How many on here have emergency communications equipment and are trained in the use of such equipment? any other FCC licensed Ham operators on here?

 

In a disaster comms are number one on my list, cell service is down and land lines can also go down.

 

 

Yo!

Yo!

 

W2MC, another ham that likes guns

 

 

how expensive is it to get a basic set up and is there training involved?

I am not that heavily into the ARES/RACES side of amateur radio, but my local club (South Jersey Radio Assn) operates Field Day every year as 6A from Savitch Field in Marlton NJ, and another club I participate with, the South Jersey Mountaintoppers, operates a Field Day style operation from a hilltop for the September VHF Contest.  I have also operated as W2MC/R, a 6-Band Rover, in several VHF contests.

I am not that heavily into the ARES/RACES side of amateur radio, but my local club (South Jersey Radio Assn) operates Field Day every year as 6A from Savitch Field in Marlton NJ, and another club I participate with, the South Jersey Mountaintoppers, operates a Field Day style operation from a hilltop for the September VHF Contest.  I have also operated as W2MC/R, a 6-Band Rover, in several VHF contests.

 

Nice

 

I'm active while in the US and during the winter 6Y5 from my apartment in Negril, Jamaica W.I.

Jamaica ODPEM (The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management), VHF Maritime operations and phone patch for ship to shore and anyone needing to make a call.

 

Never got involved with ARES/RACES but I've thought about it.

 

Running a MaxTrax VHF in the pickup with VHF ham freq. might here me when I'm driving up that way on the old VHF simplex calling freq.

how expensive is it to get a basic set up and is there training involved?

Check out:

 

http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio

 

for more info about Ham Radio.  I, along with several others here, can go on for hours discussing this topic.

 

In short:

 

- There are three "levels" of licensing - Technician, General, and Extra.  Each requires a test, which can be taken at various times and locations throughought NJ.  Morse code testing is no longer required.

 

- Ham operators, depending on their level of licensing, have access to various frequencies across the spectrum.  Technicians (first level of licensing) have full access to VHF/UHF frequencies, and a tiny bit of HF.  Generals have access to everything a Technician has, as well as a broad swath of the HF spectrum.  Extra's have full access to everything a ham op can do.

 

- VHF and UHF are generally "line of sight" limited.  Kinda like what the police and fire companies use.  HF is intercontinental/worldwide communications.  Generally stated, If I wanted to talk a few towns over, I would use VHF...If I wanted to talk to Colorado, or Germany, or something distant like that, I would use HF.   

 

- VERY generally stated, HF and Shortwave are the same thing.  The shortwave broadcast stations have their frequencies, Ham operators have their allowed frequencies within the "bands". 

 

- Equipment can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you want it to be.  There's a large market for new equipment, as well as a flouishing market for used.  You can buy a basic hand-held vhf/uhf radio (a good working chinese knock-off called a baofeng) for as little as $30, or you can spend tens of thousands...

 

The equivalent market to gun shows for radios are called "hamfests", but otherwise, it kinda like some other hobbies discussed here... 

 

 

And yes, W2MC is my callsign.

•  

Nice

 

I'm active as N2AAU while in the US and during the winter N2AAU/6Y5 from my apartment in Negril, Jamaica W.I.

Jamaica ODPEM (The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management), VHF Maritime operations and phone patch for ship to shore and anyone needing to make a call.

 

Never got involved with ARES/RACES but I've thought about it.

 

Running a MaxTrax VHF in the pickup with VHF ham freq. might here me when I'm driving up that way on the old VHF simplex calling freq.

Always possible...I am usually on the K2AA repeater in Medford (145.290, -, pl 91.5) during drive-times.

how expensive is it to get a basic set up and is there training involved?

 

Three license types exist:

 

Tech

General

Advanced/Extra

 

I hold a General as I have no desire to work the extra parts of the HF bands Advanced/Extra offers due to antenna restrictions and city codes.

 

Training is a test administered by volunteers (written test) and the Tech (entry level) is pretty easy to pass, basic knowledge of electronics, FCC regs, etc. will help when taking the Tech test.

 

You can can a basic HF setup going for around $500, get a used HF rig + PS (DC Power Supply), a di-pole antenna and some coax cable.

 

The station in Jamaica has about $6,000 invested into it, the station here in the states around $2,000

 

You do not need to go out and buy a bunch of gear when you are first starting out, start small and work your way up with small additions of equipment over time like many of us have.

 

Check out:

 

http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio

 

for more info about Ham Radio.  I, along with several others here, can go on for hours discussing this topic.

 

In short:

 

- There are three "levels" of licensing - Technician, General, and Extra.  Each requires a test, which can be taken at various times and locations throughought NJ.  Morse code testing is no longer required.

 

- Ham operators, depending on their level of licensing, have access to various frequencies across the spectrum.  Technicians (first level of licensing) have full access to VHF/UHF frequencies, and a tiny bit of HF.  Generals have access to everything a Technician has, as well as a broad swath of the HF spectrum.  Extra's have full access to everything a ham op can do.

 

- VHF and UHF are generally "line of sight" limited.  Kinda like what the police and fire companies use.  HF is intercontinental/worldwide communications.  Generally stated, If I wanted to talk a few towns over, I would use VHF...If I wanted to talk to Colorado, or Germany, or something distant like that, I would use HF.   

 

- VERY generally stated, HF and Shortwave are the same thing.  The shortwave broadcast stations have their frequencies, Ham operators have their allowed frequencies within the "bands". 

 

- Equipment can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you want it to be.  There's a large market for new equipment, as well as a flouishing market for used.  You can buy a basic hand-held vhf/uhf radio (a good working chinese knock-off called a baofeng) for as little as $30, or you can spend tens of thousands...

 

The equivalent market to gun shows for radios are called "hamfests", but otherwise, it kinda like some other hobbies discussed here... 

 

 

And yes, W2MC is my callsign.

•  

 

 

You gave a great answer, W2MC

 

and I'll add that repeater to my MaxTrac this week

If you have basic electric theory knowledge, you can drill the exams online.  Once you're pulling a regular 85-90% pass rate, THEN take the test.

If you have basic electric theory knowledge, you can drill the exams online.  Once you're pulling a regular 85-90% pass rate, THEN take the test.

 

The online practice tests are a must, I forget the name of the site but one kept track of your weak areas, etc. and would throw those questions up more often until you got them.

There are also iPhone and Android apps for taking practice exams that can also help you track your progress.  I liked them better then the websites as I could run through a few questions almost anywhere when I had a few minutes to spare.  

 

Remember, you don't need a license to purchase or listen but you absolutely must be licensed in order to transmit and must only transmit within the frequencies and modes your license allows.  

 

73

KD2FQD

There are also iPhone and Android apps for taking practice exams that can also help you track your progress.  I liked them better then the websites as I could run through a few questions almost anywhere when I had a few minutes to spare.  

 

Remember, you don't need a license to purchase or listen but you absolutely must be licensed in order to transmit and must only transmit within the frequencies and modes your license allows.  

 

73

KD2FQD

 

Solid advice

 

Also, if you transmit out of band or use modes your license class dosen't allow you might be lucky and get away with a letter from an OO (Official Observer) or face large fines and have your license revoked.

This is a must have if you plan on getting your ticket (ham license), if you are LEO or ex-Military you will know this but for those who don't here you go:

 

Another Ham checking in. 

 

Spent my afternoon working on a SteppIR 4 element antenna with the 40/30 add on, and 6m passive elements that I'm going to put up on my tower soon.  Installing a Yaesu G1000 rotor, and a Yaesu GS-065 thrust bearing. 

I painted all of the fiberglass radials a sky blue to try to camoflauge it a bit as it is massive. 

4 element steppir?  VERY nice!

This is a must have if you plan on getting your ticket (ham license), if you are LEO or ex-Military you will know this but for those who don't here you go:

 

Learned that in flight school. It's funny how people molest it d as in dog n as in nick etc

Got my tech license in May, mostly to feel more comfortable using my walkie-talkies in the woods and when we drive somewhere with my friends in multiple cars together.

I found tech exam to be extremely easy - I seriously spent only 2 evenings going through all questions and passed the exam with 35/35 answers right. Exam coordinators suggested me to try General exam right away, but I failed this one with only ~20 answers right...

 

I used some nice materials in a form of PPT presentations (they are on my other laptop, I can look them up if it is of someone's interest) with a dark blue background. It had all questions from the pool with brief explanations of the most difficult topics + some Word doc summary of ~10 pages with main statements.

 

My real issue is that despite having a piece of paper I have no practical HAM skills at all, LOL )

4 element steppir?  VERY nice!

 

Bought it off a local guy who is moving and can't put an antenna up there.  Or at least an antenna of that size.  He's only had it for a couple of years, and considering that he paid over $4100 for the whole setup(plus shipping costs), I made out like a bandit. 

Can't wait to get it on the air. 

Now I just need an amp to heat things up a bit

Learned that in flight school. It's funny how people molest it d as in dog n as in nick etc

 

There are other "parallel" phonetic alphabets.   For example, the Los Angeles Police use the following    Wiki - LAPD Phonetic Alphabet...

 

If you were a Jack Webb fan, you'd recall it  (i.e. "1-Adam-12.... 1-Adam-12... a 211 in progress... "etc.)  (Or Calif. lic. plate "NOI-443" = "Nora Ocean Ida - 443")...

 

BTW, minor nitpick..... "A=Alphfa"  (although I recognize ATIS uses the "ph")   

W2MC

 

i moved to marlton from north jersey how is the south jersey radio assn i  have sen the website and see they have a 2m repeater i only brought my mobile with me as it was in my car and looking for a club to join and a 2 m repeater down here my call sign is KC2HWF

W2MC

 

i moved to marlton from north jersey how is the south jersey radio assn i  have sen the website and see they have a 2m repeater i only brought my mobile with me as it was in my car and looking for a club to join and a 2 m repeater down here my call sign is KC2HWF

Hello!

 

The South Jersey Radio Assn (SJRA) meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month (this month, on August 27th) except for November and December, when we meet on the third Wednesday (to avoid the Thanksgiving & Christmas Holidays).  We meet in Marlton, at the "Gibson House", a community-center located at 535 East Main Street in Marlton (essentially behind the Indian Springs golf driving range) starting at 7:30 pm.  See  http://sjra.org/basic-page/gibson-house-photo-and-map  for additional directions and info.  

 

SJRA is a general-interest amateur radio club. We have members from many professions and with many different interests in amateur radio, including DXing, Contesting, Home-brewing, Special Events, Rag Chewing, Packet, Satellites, ATV, Public Service, etc. You name it, and at least one SJRA member does it...our biggest yearly "event" is Field Day in June, but there are other smaller events throughout the year.  For example...right now we're looking at expanding the Club's participation in the NJ QSO Party in October; with a large club station set up in a NJ county with low participation.  We'll be setting-up a complete station at a site TBD, and will be looking for set up/take-down help and operators during the event.  We also sponsor amateur radio license tests every month on the second Wednesday in West Berlin NJ.

 

Any additional questions...ask away!  I am a past president and current Vice President of the club

Forgot the Code 3! LOL...

How about Able Baker Charlie...

Ugh...

 

There are other "parallel" phonetic alphabets.   For example, the Los Angeles Police use the following    Wiki - LAPD Phonetic Alphabet...

 

If you were a Jack Webb fan, you'd recall it  (i.e. "1-Adam-12.... 1-Adam-12... a 211 in progress... "etc.)  (Or Calif. lic. plate "NOI-443" = "Nora Ocean Ida - 443")...

 

BTW, minor nitpick..... "A=Alphfa"  (although I recognize ATIS uses the "ph")   

most of you are talking ham. what about lower power person to person comms in an emergency, such as these family service radios? i've read of some having a 30 mile range? any input?

Line of sight coms only with those. There are no repeaters for those to my knowledge. Regardless of their specs, they are affected like anything else. Buildings, trees, mountains, etc. good to have a set around but depending where you use them will depend on range. They have low to high end ones even with gps..

most of you are talking ham. what about lower power person to person comms in an emergency, such as these family service radios? i've read of some having a 30 mile range? any input?

If person A is at the top of a mountain and person B is at the top of another mountain and said mountains are high enough that a line could be drawn between the two without encountering any obstacles (other mountains, trees, the curvature of the earth) then it might just make it 30 miles.  Realistically you might be lucky to get a mile or two out of them in the real world.  Even hand held amateur radios running in simplex mode (radio to radio) can't go but a few miles because of line of sight obstacles.  This is why repeaters are used to increase the range when using VHF / UHF radios.  

most of you are talking ham. what about lower power person to person comms in an emergency, such as these family service radios? i've read of some having a 30 mile range? any input?

 

You will not get 30 miles out of it but look into MURS (Multi-Use Radio Service), no license required and the following freq. can be used:

 

1 151.820 MHz 11.25 kHz N/A 2 151.880 MHz 11.25 kHz N/A 3 151.940 MHz 11.25 kHz N/A 4 154.570 MHz 20.00 kHz Blue Dot 5 154.600 MHz 20.00 kHz

Green Dot

 

VHF line of sight, you can use external antennas. These are the FCC restrictions on MURS:

 

• Transmitter power output is limited to 2 watts.
• The highest point of any MURS antenna must not be more than 18.3 meters (60 feet) above the ground or 6.10 meters (20.0 feet) above the highest point of the structure to which it is mounted, whichever is higher.
• Transmitting on MURS frequencies is not allowed while aboard aircraft in flight.
• When transmitting in Puerto Rico, Desecheo, Mona, Vieques, and Culebra, care must be taken to not interfere with the Arecibo Observatory
• Devices that use MURS must be specially labeled and certified.

most of you are talking ham. what about lower power person to person comms in an emergency, such as these family service radios? i've read of some having a 30 mile range? any input?

 

You could also pickup a GMRS license (no test, simply pay for it via the FCC website) and operate a GMRS repeater. You can build a GMRS repeater using two old UHF Motorola MaxTrac radios and use two antennas (one for RX, one for TX) or spend a couple hundred and get a duplexer.

 

With a GMRS repeater and a good antenna (and good height!) you could get around 10-15 miles of reliable communication, buildings/mountains/trees will all affect distance...

Line of sight coms only with those. There are no repeaters for those to my knowledge. Regardless of their specs, they are affected like anything else. Buildings, trees, mountains, etc. good to have a set around but depending where you use them will depend on range. They have low to high end ones even with gps..

I was able to use my motorola hand held radios on a cruise ship, I was on deck 4 and my son was on deck 7 on the other side of the ship with no problems.  Maybe all the steel acted like an antenna.