Any other Hams out there?

[derf]

I saw a thread or two that are maybe 10 years old.  Figured I'd start a new one.

 

Who else out there runs ham radio?  W0JPR here.

 

I mostly got it so I can punch through to a repeater if I'm stranded or need help out in the mountains in Colorado.  Some people in my group are also hams and we will chat on the trail.  The clarity is so much better than CB.  I still run CB because I want to be able to talk with the 90% of people with radios in their Jeeps.

 

I'm running a Kenwood TM-D710GA in my XJ right now.  I may move it over to the MJ when it's ready.  I do have a Kenwood TM-V71 as well.  Good 50W radios, the 710 has built in APRS which is nice.  And, of course, the "disposable" Baofeng HT is always along.

 

Who else is a ham and what are you running?

[mjeff87]

I'm not, but have always had a passing interest in it.  Problem is I don't need another $$$ hobby right now LOL.

 

If you had to ballpark it, about how much would it cost a guy to get into a decent setup?  Nothing NASA quality, but not cheap junk either.

[derf]

1 hour ago, mjeff87 said:

I'm not, but have always had a passing interest in it.  Problem is I don't need another $$$ hobby right now LOL.

 

If you had to ballpark it, about how much would it cost a guy to get into a decent setup?  Nothing NASA quality, but not cheap junk either.

Like everything else, you can spend as much money as you want to in this hobby.

 

Honestly the cheapo Baofeng UV5R with a decent antenna and a bigger battery pack won't set you back too much.  The battery seems to last forever and you get good quality audio even out of the cheap Chinese junk.

 

After that, you can look at putting a base station in your Jeep.  And again, you can spend as much as you want there too.  Though a good radio and, more importantly, a good antenna will set you back maybe $2-300 if you want something respectable.  I went bigger with mine.  Both are dual channel radios.  The 710GA has built in APRS, which is a GPS based position reporting system that links up with digipeters (digital repeaters hooked up to the internet) so you can go to a website and track me when I have my radio on.

[CPH-0628]

My grandpa has been doing the ham radios since I can remember. Ive talked to him a couple times about getting my license and what not just never done it. He has antennas strung up all over his property. It's pretty neat who they can reach off a little radio and how far away they are. I do have a baofeng uv5r sitting in my truck. May have to look into it a little more.

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[derf]

The test is pretty easy.   They publish the questions.  You can do online study guides and memorize the answers.  Local ham clubs will host the test either for free or for a very small fee.  The basic license (technician) is a really easy test.  Basic middle school electronics and some questions about regulations.  Best part is that they dropped the requirement for Morse code a while back.  It gets a little harder as you go for more license but as you go up you are able to access more frequencies and use more power to broadcast.

 

I'm happy as a tech.  I use the two most commonly used bands for short distance comms, 2m and 70cm.  Lots of radios to choose from in this range and it does what I need to do.  I am legal to transmit up to 1,500W but my radios only go up to 50W.  CBs transmit at 4W.  I rarely find myself in a situation where I go over 5-8W and the radio carries a lot further than CB.

[mjeff87]

2 hours ago, derf said:

Like everything else, you can spend as much money as you want to in this hobby.

 

Honestly the cheapo Baofeng UV5R with a decent antenna and a bigger battery pack won't set you back too much.  The battery seems to last forever and you get good quality audio even out of the cheap Chinese junk.

 

After that, you can look at putting a base station in your Jeep.  And again, you can spend as much as you want there too.  Though a good radio and, more importantly, a good antenna will set you back maybe $2-300 if you want something respectable.  I went bigger with mine.  Both are dual channel radios.  The 710GA has built in APRS, which is a GPS based position reporting system that links up with digipeters (digital repeaters hooked up to the internet) so you can go to a website and track me when I have my radio on.

 

Thanks.  There's a pretty steep learning curve with the equipment from what I've seen/been reading.  I don't want to throw good money after bad if I decide to get into it.

[derf]

2 minutes ago, mjeff87 said:

 

Thanks.  There's a pretty steep learning curve with the equipment from what I've seen/been reading.  I don't want to throw good money after bad if I decide to get into it.

Yeah, learning the radios does take a bit of work.

 

One piece of advice that works well for me.  Once you pick a major brand of radio (Kenwood, Yaesu, etc.), stick with that brand.  Once you learn their system, going from one radio to another is easy.  Trying to remember the commands between two brands of radios can be hard.  They're all good radios so just pick one with the features you like and go from there.  I've gone with Kenwood myself.

[thecodemonk]

I keep meaning to take the test but never quite get around to it.

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[derf]

1 minute ago, thecodemonk said:

I keep meaning to take the test but never quite get around to it.

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I have one to spare...

 

[thecodemonk]

2 hours ago, derf said:

I have one to spare...

 

 

Hah!  I guess I have no excuse now.  Just need to figure out how they're doing testing in this new environment

[JMO413]

I got one also but I believe it's defective.