markwebster Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 I'm tired of paying Verizon $50 a month for something that didn't exist 20 years ago. The cell phone industry has sold me on the illusion that I can't live without my Droid. Does anyone have any information or experience with Ham Radios, in particular, the modern Yaesu Hand Helds? http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=111&encProdID=03484E782FF9B7DFA27AEE086A68F530&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0 I'm halfway through reading the manual on getting my ham license, which looks dead easy. But I've still not talked to anyone with practical experience. I do realize I will have to get one for the wife, and will have to give up a lot of conveniences I've become used to go cellphone free. But if I was able to make it work, it would be so awesome to stop pouring money into Verizon. This guy has his handheld ham hooked up to his laptop to get online...very slow connection, but still. The texting issue will be difficult, may have to give up on that. I've heard of people using their ham radios to tap into the normal phone network, but I don't know if you can go the other way, phone, into a ham. I've also not found any active ham boards, seems like they are a bunch of old dinosaurs. Thanks for any info or links... Quote
Cobra_Commander Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 It's not going to replace your phone. Unless you only talk to middle-aged dudes with custom call sign license plates and sometimes questionable hygiene. You can dial out onto pots from a repeater, but it's not the same as a normal phone call. You'd have to have the thing on all the time, and make agreements with everyone you wanted to talk to about which repeater to be on at what time. There are some practical and fun things to do with a ham license though. Examples include Icom's D-STAR, a digital system that integrates digital voice/data, internet access, and lets you track things with gps reporting. With line of sight to a d-star repeater, you can have data access in some extremely remote areas. Amateur radio is a great tool if you get in trouble in the wilderness or break down on a highway. Someone's almost always listening on the ham repeaters and it would make their day to help you. The tech license test is a gate keeper to keep the FRS riff-raff out. Quote
112 Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 http://www.hamdepot.com/states/wa.asp Some of the links are no longer valid... Quote
denalidave Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 My Dad is a big HAM guy. He's always pissing off the neighbors with his huge antennas all over the yard. He also has a thriving little business buying, repairing and re-selling HAM gear. Seems like it is still pretty popular to a certain demographic. I think so long as the cell phone and land lines still work, HAM will be relegated as an old timers hobby. If/when the cells/landlines don't work, we will all be happy the HAM guys are there. (IMO) If you are a HAM, say hi to my pops - AK7R... Quote
denalidave Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 Mark, if you send me a pm, I'd be happy to put you in contact with my Dad. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help a newbie out... Quote
denalidave Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 BTW, are you also in the market for a horse and buggy? Just askin... Quote
markwebster Posted January 6, 2011 Author Posted January 6, 2011 Let's just say I'm old enough to get solicitations from the http://www.aarp.org/ . And yes, I am a dinosaur, though I don't want a horse...too slow. I've watched myself get addicted to cell phones, along with the rest of America, and I want to kick the habit. If I could kick my computer out the door I'd do that too, go back to an honest living running printing presses. I guess two weeks in Jtree living without electricity has made me a little resentful of all the trappings of city life. Plus, those are cool little toys, and the technology is fascinating. And I don't really need my Droid, it's unnecessary. Somehow I survived back in the eighties without a cell phone. Quote
rob Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 So just ditch the cell phone. Why do you need to replace it with a HAM? Switching from one drug to another? You survived back in the 80s without a HAM license, either. Quote
markwebster Posted January 6, 2011 Author Posted January 6, 2011 but, but, walkie talkies are cool! I've always been fascinated by them. I think that fascination lies beneath the cell phone revolution. But good point, I could just ditch the Droid when my contract is up. The ability to communicate when necessary is important though...so I thought doing a one time buy of a good ham radio, that might last 5 to ten years would be cheaper than constant contracts with Verizon. Plus, they have way more power to reach out when you are beyond cell reception. Cells go what, 15 miles to a tower? I think Hams can go a lot farther. Quote
rob Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) i bought my 8 year-old daughter a cell phone with sprint, a sort of "emergency-only" plan that has essentially no minutes (i.e. for emergencies). I pay about $19 a month. You could also go the pre-paid phone option. Both would probably serve the "reach out and touch someone" model better than a ham, unless your wife and all your friends are going to also by hams and keep them on all the time. Sounds like you just want an excuse to get into radio! NTTAWTT. Edited January 6, 2011 by rob Quote
Rad Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 FWIW, I looked into including HAM into the emergency signaling device pieces I wrote for the NWMJ and Rock and Ice. After some research, it became apparent that HAM is really for people who want a new hobby. They rely on repeaters that may or may not be positioned somewhere useful to you, they rely on third parties that may or may not be listening when you need to send a message, they are subject to interference from other users, etc etc. They could sometimes be useful in emergencies, but it would be foolish to count on one unless you had someone waiting on the other end of the line for you to call (e.g. basecamp). Quote
markwebster Posted January 7, 2011 Author Posted January 7, 2011 good points Rad. I did hear a story about a ski patroller on snoqualmie pass (where there is excellent cell reception) using a handheld ham to call the repeater ham radio in his car. That 50 watt car ham radio repeater then sent the signal to a Bellevue repeater that let him into the normal phone system where he dialed a phone number with his handheld ham. Other uses would be to communicate with my wife on her handheld around Tacoma or backcountry locations where there is no cell reception, assuming she is within range. I could reach out further with a 5 watt ham than with a $40 REI radio. But yeah, I've always been fascinated by electronics and the theory of radio waves. Be cool to have a hobby that helped me understand how that all works. Quote
Wastral Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 If you are anywhere near a highway, there are a LOT of truckers out there who will be listening. If you are in Alaska there are a TON of HAMS there. You can also communicate with the Forest Service MAIN stations. Next time you are in say Marblemount, ask the person behind the desk what channel they use for emergency communications. Why? Because your HAM tech license allows Far higher wattage on your sending antenna on the 2m etc bands than any Piece of Junk cell phone. Honestly I don't take any kind of phone etc with me in the mountains, but if I did, I would take a HAM radio as it will travel FARRRRRRR Farther than any cell phone. It does take a little preplanning and calling the local Forest District to get the proper channels to use. Or call the nearest police station as they will also have their own channels you can tap into as well. Cheers The Tech test is absurdly easy you only have to get a 70% as well... Quote
Coldfinger Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 Shouldn't this be in the Bacon forum? Seriously, no. Nice hobby to have imo, wouldn't want to lug a ham radio and a titanium pot, would be too ironic. As for emergencies, if a cell is out of range, I'd use a PLB, a sat phone is great too, and there are sat modems that are good for b.c. use. Quote
Cobra_Commander Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 There are some tiny 2m band radios out there these days, with much more power than any cell phone. In addition, the 2m band is very conducive to the mountain environment, as it tends to bend around terrain a little easier than most comm. freqs. High freq digital cell phones (Ghz ranges) are notoriously bad for this, and get absorbed quickly. Anyways, I think it's a great pursuit. If anything, you'll brush up on your electrical diagrams and undestand rf propagation better. If someone marketed ham radio better, it could easily coexist with all the new stuff out there. It's very reliable. And when the shit hits the fan and Portland/Seattle get rocked by a major earthquake or something, we will be counting on it! Quote
olyclimber Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 the social aspect alone is well worth getting your license. get on a repeater and yakity yak about your antennae and your rig. Quote
Alasdair Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 Hey Mark, HAM radios have become a standard tool for the guiding industry. If you need to have an emergency device of some sort and you dont want to pay a subscription fee then HAM radios are the cheapest option for emergency use. I own one of the Yaysu units and it not easy to learn to use, but despite what Rad said there is no where in the North cascades that you cant hit someone with that radio. Truth is if you have aviation traffic you can always contact them (understanding of course that it would piss off the FCC). Quote
Alasdair Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 If you are anywhere near a highway, there are a LOT of truckers out there who will be listening. If you are in Alaska there are a TON of HAMS there. You can also communicate with the Forest Service MAIN stations. Next time you are in say Marblemount, ask the person behind the desk what channel they use for emergency communications. Why? Because your HAM tech license allows Far higher wattage on your sending antenna on the 2m etc bands than any Piece of Junk cell phone. Honestly I don't take any kind of phone etc with me in the mountains, but if I did, I would take a HAM radio as it will travel FARRRRRRR Farther than any cell phone. It does take a little preplanning and calling the local Forest District to get the proper channels to use. Or call the nearest police station as they will also have their own channels you can tap into as well. Cheers The Tech test is absurdly easy you only have to get a 70% as well... FYI the folks in Marblemount are not going to give you the frequencies. They dont want people on them. They are not that hard to get however. Quote
Rad Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 the social aspect alone is well worth getting your license. get on a repeater and yakity yak about your antennae and your rig. If you want to talk with the older generation go down to the VA hospital and talk to nice folks who really know what service means... Quote
denalidave Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 the social aspect alone is well worth getting your license. get on a repeater and yakity yak about your antennae and your rig. Yeah, I think that is the fun of it... Talking to strangers all across the world. Of course, there is also the gear whoring/tinkering factors for most users. Quote
markwebster Posted January 7, 2011 Author Posted January 7, 2011 thanks for the info. I'll be taking my test in a few weeks. I'm not scared off by the complex technology. It's always fun to learn new stuff...enjoy the challenge and all that. When you think about it, the cell phone industry is really just ham radio, sanitized and cleaned up for the average lazy joe. Repeaters and cell towers have a lot in common. I'm gonna ween myself from Verizon, I swear it! Quote
Cobra_Commander Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 cell phone industry is really just ham radio, sanitized and cleaned up for the average lazy joe. Repeaters and cell towers have a lot in common Well, plus the encryption, compression, and amazing software to hop from tower to tower mid-conversation. Just don't order anything with your cc# with your new radio. It's amazing how far even low-watt vhf will travel with some elevation. A conversation between handhelds high in the cascades will be audible to most of the state on a nice day with line of sight. Quote
olyclimber Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 you can reach half way across the world with QRP (low power) using atmospheric bounce. Quote
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