complete novice here

[GA1dad]

Greetings from Upstate South Carolina,,,,,,,,,,,

40 yr. old male considering a new hobby.:headbang

I was given a couple of old mobile CB's the other day. My primary interest in them was to have a form of communication if the satellites quit working. I'm kind-of a "end of times" subscriber as well. Lately I have been considering the threats of an EMP,,,, especially with north koreas latest launches.

Anyway,,,,,in the process of getting the CB's wired up and working,,,, I kinda got the itch to research ham and such. My wife was the youngest female to get a ametuer license in Wisconsin,,,,,, but that was in 1980 and she doesn't remember much.

I guess my opening question would be what are the differences and purposes of the different wave/bands,,,,,, I'm not sure what to call them. But I see them listed here as Ham,CB,HF,VHF,and UHF. It's all greek to me,,,so any info you offer would be a learning experience for me.

Also,,,,, (and I know this is a loaded question with multiple answers),,,,,,, which one would be a good one to start with,,, and why??? My interest would be distance I think.


And I guess finally,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, why do you do it???

Thanks in advance,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,JAY

 

[C2]

why do you do it???

Because!

 

[C2]

which one would be a good one to start with,,, and why??? My interest would be distance I think

So, you want distance, eh?

Well, stand in line!

 

[C2]

since you already have CBs, start with those!

Also, unless you burry one wrapped in tin foil, an emp will render all this stuff useless...

once you figure out them CBs, then think about getting into ham; it's more funner...

 

[Moleculo]

I guess my opening question would be what are the differences and purposes of the different wave/bands,,,,,,

One way to describe it is that the different bands allow you to reach your intended destination with more consistently. VHF/UHF tends to be line of sight...good for local communications. HF propogates off of the atmosphere allowing you to talk to different places at different times of day depending on the frequency selected and mother nature. As you start your study for the basic ham radio test, you'll start to learn more about these details.

There's also a discussion in this thread about the same topic:

http://www.worldwidedx.com/hf-bands-hf-rigs/34263-space-wave-help-2.html#post143663

 

[Robb]

since you already have CBs, start with those!

Also, unless you burry one wrapped in tin foil, an emp will render all this stuff useless...

once you figure out them CBs, then think about getting into ham; it's more funner...

GEE...C2...Give the guy a break!
LOL!

To answer the question posed on this thread, if you start using a simple CB radio, a lot of the questions that you have will be answered by the experience of using it.
Once you get to that point, then ask some more pointed questions that you might have then.

We like questions

 

[GA1dad]

GEE...C2...
LOL!

We like questions

y'all like questions????? or smart alic answers???

I know, I know,,,,,,,,,,,,, it takes a little while for folks to warm up to the newbies.:glare:

But, after giving it some objective thought,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,C2's answer makes sense. Farting around with the CB's prolly would promote some of the basics.

Thanks

 

[Quiksilver]

Here's some good info about the amateur radio hobby.

http://www.hello-radio.org/