Looking forward to hearing you on the bands!

 

W2MC

I have been a ham for about 10 years holding an Extra license and not once did I find it useful for anything but rag chewing. The last big storm I lived through in NJ destroyed our local repeater and all the others were kind of dead. Many chased me off the air because they were being run by Skywarn or ARES. None of my friends and family could be reached by ham radio and I could not get accurate weather information unless I used one of the NOAA frequencies. I ended up using the internet which was working just fine. I sent and received text to all family members and even called them on the phone.

 

Down here, a rural area of Florida, the few repeaters are dead on a good day and not one soul could be found during the last hurricane we had. I have one HF and 3 VHF/UHF radios plus two digital scanners and could not get any info or even talk to someone. All public service providers here use digital encrypted communications that cannot be intercepted by anyone outside of their agency. I have $800 worth of scanners that get receive one fire station in a different county than were I live and that it is.

 

My experience in an emergency is that most of us had no power and insufficient battery backups. My handy talkies all had spare batteries but our radio club had all sorts of emergency power to last almost two days but did not do anything to prevent their antenna from being blown away. You know that in NJ we can reach a lot of repeaters in NYC but most were dead. This was my first emergency as a ham and I was expecting all sorts of activity but I got silence with the exception of a few others trying to get information like I was. My internet was down so I had no means to communicate and my $20K of ham radio equipment was useless. Now I have Cable internet and AT&T cellular internet and so far one of the other has always worked and the internet was far more helpful than any radio I owned.

Good points, and I see nobody else took the bait so let me try.

 

There are numerous recent news accounts of individuals who have saved their lives by pulling out a gun. I haven't read anything in a long time, if ever, about amateur radio saving the day. Not in the U.S., at any rate.

 

To me amateur radio is a hobby. On that basis alone it's a wonderful thing. You get to build stuff, to B.S. on a shoestring with people all over the world without the need for corporate communications systems. From what I gather the community is extremely helpful and friendly. Knowledge required for proficiency, while not particularly useful, is good to know. And at some level which at this stage I cannot fathom electronic circuits are miraculous.

 

Do you plant a vegetable garden? Reload ammo? Make furniture? Play chess? Collect coins? 

 

I once calculated that the tomatoes from my garden cost me $14/lb. Lettuce maybe double that. I saw beautiful carrots at a farm stand the other day for $1.49/lb, and they didn't ask me to water, fertilize, or bust my back weeding. The tomatoes at roadside places cost 1/10th as much as mine and taste almost as good. 

 

I also play chess. INCREDIBLE waste of time and money if viewed through a jaundiced eye. 

 

Hobbies.

I let it go back in July, because, being a "first responder" (firefighter) I knew we had little need/use for ARES/RACES folks, and I had little direct background with them.  But, if you want me to respond, Newtonian, .....

 

 

The last big storm I lived through in NJ destroyed our local repeater and all the others were kind of dead

---A lot of them were.  Several stayed active, and did provide communications for the county systems that also were destroyed. 

 

 

Many chased me off the air because they were being run by Skywarn or ARES.

---Um...yeah...and what did you expect?  During the emergency is too late to learn how to operate during one.  And if you aren't participating in Skywarn or ARES, sit back and listen.  You might learn something.

 

 

 

None of my friends and family could be reached by ham radio and I could not get accurate weather information unless I used one of the NOAA frequencies. I ended up using the internet which was working just fine. I sent and received text to all family members and even called them on the phone.

---If they aren's ham ops, they shouldn't be on the air in the first place.  And if your internet and phone was working, you should be happy....

 

 

 

Down here, a rural area of Florida, the few repeaters are dead on a good day and not one soul could be found during the last hurricane we had. I have one HF and 3 VHF/UHF radios plus two digital scanners and could not get any info or even talk to someone. All public service providers here use digital encrypted communications that cannot be intercepted by anyone outside of their agency. I have $800 worth of scanners that get receive one fire station in a different county than were I live and that it is.

---Yup - they've learned...and many of em have significantly improved their communications and don't need us.  I would think that is a good thing; wouldn't you?

 

 

 

My experience in an emergency is that most of us had no power and insufficient battery backups. My handy talkies all had spare batteries but our radio club had all sorts of emergency power to last almost two days but did not do anything to prevent their antenna from being blown away.

---Who's fault is that?  My complaint with the local RACES/ARES is that if they lose their repeater, they lose 80-90% of their operators.  You usually need power during a "emergency", because you need to assume the repeater isnt going to be there - 50 watts of power minimum and a decent antenna is a whole lot better and more useful than HT's and batteries.  And think about this...Harbor Freight sells 900 watt 2-stroke generators for $80-90 on sale.  You could run your shack and a good bit of your house via one of those little guys.  

 

 

 

You know that in NJ we can reach a lot of repeaters in NYC but most were dead.

---A lot of the repeaters in NYC were on top of the WTC and went down with the buildings.  Sad.  My anger still burns....

 

 

 

This was my first emergency as a ham and I was expecting all sorts of activity but I got silence with the exception of a few others trying to get information like I was. My internet was down so I had no means to communicate and my $20K of ham radio equipment was useless.

---There was ham activity in NYC for close to a month in sept 2001, and several weeks during the flooding a few years later.  While I did not participate (I was an active vol firefighter, so my services were needed elsewhere) I know several hams that did participate.  Most of their work consisted of handling message traffic between shelters. But I do understand that there were some hams doing fire dispatch, because the county comms had been flooded. 

 

 

 

Now I have Cable internet and AT&T cellular internet and so far one of the other has always worked and the internet was far more helpful than any radio I owned.

---Again, you should feel happy that they do.

 

 

A lot of hams go into the ARES/RACES thinking that during an emergency, they will be running around with the cops or the firemen...from what I have seen, that is rarely the case.  They are usually used to run secondary comms between shelters, hospitals, etc. to let central services know they have xxx people and they need blankets, water, food, etc. Mundane, but its gotta be done.

 

 

But those are my thoughts...

 

W2MC

I let it go back in July, because, being a "first responder" (firefighter) I knew we had little need/use for ARES/RACES folks, and I had little direct background with them.  But, if you want me to respond, Newtonian, .....

 

Not sure why you address me while responding to Old Dog, but ok

 

I don't even have my ham license yet. I'm taking the test in one week. I'm going to stay silent on this issue. I don't have enough information to say whether amateurs and/or amateur radio are helpful or irrelevant during emergencies. Or whether true emergencies occur often enough for it to matter.

 

I don't want to get kicked out of the Sussex County Amateur Radio Club before I even join. 

Not sure why you address me while responding to Old Dog, but ok

 

I don't even have my ham license yet. I'm taking the test in one week. I'm going to stay silent on this issue. I don't have enough information to say whether amateurs and/or amateur radio are helpful or irrelevant during emergencies. Or whether true emergencies occur often enough for it to matter.

 

I don't want to get kicked out of the Sussex County Amateur Radio Club before I even join. 

 

I addressed you because you wrote:  "Good points, and I see nobody else took the bait so let me try."  I guess it was enough for me to take the bait, too.

 

With the proliferation of cell phones, the internet, and vastly improved emergency communications, the need for ham radio ops in public service communications has been greatly diminished.  But....there are many things you can do in ham radio--things like provide the communications for bike rides, marathons, dirt bike races, etc.  For example, down here in south jersey there is the MS ride to the shore (annual Philly-to-the-Shore bike ride/fundraiser for MS research).  All the comms between checkpoints, intersections, sag-wagons, etc are via ham radio.  There are similar runs, marathons, and dirt-bike races that operate similarly...ham radio is their primary form of communications.

I addressed you because you wrote:  "Good points, and I see nobody else took the bait so let me try."  I guess it was enough for me to take the bait, too.

 

With the proliferation of cell phones, the internet, and vastly improved emergency communications, the need for ham radio ops in public service communications has been greatly diminished.  But....there are many things you can do in ham radio--things like provide the communications for bike rides, marathons, dirt bike races, etc.  For example, down here in south jersey there is the MS ride to the shore (annual Philly-to-the-Shore bike ride/fundraiser for MS research).  All the comms between checkpoints, intersections, sag-wagons, etc are via ham radio.  There are similar runs, marathons, and dirt-bike races that operate similarly...ham radio is their primary form of communications.

Do local amateur clubs volunteer for this? Each check point must have a ham after all. But I could see that being fun. 

 

I don't wish to become an outcast among radio amateurs before I even join their ranks. But I don't see how these days those functions could not be carried out with cell phones or walkie talkies. More frequency choices perhaps?

Do local amateur clubs volunteer for this? Each check point must have a ham after all. But I could see that being fun.

 

Sometimes - other times the race directors solicit the volunteers.  As you take your test you will recall that you can not take money for communicating on ham radio so it's all VOLUNTEER.

I took and passed my Technician test last night at the Sussex Cty. Amateur Radio Club in Frankford. Finally, after mulling it over for 46 years, I am a ham.

 

My goal in taking this test was simply to do enough to pass and get on the air. I'm sorry I approached it that way. It's very easy, with the question pool, simply to memorize the answers. I'm afraid that without even realizing it that's what occurred in my case. That's how most of the practice materials (I used hamtestonline.com) are set up.

 

The end result is I know about the same as I did before regarding electronics, and a smattering of new antenna and regulatory materials. But I have no idea how to get on the air, what frequencies are available, on-air etiquette, etc. 

 

If I were designing the test there'd be at least 2500 questions in the pool and 50 questions on the test, consisting of:

 

10 circuit components (resistors, capacitors, etc.)

10 system components and subcomponents (receiver, antenna, amp, oscillator)

10 calculation (Ohm's, power, frequency)

10 FCC regulations for amateurs, including frequencies applicable to the license

10 Best on-air practices, including initiating and ending a call, announcing call signs, etc.

 

Is there any reason for questions on a Tech exam that involve putting up an antenna tower, communicating via Aurora Borealis, using a computer to generate CW? What is the independent significance of communicating with Armed Forces Stations or the International Space Station? 

 

I know what some of you might be thinking: "This is already a dying hobby. Why make it more difficult to get a license?"

 

I don't think my suggestions would make it more difficult except for the best practices part, which we have to learn anyway. Two other recent Technicians chimed in last night that they, also, had no idea how to get on the air despite recently passing the test.

 

One of the guys at the club suggested a study guide that it appears works similarly to HamTest, that is gives you the opportunity to memorize the answers without understanding anything. So for my General license I've already purchased a textbook-like study guide (from ARRL) that provides more theory and greater explanation of the formulas. 

 

P.S. I've been monitoring the local repeater at 147.300 MHz but for obvious reasons have not pressed the orange button yet. Hope to "see" you guys there at some point.

See? Now you are the other white meat! Now get over to the ARRL web site. There are a plethora of info and books as well as all kinds of guides there. Should be able to find a copy of bands available by class.

First, Congratulations on achieving Technician! It is an accomplishment; to have stuck to it long enough to answer the questions. Or to have learned the answer to the questions....which is kinda what they are doing with the tests.....there is a body of knowledge that you need to grasp, so you are not a danger to yourself or an irritant to others. By publishing all of the questions and answers, and testing you on a small subset of them, it gives a reasonable assurance that you understand there is such a thing as a band plan, shared frequencies, basic antenna knowledge, and recognition that some of this stuff, such as amplifiers and towers, can kill you.

 

Yes, many of the various modes you will never use.....but compare it to this hobby - do you know the difference between a shotgun, a rifle, and a pistol? Do you know there's a vast difference between a .22 LR, .223, and a .22-250? It's the same thing with ham radio, and you need to know there's a difference, even if you'll probably never fire a .22-250.

 

What you need now is to get out and USE it. Most clubs, as you mentioned, have a repeater. Most of them have a evening net; for example, ours is on the Medford repeater on 145.290 on Mondays. It's a directed net, everybody gets a chance, and you'll rapidly pick up how to operate.

 

It might seem a little daunting, but you'll figure it out.

Oh, and I have a stack of QST magazines (the ARRL publication) that I am about to toss out.

 

Want em? They would be good reading

 

Jon

W2MC

Oh, and I have a stack of QST magazines (the ARRL publication) that I am about to toss out.

 

Want em? They would be good reading

 

Jon

W2MC

If he doesn't want them I would like them.

 

Yes the test completely fails to prepare you to actually go on the air. I listened both before and after getting my ticket and I've found that to be a better teacher.

Oh, and I have a stack of QST magazines (the ARRL publication) that I am about to toss out.

 

Want em? They would be good reading

 

Jon

W2MC

I'd be happy to split them with Gan. Message me with your address. I'll compensate you for shipping and your trouble. 

It might seem a little daunting, but you'll figure it out.

I'm going to do a lot of listening, even after my name appears in the database, before I go live. Meanwhile I'm trying to learn CW and hope to play on the HF frequencies. 

A current example of what ham radio operators do....in this case the snow up in Buffalo. Right now they're (thankfully) not doing much, but they are ready if needed.

 

 

http://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-volunteers-on-alert-in-mammoth-new-york-snowfall-s-aftermath

 

 

One thing to know about the snow depths, and you'll see it alluded to in the article....how does the National Weather Service get their snowfall depth numbers? Via something called Skywarn. How are most of the numbers reported to Skywarn? Via amateur radio.....

Meanwhile I'm trying to learn CW

 

Yeah that's one of my hurdles...

I have a half dozen or so magazines....I am asking club members here for more.

If you are still trying to put the dots and dahs to letters and such, you can practice more than you know. If you are driving. Start converting license plates....

Also, try remember that most letters and numbers have opposites, etc... For example, "A" and "N".....

Yeah that's one of my hurdles...

Got my study guides and am gearing up to install a multiband dipole antenna.

I am working on getting a small pile of QSTs to send out. I should be picking them up on Sunday

I'm legal as of today: KD2HPQ

 

However, they mispelled my name. I registered at the FCC site and thought I changed it. Maybe, like unsubscribe, it takes "seven to fourteen business weeks."

 

I have yet to make my maiden voyage. If I get my courage up I'll try one of the SCARC repeaters later tonight. Because of my altitude I can also hit a repeater in the Hudson Valley which appears to be more active than ours.

Congratulations!

Pretty sure they personally review all changes. Congratz...

Congratulations!

I have a technical question that involves radio's and figured this would be the better topic to ask in, since it maybe useful for others and this is kinda becoming a compendium of advice on HAM's.

 

My dad wants a hand held for the fire department, and was looking at radio's. So I'm going to get him one for Christmas. The requirement was that it had to have the ability to go narrow band and operate on 500 mhz and higher (their frequency is 501.000 +/-). Being that this radio will be around fire, water, chemicals, and generally will be abused I'm going to get a Baofeng radio (cheap and replaceable but with a solid reputation behind it). 

 

http://smile.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-82C-Commercial-Model-Transceiver/dp/B00IJIHLNE/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1417558017&sr=1-9&keywords=baofeng

 

Would that work for the intended purpose? 

They don't provide handhelds?

They don't provide handhelds?

They do, but for what ever reason, he wants his own.

If the radio you are looking at is a ham radio that operates in his depts freq range, it's still a ham radio. Most ham radios can listen to those freqs but if they have allocated frequencies for their dept, it won't be available as most ham radios cannot transmit on govt bands.

If the radio you are looking at is a ham radio that operates in his depts freq range, it's still a ham radio. Most ham radios can listen to those freqs but if they have allocated frequencies for their dept, it won't be available as most ham radios cannot transmit on govt bands.

I'll have to get with someone that knows then and find how they operate. Don't want to waste money on something that won't be very useful.

Doesn't he know his depts radio freqs? If not, you can prob find them on the net. Make sure he has permission to have one outside the dept. If he just wants to listen, just get him a hand held scanner. No license required.