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Starting out


Tiff81

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Hahaha - thanks for the welcome wagon Jim! Hi everyone- it’s nice to be here! 

I initially thought that GMRS was what I wanted so I obtained a GMRS license. I’M A VERITABLE NEWB here. The prospect of being able to communicate around the world however - is appealing. I have a couple of questions that maybe the group might be able to answer…

1. What is the HAM radio called on the FCC dropdown list and is the FCC who administers the Amateur test? 

2. I’m looking mainly to make sure I have a communications device in my home that allows me to communicate with my kids & family off of traditional devices (incase they’re ever not working). As well as to obtain reliable news from around the world that doesn’t make it to mainstream channels. Is HAM a good way not only to connect with a cool network around the world (and with your own family internally) - but also to stay tuned into events around the world?

3. Why/how did you get involved with HAM radio? What do you love about it?

4. Around how much is the cost for a beginner (but well functioning) system? What should I expect to invest on the front end?

Nice to meet everyone and thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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  • K3MRI changed the title to Starting out
  • Ionosphere


On 3/26/2023 at 12:46 PM, Tiff81 said:

Hahaha - thanks for the welcome wagon Jim! Hi everyone- it’s nice to be here! 

I initially thought that GMRS was what I wanted so I obtained a GMRS license. I’M A VERITABLE NEWB here. The prospect of being able to communicate around the world however - is appealing. I have a couple of questions that maybe the group might be able to answer…

1. What is the HAM radio called on the FCC dropdown list and is the FCC who administers the Amateur test? 

2. I’m looking mainly to make sure I have a communications device in my home that allows me to communicate with my kids & family off of traditional devices (incase they’re ever not working). As well as to obtain reliable news from around the world that doesn’t make it to mainstream channels. Is HAM a good way not only to connect with a cool network around the world (and with your own family internally) - but also to stay tuned into events around the world?

3. Why/how did you get involved with HAM radio? What do you love about it?

4. Around how much is the cost for a beginner (but well functioning) system? What should I expect to invest on the front end?

Nice to meet everyone and thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Welcome to the gang Tiffany (thats my sister name by the way).

1) If you speaking of the FCC license search page, a vanity license is abbreviated "VA" and the amateur license if "HA".  But if you just choose "amateur" from the drop down menu, you'll get both as vanity is a sub-category of Amateur.  You have to have an amateur license before you have a vanity callsign.
The license exam is given by many ham radio clubs.  Check with the ham radio club in your town if you have one.  Chances are they offer the testing or know a club than does.  Some clubs even offer remote testing where you can sit at home and use zoom to take the exam.   I'm a VE for my club and we give the exam after each monthly meeting.  We tested 4 yesterday and passed 4.   You can go to the ARRL webpage here and search for a test session in your area  https://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session.

2) Yes.  In fact, there are many "nets" on HF that you can check in with.  I'm a member of several nets.  One is the "Treasure Coast Net" where hams along the Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Florida check in weekly and exchange news and rag chews.  There are some nets for young ladies only.  You can find nets by going to https://www.k3clr.com.  I will show you all the nets that are curently happening, who is checked into the net, and even who is talking at the time. if you click on the prticular net.  There is normally not charge to check into a net or become a member of a net, but some do charge a modest fee if you want a cool membership certificate with your name on it to hang on the wall.

3) I got involved in ham radio when my nut anti-government buddy gave me a Baofeng so we could talk "when the russians nuked us".  I wasn't interested in getting nuked, but there's a repeater about 6 miles from my house I could listen to, all the cats on the repeater sounded like cool fellas, and I wanted to talk, which required a license.  After that I was hooked and kept on growing and finding more cool things to do with ham radio, such as the ability to use Winlink to send emails with a radio when I don't have Internet.  I live in North Carolina (Hurricane alley) and we often lose the grid for sometimes a week or ten days, so ham radio offers a way to communicate when the grid is down and the cell towers over burdened.   I like getting SL cards from all over the world.  I currently have QSL cards from about 40 states, Europe, and South America.

4)  That's like asking how much it costs to get into golf.  You can buy a $200 set of clubs or you can buy a $5,000 set of clubs.  For me, I started out with  the Baofeng UV-5R.  They cost about thirty bucks but are really only practical if you have a repeater closeby you can reach.  Then I upgraded to a Yaesu mobile that I use for a base station.  The mobile radio was about $300, the antenna was about $125, the power supply about $100, the coax cable about $75.  Keep in mind that will let you talk local if you have a repeater within, say, 20 miles of you.  If you want to talk worldwide, you'll need to invest in an HF radio.  I'd say a decent HF radio would run you about $800 for a basic radio with no "fancy" on it, although there are ones that cost $10,000.  You tend to get what you pay for, and the more expensive radios usually offer more features.  You'll need an HF antenna, and your options there are make you own dipole for about 40 bucks, or buy an HF antenna retail from somewhere like DX Engineering.  They cost from $200 to a few thousand retail depending on what you want to do with it and how fancy you want.   For what it's work, I built my 40 meter dipole for about $30 and I've talked to hams in Italy, U.S., Canada, Jamaica, Germany, the Virgin Islands, and South America on it.  You don't really need any crazy skills to build one, just some novice soldering skills, a tape measure, and some wire snips, screwdriver, and wrench.  but you will need an antenna analyzer to tune it.   That's where joining a local club will come in helpful.  Someone in the club will have an analyzer they might loan you if you don't feel the need to put out $400 - $700 for one, and they'll be able to help you assemble your dipole.

You'll find out, if you haven't already, that there is a lot of different facets of ham radio, it isn't just talking to other people.  Some people enjoy collecting QSL cards, some people like to learn and communicate by CW (Morse code), some people like getting onvolved in emergency communications organizations like ARES, AUXcom, RACES, etc, some people like the tech side of it and like to build their own antennas and radios, some people just like the comaraderie of rag chewing and their local clubs social functions, some people just want to have a back up way to communicate with family and friends or receive news outside the new media channels "if we get nuked".

AND don't forget, once you get your technicians ticket, you can create an account at EchoLink, download the software, and use your PC or iPadto talk to other EchoLink hams all aound the world and you don't even need a radio.  https://echolink.org

Maybe others will chime in and might be able to offer an alternate view, but that's about what I have to offer.


73 de Anthony, KD3Y
Amateur Extra, VE examiner, and VP of Carteret County Amateur Radio Society
www.w4ymi.org
 

 

 

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KD3Y… this was exactly the starting point I was looking for. Appreciate the thoughtful response and am going to start with your and Jim’s recommendation to link up with a local ham radio club as well as begin researching some things you mentioned! 
 

Thank you & nice to meet you!

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Your certainly welcome.  And if Jim doesn't mind me self-promoting, you can go to my website here where I have a lot of 40 meter nets listed, and some info about them so you can get a feel for what nets are about and how they work.
Good luck on your exam.

73 de Anthony, KD3Y

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I don't want to discourage you from earning your ham license, but for your point number 2, ham radio won't work unless your whole family earns their ham tickets. Also, I'm not sure how well ham radio would do for getting news from around the world that doesn't make it to the media.

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6 hours ago, WA2WMR said:

I don't want to discourage you from earning your ham license, but for your point number 2, ham radio won't work unless your whole family earns their ham tickets. Also, I'm not sure how well ham radio would do for getting news from around the world that doesn't make it to the media.

Lind does make good points. On point 1 there is, of course, the threat to life exception. If it's an emergency, anyone can pick up an amateur radio transceiver and use it, period. In non critical scenarios, he is correct.

Regarding news from around the world I half agree with Lind. I agree in that there is a better tool called Short Wave Radio. All you need is a shortwave and you can pick up news stations from across the country or abroad. However, if you want to connect with someone and dive deeper into a given piece of information, then yes. But now we're getting into armageddon level needs. I can't see a regular scenario in which amateur radio would be the best way to obtain news.

(Lind loves it when I 'half-agree' with him. Actually so does Anthony. Actually wait, ... 😇)

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K3MRI
This post was recognized by K3MRI!

"Maryann never disappoints when it comes to helpful support of aspiring operators. Thank you!"

NS7X was awarded the badge 'Helpful' and 1 points.

Hi, Tiffany---

It's nice to have you on board, and welcome to the group.

In answer to your first question, you might want to check out https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service for information.  Amateur (ham) radio license tests are administered by hams who have completed special training as Volunteer Examiners (VE's).  There is usually a small fee (about $15 -$20) charged by the VE's to cover the cost of the exam.  In addition, the FCC charges a $35 fee for the license.  Ham exams (and classes) are offered all over the country by various ham clubs and groups.

Your second question refers to staying in contact with family members.  Hams can only communicate with other hams.  So if your family members are also licensed, there's no problem.  If they aren't licensed, they'll need to be with another ham who can operate the equipment (called a control operator) while your family member talks on the radio.  Or, you can send Radiograms (just like telegrams, except there is no charge for a Radiogram).  If your family lives under your roof, your best bet is a GMRS license because it licenses everyone in your household. 
Getting news from around the world doesn't require a license.  You just need an appropriate receiver and antenna.  However, if you want to talk to people from all over the world, you'll need a ham license.

Question number three?  I got my ham ticket when, as a young bride, my new husband and I moved from my home in New Mexico to Iowa, and I was desperate to keep in touch with my family members back home - two of which were hams.  I soon discovered the delights, the excitement, the thrills and chills of chatting with other hams from all over the place.  That was 45 years ago.  Over the years, I've "met" some wonderful people (a few of which have become close friends), some fascinating folks, some very clever fellows, a few who rescued me from dire situations ("Help!  I've run out of gas!"), and a few #######s.  Want to know the great irony?  I never did make contact with my two licensed family members...

Finally, how much will it cost?  That depends.  You can spend a LOT of money.  On the other hand, you can also get by by spending very little.  Thirty bucks will get you a handheld VHF/UHF radio which may suit your needs just fine.  If you're wanting to talk around the world, you can pretty easily spend a couple thousand on a rig, antenna, power supply, coax, etc.  Or, if you're lucky enough to live near a ham club with an HF station, you could spend $35 a year for membership to the club with access to that club's station.

So, Tiffany, hope my comments help.  If I can be of assistance to you, let me know.  I'm sure you have lots of questions and concerns.  Trust me on this one, ham radio is definitely worth the effort because there is literally a whole, wonderful world to explore when you're a ham.

Just sayin'.

---MaryAnn Cornett, NS7X 

 

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