Why do I see a question in the testing about NTSC? I was under the impression that this broadcast standard is no longer in use, and even if that's incorrect, what does it have to do with ham radio transmissions?

Got my radios today, thought I got sent the wrong one as they only had the short antenna.
Found the long whips under the clamshell.

Now to charge them up & figure out to use/program them.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Why do I see a question in the testing about NTSC? I was under the impression that this broadcast standard is no longer in use, and even if that's incorrect, what does it have to do with ham radio transmissions?

Some ham operators still transmit NTSC as ATV (amateur Television) stations under their ham license.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_television

I honestly don't think this is very common. It's a niche group doing this. But it's legal with a ham license.

Well, I declare

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
I ordered the bluetooth adapter that allows you to use an app on your phone to program the radios.
<<snip>>
I’m thinking that changing the radio’s frequencies on the go would be good.

I have thought about getting one also.

The upside: Not having to grab the cable and hook it up to my laptop every time I want to make a change.

The downside: I still have to keep the programmer handy most all of the time, AND keep it charged.

Let us know what you think about it after you've used it a while. Even more important if you already have the cable and CHIRP software to compare it to.

While doing some research on RTL-SDR dongles which are a Spectrum Analyzer for your computer, there are decoders for NTSC signals on it. I have not found any yet but I believe some satellites still send pictures back to earth this way. Absolutely fascinating all the types of signals, wavelengths that are out there. Really wish I had started learning all this earlier.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Why do I see a question in the testing about NTSC? I was under the impression that this broadcast standard is no longer in use, and even if that's incorrect, what does it have to do with ham radio transmissions?

Where are you seeing this? I'd like to follow up and see what I can find on the subject. Thanks!

Edit to add: Nevermind... just saw radioman's response.

Pretty soon, we will have you guys building antennas to contact the International Space Station when it passes overhead and attempting low wattage moon bounces! LOL!

quote:

Originally posted by bettysnephew:
Pretty soon, we will have you guys building antennas to contact the International Space Station when it passes overhead and attempting low wattage moon bounces! LOL!

Watched a guy using one of those dongles downloading pictures from ISS and NOAA weather sats. Unreal. Whats possible for little money.

I just want to be able to avoid the zombies after the apocalypse. You know, find out where they're shuffling and all that.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
I just want to be able to avoid the zombies after the apocalypse. You know, find out where they're shuffling and all that.

Para, exactly. The radios you suggested were a great idea and thanks for opening my eyes to them. Check out the RTL-SDR v4 that I mentioned above, it is absolutely eye opening what information can be collected over the open airways. This is like a scanner on steroids, just by looking at it you can get a good idea what channels are being used and then punch the frequency in on the UV-5R.
I got this on Amazon and it even has antennas you can use with our radios. Less than $40.

Amazon RTL-SDR V.4

quote:

Originally posted by bronicabill:
The downside: I still have to keep the programmer handy most all of the time, AND keep it charged.

Let us know what you think about it after you've used it a while. Even more important if you already have the cable and CHIRP software to compare it to.

It needs to be charged? I didn’t catch that, but it’s fine as it’ll mostly be used on the road and I can charge it in the car.

I do have the cable and have used CHIRP, but I don’t take a computer everywhere I go. My phone is a different story.

quote:

Originally posted by bettysnephew:
Pretty soon, we will have you guys building antennas to contact the International Space Station when it passes overhead and attempting low wattage moon bounces! LOL!

I don’t know about moon bounces, but I’m definitely building an antenna to at least listen to the ISS and other satellites as they pass overhead.

Haven't done my first radio-check yet (GMRS) but I'm close. Waiting for the hand mic to arrive. I kinda knew I needed a better antenna and location. I picked up one of each. If I need or want I can use my little 8w as a mobile maybe. Not the best but I've hit my budget on this thread and need more book learnin' to use what I have. I haven't heard much on the ham repeaters yet.

The 72G (GMRS) is an inch shorter but comments indicate it works on ham freq. as well. Also, my balcony is much better than inside with the whip. The little adapter "jumper" is handy as I don't have to learn all the adapter types.

Authentic Genuine Nagoya UT-72G Super Loading Coil 19-Inch Magnetic Mount (Heavy Duty) GMRS (462MHz) Antenna PL-259, Includes Additional SMA Male & Female Adaptors for GMRS Handheld Radios https://a.co/d/bMVcFd3

Authentic Genuine Nagoya UT-72 Super Loading Coil 20-Inch Magnetic Mount (Heavy Duty) VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna PL-259, Includes Additional SMA Adaptor for BTECH and BaoFeng Handheld Radios https://a.co/d/ezzzBi0

A couple more videos from Randolfo. Yes, I need to read the manual.

Those antennas use your car as a ground plane. If you use them elsewhere, you need a flat piece of metal under them to act as a ground plane. Something like a cookie sheet or pizza pan.

The questions will be: what is ground plane, what does it do, why do I need one?

My answer is: Voodoo. It’s probably on the general ham test.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
Those antennas use your car as a ground plane. If you use them elsewhere, you need a flat piece of metal under them to act as a ground plane. Something like a cookie sheet or pizza pan.

The questions will be: what is ground plane, what does it do, why do I need one?

My answer is: Voodoo. It’s probably on the general ham test.

My question regarding the ground plane for this antenna is: How big does it need to be to be effective? No doubt the top of my car will be effective, but will a cookie sheet or pizza pan be big enough? If not, what is the minimum size?

I learned a bit about ground plane antennas back in my CB radio days in the '70's, but that's been a long time. Maybe the radio engineers can answer this one...

Oh, and "SigSentry", thanks for posting the links to the Nagoya magnetic mount antenna on Amazon. Between just ordering that, AND the satellite reception dongle thingy posted previously by "fischtown7", you guys are costing me a fortune that I don't have!

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
It needs to be charged? I didn’t catch that, but it’s fine as it’ll mostly be used on the road and I can charge it in the car.
<<snip>>

Yep, it connects to your phone via those blue-teefs, so it requires its own power source. According to the item description, it includes the require Li-Po battery and the USB cable needed to charge it (pretty sure it's a standard USB-A to USB-C).

OK! I just received my GMRS license and call sign from the FCC so I don't make the "sad hams" sadder or violate the FCC rules. Cool. Looking forward to making my first test simplex and repeater transmission.

I have 4 UV-5R's for my family. Since my GMRS license and call sign are valid for all of my family members, I assume when we are talking to one another we all use the same call sign at the end of the message, correct?

Given the very basic and amateur intended use of these radios, I think I'll put a label on each one with the call sign just so we can all remember it.

Now to come up with a cool set of handles for each of us...

One more question for those who know much more about these radios than I do...

I've been trying to use them in "scan mode" and getting nowhere. I have a crap load of frequencies programmed in, beginning with the 2M and 70cm "simplex" call frequencies, local NOAA weather radio (this one is skipped since it is constantly transmitting), local emergency dispatch for helicopter services, 3 highway patrol freqs, and local military police/fire dispatch. I then have ALL of the FRS and GMRS frequencies programmed in.

When I initiate SCAN on the radio, I get nothing for hours on end except a rare brief transmission on the AL Highway Patrol "dispatch 2" frequency... nothing else! What am I doing wrong???

quote:

Originally posted by Chris17404:
OK! I just received my GMRS license and call sign from the FCC so I don't make the "sad hams" sadder or violate the FCC rules. Cool. Looking forward to making my first test simplex and repeater transmission.

I have 4 UV-5R's for my family. Since my GMRS license and call sign are valid for all of my family members, I assume when we are talking to one another we all use the same call sign at the end of the message, correct?

Given the very basic and amateur intended use of these radios, I think I'll put a label on each one with the call sign just so we can all remember it.

Now to come up with a cool set of handles for each of us...

What I do is assign a suffix for each family member, ie:
This is W___### B unit (wife)
C unit (kid)
D unit (relative)
and so on.
When I transmit I just use my call sign without any suffix. Pretty sure this is accepted protocol.

quote:

Originally posted by bronicabill:
One more question for those who know much more about these radios than I do...

I've been trying to use them in "scan mode" and getting nowhere. I have a crap load of frequencies programmed in, beginning with the 2M and 70cm "simplex" call frequencies, local NOAA weather radio (this one is skipped since it is constantly transmitting), local emergency dispatch for helicopter services, 3 highway patrol freqs, and local military police/fire dispatch. I then have ALL of the FRS and GMRS frequencies programmed in.

When I initiate SCAN on the radio, I get nothing for hours on end except a rare brief transmission on the AL Highway Patrol "dispatch 2" frequency... nothing else! What am I doing wrong???

Are your programmed frequencies set to wide band? If set to narrow band, you may have difficulty receiving transmissions on those frequencies if the transmitter is not set similarly. Maybe your squelch setting is limiting what you are hearing/receiving. Have you considered that perhaps nobody is transmitting on those frequencies?

Regarding FRS & GMRS Frequencies, why program both into your radio? This make NO sense (at least to me), as they are the EXACT same frequencies! Except for restrictions on transmit power for FRS (and the obvious fact that there are repeaters for GMRS!), there is NO difference! Honestly, as the 'Boof-Wang' UV-5R is not type accepted for either of those radio service bands, there's no real reason to comply with the TX power restrictions for FRS anyway, especially if you don't have a GMRS license...Just sayin'