Page 3 of 13 FirstFirst 12345 ... LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 128

Thread: FCC banning FRS combination radios September 30 2019

  1. #21
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Fort Worth, TX
    My city EOC has provided our local HAM group with access to an excellent repeater and antenna on the local water tower. In turn, we staff the weather watch positions during severe weather. Win - Win.

    With an excellent local repeater, my Baofeng HT's work just as clean as my Alinco. The Baofengs have WAY better battery life. Order of magnitude better.

    If I'm out in the boonies on simplex, I'd expect the Japanese brands to outperform, but, it would be interesting to test pairs of $65 8-watt Baofengs against pairs of $450 5-watt digital Yaesu's.
    Last edited by RoyGBiv; 09-17-2019 at 06:06 PM.
    "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776

  2. #22
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Northern Virginia
    Quote Originally Posted by LittleLebowski View Post
    Got mine today. I suppose that I need to learn how to program them. Is this the antenna I seek for them?
    Are you familiar with any of the regional repeaters? Ole Virginia Hams (W4OVH) has several in Manassas. Woodbridge Wireless has theirs, then there's the big repeater up in Bluemont that covers pretty much all of NoVA, part of WV, part of MD, and even down into the Shenandoah Valley if you have a good antenna. When I'm solo hunting out at Thompson WMA, the latter is what I have my radio tuned to.

    Chris

  3. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by mtnbkr View Post
    Are you familiar with any of the regional repeaters? Ole Virginia Hams (W4OVH) has several in Manassas. Woodbridge Wireless has theirs, then there's the big repeater up in Bluemont that covers pretty much all of NoVA, part of WV, part of MD, and even down into the Shenandoah Valley if you have a good antenna. When I'm solo hunting out at Thompson WMA, the latter is what I have my radio tuned to.

    Chris
    I don’t know a thing about any of that. Please to translate to small, Marine-friendly words.
    #RESIST

  4. #24
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Northern Virginia
    Quote Originally Posted by LittleLebowski View Post
    I don’t know a thing about any of that. Please to translate to small, Marine-friendly words.
    Is it too late to tap out?

    Repeater: A radio with separate input/output frequencies. It's kind of like a half-simplex party line for radio users. You program your radio to listen on one frequency and transmit on another. The repeater is listening on your transmit frequency and re-transmits your signal on the other frequency. This expands your radio's coverage from a mile or three to tens and even hundreds of miles. It also provides a "wireless watering hole" where you're more likely to reach someone vs random calling on any particular frequency. This is useful if you're out in the back country where your phone doesn't work.

    Ole Virginia Hams: Manassas area amateur radio club. They host one of the remaining large hamfests every summer. Repeater info: http://w4ovh.net/repeaters-2/
    Woodbridge Wireless: Woodbridge (funny that) area club. I don't know much about them other than they're rather large and active. Repeater info: http://woodbridgewireless.org/about-wwi/repeaters/

    Each of these clubs have or had repeaters. They're generally open to the public, but you may need to look up PL codes for access (these are programmed into your radio and essentially "unlock" the repeater for your transmission).

    Bluemont is a monster repeater. I don't think it is affiliated with a club, but I don't know how it is funded either. It covers most of the region and has a large number of "regulars" who have extended conversations during rush hour.
    Bluemont Repeater info: https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeate..._id=51&ID=3687

    There are more in NoVA, but those are the ones you're most likely going to reach from your house.

    BTW, these being owned, managed, and used by licensed amateurs, if you hop on one as an unlicensed user, you'll probably be asked to leave. Get licensed, it's easy, even for Marines.

    Chris

  5. #25
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Fort Worth, TX
    We're heading down the rabbit hole now.
    "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776

  6. #26
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    The Sticks
    Quote Originally Posted by RoyGBiv View Post
    We're heading down the rabbit hole now.
    As am I, studying to get a tech. license, now...

  7. #27
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Fort Worth, TX
    Quote Originally Posted by ralph View Post
    As am I, studying to get a tech. license, now...
    Kb6nu

    https://www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/upl...guide-v1-1.pdf
    "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776

  8. #28
    Abducted by Aliens Borderland's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Camano Island WA.
    We used that type of radio a lot at work only they were mostly Motorola or Yaesu. We had a radio tech who worked for us and he purchased the radios.

    License is the way to go here. FCC can get down right righteous on your ass when they get bored.
    In the P-F basket of deplorables.

  9. #29
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Northern Virginia
    Quote Originally Posted by Borderland View Post
    License is the way to go here. FCC can get down right righteous on your ass when they get bored.
    Licensing is easy enough to not be a significant barrier. However, the FCC tends to be pretty lax regarding individual operators unless you are making a real nuisance of yourself. The amateur community tends to be self-policing and doesn't tolerate shenanigans from unlicensed operators (they will triangulate your location and confront or report you).

    Chris

  10. #30
    Deadeye Dick Clusterfrack's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Wokelandia
    Quote Originally Posted by Borderland View Post
    License is the way to go here. FCC can get down right righteous on your ass when they get bored.
    Name:  m-gonna-get-medieval-on-your-as-14991291.png
Views: 344
Size:  91.1 KB

    Unlikely that FCC's going to get you unless you flaunt your activity. But a Tech license is still worth the trouble because the HAM community is the most valuable thing about HAM radio. There are 1000's of people with nothing better to do than help you with whatever trouble you've gotten into. HAM is really amazing like that. Maybe even as good as Pistol-Forum.
    "You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
    Shabbat shalom, motherf***ers! --Mordechai Jefferson Carver

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •