Entry level ham and antenna

[TerryD]

Thanks, I think I want something a little better than what you describe. I have some $20 walkie-talkies that are good for a mile with no antenna. The radio shack units have a 3' collapsible antennas and you say they are only good if someone is within eye sight. Dosent make sense but I have no way to test them out here in the mountains, 60 miles from the interstate hwy.

Your walkie talkie has a wave length of roughly 13 inches. That's an antenna length of about 3 inches. This means an effective antenna is easy to create in the body of the radio and carry around.

The CB has a wave length of about 36 feet! So a 1/4 wave antenna is 9 feet long. Your 3 foot whip is 1/3 off the resonant antenna length you need for that band. When you couple that with how the CB band (11m) behaves in the ionosphere (passes through it 99% of the time) so all you get is a very small ground wave (which isn't really what it is at all but I lack the ability to describe it effectively) that limits its effectiveness over long distances.

That was the primary reason the gov't chose to give it to "citizens". Many people could be on the band and not cause undue interference.

 

[Charles M]

Thanks, I think I want something a little better than what you describe. I have some $20 walkie-talkies that are good for a mile with no antenna. The radio shack units have a 3' collapsible antennas and you say they are only good if someone is within eye sight. Dosent make sense but I have no way to test them out here in the mountains, 60 miles from the interstate hwy.

On the $20 radios you have is that a confirmed by you? Or the range the advertising said?

Take them out and test them with both radios inside a car and see how far they go in a strait line and how far they go when driving through the mountains.

Handheld radios do not do as well inside a vehicle so for car to car comunications a Ham mobile rig set up properly will do much better.

 

[madcratebuilder]

BaoFeng BF-F8HP (UV-5R 3rd Gen) 8-Watt Dual Band Two-Way Radio
Nagoya NA-771 15.6-Inch Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna

FRS GMRS Ham all in one. About 80 bucks if you buy the programing cable, good idea.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Your walkie talkie has a wave length of roughly 13 inches. That's an antenna length of about 3 inches. This means an effective antenna is easy to create in the body of the radio and carry around.

The CB has a wave length of about 36 feet! So a 1/4 wave antenna is 9 feet long. Your 3 foot whip is 1/3 off the resonant antenna length you need for that band. When you couple that with how the CB band (11m) behaves in the ionosphere (passes through it 99% of the time) so all you get is a very small ground wave (which isn't really what it is at all but I lack the ability to describe it effectively) that limits its effectiveness over long distances.

That was the primary reason the gov't chose to give it to "citizens". Many people could be on the band and not cause undue interference.

Terry, sounds like what I have is pretty useless. I checked out this on amazon. It said in a video that you can only use it if you are licensed.
What do you think, should I get a license and buy something like this or just stick with the simple no license stuff.
BaoFeng BF-F8HP (UV-5R 3rd Gen) 8-Watt Dual Band Two-Way Radio
Nagoya NA-771 15.6-Inch Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna[/QUOTE]

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

On the $20 radios you have is that a confirmed by you? Or the range the advertising said?

Take them out and test them with both radios inside a car and see how far they go in a strait line and how far they go when driving through the mountains.

Handheld radios do not do as well inside a vehicle so for car to car comunications a Ham mobile rig set up properly will do much better.

They are a pair of Ranger Plus w/ scan and monitor buttons I bought and never used during Y2K days. I did test them for a straight shot @ one mile and they worked. I never tried the curvy or hilly road situation, I was mainly concerned in having car to car communication at that time. I still want that of course and the scanning- monitor modes. Frankly I don't know what I need as I will mostly be alone and my concern is having something that I can communicate with in an emergency. Otherwise I think these small hand held will do the job if I'm traveling in caravan mode or for tech spotting. Be nice to have something with ear phones when spotting to eliminate most of the noise, and some type of holder so I can have hands free rig driving. I suppose I will have to wait and see how others do it when I go trail riding with others or at a meet up. There is no one here in my area that I can talk too, although there are a lot of ranchers who probably have something for their needs out here in the mountains Of NM.

 

[TerryD]

Terry, sounds like what I have is pretty useless. I checked out this on amazon. It said in a video that you can only use it if you are licensed.
What do you think, should I get a license and buy something like this or just stick with the simple no license stuff.
BaoFeng BF-F8HP (UV-5R 3rd Gen) 8-Watt Dual Band Two-Way Radio
Nagoya NA-771 15.6-Inch Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna

[/QUOTE]
Not useless, just not useful for what you're hoping to do with them.

As for that radio, depending on the frequency you are trying to use it on there are dozens of licensees needed and many frequencies a civilian can't get a license to use at all (NOAA WX frequencies).

It will work on the Ham bands. That's somewhere between $0-20 for the test and $25-40 for the license manual to help pass the test. There weren't many 2m repeaters close to you but 2m is a great band and you might wind up getting a lot of use from it. I can't say for sure because I don't know your area. But Ham has with it a group of people normally monitoring the bands and by and large willing to help. You might want to look into a Ham radio club in your area and attend a few meetings. I'm sure they can help determine how much coverage you have in your area.

That radio will do GMRS as well. While it doesn't fit the letter of the law for GMRS radios there are many folks that use them on there and as long as you have it set on Narrow and follow the intent of the law you'll probably be fine. That license is like $70 and good for 10 years now.

That radio is not simple to use. Firstly you have to do the research to know what frequency you are trying to use. It's not channelized like a FRS/GMRS/CB radio. They aren't easy to program without software and a special cable. But it's doable with a little patience and time.

I think you first need to decide who you're going to be trying to contact before buying gear.

But I do have a cousin of that radio. It's largely responsible for my interest in Ham radio today. It and a good local club who helped me learn and were there to talk to me on the radio and drive my interest.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Not useless, just not useful for what you're hoping to do with them.

As for that radio, depending on the frequency you are trying to use it on there are dozens of licensees needed and many frequencies a civilian can't get a license to use at all (NOAA WX frequencies).

It will work on the Ham bands. That's somewhere between $0-20 for the test and $25-40 for the license manual to help pass the test. There weren't many 2m repeaters close to you but 2m is a great band and you might wind up getting a lot of use from it. I can't say for sure because I don't know your area. But Ham has with it a group of people normally monitoring the bands and by and large willing to help. You might want to look into a Ham radio club in your area and attend a few meetings. I'm sure they can help determine how much coverage you have in your area.

That radio will do GMRS as well. While it doesn't fit the letter of the law for GMRS radios there are many folks that use them on there and as long as you have it set on Narrow and follow the intent of the law you'll probably be fine. That license is like $70 and good for 10 years now.

That radio is not simple to use. Firstly you have to do the research to know what frequency you are trying to use. It's not channelized like a FRS/GMRS/CB radio. They aren't easy to program without software and a special cable. But it's doable with a little patience and time.

I think you first need to decide who you're going to be trying to contact before buying gear.

But I do have a cousin of that radio. It's largely responsible for my interest in Ham radio today. It and a good local club who helped me learn and were there to talk to me on the radio and drive my interest.

[/QUOTE]
Sounds like good advise. As for that radio, it sounds like more radio than I need (3rd Gen) . What about the 2nd Gen, Only $23 bucks and less capable. I don't think I want to go the ham route because that to me is a completely separate hobby and just adds to more cost to OB'ing.

 

[TerryD]

Sounds like good advise. As for that radio, it sounds like more radio than I need (3rd Gen) . What about the 2nd Gen, Only $23 bucks and less capable. I don't think I want to go the ham route because that to me is a completely separate hobby and just adds to more cost to OB'ing.

The capability of either radio is the same. The power levels may be different and they will have some little nuance things but they will still operate on the same frequency ranges.

I understand not wanting to engage in another hobby.

For me, I got interested in Ham while doing CB installs for my off-roading buddies in college. I naturally want to do anything I try well. I'm not the dive in blindly type so I did a lot of research on doing the installs to get the most out of them. That led to a lot of references to Ham radio. When my Mom saw my antenna, she talked about the CB she had in her Regal in the 70's her Dad installed and then told me to go see my Great Uncle and see what he had to say. He laughed but gave me a SWR meter he and my Grandpa had bought together when they got into CB radio. He then told me to get my license and then I could do some real talking. It's still a little sad that I didn't get my license until after he was too sick for us to talk on the radio any. But that's another story.

Honestly, it's like any other hobby. You can be as interested and involved as you choose to be. I really enjoy checking into local nets and have made a good many friends in the hobby. There are folks who get their Tech license and don't do anything but talk on the radio to other locals on the repeaters. And that's fine! I found that I really enjoy contesting and that drove me to upgrade my license and start putting together my HF station. The club operates a few contests each year from our EOC and it's always a good time full of laughs, good food and a little radio play.

But GMRS is useful too, especially if you have a GMRS repeater close to you that you can get permission to use. In Ham, if you put up a repeater it's expected that it'll be open for any other licensed operator to use. In GMRS, they are more personal and you have to have direct permission from the owner to use it. But a GMRS machine with a little altitude can have a huge foot print. Again, it's not guaranteed you'll be able to use it from EVERYWHERE you might be. Terrain, altitude, even the leafs on the trees can affect those frequencies so you might be able to easily raise the repeater standing on your front porch in December, but not in July when the leafs are on.