ham radio

[koby]

Where the Hell do folks get these ideas? I have worked around the world on ten watts. My father has multiple awards for number of countries worked on ten watts. All of this was on voice.

If one picks their bands well, propagation is there.

Paul,

There's a difference between effective voice communication and "working" all over the world.

I think it's safe to assume that these guys are talking about inter-vehicle communications, in which case I think using 5W HF AM voice communications on 10m would be little better than CB.

 

[ptschram]

Paul,

There's a difference between effective voice communication and "working" all over the world.

I think it's safe to assume that these guys are talking about inter-vehicle communications, in which case I think using 5W HF AM voice communications on 10m would be little better than CB.

I disagree. Near vertical incident skywave (NVIS propagation) has been proven to be effective for short range communications on all bands from 75 to 10 meters. Granted, 160 won't do you any good for short range, but the others are effeective at almost all distances. Vertical antennas are best for such uses.

AM is near-worthless for all purposes but exercising vintage gear.

 

[koby]

LOL, sure NVIS propagation is effective for 200 miles or so, but who's going to set up a dipole antenna on their car? We're talking about being able to talk on the move... right here, right now turn-on-your radio-I-need-to-talk-to-you kind of shit.

 

[ptschram]

We're talking about being able to talk on the move... right here, right now turn-on-your radio-I-need-to-talk-to-you kind of shit.

The only way to achieve this reliably (?) is satellite phone. Few if any radio communications are going to do this reliably. VHF and UHF are limited if you don't have a repeater. Perhaps 6 meters, but the atmospherics are too unreliable.

Upgrade your license and get on the low bands and try it for yourself!

 

[Bruno]

What's your call Paul ?

Edit: ooh-la-la, Amateur Extra... awesome !

 

[sean]

i passed the element 2 today. i'm going to wait for the general, the fcc may remove all morse testing requirements this year.
i'm getting the kenwwod D700A, so i won't need the gereral license at the moment.

 

[koby]

The only way to achieve this reliably (?) is satellite phone. Few if any radio communications are going to do this reliably. VHF and UHF are limited if you don't have a repeater. Perhaps 6 meters, but the atmospherics are too unreliable.

Upgrade your license and get on the low bands and try it for yourself!

I'm taking the Element 1 exam on Saturday which (if I pass)will qualify me for General as I have already passed Element 3.

VHF is more than acceptable for trail use if for nothing else the power you can use legally. I think it's unreasonable to expect everyone on a trail run to have satellite phones. I consider sat phones more for emergency use than anything else.

 

[koby]

i passed the element 2 today. i'm going to wait for the general, the fcc may remove all morse testing requirements this year.
i'm getting the kenwwod D700A, so i won't need the gereral license at the moment.

Congratulations!

 

[Rover Puppy]

Ditto!!

 

[sven]

It must be a UHF/CB mentality. They never heard of HF.

What? CB AKA 11 meters is part of the HF band.

Maybe you never heard of HF

 

[ptschram]

What? CB AKA 11 meters is part of the HF band.

AND, it used to be a ham band!

 

[Reed]

i passed the element 2 today. i'm going to wait for the general, the fcc may remove all morse testing requirements this year.
i'm getting the kenwwod D700A, so i won't need the gereral license at the moment.

I second the congratulations!

Yahoo Groups has a pretty active TM-D700 group.

 

[Rover Puppy]

Is anyone using the Kenwood D-700?

Is that the same Kenwood model that was suggested earlier in this thread that had a slightly different model number?

If anyone is using it -- do you have it mounted in your truck?

Also, what mobile antenna are you using? How is your antenna mounted?

Tonight we found out for sure that I am transmitting from too far of a distance for the repeater on our (main base) weekly emergency response net with my handie talkie (Yaesu VX-7R). I had hoped that the reason that no one could hear me transmit was because I was doing something incorrectly, but that didn't turn out to be the case.

So, now I need to get a mobile ham radio. The radio suggested for me was the Kenwood D-700. I was told to get a good mobile antenna that is hi-gain, 2 meter, 440, and able to receive everything that the D-700 is capable of receiving (some x.x gig number).

Anyway, I'm supposed to be able to use the radio & antenna from my truck, and also from inside (near an outer wall) whenever a backup DAZ shelter is set up during an emergency (hurricanes for example). I was told that in such a case I would be able to bring my radio inside and set the mobile antenna on top of a filing cabinet. I was also told that I should get a long cable so that if weather permits, I would be able to bring my radio inside and keep the mobile antenna up on my truck while running the antenna cable inside the building to my radio.

I'd really appreciate any information and advice you can provide. We don't have any ham radio shops anywhere in the area and I'm 2 hours away from my team mate who truly understand these things. Perhaps needless to say, this is extremely challenging for me -- especially since I'm learning as I go (translation = I don't know what I'm dong yet.) .

Much thanks in advance Jamie

p.s.

Mark, I have taken your advice and gotten involved with our local ARES, RACES, and ACS here -- and also in our neighboring counties since that is the home base for our (disaster) emergency response team.

 

[Reed]

Is anyone using the Kenwood D-700?

Is that the same Kenwood model that was suggested earlier in this thread that had a slightly different model number?

If anyone is using it -- do you have it mounted in your truck?

Also, what mobile antenna are you using? How is your antenna mounted?

...<SNIP>...

So, now I need to get a mobile ham radio. The radio suggested for me was the Kenwood D-700. I was told to get a good mobile antenna that is hi-gain, 2 meter, 440, and able to receive everything that the D-700 is capable of receiving (some x.x gig number).
QUOTE]

Jamie-

I have had a Kenwood TM-D700a in my truck for just about a year now. I like it.

It is a really competent dual bander, with packet and APRS capabilities. I will admit that I bought it mainly for the APRS, and the ability to plug it into my StreetPilot Color GPS.

The unit comes in two separate pieces, the control head, and the main body. The radio I have mounted under the drivers seat. (I really avoid trying to go that deep in water/mud anymore so that isn't a problem for me.) Actually I have it mounted to the floor with LARGE Velcro patches so it can be moved if needed for watrer crossings or ARES stuff.

The control head I have mounted on the dash. With a little careful trimming I was able to place the mounting bracket under the rubber coin tray. I use a Diamond Antenna NR770HB on a Diamond mirror mount on the roof rack. (Koby had some pictures of the mount posted here a ways back.)



If I can get some pictures today I will post them.

 

[Rover Puppy]

Thanks Reed

I haven't ordered anything yet. I've been feeling very confused trying to understand this radio (or any other mobile radio) by looking at ham retail websites.

I'm clueless as to how this set up will work when it comes to powering it and moving the antenna since I will be using it inside my truck and also taking it inside buildings.

It looks like this is an entirely different ballgame from just throwing handheld equipment into a pelican case. I don't know anyone who uses this radio, so I'm not able to look at it or get some idea of how this set up works in the real world.

Anyway, I really appreciate any help you can give me.

Thanks again Jamie

 

[sean]

they local hostiptals here are using them for emergencies. they have a d700a that velcros to a power supply,
all you would need is a short antenna cord and small mount, the short head unit cord and a power suppy.
just remove the main unit, head and antenna from the truck hook up the power supply and plug in the head u ( u can even put the little stand on it and set it on top of the radio), plug up the extra cable and screw on your antenna. and there you go a portable unit

 

[MarkP]

Plan ahead for 2012! It's SKIP time

Scientists Issue Unprecedented Forecast of Next Sunspot Cycle

March 6, 2006

The next sunspot cycle will be 30 to 50 percent stronger than the last one, and begin as much as a year late, according to a breakthrough forecast using a computer model of solar dynamics developed by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. The research results, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA, were published on-line on March 3 in the American Geophysical Union journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Scientists now predict that the next cycle, known as Cycle 24, will produce sunspots across an area slightly larger than 2.5 percent of the visible surface of the Sun. The cycle is projected to reach its peak about 2012, one year later than indicated by alternative forecasting methods that rely on statistics. . . . .​

 

[C Ross]

In honor of the other recent thread drawn from the archives...

Are there any new radios out there that handle the mobile communication duties better than what was recommended in this five year old thread?

I'm looking for something for my work truck that will allow for mobile to mobile and beyond communications.

Thanks,

C Ross

 

[chris snell]

Yaesu VX-8DR handheld is prett sweet, with APRS built in. If you want a standalone APRS tracker with integrated radio, check out the Argent Data Systems T2-301.

 

[David Despain]

chris any thoughts on the vx-8DR vs. VX-8GR? i dont care about the bluetooth but 6 meter would be cool. on the other hand built in GPS. dual band seems nice but is it that useful?

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ht/3008.html