands can be a lot of fun and get you world wide access. Nobody here has mentioned IRLP. A growing number of local repeaters are able to link your radio to repeaters all over the US and world. IRLP ....internet radio linking project. In fact, there is an app for your phone now that will allow you to talk on IRLP repeaters using VOiP. Basically turns your phone into a ham radio. The app is called echolink and you have to send a copy of your license before getting access.

At some point after the Texas legislative session, I'd like to look into setting up an IRLP for TexasCHLforum. For non-Hams, we can't get dedicated frequency pairs, but if one of the major players will give us a node, it will be pretty much what I'd like to see available.

Chas.

[77346]

yeah, I remember the days pre-cell phones and pre-Internet... having a 2m handheld and access to a repeater with 'autopatch' was the coolest thing. These days only a few people care or even know of amateur radio.

When Ike hit Houston in 2008, amateur radio proved its value by providing essential communications to PODs and local non-government agencies across Harris Co.When all else fails, amateur radio just works.

[Texas Dan Mosby]

What's next?

Why, antenna theory and wave propagation, that's what!

YAY!!!!

[Charles L. Cotton]

What's next?

Why, antenna theory and wave propagation, that's what!

YAY!!!!

A few months back I bought the ARRL Antenna Book with antenna modeling software. I was reading it one night and my wife (WD5GAV) said, "don't think you're getting me into that stuff again!" She got her Tech in about 1977 and we used 2-meter and autopatch primarily as a pre-cell phone method of communication. She upgraded to General after the code was dropped and she got a "grandfather upgrade."

Chas.
KD5GR