I agree with the Echolink and Packet, but I wouldn't exactly call repeaters cheating as long as they are used as radio to radio analog repeaters, and not some gateway for an internet connection.......
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I can't use ham to replace cb
- Thread starter kane375
- Start date
I agree with the Echolink and Packet, but I wouldn't exactly call repeaters cheating as long as they are used as radio to radio analog repeaters, and not some gateway for an internet connection.......
Why? He is showing an interest in the hobby, don't run him off. At least he is asking questions. When you are dead in a year or two maybe he will pick up you 2x1 that you have been using to bitch about us new guys. Its old cranky bastards like you that make this hobby no fun at times. Your probably one of those that complain about us being no code extras too! well its not our fault the FCC changed the rules before some of us were even born! Crawl back into your hole and die old man.
David77 need you be reminded of the rules of conduct on this board. As a newbie here I would think that you would make sure you know a bit more about someone before you make judgements about them.
Sounds like to me he is wanting to combine two hobbies
From what I can tell here,this guy is doing off roading as a hobby or passtime ...not as a business....
From what I remember of the FCC rules ham radio can not be used for business purposes...therefor ham radio is a hobby service....and would be alot better for staying in touch with the group he will be running with.
When the sunspot cycle gets kicking in a few years CB will be worthless beyond a few miles at best.VHF ham will be about the only way to to stay in touch with each other without a huge noise floor to contend with or having BillyJoBobBill ragging on and on about how huge his Leeneear is
Ham radio is the only way that I can think of to do what is required here
As long as he follows the FCC rules here and IDs as required he should be fine reguardless
From what I can tell here,this guy is doing off roading as a hobby or passtime ...not as a business....
From what I remember of the FCC rules ham radio can not be used for business purposes...therefor ham radio is a hobby service....and would be alot better for staying in touch with the group he will be running with.
When the sunspot cycle gets kicking in a few years CB will be worthless beyond a few miles at best.VHF ham will be about the only way to to stay in touch with each other without a huge noise floor to contend with or having BillyJoBobBill ragging on and on about how huge his Leeneear is
Ham radio is the only way that I can think of to do what is required here
As long as he follows the FCC rules here and IDs as required he should be fine reguardless
So I suggested we all get VHF Marine radios, find an unused channel, and go that route, but most of these guys were cheap,
Its a good thing your buddies are cheap, :blink:as it is illegal to use marine vhf in a vehicle or fixed base operation on land . Only licensed marine operations facilities or salvage operations are allowed to do that.
Its a good thing your buddies are cheap, :blink:as it is illegal to use marine vhf in a vehicle or fixed base operation on land . Only licensed marine operations facilities or salvage operations are allowed to do that.
I think that there's other problems with using ham radio as the solution. Primarily, the requirement for a license is going to be stumbling block. I don't think the license is particularly difficult to get but it does require you to be interested in doing so. Some people just aren't going to be that interested, you can't just throw money at it and get one. It's not really possible to substitute ham radio for telephone type things all the time, I honestly don't know of a pizza joint that has a radio for ordering. (That's kind of a 'stretch', but you get the point, right?)
Ham radio, or CB radio, are certainly possibilities, but I don't think either would be all that reliable, or the 'best' solution in this instance.
As for the voip thingy. It isn't exactly the easiest, or the most 'frugal' method for communications while out hunting, or other circumstances. It introduces another level of complexity, which is something that really isn't needed, or wanted, or 'do-able' in certain circumstances. Still, it's a possibility.
Sometimes, there just are no easy/simple solutions to a problem. Sorry 'bout that.
- 'Doc
Ham radio, or CB radio, are certainly possibilities, but I don't think either would be all that reliable, or the 'best' solution in this instance.
As for the voip thingy. It isn't exactly the easiest, or the most 'frugal' method for communications while out hunting, or other circumstances. It introduces another level of complexity, which is something that really isn't needed, or wanted, or 'do-able' in certain circumstances. Still, it's a possibility.
Sometimes, there just are no easy/simple solutions to a problem. Sorry 'bout that.
- 'Doc
The sunspot cycle shouldnt make any difference in the ability to communicate with vehicles in close proximity, which is where ALL offroad comms are conducted. That is why there is an rf gain control on the radio.LOL
PR
PR
The same could be said to our "Find a Different Hobby Friend!"
He doesn't know anything about this guy other than he like to 4 wheel and is starting to get interested in ham radio. I would bet that once he gets started in 2 meter he broadens his interest into HF. The hobby is great but the guys who bitch about no code hams and try to run of new guys who turn to the hobby are killing it.
OP, Forget all the crap you are beign told here about MURS GMRS AND MARINE BAND EXPECIALLY THE MARINE BAND... go get your technicial ticket and start using 2 meter. Have fun with it. you guys can have roundtable and open conversations on 2M all you have to do is ID every 10 minutes that you are talking, not every 10 minutes the radio is turned on. When you are so far out in the boonies no one is going to mess with you.
The tech test is very easy to pass,usually just a handfull of hours to study and you will have the license in hand,and a basic 2 meter rig and antenna can be bought for around 200$ more or less.
Basic 2 meter radio around $170
2 meter antenna .... around $40 to $50
Fees for taking the test ( the fees are to process and mail all the paper work) about $20....after that as long as you dont allow license to expire renews are free
A person can spend that on a marine set up or a CB set up and not have near the abilities that ham offers
Basic 2 meter radio around $170
2 meter antenna .... around $40 to $50
Fees for taking the test ( the fees are to process and mail all the paper work) about $20....after that as long as you dont allow license to expire renews are free
A person can spend that on a marine set up or a CB set up and not have near the abilities that ham offers
I was referring to the name calling just like I said in the PM I sent to you and you know it. Marconi said NOTHING about no-coders in this thread so that part is irrelevant. Did you also read his second post where he explained what he meant by it? Anyway enough is enough. This thread has had no posts since May 2009 until you dug it back up. The original poster has not even been here since July 2 2009 therefore he would not even see your remarks therefore they were made for your own benefit and not his.
Nobody will care if you are on simplex talking amongst yourselves. I spend hours at a time on 2m simplex from home and have a 30mile or so reach on 25W doing it. That's what radio is for...talking.
If you want to curse and menace people and intentionally interfere...you will have trouble, that's not accepted on the ham bands. Anything else is fine as far as just talking to your friends.
As for 440 simplex being a problem...out in the desert, you would literally have to be able to see each other for 440 to work anyway...nobody would hear you on simplex 440 anyway more than a few miles away. It's ideal for talking it up with a travelling group if you are all very close in. We use 2m pretty regularly on simplex while driving up to ham fests and the like where people will be spaced farther apart.
There's always 10m too and if you are general class ops, you can use 10m FM very nicely indeed for this 29.600 I think is the simplex calling frequency there. Will cover a lot of ground and terrain and you can keep it nicely squelched.
Too many options to list.
You could even use repeaters for this if you had some in range. There are so many idle repeaters around here, nobody cares if you use them for the most part. If they do, find another one. The biggest key on repeaters is if you don't know the control ops, be courteous and allow space between transmissions so other people can get on and make a call if they want to. Simply saying "anyone else need to get in?" to make it obvious that you are being courteous goes a long way.
If you want to curse and menace people and intentionally interfere...you will have trouble, that's not accepted on the ham bands. Anything else is fine as far as just talking to your friends.
As for 440 simplex being a problem...out in the desert, you would literally have to be able to see each other for 440 to work anyway...nobody would hear you on simplex 440 anyway more than a few miles away. It's ideal for talking it up with a travelling group if you are all very close in. We use 2m pretty regularly on simplex while driving up to ham fests and the like where people will be spaced farther apart.
There's always 10m too and if you are general class ops, you can use 10m FM very nicely indeed for this 29.600 I think is the simplex calling frequency there. Will cover a lot of ground and terrain and you can keep it nicely squelched.
Too many options to list.
You could even use repeaters for this if you had some in range. There are so many idle repeaters around here, nobody cares if you use them for the most part. If they do, find another one. The biggest key on repeaters is if you don't know the control ops, be courteous and allow space between transmissions so other people can get on and make a call if they want to. Simply saying "anyone else need to get in?" to make it obvious that you are being courteous goes a long way.
If this is with regard to 440..it is so very line of sight dependent, that most people cannot hear you if anything at all is between you. If you have a rise between you, it will block the signal. It doesn't follow terrain well.
As far as chattering among a group with 440 simplex, the limitations of the band apply to your advantage too. Very few guys have 440 antennas at high enough elevations to pick people up at real distance, so you won't really interfere with anyone.
If anyone heard a group in a remote area on 440 simplex, they would likely be more curious to make the contact than irritated by the chatter.
I put a 20W 440 repeater up on a 40' tower thinking it would easily cover the local town here...and it wasn't even useful. Was my first intro to the properties of 440 'line of sight' for sure. Now it's at 375' over avg terrain with a 90W amp and a GAsFET pre-amp on it and it's 100% more useful.
Get it working right for the situation and it's a great band, but it does require some experimentation to learn the properties.
When boils it all down to gravy; 440mhz range is mostly line-of-sight. CB can get out farther; but doesn't have repeater options. 10 meter might be an alternative too - provided one is in range of a repeater. Overall, for the common person travelling across country will probaby better off by using a CB. A million truckers out there with everything one would need to know when travelling anywhere in the US. Works for me..
I know that this may be a little late. But Hotrod you don't have to shell out $700-$800 for Ham equipment. For about $225 or less (about the same cost as a CB set up) you can get a nice 2 meter rig & antenna. I can do over 30 miles simplex. I can hit repeaters 90 miles away mobile. Just something that I think that you should know. My CB couldn't do that without help. We even have some repeaters that will give you 100's of miles in range. Just my 2 cents.
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