Some Practical Questions - Exploring Ham Radio

[W5LZ]

I honestly think it's a bit early to be thinking about a radio. Maybe a receiver to listen with, but even with that, they ain't cheap! If you contact that ham at church, you might ask if he has a 'loaner' to listen with.
There are as many different makes, models, 'styles' of radios as there are cars, so don't tie yourself down with something till you have some sort of idea what you would like to have. Another word if caution is about hand held radios. Sure, they are certainly portable, and handy to have at times, but they are also very limiting in abilities. For some of us, the tiny size is NOT the best idea in the world! Has to do with the size of fingers, eye sight, and my absolute "love" of those @#$ menu systems. I would NOT advise one as a 'first' radio. Later, sure. But not first. Before jumping in the 'deep end', why not see if you can float first, you know?
- 'Doc

 

[Moleculo]

I agree with 'Doc about buying something yet...see if you can get a loaner. Or if you must, buy something used really cheap that you can listen on and won't mind selling if you decide you don't like it after you become more familiar with gear. Do you live in a big city, or at least a well populated area? If so, there should be plenty to listen to on an inexpensive handheld.

I recommend the Gordon West books. They're easy to read & follow and will get you through the tests quickly. The ARRL books area great, but they are more like a manual than a study guide. As a student, would you rather read the Cliff's Notes to pass a test or the whole technical manual?

My firearm collection is becoming jealous. I can hear my guns crying out to me: "We're starving.... feed us ammunition.... fondle us...." It breaks my heart. It really does.

You could always find someone that is willing to do some horse-trading with you What all do you have? (warning, thread-hijack!)

 

[BubbaDX]

I recently passed the Technicians exam. I bought the ARRL license manual and it is a good book, but more suited for a classroom like environment. I also bought this book:

Amazon.com: Ham Radio for Dummies (9780764559877): H. Ward Silver: Books

This book was actually pretty good. Maybe not as thorough as the ARRL manual, but an easy read and covers everything you need for the test. I do not regret buying either book.

 

[Moleculo]

I recently passed the Technicians exam. I bought the ARRL license manual and it is a good book, but more suited for a classroom like environment. I also bought this book:

Amazon.com: Ham Radio for Dummies (9780764559877): H. Ward Silver: Books

This book was actually pretty good. Maybe not as thorough as the ARRL manual, but an easy read and covers everything you need for the test. I do not regret buying either book.

Does the Ham Radio for Dummies book cover all the license classes or ?? I haven't seen that book, but I don't doubt it's probably a good one.

Here are the Gordon West books, in case you want to take a look at these:

Amazon.com: Technician Class: 2006-10 FCC Element 2 Amateur Radio License Preparation (9780945053453): Gordon West: Books

Amazon.com: 2007-11 General Class Audio Theory Course (9780945053514): Gordon West; WB6NOA, Pete Trotter; KB9SMG: Books

Amazon.com: Extra Class 2008-12 Element 4 FCC License Preparation (9780945053552): Gordon West, WB6NOA, Pete Trotter, KB9SMG: Books

 

[BubbaDX]

As far as I know, the Dummies books only covers the Technicians exam. I wish they would make one for the General and Extra class as well. I am working through the ARRL General manual now.

 

[TheIrishJedi]

I agree with 'Doc about buying something yet...see if you can get a loaner. Or if you must, buy something used really cheap that you can listen on and won't mind selling if you decide you don't like it after you become more familiar with gear. Do you live in a big city, or at least a well populated area? If so, there should be plenty to listen to on an inexpensive handheld.

I had forgotten all about this, but years ago, for Christmas, my folks bought me a scanner so I could tune in to the local police band.

I just pulled my Uniden Bearcat BC60XLT-1 scanner out of a box in the closet. It says it has a 10 band coverage and the chart is as follows:

29.0 - 29.7 - 10 Meter Ham
29.7 - 50.0 - Low Band
50.0 - 54.0 - 6 Meter Ham
137 - 144 MHz - Military
133 - 148 - 2 Meter Ham
148 - 174 - High Band
406 - 420 - Fed Gov
420 - 450 - 70cm Ham
450 - 470 - UHF Band
470 - 512 - "T" Band

Now I can program this thing to scan 30 programmable channels. Is there a way to pick up local Hams on this thing? Can you help me do that so I can begin to participate?

I live in the 17th largest city in the nation. Louisville, KY.

You could always find someone that is willing to do some horse-trading with you What all do you have? (warning, thread-hijack!)

Oh an AR-15 here, a Steyr M40 there. Some other shotguns and some rifles laying about too. A couple C&R military guns. I once sold guns to buy other things and I have always regretted it and so, as a personal rule, I keep everything unless necessity demands it be sold. :wub:

I honestly think it's a bit early to be thinking about a radio. Maybe a receiver to listen with, but even with that, they ain't cheap! If you contact that ham at church, you might ask if he has a 'loaner' to listen with.

See above.

I sent away for a few catalogs so that I can lust over the models and also have something to do while on the throne.

http://www.gigaparts.com/store.php?action=profile&sku=ZYS-FT-270R

Seems like a good deal.

I will wait though. Want to get some basics out of the way. But I will probably get a radio before I get my license, which I am going to try to get as soon as I can.

There are as many different makes, models, 'styles' of radios as there are cars, so don't tie yourself down with something till you have some sort of idea what you would like to have. Another word if caution is about hand held radios. Sure, they are certainly portable, and handy to have at times, but they are also very limiting in abilities. For some of us, the tiny size is NOT the best idea in the world! Has to do with the size of fingers, eye sight, and my absolute "love" of those @#$ menu systems. I would NOT advise one as a 'first' radio. Later, sure. But not first. Before jumping in the 'deep end', why not see if you can float first, you know?

I would prefer a base station as opposed to a HT but the base stations seem a lot more expensive at the moment. Price may require I just work through the limitations and complexities of the HT.

 

[KD8LWX]

Here is a link to the repeaters.
K5EHX Amateur Radio Repeater Mapping


Radio Ref. is for helping you find all the other freq.s
RadioReference.com - Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

 

[kd-5-bgt]

As far as looking up ham radio frequencies to listen to try looking up amateur radio repeaters in your state,you will find there is several sites that have them listed...usually by frequency and city ,look for your city and start plugging them in


As far as what type of radio to get most all the major brands are very nice radios,depends on your personal favorite.They all are about as good as the other brand.My personal favorites are Yeasu,Icom,and Kenwood to name 3 ....Alinco is another brand that also has good rigs to choose from.Most 2 meter single band radios start at about 150$ new and go way up from there and can be found used for around 100 to 125$ depending on condition,make,model....and how much the owner likes the radio he is trying to sell.

I would advise to try to find one from a person in your area rather than getting one from ebay,I am a hands on person,I like to be able to look at the radio and play with it,put it on a power meter.....just check it out before putting out the money

I personally am using an Icom 2200H 2 meter radio ,this radio is really nice for a single band rig,has all the features that are needed ,a good memory,4 banks of 45 memory channels plus a priority channel four power settings 5 to 65 watts output,easy to program.Will recieve out of band,total coverage is 118 MHz to 174 MHz and transmit 144 to 148 MHz.I bought it used for 125$ almost 2 years ago and it has not let me down yet.I have it mounted in my pickup and hooked to a Larson 150 base loaded 5/8 wave 3.2 db gain antenna,and it gets out very well.I have no trouble getting into repeaters that are up to 50 to 60 miles away in some cases

 

[W5LZ]

So far, you've only touched on the 'new' market, haven't looked at the used market, don't forget to do that. Lots of bargains in that used market. Also lots of junk, like any used market, buyer beware.
- 'Doc

 

[Moleculo]

I would prefer a base station as opposed to a HT but the base stations seem a lot more expensive at the moment. Price may require I just work through the limitations and complexities of the HT.

You will want to look at the mobile radios then. Those can be used in the car or base. If you use it in the car, you just hook it up to a power supply for power. The thing you will want to look at in addition to the basic features is ease of use. Ease of use is something that is an individual choice and the only way you can figure out what you like is to try a few different radios.

Plug in some of the 2 meter (144-148mhz) repeaters into your scanner until you find the ones that are used more frequently. You'll find a bunch in your area but some will be seldom used. If you can just make your scanner scan from 144-148mhz continuously, you'll find the busy ones. The other way to find them is to google for Louisville Amateur Clubs websites. They always have their repeaters listed on the webpage.

 

[Carl]

KYHAM Links

about 3/4 the way down the page they have some clubs that should be close to you. im sure there will be a repeater or 12 you could hit with nothing more than a little handitalk.

as far as your questions, under 300 definatly look into the used market. you get a better radio for your money. with your basic tech licence you could do 2m (most popular) 6m hf, and 10m ssb under 200w (lots of ther frequencys to). i dont know what its like in your area but i have no interest in the 2m activity around here.

as far as getting laid? i get more from the old lady now that i dont have a giant corky looking antenna hanging off the back of the house. a simple inverted v dipole that cost me all of about $5 using some copper wire from walmart. you never see it unless your looking for it.

depneding on your state you might have additional benefits like a amature radio plate etc. in minnesota where i live im allowed to have a scanner in the car. ham's and emergency personel are the only ones allowed to have them so its pretty nice. thats the man reasin why i got my licence in the first place.

 

[TheIrishJedi]

Here is a link to the repeaters.
K5EHX Amateur Radio Repeater Mapping


Radio Ref. is for helping you find all the other freq.s
RadioReference.com - Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Awesome!

I am hearing some chatter off some repeaters.

Unfortunately my scanner will not let me scan broadly and I have to manually type in frequencies. When the site says 444.2000+/- does that mean "this frequency above/below?" if so, in what increments should I be programming?

I've got my first books on the way and I've contacted an old high school buddy in Iraq, whom I remembered, is an avid ham. He's helping me too!

The other site has UPS frequencies listed! I work at UPS and am trying to figure out how to plug those in. Unfortunately, I will probably not be able to as they are in the 935 range.

 

[Moleculo]

When the site says 444.2000+/- does that mean "this frequency above/below?"

A repeater uses two different frequencies. One frequency is the one that it transmits on, which is the same one you listen to. The other frequency is the input frequency or the one you are transmitting on and the repeater is listening to. The +/- indicates which frequency you should be transmitting on. There is a standard frequency offset for each band, so there's no reason to say what it is once you understand that. The +/- indicates whether you go higher or lower from the listening frequency to transmit. Once you study the basic Tech license stuff, this will be crystal clear to you.

For you scanner, just set it to whatever frequency is displayed on the list. Don't worry about the +/- offset thing.