Ham radio most reliable communication

[Poseidon]

I've been a ham more 40 Yrs If all other communication fails , the hams will still be reliable.
This type of communicating on the Internet is so unstable it gives a very false security!!
Having been through a few hurricanes I have first hand experience of false sense of communication . As a kid 13 yrs old I learned these easy skills that have been so valuable.
I believe this to be in the top 5 most important preps. If you get on FB. Check out
QRZ. Lots of preper types there.

I hope this in the right place guys.

 

[Brent S]

I've been a ham more 40 Yrs If all other communication fails , the hams will still be reliable.
This type of communicating on the Internet is so unstable it gives a very false security!!
Having been through a few hurricanes I have first hand experience of false sense of communication . As a kid 13 yrs old I learned these easy skills that have been so valuable.
I believe this to be in the top 5 most important preps. If you get on FB. Check out
QRZ. Lots of preper types there.

I hope this in the right place guys.

What is the difference between ham and cb radios, other than distance?

 

[Poseidon]

Well I started in a cb first. When the FCC only let ch have 6 channels then 23 then 40. Well you might be getting the idea. The reason for the expansion was the robust enthusiasts "putting it nicely". Anyway the limitations even when I was in jr High School were profound. Depending on the sunspot cycle 11 meters "cb" can be almost useless. Reality is reliable communication is considerably less because of over population , sunspot cycle , types of antenna sizes. But most ham rigs today will tune through the small section of frequencies given to Citizens Band .
The reason hams are called upon during national disaster is most reliable communication . Day or night we can hold schedules around the world just by moving up or down a few bands. The characteristics are profound from 27mhz to 40mhz and 80mhz even 160mhz. When I bet I bet the farm. I extend to win not hope for a sunny day.
It's not that hard to get a ham license , crap you don't even have to do Morris code now. How easy do you need it to be. Trust me I've spent my life in communication and even now I run a WISP I'm in my field here.

 

[Brent S]

Well I started in a cb first. When the FCC only let ch have 6 channels then 23 then 40. Well you might be getting the idea. The reason for the expansion was the robust enthusiasts "putting it nicely". Anyway the limitations even when I was in jr High School were profound. Depending on the sunspot cycle 11 meters "cb" can be almost useless. Reality is reliable communication is considerably less because of over population , sunspot cycle , types of antenna sizes. But most ham rigs today will tune through the small section of frequencies given to Citizens Band .
The reason hams are called upon during national disaster is most reliable communication . Day or night we can hold schedules around the world just by moving up or down a few bands. The characteristics are profound from 27mhz to 40mhz and 80mhz even 160mhz. When I bet I bet the farm. I extend to win not hope for a sunny day.
It's not that hard to get a ham license , crap you don't even have to do Morris code now. How easy do you need it to be. Trust me I've spent my life in communication and even now I run a WISP I'm in my field here.

Thanks for the reply. I'm pretty well rounded with prepping, but communications are my weak point. Sometime in the next year or so I'll address it as well. I'm guessing with a ham radio, the antennae is probably as important as the radio. Just curious, how much is a basic start up kit? I have no desire to become an expert in the field, but would like something that I can get news and info with.

 

[Gazrok]

What is the difference between ham and cb radios, other than distance?

Oooh, them's fightin' words to a ham operator, lol.

I'm adding it to my preps this year. A friend of mine has done it for years, and is helping me get started.

 

[Brent S]

Oooh, them's fightin' words to a ham operator, lol.

I'm adding it to my preps this year. A friend of mine has done it for years, and is helping me get started.

politically correct has never been my strong point!

 

[jimLE]

i dont think any of us here ever has been politically correct so far..

 

[Gazrok]

Just curious, how much is a basic start up kit?

You can get handhelds for less than $100. Beofeng (something like that) is pretty good from what I've heard from my bud and others. He brought his handheld one in the other day, and it was under $100 and he was happy with it. With repeaters, can get a pretty good range.

I personally plan to have a handheld in each vehicle, and a larger base unit (and large antenna) in the garage.

 

[Poseidon]

Thanks for the reply. I'm pretty well rounded with prepping, but communications are my weak point. Sometime in the next year or so I'll address it as well. I'm guessing with a ham radio, the antennae is probably as important as the radio. Just curious, how much is a basic start up kit? I have no desire to become an expert in the field, but would like something that I can get news and info with.

With a copper wire "you can unwind a common transformer " stretch it out on a fence or tree. This was the way I first made my antennas. The ranges are different as you move up and down the bands. For short ranges GMRS bands would prolly be of use. 2 miles + or - But to keep in the know I myself would want to know state wide or world wide. That's just me.

 

[Poseidon]

With a copper wire "you can unwind a common transformer " stretch it out on a fence or tree. This was the way I first made my antennas. The ranges are different as you move up and down the bands. For short ranges GMRS bands would prolly be of use. 2 miles + or - But to keep in the know I myself would want to know state wide or world wide. That's just me.

Look at a web site. TexasTowers.com. It's a great place to shop for these types of things. After you get licensed "not that hard" study a few weeks should do it . Rig and basics. $2000. You can shop it down some. But you would want 10,15,20,40,80 meters at a minimum But you can always just listen and learn lots on these bands. Start with a receiver to see if you feel like it's right for you

 

[Poseidon]

You can get handhelds for less than $100. Beofeng (something like that) is pretty good from what I've heard from my bud and others. He brought his handheld one in the other day, and it was under $100 and he was happy with it. With repeaters, can get a pretty good range.

I personally plan to have a handheld in each vehicle, and a larger base unit (and large antenna) in the garage.

With the talkies you could be left hanging. If you are relying on some "repeaters" Hope they are on solar and backed up. Been there done that. Alicia. Katrina. And a few others come to mind. Like I said before. It's much better to not need unreliable repeaters. Range from miles to 1000s of miles is easer at HF frequencies.

The only real use for talkies is give or take 2 miles My 2 cents. Lol. Don't get me wrong. I have 6 dual band talkies too

 

[Gazrok]

Yep, handheld was just to get feet wet.

 

[Graynomad]

I know sod all about comms as will become apparent over the next few paragraphs.

We use HF a lot here in Oz for outback travel, is that in the same area (frequency wise) as HAM ?

AFAIK you don't need a licence for HF, you do get a call sign though so I might be wrong about that.

So I guess my question is what's the relationship between HF and HAM?

 

[Captjim_NM]

Have been a ham for over 38 years. I repair radio gear and make wire antennas. Have worked over 41 years in the electronics industry. de KA5SIW

 

[user 7000]

I've been a ham more 40 Yrs If all other communication fails , the hams will still be reliable.
This type of communicating on the Internet is so unstable it gives a very false security!!
Having been through a few hurricanes I have first hand experience of false sense of communication . As a kid 13 yrs old I learned these easy skills that have been so valuable.
I believe this to be in the top 5 most important preps. If you get on FB. Check out
QRZ. Lots of preper types there.

I hope this in the right place guys.

I personally don't have a lot of faith in the hams we're turning out these days. Not quite the technical types the hobby needs, mostly preppers with Baofengs.

 

[user 7000]

I know sod all about comms as will become apparent over the next few paragraphs.

We use HF a lot here in Oz for outback travel, is that in the same area (frequency wise) as HAM ?

AFAIK you don't need a licence for HF, you do get a call sign though so I might be wrong about that.

So I guess my question is what's the relationship between HF and HAM?

The HF bands 1.8Mhz to 30Mhz is where US hams (NOT HAM) operate. Each country has their set of rules and allowable frequencies to use, these are agreed upon by the IARU. We have three classes of license here (you DO need a license here), and with each level you get more swaths of bandwidth to operate in. HF is the "worldwide" part of the radio spectrum allocated to ham radio use. Then we have VHF and UHF available for local communications. Lot's of people operating simplex these days, so repeaters being down won't be too much of an issue. I've been doing this coming up on 33 years. I prefer 75/40m HF operation and 2m SSB. Just got my GMRS license last month, so I've been playing around with that too.

 

[TexPrep]

I've been thinking about getting one myself.
While I would get licensed if the SHTF to hell with being licensed.
The feds would have bigger problems to deal with than some unlicensed ham users.

 

[Captjim_NM]

Interesting point, do you know how to tune an antenna? Do you know how to check SWR of an antenna system? Do you know what the proper opperational modes are for the frequency you are operating? With the license you learn how to set-up and operate your radio station. This is not CB radio where you buy everything and bingo it works. de KA5SIW

 

[TexPrep]

Interesting point, do you know how to tune an antenna? Do you know how to check SWR of an antenna system? Do you know what the proper opperational modes are for the frequency you are operating? With the license you learn how to set-up and operate your radio station. This is not CB radio where you buy everything and bingo it works. de KA5SIW

I'm sure there are plenty of books on the subject.

 

[MaterielGeneral]

Interesting point, do you know how to tune an antenna? Do you know how to check SWR of an antenna system? With the license you learn how to set-up and operate your radio station. This is not CB radio where you buy everything and bingo it works. de KA5SIW

CB radio's that I have owned were not bingo everything works. I do not have a ham because I will not pay the government for a license so that they can track me later.

 

[MaterielGeneral]

I'm sure there are plenty of books on the subject.

Just look on the net and you will get a handful pdf books.

 

[Captjim_NM]

Years ago the electricity went out in my small town. At 2:00AM cop stopped by my radio shop because I had lights on and I was talking on my amateur radio. I answered his questions, told him the areas of the county that was without power. When the electricity goes dark and the internet is down, I will tune up my amateur radio and find out what is happening. All my life I have seen there are two types of people, those that DO and those that TALK. Now, some of us are ready.

 

[user 7000]

Interesting point, do you know how to tune an antenna? Do you know how to check SWR of an antenna system? Do you know what the proper opperational modes are for the frequency you are operating? With the license you learn how to set-up and operate your radio station. This is not CB radio where you buy everything and bingo it works. de KA5SIW

Or even better, where NOT to talk. People get the impression of this Mad Max scenario, SHTF isn't going to be like that. Last thing I'd want is the government beating on my door because I was interfering with government comms with my bootleg rig. A whole lot of government agencies will be using large swaths of spectrum when it goes down. But I get it "government tracking"...

 

[Dave2001]

I'm sure there are plenty of books on the subject.

Join ARRL, best source for books around