Ham Radio Help! Whose wife has their Tech license? Mine! That's who...

[Slippy]

So me and Mrs Slippy are sitting around discussing our preps a month or so ago and we notice we don't have a good Communications Plan at all. So we do "rock paper scissors" and Mrs S loses...she has been selected to study for her Ham License.

Anyhow, Mrs Slippy gets to studying for the Tech License Test and today is the day...She aces it scoring 32 out of 35! Pretty proud of her on that one. Now we are looking at some different Radios. Help!!!

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated on radios/antenna/products!

Thanks all.

Slip

[hawgrider]

So me and Mrs Slippy are sitting around discussing our preps a month or so ago and we notice we don't have a good Communications Plan at all. So we do "rock paper scissors" and Mrs S loses...she has been selected to study for her Ham License.

Anyhow, Mrs Slippy gets to studying for the Tech License Test and today is the day...She aces it scoring 32 out of 35! Pretty proud of her on that one. Now we are looking at some different Radios. Help!!!

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated on radios/antenna/products!

Thanks all.

SlipThats great congrats. Someday for me...maybe in retirement.

[James m]

Baefongs are $35. And I believe you can talk on the radio if its under her supervision. I have 2 baefongs, they are cheap but good starters. My two even get AM FM radio. I hand tightened my antenna too much and pulled it out, so it gets staticky. Also when I put the belt clip screws on I could hear the threads squeaking.

They are good cheap starters. I don't have a license yet because the closest testing center is one state over.

[Tks]

Congrats to her! That's awesome! Hmm, I'm really good at rock paper scissors, maybe I could do the same thing with hubs.

[DerBiermeister]

Yes -- congrats to her. She has more sticktoitiveness than I. I got half way through the book and haven't picked it up in the last 6 months. I need to get back to it.

I have a very good hand-held (Yaesu VX-8), but I really don't think there is much activity in my end of the world. I probably need to rig up a much bigger antenna than the rubber-ducky that is on it. Anyway, I can't transmit until I get my license.

I have no real interest in HAM other than -- like you Slippy -- thinking I need some communications for THE BIG EVENT. Of course, when that happens, I don't think anyone is going to give a damn about licenses.

[James m]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HX03AMA/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00YMN42ZU/

I have the first one which was the new one for 2014, the second red one is new for 2015 allegedly.

But they are all made in China. But you should check prices on other brand name radios. They are outrageous.

[TJC44]

Will you/she be sticking with local comms, or will you also be looking into long range communications? two very different animals.

[Slippy]

Will you/she be sticking with local comms, or will you also be looking into long range communications? two very different animals.
Probably will start out with local comms then progress into long range. We've budgeted approx. $350 for a radio/antenna. Kenwood is our preferred choice at this point but we are not set on a Kenwood.

Thanks for any suggestions TJC44

[James m]

Slippy I see you are going the reliable expensive route. You could still stash a few of the cheap radios in a BOB possibly.

[Arklatex]

Hey Slippy, I think it would be a good idea to talk to some of the ham folks in your area. You can usually get really good deals on equipment from them. I imagine 350 would go a hell of a lot further buying gently used high quality gear, the good ones run into the thousands nowadays. Just a suggestion.

[Slippy]

Hey Slippy, I think it would be a good idea to talk to some of the ham folks in your area. You can usually get really good deals on equipment from them. I imagine 350 would go a hell of a lot further buying gently used high quality gear, the good ones run into the thousands nowadays. Just a suggestion.

Good suggestion Ark. One of the guys in the club who was part of team that gave the test to Mrs S also gave me some pointers on what to look for but hesitated to go into detail other than suggest a couple of brands. Frankly, some of the stuff they were talking was waaaay over my head!

For those of you interested in getting your license get the ARRL Study Book with Q& A. http://www.amazon.com/ARRLs-Tech-Q-ARRL-Inc-ebook/dp/B00KCYJ8BG

Mrs S got this book and another one but said that the Q&A was by far more helpful in test prep.

[TJC44]

I am currently General class, but have been dormant for a number of years. Check with the locals and find out what repeaters are in your area. Tech is the vhf/uhf only license, correct?

[Inor]

Congrats to Mrs Slippy! That is awesome!

Mrs Inor and I have been having the same discussion for a few years. But neither one of can get motivated enough by it to move off the dime and do anything about it. I KNOW it is a good skill to have, especially with my computer background. But it just does not interest me as much as breaking into systems.

[James m]

Slippy how many pages to the Q/A book?

[TJC44]

Inor, you should look into the digital modes that are possible. Starting with RTTY, digipeaters,AMSAT, & radio ti Internet gateways.

[BlackDog]

I got into ham radio as a prep originally but it's turned into quite a hobby. I got my Tech license in April and am studying for my General.
The cheap Baofengs are a great place to start even though some may snicker at them. I routinely hit repeaters up to 30 miles away with mine. With only 5w of power they are not so hot radio to radio (simplex). To try to improve on that I've built two antennas. One a J-pole made from 1/2" copper pipe and the other a roll-up wire J-pole. The pipe antenna is mounted on a mast beside my house and is about 30' up. The roll-up dealio has 50' of feed line so I can get it as high over a tree branch as I'm able. Height is important in line-of-sight communication.
Both antennas do well on 2m and 70cm.

For equipment, I started with the Baofeng, which I still use most every day for 2m/70cm. I'm also using a mobile 220 (1.25m) and mobile dual band (2m/70cm). I have a tri-band antenna on the truck so I am able to tx/rx on all three bands. I use both radios in the house as well with a 13.8v power supply.
Joining a local club is a great way to learn about amatuer radio and find good used equipment. I joined one local club but seem to have been kind of adopted by another, more active one. These guys have been hams forever and I think they can build a radio out of an altoids tin. They are getting me involved in all the stuff they do, like contesting and Field Day events. They've helped me move along by loaning radios, power supply, mobile antennas and such and pointing me in the right direction on equipment. I learn so much by just hanging around and talking with them on the radio. They are also nudging me towards my General license and HF stuff. You can spend as much as you want on radio equipment but you don't have to spend a ton of money to get on the air. In just a few months I have found myself with a few radios to play with, a couple antennas in addition to the ones I made, and some other accessories, cable and connectors and stuff. Some borrowed, some bartered, some bought. Though these guys happily loaned me some older equipment they had laying around, I'm working toward self-sufficiency.

The increased power of the mobile rigs let's me get a little further out there. Up to 45w on 2m. The guys also chat frequently on 220 simplex. One of the fellas is 30 miles away as the crow flies and I am able to talk clearly with him with my radio set at the 15w power level. That radio is 30w at max power but 15w does just fine.

This has been a lot of fun for me and I've definitely caught the bug.
I know a lot of prep minded folk have bought the Baofengs and put them back figuring they'll have a way to communicate should the SHTF, but I would recommend people get licensed and learn how to use them now. Even if you do like the Slippy clan and get one of your group licensed and active so they can make a plan and educate others should the need arise.
Even with my small amount of knowledge, I've laid out a a plan of frequencies and timing that my friends and family can follow in case of emergency. Looking back to when we all bought these radios I realize now we had no idea how to use them so they would have been paper weights with batteries. Now we at least have some kind of plan and a little experience. And I'm having a blast along the way!

[Slippy]

Slippy how many pages to the Q/A book?

The 6th Edition ARRL Tech Q&A book that Mrs S used had about 200 pages including ads. It is broken down into sections; T-1 to T-0
(T-0 being T-10) and the sections are individually numbered. I helped her study and it was very convenient as a study guide. I memorized quite a few of the questions but Mrs S "learned" them by reading the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual 3rd Edition front to back (338 pages in that one)

[Slippy]

Thanks BlackDog, lots of info to digest but the world of Ham Radio is really an interesting and somewhat complex thing.



I got into ham radio as a prep originally but it's turned into quite a hobby. I got my Tech license in April and am studying for my General.
The cheap Baofengs are a great place to start even though some may snicker at them. I routinely hit repeaters up to 30 miles away with mine. With only 5w of power they are not so hot radio to radio (simplex). To try to improve on that I've built two antennas. One a J-pole made from 1/2" copper pipe and the other a roll-up wire J-pole. The pipe antenna is mounted on a mast beside my house and is about 30' up. The roll-up dealio has 50' of feed line so I can get it as high over a tree branch as I'm able. Height is important in line-of-sight communication.
Both antennas do well on 2m and 70cm.

For equipment, I started with the Baofeng, which I still use most every day for 2m/70cm. I'm also using a mobile 220 (1.25m) and mobile dual band (2m/70cm). I have a tri-band antenna on the truck so I am able to tx/rx on all three bands. I use both radios in the house as well with a 13.8v power supply.
Joining a local club is a great way to learn about amatuer radio and find good used equipment. I joined one local club but seem to have been kind of adopted by another, more active one. These guys have been hams forever and I think they can build a radio out of an altoids tin. They are getting me involved in all the stuff they do, like contesting and Field Day events. They've helped me move along by loaning radios, power supply, mobile antennas and such and pointing me in the right direction on equipment. I learn so much by just hanging around and talking with them on the radio. They are also nudging me towards my General license and HF stuff. You can spend as much as you want on radio equipment but you don't have to spend a ton of money to get on the air. In just a few months I have found myself with a few radios to play with, a couple antennas in addition to the ones I made, and some other accessories, cable and connectors and stuff. Some borrowed, some bartered, some bought. Though these guys happily loaned me some older equipment they had laying around, I'm working toward self-sufficiency.

The increased power of the mobile rigs let's me get a little further out there. Up to 45w on 2m. The guys also chat frequently on 220 simplex. One of the fellas is 30 miles away as the crow flies and I am able to talk clearly with him with my radio set at the 15w power level. That radio is 30w at max power but 15w does just fine.

This has been a lot of fun for me and I've definitely caught the bug.
I know a lot of prep minded folk have bought the Baofengs and put them back figuring they'll have a way to communicate should the SHTF, but I would recommend people get licensed and learn how to use them now. Even if you do like the Slippy clan and get one of your group licensed and active so they can make a plan and educate others should the need arise.
Even with my small amount of knowledge, I've laid out a a plan of frequencies and timing that my friends and family can follow in case of emergency. Looking back to when we all bought these radios I realize now we had no idea how to use them so they would have been paper weights with batteries. Now we at least have some kind of plan and a little experience. And I'm having a blast along the way!

[DerBiermeister]

The 6th Edition ARRL Tech Q&A book that Mrs S used had about 200 pages including ads. It is broken down into sections; T-1 to T-0
(T-0 being T-10) and the sections are individually numbered. I helped her study and it was very convenient as a study guide. I memorized quite a few of the questions but Mrs S "learned" them by reading the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual 3rd Edition front to back (338 pages in that one)

As another source -- I am using the TECHNICIAN CLASS (FCC Element 2 Amateur Radio License Preparation)
It is done by Gordon West. Has 212 pages including the Index. Approximately half the book includes every question and answer that they will use in developing the test -- some 394 questions of which they select 35 for the test.

[BlackDog]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/28/c3d9d0921bbcafba667e3dc61b47c797.jpg
Excluding a couple Baofengs, here is my setup so far.
On the bottom is a 25amp power supply for using these mobile units in the house. I bartered coffee for it. The bottom radio is an Alinco DR-600 dual band 2m/70cm that I picked up from the estate of a silent key my ham friends knew. One owner who kept all his stuff clean and organized. The top radio is a 220 single band rig. It's all older equipment but all works great. I can move it from the house to the truck and vice versa in minutes. Total investment in what's pictured, $155 and some coffee. You really don't have to spend a lot for a decent setup.

[BlackDog]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/28/e0ee0439d122f92febe391950e7bfbfa.jpg
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/28/29fa1fd122862007174b7a574167425e.jpg
Here is the antenna I made. It is a dual band J-pole made from 1/2" copper pipe.
I made my own stand-offs and used 1-1/4" conduit for the mast. Top of the antenna is a little over 30'.
It reaches out there pretty good and oddly enough does well on 220, which it's not made for. At some point I'll get a proper triband antenna for the house and set the j-pole up at the shop.

[Baglady]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/28/e0ee0439d122f92febe391950e7bfbfa.jpg
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/28/29fa1fd122862007174b7a574167425e.jpg
Here is the antenna I made. It is a dual band J-pole made from 1/2" copper pipe.
I made my own stand-offs and used 1-1/4" conduit for the mast. Top of the antenna is a little over 30'.
It reaches out there pretty good and oddly enough does well on 220, which it's not made for. At some point I'll get a proper triband antenna for the house and set the j-pole up at the shop.I'm clueless about the HAM radio stuff...but LOVE the original trim and door in your house!! We installed the fluted trim with the plinth blocks in our house, but it's MDF, and not original like yours.

[BlackDog]

I'm clueless about the HAM radio stuff...but LOVE the original trim and door in your house!! We installed the fluted trim with the plinth blocks in our house, but it's MDF, and not original like yours.
Why, thank you! The original part of the house was built in 1870 with an addition in 1928. The original plaster was torn out in the 80's and modern wiring, plumbing and central heat and air installed. Thankfully, they saved all the interior doors and trim and put everything back where it came from. Same with the window trim. Heart pine floors were refinished. I've been here 16 years and they're due to be done again.

Sorry for the thread derailment. I love my house.

[BlackDog]

I'm clueless about the HAM radio stuff...but LOVE the original trim and door in your house!! We installed the fluted trim with the plinth blocks in our house, but it's MDF, and not original like yours.
By the way.....Good eye!

[Baglady]

By the way.....Good eye!I love old houses. Grew up in them. And 20 yrs in construction, I've painted enough trim to cross the USA!

[BlackDog]

I love old houses. Grew up in them. And 20 yrs in construction, I've painted enough trim to cross the USA!
I'm a former remodeler. Old houses get in your blood.

[James m]

Balloon framing is great ain't it?

[BlackDog]

Vhttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/08/6dba919b2ce188b9271a9dc5156befb6.jpg
Coming soon.

[TJC44]

Blackdog,

Looks like a nice clean HF piece. New or used, & how much?

TJC

[BlackDog]

It's used but by a guy who takes care of his stuff. It's old, probably mid 80's but in good shape. It's a hybrid, solid state with tubes at the finals. The Elmers tell me that one good thing about it is that unlike some newer rigs, anything that breaks is fixable. Being new at this I don't know if it's fixable by me, though! ;)
It's a Kenwood TS-830S. $250.
The pic is not the actual one I'm getting. I just snagged it off the innerwebs for demonstration purposes.

[TJC44]

I've been looking at similar ones on Ebay. Sounds like you got a good deal. Are you buying it locally? And will it have a mike & power supply?

[BlackDog]

I'm buying it from one of the hams in our club. It comes with a desk mike and a speaker. I already have a power supply.