Ham radio?

[mkafrica]

Hey, I just saw this pic (http://www.freeconservatives.com/vb/showpost.php?p=645050&postcount=2) posted by the Doc, and it reminded of something I was going to ask all of y'all on here...

I have a friend that is getting a small group of people together that are interested in getting their ham radio licenses. I am thinking about getting one, for various reasons, but was curious as to initial cost, what kind of equipment to get, etc.

If any of you have any sources of information you could point me to, or have any personal choices, or your own information you'd care to share, please do!

Also, one thing I was wondering about, is I have several friends that live in Africa, and I know that some of them use ham radios... Is it possible (or easy?) to be able to communicate with them that way? To be honest, I don't really know much about the technology around ham radios, or the legal restrictions on them, yet. Hopefully, I'll learn those from that class... :D

[DoctorDoom]

I have a friend that is getting a small group of people together that are interested in getting their ham radio licenses. I am thinking about getting one, for various reasons, but was curious as to initial cost, what kind of equipment to get, etc. If any of you have any sources of information you could point me to, or have any personal choices, or your own information you'd care to share, please do!You can spend as little or as much as you want. If you don't mind previously owned equipment, do a Google search for used ham equipment. There are some great bargains out there.

New stuff comes in many flavors and costs, from a couple of hundred bucks up into thousands. You can shop for days. Here are a few typical sources. The last one lists many sites and vendors.

HRO Ham Radio Outlet Worldwide Supplier (http://www.hamradio.com/)

Amateur Electronics Supply (http://www.aesham.com/)

Amateur Radio ~ Vendors (http://www.w4cue.com/vendor.html)

Also, one thing I was wondering about, is I have several friends that live in Africa, and I know that some of them use ham radios... Is it possible (or easy?) to be able to communicate with them that way? To be honest, I don't really know much about the technology around ham radios, or the legal restrictions on them, yet. Hopefully, I'll learn those from that class... One of the favorite uses of ham radio is worldwide communication, and it's done all day every day. AFAIK, there are no restrictions on US hams re whom they talk to. Other countries, particularly the dictatorships, may not share our openness.

One consideration: for long-distance (aka DX) communication, look for HF (160- to 10-meter bands) rather than VHF (6- to 1.25-meter) or UHF (70-centimeter and up) equipment. The latter is for local or regional communication. You might get "skip" contacts over hundreds of miles, but it's not intended for cross-country or international chats.

Here are the present US band allocations and license levels for each of them.

US Amateur Radio Frequency Allocations (http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/allocate.html)

This is THE world-recognized ham organization: ARRL (http://www.arrl.org/)

One plus about licences in our day is that CW (Continuous Wave) or Morse Code is no longer mandatory, even though it's still quite popular.

Here's some basic info on amateur radio.

What is Ham Radio? (http://www.hello-radio.org/whatis.html)

HAM RADIO INFORMATION (http://www.hamuniverse.com/)

And no, I'm not a ham. I never got around to it.

[Taylor1]

My dads friend use to be crazy about HAM radio, he had the antenna on top of his house everyday he'd come home from school and he'd eat popcorn and read the messages lol. I might get into this HAM radio thing it looks cool.

[DoctorDoom]

Go for it! Age isn't a barrier. (http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2002/03/10/1/)

[mkafrica]

Thanks a lot for the info, Doc!

I'm pretty sure that I will at least get the first level of the license, and see if it's something I want to invest into to the point where I can communicate around the world... The only thing is that nowadays, with the internet, we can communicate via email, chat or VoIP. But then, in Africa, internet connectivity isn't quite at the standard it is in the States, lol.

[Timberwolf]

Ham radio? No thanks....I prefer Roast Beef TV....:grin:

[buckeyepete]

MK, my pop was a HAM up until he died in 1968. His call letters were K8VOT, out of Dayton, Ohio. He worked all bands, on equipment he built using used military gear he obtained through the MARS program, where he worked, DESC (Defense Electronics Supply Center.)

A good part of his 'radioing', was the friends he made locally, and the public service they offered during 'Ham Fest' which offered communications during natural disasters.

He also offered 'phone patch' service to some of our military overseas.

When he died, in 1968, some of his radio friends came to our house and did a final broadcast from his 'rig'. To those who know, this was known as declaring a 'SILENT KEY'. There was a short 'CQ', a short message acknowledging the passing of a friend, and the final 'Signing Off' of K8VOT.

The 'rig' was then powered down, and all cables, connectors, etc were disconnected. The 'rig' was dead also, never again to transmit again.

I recorded this ceremony, and haven't played it since. I can't.

I, at one time, thought I'd like to become a HAM, and bought a rig, a Kenwood TS520, and even went as far as getting my Novice License, KN8DLO. Yep, even passed code, 5wpm, if I'm not mistaken.

But, married life intervened and interest was lost.

MK, don't pass this chance up. Go for the gold. With world wide communications at your disposal, you can learn so much more than the DBM offers, because you can get honest info from the 'horses' mouth.

Also, you'll be able to serve during natural disasters as well as phone patch calls home from our Hero's overseas.

[Taylor1]

Patch phone calls home? Whats that mean?

[DoctorDoom]

A phone patch (http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/phone-patch.html) allows using the radio to interconnect with the phone lines to permit long-distance calls to be made at local rates. It used to be a vital line of communication for overseas military forces to phone home. The soldier called or visited a ham in his base or area. The ham established a contact with another ham in or near the home town of the soldier. And with his patch, the phone conversation was done. Due to the nature of the medium, it wasn't a simultaneous contact, but it beat making the call by landline with the associated cost and unreliability.

Re MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System):

Communicating with MARS isn't what it used to be.

When Ray Scheffler started patching morale calls through the Military Affiliate Radio System more than 40 years ago, the Vietnam War kept him busy.

"E-mail access and cell phones have cut down on our morale calls," he said. "And about one-third of the calls MARS volunteers patch through are official."

In those days, connecting more than 100 calls a day to stateside families wasn't unusual, Today, Scheffler--known as AFAlEN on the radio--sees much less traffic, just 100 to 150 patches per week.The man from MARS: ham radio buff helps airmen and families keep in touch ... (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBP/is_2_47/ai_98542407)

Modern satellite and Internet technology has largely replaced the phone patch for military forces overseas, but it was a vital com link for many years. Patches are still useful, e.g., for using a local ham repeater to make calls from a mobile rig (another use that is going by the wayside thanks to the ubiquitous cell phones).

A few useful sites for youse guys ...

Ham Speak - Know the Lingo (http://www.qrz.com/i/hamspeak.html)

Amateur Radio Q-Codes (http://www.qsl.net/w5www/qcode.html)

Amateur Radio And DX Reference Guide (http://www.ac6v.com/)

[buckeyepete]

Through your 'rig', you are in radio contact with another radio in a distant country. You then get the local, "US" telephone # from the distant party, and through a 'patch system', call the local (US) telephone #. All calls are handled as radio xmissions, adhering to all rules. For example, saying over, when your xmission is done, over, out, etc.

Yes, someone has to pay long distance charges on this end, but with the phone plans available now-a-days, it's minimal.

I talked from ship to home many a times, because of a HAM onboard, and my POP at home.

Go for it MK. You'll never regret it. I just wish I had stayed with it.

PS> My Kenwood is in a closet not 5' behind me. Maybe I'll get it out and 'tune it up.'

[Taylor1]

Oh cool, I didn't know that thanks DD!

[mkafrica]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm going to check it out. I didn't realize about the ability to patch phone calls, that sounds cool.

Thanks all for the info!

[Plain Old Dave]

Thank you for sharing.... We don't really do anything like that here in East TN, but it DOES sound like a splendidly honorable thing to do.

73,

Dave (Amateur Extra)

MK, my pop was a HAM up until he died in 1968. His call letters were K8VOT, out of Dayton, Ohio. He worked all bands, on equipment he built using used military gear he obtained through the MARS program, where he worked, DESC (Defense Electronics Supply Center.)

A good part of his 'radioing', was the friends he made locally, and the public service they offered during 'Ham Fest' which offered communications during natural disasters.

He also offered 'phone patch' service to some of our military overseas.

When he died, in 1968, some of his radio friends came to our house and did a final broadcast from his 'rig'. To those who know, this was known as declaring a 'SILENT KEY'. There was a short 'CQ', a short message acknowledging the passing of a friend, and the final 'Signing Off' of K8VOT.

The 'rig' was then powered down, and all cables, connectors, etc were disconnected. The 'rig' was dead also, never again to transmit again.

I recorded this ceremony, and haven't played it since. I can't.

I, at one time, thought I'd like to become a HAM, and bought a rig, a Kenwood TS520, and even went as far as getting my Novice License, KN8DLO. Yep, even passed code, 5wpm, if I'm not mistaken.

But, married life intervened and interest was lost.

MK, don't pass this chance up. Go for the gold. With world wide communications at your disposal, you can learn so much more than the DBM offers, because you can get honest info from the 'horses' mouth.

Also, you'll be able to serve during natural disasters as well as phone patch calls home from our Hero's overseas.

[buckeyepete]

"Thank you for sharing.... We don't really do anything like that here in East TN, but it DOES sound like a splendidly honorable thing to do.

73,

Dave (Amateur Extra)"---Plain Old Dave---

Wow! Dave, '73' ---- I haven't heard that in almost 40 years.

As for the honorable thing, I don't know if you're referring to the 'phone patches' or the 'silent key'. Either way, do some checking on some of the old practices, because like CW, things are being lost.

I had heard that 'CODE' was one form of communication used quite often at the Hanoi Hilton. I could be wrong, but it's a shame to lose a non-verbal language that is/was recognized world wide.

Here's a thought for you. Being that you're an 'Extra', you have some knowledge that might be useful to MKafrica and some of the younger members we have here.

Just a thought..........................