Who Here Knows About Ham Radio?
5I’ve been a little interested in ham radio occasionally reading the comments in various Baofeng radio sales…never really have learned anything except that it’s a big no-no to transmit without some sort of license…
So Woot had a sale on a small assortment of radios the other day.
I didn’t know which one to get so I bought 3 different kinds:
A Radioddity GS-5B Bluetooth Programming Handheld Ham Radio
A BAOFENG GT-3TP Mark-III 8W/4W/1W Dual Band Two Way Radio Handheld Transceiver, with Car Charger
And finally a Baofeng UV-5R+ Plus Radio
As it turns out, the Radioddity got here today and I’m very confused by all the options and programming it.
Does anybody have website or a blog or a book or something to help me get up to speed?
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If you can stand the toxic ideology, there’s an intro of sorts at https://theprepared.com/survival-skills/guides/beginners-guide-amateur-ham-radio-preppers/ which even mentions one of your purchases as a good choice.
@werehatrack That is a nice overview, thanks. Looks like I have a learning curve ahead.
Wait. Isn’t Rush Limbaugh dead?
Too soon?
@mike808 No. It took way too long.
I believe the key is some sort of antenna
@ybmuG hey you can even get so copper tubes & make what is called a “J-Pole”
@mycya4me @ybmuG that has to be something filthy
@spitfire6006006 @ybmuG yes, but ONLY in Your MIND…
I missed the radios? Dang!
@macdaddy1 Looking at Woot Stalker’s history, it looks like Woot sells them every few months or so. Keep checking back and you’ll probably find them.
Or maybe any Meh buyers reading this could scoop up some radios to sell.
@macdaddy1 Some radios are back up at Woot.
https://electronics.woot.com/plus/baofeng-radioddity-radios-4
Qrz.com is a site the folks in the ham radio club the hubbie and I were members of a few years back used a lot. He got his Extra class license but I stopped at General. We still have our antennas strung across the back yard but rarely get on. The baofengs are fun to use in the car.
@tnhillbillygal Thanks! That looks like an active, fun site.
This past weekend was the ARRL Field Days in the US. In which Ham Radio groups set up in a public area like a park shelter for 24 hours. Radios, geeks & food.
Check out ARRL you can get a lot of info including location of local clubs. Many clubs also offer classes in licensing so you can learn what you need to know for the exam. Plus you want to also be on the lookout for what is called “HamFests” that is open to the public “Flea Market, with some great speakers on many topics (also YouTube too, for talks & training) most also offer testing. So you can get your license. BTW I am a General class ham. A.k.a. amateur radio. It is a fun hobby and you can talk to people all over the world legally. It is truly more fun than the smaller citizens band radio radios a.k.a. CB’s. That type of radio is quite limited to that you can do legally.
@mycya4me I’ve been watching a lot of youtube videos and reading up. I went ahead and applied for my GMRS license today. If nothing else my family and I can use the handy-talkies as GMRS radios (wattage, etc permitting) for camping or going on walks or something.
I guess my confusion arouse from being used to channel-based radios (CB’s, Walkie-talkies, etc) as opposed to frequency-based Ham radios.
You’re right, the world is much bigger for ham radio.
But I’m getting my feet underneath me now…I’ve found some local groups and plan to study up fast so I can get my Technical License perhaps later on in July or August.
@therealjrn I did use some of the study apps to get my technician license. I did take classes for both the technician and general license but for general I did use QRZ.com for my study. I keep taking their practice test till I was getting at 90% of the questions correct. You see all the questions on the QRZ & any of the other testing resources are the actual questions you will find on the real test. You say for both the technician and the general license both of them poor from the question for and you’ll only get 35 questions one or two from each section. you have to get I think at least 85-90% of them correct to pass, also the technician and general are fairly easy, it’s the final one of the amateur extra it has a question pool of 50 questions and is much farther I know I think I’ve taken the test three times already came close, but that don’t count. Oh by the way every three years there is a new test and then you question for some of the questions are updated
@mycya4me @therealjrn
It’s been a minute since I’ve looked at the regs, but I’m not sure you can use the Baofengs on the GMRS frequencies. Yes, they can operate on those frequencies, but there are two sticking points: wattage and the removable antenna. You may be able to set the wattage low enough for some of the GMRS frequencies, but likely not the FRS frequencies.
The bigger issue is the removable antenna. As a ham radio operator, you can build a ton of DIY equipment, and antennas are one of the biggest bangs for your buck. (I’ve seen a really nice one built out of pvc pipe and a tape measure - it worked beautifully.) However, I’m fairly certain you cannot use a radio on the GMRS frequencies that has a removable antenna. That’s why all those blister pack motorolas and midlands are a one-piece design.
Good for you for getting your GMRS license and trying to do it right (since so many people don’t), but if you want to use those frequencies [legally], you’ll need a different dedicated radio for that.
@bigcurmudgeon @mycya4me
Woo Hoo! Looks like I’m in!
I only applied yesterday afternoon…crazy fast…why can’t these guys work at my DMV?
Anyway, yeah I understand the technical differences & specs between the handy-talkies and the dedicated FRS and GMRS radios because of the video I’m getting ready to post. In general I’m not a big “rule follower” but as the man says, I’m not going to be a shitbag.
@bigcurmudgeon @therealjrn You MUST be a Rule Follower, there are so many Rules out there. BUT it is a lot of Fun. In fact we at Field days were talking to people all over the US & a few from the European countries.
@bigcurmudgeon @mycya4me
I hear ya. I’m looking forward to the day I can talk to people from all over like that.
My dad was very serious about not letting anyone without a license talk. In my entire childhood I think I only said hello to one guy. The dads had talked about the kids they shared the basement with, so I got to say Hi! That was all.
@smilingjack in the 60’s, my uncle was a Scientific leader in Antartica - there’s a mountain named after him there. He brought back a vial of water from an ice bore - precipitation that fell in the year 0. I understand there are now adventure trips on those cool Russian Ilyushin cargo planes to the area and participants hike up the mountain to ski down it.
I was a little kid but recall talking to him while he was there, on a local Midwest ham operator’s radio.
@RedOak @smilingjack
So how did that vial of water from year 0 CE taste?
Inquiring folk want to know.
Also check out BridgeCom Systems Inc, Yes they are on YouTube a lot & of course Facebook.
@mycya4me I did! It looks like I have a bit more learning to do. But the folks over at https://www.bridgecomsystems.com know their stuff. Thanks for another good learning resource.
Several friends and my cousin are hams. Via my cousin, I have a scary ham radio contact story. One evening back in the 1970’s, he talked to some guys from the People’s Temple. Yeah, that People’s temple run by Jim Jones. They had a pleasant conversation and of course exchanged addresses for postcards*. A week later, the news hit about the mass suicide. My cousin requested a list of the victims. About two weeks after their contact, the postcard arrive and the guys he had talked to were on the list of victims.
The Baofeng & Radioddity Radios are back up
@therealjrn Have you used yours yet? Made any new friends?
@sammydog01 Still working on it. It appears around here, in my county, not too much traffic at all.
@therealjrn Would be nice if the price still showed after they sold out! I’d like to know how it compared to what I paid for my BF-F9V2+ way back when.