Radio Newb

[s10 warrior]

hello guys. my name is matt, im 21. complete newb to radios.
always wanted to get in to the hobby.
i live in hawaii, My dad lives in Elpaso Illinois, he is in to this hobby big time.
i never realy understood the radio hobby, but he talks a lot about a RCI 2950 , and other radios.

i picked up a Uniden PrO340XL hand held 40ch CB radio...

i also have a HighLander Cb radio that came out of my old truck.

i doubt these things woud reach far enough to communicate with my dad in illinois. although my dad says when the skip is good he talks to a few guys in hawaii.

 

[Moleculo]

When the band is open, it will work. It would be much easier if you both got your general Amateur licenses. The bands available and the equipment you can use as a licensed amateur radio operator really make a big difference on where and who you can consistently communicate with.

 

[Jaymom]

http://www.qrz.com/xtest2.html

 

[Wire Weasel]

Welcome to the forum and the hobby. Loads of fun on both accounts.

You'll also have more luck on sideband rather than AM. Check into all the "Export" radios. You dad's RCI 2950 is one. You'll have more power and "extra" channels. You can get off the busy-noisy CB 40 channels with an export.

Good luck

 

[BammBamm]

Welcome S10 Warrior. I have to agree with the others here that a SSB unit would greatly help along with a decent base antenna an A-99 would be a good start for a base antenna or even a little more $ for a IMAX-2000. Either of these connected to a 2950 running on a power supply would be an excellent radio setup and would have no problem talking skip (possibly even to your Dad). I live in the Chicago area and hear Hawaii pretty often here but due to my radio as of current I can't always make the contact back to them. Don't think that you can't skip with what you have as my first DX contact was to Canada from Chicago on a home made dipole antenna and a 30 watt radio! I hope to talk to you one day on the radio and I'm sure I can say that 99.9% of us on here will be happy to answer any questions and help you out. Good Luck.

 

[N0NB]

As others have noted, getting your General amateur radio license will give both of you a big step toward maintaining more reliable communications. Perhaps among the better bands for a schedule over the next few years will be the 17m (18.068-18.168 MHz) band.

Also, amateur radio allows legally using up to 1500 Watts of power although I have yet to buy an amplifier and have used 100 Watts on HF for almost 26 years. There are various modes besides AM and SSB available as well that you may find interesting. Use your favorite search engine and see if anything interests you. Have fun!