FCC banning FRS combination radios September 30 2019

[mtnbkr]

Based on knowledge gained from mtnbkr here, I achieved both my Technician and General Ham licenses in a few weeks (both easy exams) https://hamstudy.org/, and have purchased three radios since. The ability to communicate clearly over great distances using as little as 10 watts and a wire antenna is truly awe inspiring. I'm confident I could establish comms in an emergency and provide a resource to my neighborhood and community.

For outdoor lovers and while ammo prices remain in low earth orbit, SOTA https://www.sota.org.uk/ has become the new pastime of choice, and a valuable survival skill. By establishing a predictable schedule and using a known frequency, I've been able to consistently talk to the same people many states away using a complete kit that weighs less than 2.5 Lbs.

Also, I don't own Baofengs.

SOTA has been my radio obsession for the last year. It incorporates many of my interests (hiking, outdoors, radio, prepping). Being close to the Appalachian Mountains, there are a lot of us in the area and you start getting to know your fellow activators and chasers even if you haven't met them F2F. Even on HF you start working the same people over and over. I routinely get "chased" on HF by a gentleman in Oregon (I'm in VA).

I did a 3 summit activation this weekend. We started at 10am and successfully activated 3 8 or 10 point summits (all three with Winter bonus). Temps were in the 20s the entire time. On the first summit, I worked 3 stations on the West Coast (including the gentleman referenced above) and one in France on 10w HF with a compromise antenna (mfj-1820t mounted directly on the radio). I used the KX2 like a big handheld. We finished the 3rd around 4pm.

ETA: Check out the Ham Radio Crash Course thread in this subforum. That episode covers some good info about comms in the "great reset" that folks are concerned about.

Chris

[peterb]

This looks like another useful “getting started” reference:

https://sites.google.com/site/wccert...part2slideshow

[rayrevolver]

I hate to be lazy BUT... is there an affordable radio for home use that picks up 225-400MHz UHF?

Back in the day I wanted to buy an ICOM and I assume they are still big bucks. Does Yaesu or Baofeng make something in that uniform range?

[mtnbkr]

I hate to be lazy BUT... is there an affordable radio for home use that picks up 225-400MHz UHF?

Back in the day I wanted to buy an ICOM and I assume they are still big bucks. Does Yaesu or Baofeng make something in that uniform range?

What's affordable?
FM/AM/SSB/Digital?
Handheld or base station?
Are external antennas acceptable?

Many handhelds will pick up FM transmissions in that range, especially those advertised as having "wideband receive".

ETA: For casual listening, one of the SDR dongles from Amazon may fit the bill.
https://www.amazon.com/NooElec-NESDR...dp/B01GDN1T4S/
An Extra class ham buddy has this and loves it. You'll need a computer though.

This version adds HF frequencies:
https://www.amazon.com/NooElec-NESDR...dp/B0747PX3NZ/


Chris

[rayrevolver]

What's affordable?
FM/AM/SSB/Digital?
Handheld or base station?
Are external antennas acceptable?

Many handhelds will pick up FM transmissions in that range, especially those advertised as having "wideband receive".

ETA: For casual listening, one of the SDR dongles from Amazon may fit the bill.
https://www.amazon.com/NooElec-NESDR...dp/B01GDN1T4S/
An Extra class ham buddy has this and loves it. You'll need a computer though.

This version adds HF frequencies:
https://www.amazon.com/NooElec-NESDR...dp/B0747PX3NZ/


Chris

Whoa, that first link is nice. Hmm, the comments say you could use a tablet as well... it would be nice to have at work instead of huffing it to ops. Thanks!

I realize we simulcast on victor, so there is no need for the uniform stuff. Affordable would be less than $100 if I went the hand held route. And since I just need standard aviation freqs and Rx only, shouldn't break the bank.

[Horseman]

"ETA: For casual listening, one of the SDR dongles from Amazon may fit the bill.
https://www.amazon.com/NooElec-NESDR...dp/B01GDN1T4S/
An Extra class ham buddy has this and loves it. You'll need a computer though."



The SDR dongles are very cool. I've been messing around for a while using a pair of them, along with some easily-available freeware, to monitor P25 VHF digital trunked public safety radio systems. They also work well for RX of just about any frequency you'd care to listen to.

[Wheeler]

"ETA: For casual listening, one of the SDR dongles from Amazon may fit the bill.
https://www.amazon.com/NooElec-NESDR...dp/B01GDN1T4S/
An Extra class ham buddy has this and loves it. You'll need a computer though."



The SDR dongles are very cool. I've been messing around for a while using a pair of them, along with some easily-available freeware, to monitor P25 VHF digital trunked public safety radio systems. They also work well for RX of just about any frequency you'd care to listen to.

What are you using as a computer? Do you have a dedicated processor for radio stuff?

[Horseman]

I'm just using an old, battered HP laptop that's something like eight years old. None of the software to run SDR's or the dongles seem to need much processor power or memory to run well.

[rayrevolver]

What are you using as a computer? Do you have a dedicated processor for radio stuff?

Ordered the hardware and it says mid-Feb for the delivery. Going to use an old PC gaming laptop from 2010 to start out. Based on the comments in Amazon, people are using android as well.

I have a USB-C hub that includes USB, HDMI, and memory sticks. With this hub I should be able to try the SDR dongle on my current android phone/chromebook. If I find a USB to USB-micro adapter then I will try it out on an older tablet as well (my planned forever solution is a dedicated tablet).

I can post my trials & tribulations in this thread unless directed otherwise. And probably reach out for help as well. For me, I want to listen to a few victor freqs (118–137 MHz) from my house that is ~12 miles from work.

[mtnbkr]

Ordered the hardware and it says mid-Feb for the delivery. Going to use an old PC gaming laptop from 2010 to start out. Based on the comments in Amazon, people are using android as well.

I have a USB-C hub that includes USB, HDMI, and memory sticks. With this hub I should be able to try the SDR dongle on my current android phone/chromebook. If I find a USB to USB-micro adapter then I will try it out on an older tablet as well (my planned forever solution is a dedicated tablet).

I can post my trials & tribulations in this thread unless directed otherwise. And probably reach out for help as well. For me, I want to listen to a few victor freqs from my house that is ~12 miles from work.

What are "victor freqs"?

I suggest starting a new thread as this will be a different line of discussion. BTW, you can use a different antenna with that SDR. My buddy uses a wire dipole, but he mainly focuses on HF SSB.

Chris