Page 1 2
Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
W07VH5 |
First, I don’t need yet another hobby but here we are so let’s just go with it. I’ve always been fascinated with over the air communication and remember playing with my uncle’s CB back in the heyday. I was thinking of, as I always do, just going whole hog and getting my ham licensing and spending tons of loot. However, it seems that CB is coming back into vogue and FM is a new reality. With single side band at 12 watts it also seems that you can catch a skip or two and reach far away radios just like a ham setup anyway. What do you guys think about just skipping the ham and going with a nice base station and antenna? | ||
|
I Deal In Lead |
The FCC used to take a dim view of shooting skip on CB for some reason that I'll never understand and they would periodically bust someone and make an example of them. I don't know if they still do that or not. If you want to shoot skip, become a Ham and you won't have to worry about it. Ham radio can be super expensive and it can be cheap, just depends on what you want to do and spend. I've been an Extra Class Ham Radio Operator since 1983, taught Classes for Novice through Extra and I'm an ARRL Volunteer Examiner. | |||
|
| Member |
I started with a CB base station and a mobile unit to keep in touch with the family back in the 70's. I invested in Ham radio and it has been fun and once set up not too expensive. It depends on what you want. | |||
|
| A teetotaling beer aficionado  |
You can get into Ham for well under $1000 for top of the line 2M/70cm + digital gear. That includes radio, power supply, antenna, cabling etc. That gets you into local repeaters which boosts your coverage quite a bit. Go to Digital repeaters that are connected to a world wide network and you can talk to the world. I use Yeasu C4fM for digital connected through the Wires X network. There are other digital platforms but it seems wires x (yeasu) and DMR are the most popular. HF, which for the most part requires a General license, is when gear costs starts to add up a bit, but when it's done over time it's less painful, and like guns, top quality radio gear holds it value and can easily be resold. Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves. -D.H. Lawrence | |||
|
Member |
AE4CH here. New to the amateur radio community. Been on the air for about 15 months. I would recommend that you study for your Technician exam using hamstudy.org, take the test, pay the $35, and obtain your credentials. Then, purchase a reputable handheld 2m / 70cm, a magnet mount antenna, a handheld mike for that handheld radio, and a radio holding stalk. If you choose Yaesu you will get C4FM digital, and can talk all over the world. I have talked with New Zealand, Japan, England, etc. all from my back deck with only the handheld through the local 2m and 70cm repeaters. Far more enjoyable than CB! ------- Trying to simplify my life... | |||
|
Member |
A <$100 handheld will get you into local repeaters and nets on 2m 70cm. The sky is the limit from there and you can go to other bands and talk literally all over the world. I have CB too, but around here it's totally dead. I'm almost considering dumping it completely, the majority of the time I turn it on I never ever hear anything. "The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people." "Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy." "I did," said Ford, "it is." "So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?" "It honestly doesn't occur to them. They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates the government they want." "You mean they actually vote for the lizards." "Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course." "But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?" "Because if they didn't vote for a lizard, then the wrong lizard might get in." | |||
|
| W07VH5 |
Even on Side Band? | |||
|
| Member |
CB is limited in power output, but lots of CB'ers ignore that. 4 watts AM and 12 watts SSB (upper side band). 11M band is mainly a day-light band for long distance comms, although there are exception to when the SFI is high or an E cloud is in the area. Amateur Radio allows up to 1500 watts legally and offers a lot more in frequency agility, so you can yack day and night, just switch the band. You'll need the tech and general ticket for that level of frequency agility (extra class give you everything, but general class is fine). Nothing wrong with CB only. It's just limiting in frequency spectrum usability. There should be some Jim (JALLEN) posts on the subject. He was a long time ham - 50+ years and really knew it all, or nearly all. Still miss him. -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master. Ayn Rand "He gains votes ever and anew by taking money from everybody and giving it to a few, while explaining that every penny was extracted from the few to be giving to the many." Ogden Nash from his poem - The Politician | |||
|
Member |
If you want to talk across the country and around the world you will need HF. You can buy a used rig, power supply and throw up a wire antenna for less than $1K easily. FM repeater stuff is much less expensive but you are using equipment other than your radio, kinda like a cell phone. Still a great part of the hobby but just different. _____________________ Be careful what you tolerate. You are teaching people how to treat you. | |||
|
Member |
 Don't. drink & drive, don't even putt. | |||
|
| W07VH5 |
You must have to put in different crystals to change the channel in that.  I do want to get a decent base station. Maybe an older President Washington. You all tell me I can get into Ham for $1k but I can get into CB for $150. | |||
|
| come and take it |
I went middle range and got a GMRS $45 handheld. Pretty quiet in my city. Have taken it on a few 500 mile road trips and it was quiet also. The quote I have heard a few times is GMRS is to talk to people you already know and HAM is to talk to people you don't know. I think it will come in handy to have a couple of handhelds on mountain bike rides this summer in the Rockies when I am out of cell range. I have a few SIGs. | |||
|
| Member |
CB is pretty much dead. The only time I turned mine on was when there was a traffic jam, see which lanes were closed. | |||
|
| A teetotaling beer aficionado |
Just a teaser, here's my two Yeasu C4FM transceivers. The hand held is model FT3DR, and the other is my desktop unit FTM400 (head only shown, the actual radio is mounted under my desk) I leave the FTM400 on whenever I'm in my little office tuned to a repeater that is connected to Texas Nexus Wires X, and the hand held I use mostly when I want to sit on the patio and it's connected via RF to the FTM400 which in turn is connected to Wires X Texas Nexus. Lots of fun.  Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves. -D.H. Lawrence | |||
|
Political Cynic |
I’d invest in the effort to get your tech license. It’s not that difficult and the exam is only 50 questions. Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) will sell you new gear for whatever your license grant allows. And a lot of places also have gear on consignment they will sell at a good deal from either people trading up or getting out of the hobby. I knew Jim quite well and have his personal copy if the book he wrote. Also I have all of his old gear including several of his keys. | |||
|
| drop and give me 20 pushups |
the Tech license depending on your location near a area that might have access to 2mtr(vhf) and or 70cm(uhf) repeaters be they stand alone or linked into system them your talk range could be between 50 to 100 miles or maybe more depending on your antenna system (good feedline and a antenna with large amounts of gain) which is 90% of your systems effficeny .. the cost of your actual radio be it new or used does not override a good antenna system....The digital modes on uhf/vhf can extend your range if you have good internet connection......... Now the general ticket would give HF privlidges which would allow possible worldwide coverage there again depending on your antenna system............. CB limited to 5watts output on AM mode and 12 watts ssb mode and 150 miles distance (skip or no skip) to stay on the legal side ...... A general ticket allows up to 1500 watts power output and as far as range distance does mot matter if both parties can hear each other...... A lot of todays ham operators got their start as cb'ers ... To each their own way they want to go. ................................73"s de KL7JIU ..aka.. drill sgt. | |||
|
Cynic |
You just like talking to me everyday. I called you a few times today and no KL7JIU_______________________________________________________ And no, junior not being able to hold still for 5 seconds is not a disability. | |||
|
| Member |
Actually, the Tech and General license tests are only 35 questions - the Extra, however, is 50. I just helped out at an exam earlier this evening, and have another session on Saturday morning. | |||
|
| Member |
Hey guys! At one time, I kind of toyed with the idea of Ham radio, but I got confused by the channels. If you wanted to go mobile, it seemed like you needed to be able to program your radio to the local channels to receive anything. Am I right in this? If not, how is it able to listen/talk on a mobile when you are out of your area? "Evil can never be dead enough" Brevard County, Fla., sheriff Wayne Ivey | |||
|
| A teetotaling beer aficionado |
It's just a radio that tunes to frequencies, not channels per se. Just like any radio. If someone is transmitting on lets say, 146.520 MHz, which is within the 2M band (band is just a range of frequencies that fall somewhere in the stated wave length, expressed in meters) then if you tune your receiver to that frequency you can hear them and transmit and they can hear you. If no one is transmitting on the frequency, you of course will hear nothing. Simple as that. Modern radios have a scan function that will run through all the frequencies you set parameters for and stop when a signal is detected. It works the same no matter where you are, except a guy in Seattle can be transmitting on a particular frequency, but you won't hear him if you're in Miami. We're talking 2m/70cm FM. Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves. -D.H. Lawrence | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata | Page 1 2 |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
© SIGforum 2024